"To Serve You In Truth"
STUDENT SUMMARIES OF SICHOT OF THE ROSHEI YESHIVA
Parashat VAYERA
SICHA OF
HARAV
“To
Serve You in Truth”
Adapted by
Translated by
In a
manuscript version of Avot De-Rabbi Natan, we read the following
depiction of the akeida:
Yitzchak
asked Avraham, “Here is the fire and the wood, but where is the sheep for the
sacrifice?”
He said, “My
son – you will be the sacrifice.”
At that
moment Avraham’s face changed. He said, “I am old, while he is young. Perhaps he
will flee – what will then become of me?”
Yitzchak said
to him, “Father, have no fear! May it be God’s will that my blood be accepted
favorably – but bind me well, that I should not have to hold myself still.
And when you
return to Sara, my mother, do not tell her suddenly, so that she will not harm
herself: if she is standing on the roof – that she may not fall and die; if she
is standing by the well – that she may not throw herself into it; or if she is
holding a knife in her hand – that she may not kill herself with it.”
At that
moment, Yitzchak assented verbally to his father’s wishes, but in his heart he
thought: “Who will save me from my father? I have no one to help me but God, as
it is written – ‘My aid is from God, Maker of the heavens and the earth.’”
And the
ministering angels said: “Come and see these two righteous ones: the father
about to slay his son, and the son about to be slain – and they do not prevent
each other.” (quoted in Torah Sheleima, Vayera 92)
Chazal here seek to
emphasize Avraham’s humanity. The dialogue between father and son brings the
situation to life and makes it relevant to the world of human psychology.
The Sages
teach an important principle here. Neither Avraham nor Yitzchak was an angel.
The Mishna in Ta’anit (2:4) cites a prayer that supports the midrash’s
reading of this event:
He Who
answered Avraham at Mt.
Immediately
we ask: was it really Avraham’s prayer that brought about the turning point in
the akeida? Do we not believe that from the beginning God’s intention was
merely to test him, that there was never the slightest possibility that Avraham
would sacrifice his son?
However, the
Men of the Great Assembly, who composed the above prayer, knew that this story
represents not only the realization of the Divine will, but also the response to
Avraham’s human cry. Even had the Divine plan not been to prevent the
slaying, Yitzchak would have been saved from the decree of the akeida by
virtue of Avraham’s prayer.
In contrast
to the story of Sedom, where Avraham “argues” with God, the emphasis here is on
Avraham’s prayer. And if there existed no tradition in this regard, our
Sages would not emphasize it. Avraham instituted a genuine “prayer service” here
– for the moment, and for all generations.
The Yalkut
Shimoni brings midrashim that elaborate on this theme and depict
Avraham’s prayer most dramatically:
“‘He placed
him upon the altar’ – Avraham’s eyes gazing into Yitzchak’s eyes, and Yitzchak’s
eyes gazing towards heaven. And tears fell from Avraham’s eyes until he was
swimming in tears.
He said to
him, “My son – since you have already expressed your readiness to relinquish
your blood, your Creator will find a different sacrifice in your place.”
At that
moment his mouth opened with a great weeping and he sighed a great sigh, and his
eyes wandered and looked for the Shekhina. He lifted his voice and said,
“I shall lift my eyes towards the hills, from whence my aid shall come. My aid
is from God, Maker of the heavens and the earth.”
Despite God’s
instruction to bind his son, Avraham could not resign himself to this fate; he
prayed for his son. This midrash reveals to us Avraham’s ambivalent attitude
towards the command. On the one hand, he was a loyal servant, eager to fulfill
his Creator’s word; on the other hand, he was a loving and compassionate father
who could not overcome his emotions, and prayed for his son, pleading for his
life to be spared.
We are
familiar with the phenomenon of the suppression of any human, parental feelings
while in the throes of religious ecstasy. In biblical times this found
expression in the worship of Molekh, and in our times we see the same attitude
in the response of our neighbors to the death of a “shahid.”
Had Avraham’s
test lacked this human dimension, the akeida would not only be greatly
diminished in its power, but perhaps the whole episode would have been
illegitimate and invalid.
The Gemara (Yoma
69b) teaches:
Moshe said,
“The great, mighty and awesome God.”
Yirmiyahu
said, “Gentiles crow in His Sanctuary – where is His awesomeness?” Therefore he
omitted the word “awesome.”
Daniel said,
“Gentiles are subjugating His children – where is His might?” Therefore he
omitted the word “mighty.”
[The Men of
the Great Assembly] came and said: “On the contrary – that is His might: that He
conquers His inclination and is long-suffering towards the evil ones. And that
is His awesomeness: were it not for fear of God, how could this one nation
survive among the nations?”
And how could
[Yirmiyahu and Daniel] change the wording of the prayer instituted by Moshe?
R. Elazar
said, “Because they knew that God is truthful – therefore they did not lie about
Him.”
“Where is His
awesomeness? Where is His might?” Truth bursts forth with a shout, strong enough
to change the wording of prayer.
The truth,
and honest human emotions – these themselves are God’s seal, and we are
commanded to emulate Him in this regard.
It is with
this same attitude in mind that the Sages described Avraham’s paternal feelings
towards his other son, Yishmael. Even after God promises, “Your seed shall be
called after Yitzchak,” the Midrash (as quoted by Rashi) teaches:
“Take your
son, your only one, whom you love – Yitzchak”:
Avraham said
to God: “I have two sons.”
God said to
him: “Your only one.”
He said:
“This one is the only son of his mother, and the other one is the only son of
his mother.”
God said:
“Whom you love.”
Avraham said:
“I love both.”
He said to
him: “Yitzchak.”
Avraham
stands and haggles with God; he wants some role for his other son, too – for
Yishmael. He is fully aware that God has decided that “Your seed shall be called
after Yitzchak,” while Yishmael is the son of the handmaid. But he never forgets
for a moment that Yishmael, too, is his son, and that he must take care of him
and his needs.
Avraham’s
humanity and humaneness, climaxing in the story of Sedom, are not absent from
the parasha of the akeida.
Truth is the
crux of our Rosh Ha-shana prayers. On this day we emphasize this quality over
and over: “For You are a God of truth, and Your word is true and stands
forever;” “purify our hearts to serve You in truth.”
It is clear,
then, why it is specifically the shofar that we sound on this day. The
call of the shofar is a genuine sound – a simple sound, a cry emanating
from the depths of the human heart. It is an honest and accurate expression of
man’s hidden recesses. The sound of the shofar emanates from a natural
horn – not from an artificial musical instrument, made by mortal hands. For this
reason it is forbidden even to coat the shofar with gold or silver: so
that the sound will be heard just as it is, with no “covering” or pretense.
As explained
by the Kuzari, the advantage of the shofar is that it expresses
itself without words. Too many words cover up the truth.
According to
tradition, one hundred shofar blasts are sounded on Rosh Ha-shana,
“corresponding to the hundred sighs of the mother of Sisera,” as we read (Shoftim
5:28), “The mother of Sisera gazes out of the window and wails.”
This seems
quite surprising: on Rosh Ha-Shana, the Day of Judgment, a holy and awesome day,
surely we have other events and images to focus on! Why specifically this
memorial to the mother of Sisera?
Indeed, there
is nothing more genuine, more painful, than a mother crying over the death of
her child. This is the symbol, the epitome.
On Rosh
Ha-shana we pray that our prayers will not be uttered from our mouths outwards,
as empty utterances, but rather as expressions of an inner truth, emerging from
the innermost recesses of our heart.
This applies
not only to our prayers on this day, but in fact to all of our Divine service.
Indeed,
“Truth is the essence of Your word, and all Your righteous judgments are
eternal” (Tehillim 119:160).
[This
sicha was delivered on Rosh Ha-shana 5759 (1998).]