Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur Sermons
Akedah Dvar Torah by Lawrence Ballon
There was an old synagogue that had a custom similar to ours at Kolel. During the chanting of the Shemah half the congregation would stand and half remains seated. The half that was seated would shout at those standing to sit down during the prayer and those standing shouted at the sitters to stand. The rabbi, although very learned in the law, did not know what to do. He decided to consult the oldest surviving member of the congregation, an original founder now residing at Baycrest. The rabbi hoped that the old man would be able to recall what the original practice had been. So the rabbi went to the nursing home with a representative of both factions - the sitters and the standers.
The representative of the standers during the Shemah asked the old man is the tradition to stand during the prayer?
No, responded the old man, that is not the tradition.
The representative of the sitters asked then the tradition is to sit during the prayer?
No answered the old man, that is not the tradition.
Then the rabbi pointed out to the old man that the congregants fight all the time, yelling at each other to stand or to sit.
The old man replied: Ah, that is the tradition!
At Kolel we have our traditions. Each Rosh Hashanah our Torah reading is the Akedah, the story of Abraham binding his son Isaac for sacrifice. This enigmatic account has prompted many differing interpretations of the story, many opinions by learned commentators stretching back over thousands of years. These disagreements are also a part of our tradition. As Jews we understand that there are often no simplistic answers.
I will briefly recount the story of the Akedah, the binding. Abraham is quite old by now. He is at least 100 and possibly older. G-d commands him to take his beloved and only child, Isaac, to Mount Moriah to offer him as a human sacrifice. Abraham brings the unknowing Isaac along with wood for a burnt offering on a 3 day trek. Isaac asks his father where the lamb for the burnt offering is and Abraham tells Isaac that G-d will see to the lamb. They arrive at the appointed place. Abraham builds the altar, lays out the wood and binds Isaac upon the wood in readiness for the sacrifice. As Abraham wields the knife to slay Isaac, an angel tells him not to harm Isaac. Abraham looks up and sees a ram caught in a thicket. He sacrifices the ram in place of Isaac. The angel tells Abraham that because of his willingness to sacrifice Isaac, Abraham and his descendants will be blessed.
Now G-d, through his angel, stopped Abraham at the last moment from sacrificing Isaac. Thus G-d clarified that human sacrifice was not acceptable although it was practiced by neighboring tribes. Abraham had found himself in an almost impossible situation. If he obeyed G-d then he would have killed his only son. However by obeying G-d, Abraham revealed to himself and to others that he was a committed, G-d-fearing man. Abraham has been a role-model to us ever since. However Abraham's willingness to follow G-d's commandment, to kill his son, raises disturbing questions in our contemporary time.
For example what are we to make of the suicide bomber who insists that he is following G-d's commandment? The bomber maintains that his killing of others, usually civilians, is making the world a better place, simply getting rid of those whose beliefs and actions go against Gd's will. How do we reconcile his story with the story of Abraham? Both were following what they perceived to be their G-ds' orders.
Abraham had been commanded to kill his beloved son. All parents understand that this command to sacrifice one's own child is the most profound sacrifice any parent could be asked to make. Abraham's intent, as I understand it, was to serve G-d. I have never met a suicide bomber but I believe that if I were able to look deeply into him or her, to understand their intent, I would see significant aggression, a deep-seated wish to kill others, out of revenge and hatred. Abraham's story was different. The bible describes him as a righteous man, a loving father, not a man filled with hatred and revenge. But I am on thin ice here, just speculating, trying to understand the motives of Abraham and of suicide bombers.
I was watching Larry King on CNN early on in the conflict between Israel and the Hezbollah. His guests were Rabbi Michael Lerner, the left-wing editor of Tikkun Magazine and Rabbi Dennis Prager, the right-wing writer and commentator. Both rabbis were articulate, highly-educated and thoughtful. They were discussing Israel's bombing of Lebanon. Rabbi Lerner was deeply disturbed by the bombing.
He stated that the highest Jewish values were loving kindness for one's neighbors, just as we discussed here yesterday in our Torah study. He said that without these values there was no Judaism. Rabbi Prager was supportive of Israel's bombing of Lebanon. He stated that the highest Jewish value is self-defense. If you were dead then you could not practice Jewish values. Both rabbis had valid points.
The dilemma for the Israelis had been to decide where to draw the line between Jewish values and self-defense, to decide when the killing of your neighbor is justified in self-defense and when you must love your neighbor. Israeli forces dealt with this problem by warning the local Lebanese civilian population with the use of pamphlets, to vacate their homes prior to the bombing of their villages. Thus both the needs for Jewish values, for concern for their neighbors and the needs for self-defense were served.
When are we following G-d's will and when are we following our own agenda of hatred and revenge? This question is relevant for us Canadians in assessing our role in Afghanistan. Are we fighting there out of genuine concern for the Afghans or are we killing Afghans for our own political agenda? For Canadians to remain silent on this difficult issue is not contributing to its solution. Americans must also struggle with these issues regarding their involvement in Iraq. Are Americans in Iraq out of love for their neighbors, the Iraqis, for self-defense or for political and economic gain?
Today's Torah reading describes the binding of Isaac as well as the bind that G-d had placed upon Abraham. Abraham's actions proved his commitment to G-d and fortunately Isaac survived to become one of our fore-fathers. As Jews we are all Abraham, that is, we are all commanded to perform G-d's will, to seek G-d's blessing, no matter how difficult that struggle may be. How will our Judaism inform our lives, affect our difficult ethical decisions? That ongoing struggle to lead moral lives is our Jewish tradition.
Shannah Tova
