TESTING! TESTING!
The amazing story of the Akedah, the attempted sacrifice of Isaac by his father Abraham that we read just a little while ago and an article written by the late Rabbi Sidney Greenberg gave me the impetus for my talk this morning.
Most of us know the story: Gd instructed Abraham to take his “favored” son Isaac up to the top of Mt. Moriah, bind him securely, and slit his throat, sacrifice him, kill him as a show of Abraham’s love of Gd. At the last moment, as the knife is about to plunge, Gd’s angel stops Abraham and points out a ram caught in a bush as a worthy substitute for the sacrifice, and thus Abraham passed Gd’s test and Isaac went on to marry, have a family and live on to a ripe old age. Gd tested Abraham.
For me and certainly for many others, this story begs more questions than answers. First of all, most of us will acknowledge that Gd certainly knows the future and the ultimate outcome of all things, how can we therefore say that Gd tested Abraham. Gd already knew how the whole incident was going to end so why the exercise?
Rabbi Greenberg very cogently uses an answer written by the medieval Jewish philosopher Nachmanides stating that when the Torah says Gd tested Abraham, “the Torah is expressing the situation from the point of view of Abraham. Abraham felt that his spiritual mettle was being probed. His character was being plumbed. His stature was being measured.”
The Rabbi’s note that Abraham was tested no fewer that ten times and each time Abraham felt that “the trial was an opportunity to demonstrate to himself and to his Gd, the stuff of which he was made.”
The mystique and the beauty of the Rosh Hashana liturgy demonstrate the requirements to achieve a meaningful Jewish life. It’s the new year with all its promises ahead IF we are willing to make the effort. But does this mean we will not be tested? That our life journey will have no more speed bumps or tests? Is every experience a quiz whose purpose it is to determine not what we know but what we are?
Our Rabbinic Sages noted that, “there is no creature whom the Holy One, blessed be He, does not test.” We are all tested. We are always tested. Whether we are aware of it or not, life is constantly springing little quizzes upon us.
When we are hurt our forgiveness is tested. When we have hurt our humility is tested. Trouble tests our courage, temptation tests our strength, and friendship tests our loyalty. Failure tests our perseverance and success tests our gratitude.
The Akedah clearly demonstrates one of Gd’s ultimate tests. We have a public opportunity to stand on the sidelines and watch as Abraham struggles with every fiber of his body as he ties his son to the alter, lifts the knife, and is stopped just in the nick of time. We can imagine Abraham’s mental struggles and every year, as we reread this short Torah story, I wonder if Gd will stay Abraham’s hand in time.
We are constantly being tested by Gd. Have we been generous enough? Have we been kind enough? Is our dedication and our integrity sufficient to administer to our clients? As parents we are tested and as children we are tested too. The businessman and the teacher are tested. So is the mechanic under our car and the handyman fixing our roof. Each is having his / her character tested every day.
This morning, on page 89 of our Machzorim, we read a short single paragraph describing the Akedah. We read this material every Shabbat and in our daily morning prayers as a reminder that every day is examination day. Every day, each of us will be tested.
My remarks yesterday focused on thanking Gd for each new day and as we enter into each new day, we know that our experiences and our knowledge and our mettle will be tested, sometimes over and over again. Most of us have had a good year, some have had a great 5769, and a few of us have had a terrific year! Some have not had such a good year. Illness, monetary concerns, family situations have clouded last years experiences. Are all of these experiences tests by Gd? I would argue they are and are meant to teach us that the control of each situation is ultimately in Gd’s hands. No, Gd is not going to intercede and help you pick out the perfect cantaloupe at Dominick’s. We need to be thinking on a much higher plane.
Are we really in control? On a daily level, I believe we are in full control of our lives on a daily basis. And in many ways, we can control some of the bigger picture of our lives, but I don’t believe we can control all of it. Some of what happens in the world is the result of forces way beyond our comprehension and I firmly feel that the forces I have described are Gd’s hand active in the ebb and flow of life.
As a result of the horrors of the Holocaust and the devastation visited upon the Jews and others of Europe, what, if anything, was Gd actually trying to teach us? Do we believe that the annihilation of 6 million Jews, some of whom were our relatives, came directly from the hand of Gd? I categorically reject that theory. The Holocaust was the result of a small group of men’s avarice, greed, and outright hatred blown out of complete control, yet the lessons we survivors can examine will show us that if we reject the Commandments of Gd in favor of our own material advancement, we run a significant risk in losing it all. If we totally jettison Gd’s teachings and moral laws and instead run after the “almighty” dollar or the comfort that dollar may bring us, we will be sacrificing our spiritual worth.
I cannot bring myself so far as to say that the Holocaust was a test of Jewish thought and observance in the same vein as Gd’s test of Abraham with his son Isaac, yet there are parallels and that is why the continued study of the Holocaust is so important.
I don’t have enough time this morning to explore with you the various types of Gdly tests recognized by Jewish scholars but we can quickly catalog a few: chronic illness could be one, an untimely death could be another, success or failure in business or a marriage could also be included. It is our faith that keeps us going. It is our faith that says our belief in recognizing the supremacy of Gd in our lives should be paramount.
I’ve thought long and hard about this address this morning and I’m certain that you are questioning some of my statements and I welcome calm discourse on this subject. It is a very complex subject and must be carefully dissected and examined in segments before drawing a whole conclusion. Gd’s tests can be easy and some can totally confound the brightest of thinkers however we are encouraged to question and to examine and to discuss any and all of our philosophies as we strive to answer the unanswerable.
The 24 or so verses in Genesis – the story of the Akedah – so simple on the surface, but deeper examination and comparison of the story of the attempted sacrifice of Isaac to our current lives could fill volumes. As we move on toward Yom Kippur next week and our confessionals before Gd, we need to ask ourselves if we are willing to “sacrifice” a little time during the next week to legitimately promise ourselves to adjust our lives toward an increased awareness of Gd’s presence. We need to set aside some time and look at our lives over this last year; what we have done right and what we could do to improve. And as we are going through this very important exercise, we also need to look carefully at our families and our friends and our synagogue. In his darkest hour, with a knife in his hand and fear in his eyes, Abraham spotted the ram caught in a bush and sacrificed the animal instead of his son.
We can examine our innermost thoughts and our desires for the coming year and we can improve – we can all improve. And so I pray that I will be able to improve my religious guidance of this fine institution and that the Joliet Jewish Congregation will continue to grow in size, knowledge, and leadership, and that we all have a happy, a healthy, and a prosperous new year.
L’Shana Tovah Tikatevu