Vayera

In the Torah portion Vayera we learn about the Akedah, the binding of Isaac. I am reminded of the story they tell about a pig and a chicken who were walking down the path together when all of a sudden they saw a restaurant. It was early morning and they had not eaten yet and they said, "Well, let's go ahead into this restaurant and have some breakfast." They noticed that the sign said there "bacon and eggs 990". All of a sudden the pig looked at that sign and he ran away. The chicken did not know what had happened and could hardly catch up to him. Finally he yelled at the pig, "Stop, stop. What's the matter?" The pig looked at the chicken and said, "From you they want a donation but from me they want a commitment."

In a certain sense the Akedah represents the Jewish commitment to G-d, but, yet, it is a very difficult story, the Akedah. How can we really have such a story in the Torah? After all, what does it really mean, this story? This story means that Abraham was supposed to be a person of great kindness and mercy. What was he going to do? Kill his son? Take his son to a mountain and kill him? How can we understand such a thing? This thing is so far away from Judaism. Judaism believes in loving children and caring for children.  It seems the antithesis of the whole Jewish message to kill children. How could Abraham even think that G-d could want him to do such a thing? After all, G-d had promised him that from Isaac would come the Jewish people, that from Isaac would come the millions of Jews that were going to be in the world in a few generations. How was it possible that he could even think of killing Isaac? What would happen to G-d's promise? G-d's promise would be proven to be false, so how could he even think that that was going to be G-d's command? It is a very difficult passage, the whole thing about the Akedah.

If we look at the story, itself, we will see that Abraham got up early in the morning and he saddled his donkey and took two boys with him and he took Yitzchak and they went and they travelled.  Then when they saw the place from a distance Abraham said to his boys, "Stay here with the donkey and I and the boy we will go further. We will bow down and we will return to you." How could Abraham tell the other boys that they were going to return to them, using the plural. Rashi comments that this was a prophecy, that.Abraham knew that they were really going to return, that he really was not going to sacrifice Isaac, so what kind of a test then was it of Abraham if he really was not going to kill Isaac as a sacrifice? Of course, what we have here is a story of faith. Somehow Abraham knew that G-d was not going to let him do this but that he had to go on this journey. He had to make a certain type of commitment but he knew that G-d was not going to really let him sacrifice his son. This is very similar to the beginning of the previous Torah portion which was Lech Lecha, "and you go to the land which I will show you." Abraham was to take his first step and to go to the land which G-d would show him and then immediately he had to leave the land because of a famine, but here, too, G-d says to him, "Lech Lecha, you shall go to the land of Moriah." Somehow Abraham knew that G-d wanted him to go for a beneficial purpose and that somehow these elements would be reconciled. Many times we are caught in life by seemingly insolvable problems like the Israeli-Arab conflict problem today, and we sometimes have to take steps which we do not understand how they are going to turn out. We hope there will be peace in the Middle East. We hope that Israel will not sacrifice itself on the altar of peace. Sometimes we have to take chances and fulfill our moral obligations hoping against hope that they will not cause our destruction, but, at the same time, we have to do things with open eyes. Abraham had a prophecy that Isaac was going to come back alive.  They had to take this path but this path was going to lead to life.  It was not going to lead to death.

Many times, too, when a Jew sets out in the world and they asked him to do immoral and unjust things the Jew has to say no in knowing that somehow he is going to still be able to stay alive even though he refuses to do these immoral and unjust things.  It is true that except for three things we can violate all moral laws. We cannot kill anybody, we cannot commit incest, and we cannot worship idols. Other things if we have to save life we can do. We can violate Yom Kippur. If somehow has a gun in their hands and says steal this or we'll kill you, then we are allowed to steal in that particular instance, but there are 3 things we are not even allowed to do even when our life is at stake. Therefore, somehow G-d will allow us to persevere and exist even though our life seems to be threatened but we will never go down to the level of our enemies. Yet, there is another question that can be asked in this Torah portion after it turns out that an angel of Abraham. Not even G-d, Himself, but an angel appears to Abraham and tells him to stay his hand and not to kill the boy.  Abraham lifts his eyes and he sees that there is another ram that is caught in the thicket with his horns. First of all, who was this angel that told Abraham not to sacrifice his son? Some rabbis say that this was actually the Torah, the moral basis of Judaism, would not allow Abraham to do such a thing, but why did Abraham have to do anything at all? Why did he have to lift up his eyes and he saw that there was a ram in back of him who was caught in a thicket with his horns? He took this Ayil, this ram, and he offered it up for an Olah, a sacrifice, in place of his son. Why did he have to make any sacrifice at all? After all, the point had been proven that Jews do not approve of child sacrifices.  It does not require this of us, but the reason why Abraham had to sacrifice the ram is to teach us all that although we do not require child sacrifice and it is considered the worst thing possible, yet we do require our children to sacrifice. They do not have to sacrifice their lives for the religion unless we are called upon to worship idols or to kill somebody or incest but we are required to sacrifice in life. The word Ayil also has another meaning.  It can mean a powerful person, the fulfilling of an ambition, a love interest, that a Jew cannot, marry somebody who wants to maintain their own religion
and there will be two religion in the family, the Jewish religion and another religion. That is not possible. A Jew cannot do such a thing. A Jew has to sacrifice for his religion. A Jew cannot do certain things even to get ahead, to fulfill his ambitions, to become a mighty person, an Ayil, a magnate, a rich man. We cannot do certain things in order to do that. Even today we see in the drug culture that many people take drugs not because they are hopeless or helpless like the ghetto children. They take drugs because they feel that it will give them a competitive edge in the world. We know how if a person takes amphetamines it can raise their IQ by 10 points for a very short period of time. We know if athletes if they take steroids they can accomplish great feats of strength for a short period of time. Of course, at the end these amphetamines and steroids will kill you.  There was a Jewish player for the San Francisco 49ers, Al Lazado, who died not even 50 years old because he had taken so many steroids. Many times people do things for competitive advantage in order to get ahead, and a Jew is not allowed to do that.  A Jew should not sacrifice his life for those type of things. A Jew is called to sacrifice, though, to keep kosher, to keep Shabbos, to keep the holidays, yet, it is difficult sometimes. A Jew has to be moral and sometimes certain business colleagues do not want you to be moral. A Jew has to be willing to sacrifice and so, therefore, G-d does not require human sacrifice and Abraham was to impress on his son that we are not to use human sacrifice, but it does not mean that we do not sacrifice at all. We have to sacrifice our ambitions sometimes and our love interest sometimes. We have to sacrifice career opportunities sometimes if we are to live the good and decent and right life. If we do live a Jewish life G-d will give us the courage and strength and joy of living which will allow us to overcome all obstacles.  It is so. important that our young people realize that even when they sacrifice-for Judaism they are really gaining something. They are gaining inner strength which will allow them to overcome their problems, which will give them the inner joy and strength to be somebody but they do not need drugs in order to get a competitive advantage, that by keeping the holidays, by keeping the Jewish religion and Shabbos and kashruth it gives them such a good inner feeling that it allows us to withstand all sorts of temptations and to rise in our profession, that by keeping Judaism we are attached to G-d not only with our mind but with our heart.  That's why I am so proud of NESY because the NCSy teaches our youngsters that Judaism is not just a religion of the mind. It is also a religion of the heart and that's why I am so glad to see so many young people here at this particular Shabbaton.
The question can also be asked that at the very end of the Akedah we read how Abraham goes back to those boys he left and it says, "And Abraham returned to the boys," but it does not say anything about Isaac. Where was Yitzchak? Where did Yitzchak go? The rabbis say that Yitzchak went to yeshiva, went further on to further his Jewish education. After Abraham had sacrificed the ram it says, "that Abraham called the name of that place G-d will see, and it will be said today that on this mountain G-d will be seen." How did Abraham know from now on that it will be said that G-d will be seen on this mountain? Because he knew that his son, Yitzchak, had those qualities which are necessary in order to remain a Jew in the world, that his son, Yitzchak, would be able to sacrifice for his religion because his son, Yitzchak understood the beauty and the joy and happiness and strength that Judaism brings. Therefore, Yitzchak, after the Akedah, decided that he had to go to yeshiva to further his knowledge of Judaism so it would give him added strength and courage and joy so he would be able to overcome all of life's problems.  I am glad to welcome all these young people here and we know that after experiencing such a Shabbaton that they will feel inwardly that Judaism is a wonderful thrust in our life which will give them courage and strength and joy to overcome all life's problems, that Judaism is a religion that appeals not only to the mind but also to the heart. May our young people always have this feeling that they know that they can sacrifice different things in order for Judaism to survive because Judaism is such a wonderful religion. May they all practice our religion fully so the Mashiach will come quickly in our day. Amen.