Let’s talk about the meaning of one of the most well-known and misunderstood stories in the Bible. See if we can’t find some relevance in a 3000-year-old story in today’s world. Maybe try to make sense of what’s been going on lately.
THE SACRIFICE OF ISAAC
The name is actually a misnomer because (spoiler alert!) dad doesn’t go through with it.
The correct translation of the Hebrew is really THE BINDING OF ISAAC
Very often this is one of those stories that people point to as evidence of the barbarism of the Bible, and as a reason not to believe in these stories. That’s certainly understandable at a first glance. But much like Shakespeare whose Victorian English requires a close read and study to grasp the full meaning of the Bard, the Bible works similarly. As a religious Jew whose profession is stories, I try hard not to dismiss any out of hand, especially not ones that have been around for thousands of years, shaped world cultures and are studied by all three major monotheistic religions, to which Abraham is a central figure. So in that sense, this story is for us all. Look at that. The Bible bringing us a little unity already.
But what about the story...
A father told to sacrifice his son! How awful!
Indeed, this is not a story that should be approached lightly.
For those who don’t know, in the story which is from Genesis, the first book of the Old Testament aka the Torah, Abraham is told by God to take his son who he loves up a mountain where he will be sacrificed.
Now, this is the son who Abraham waited his entire life for, (nearly a century. that’s what’s known as good dramatic effect). Now God, having fulfilled his promise to Abraham, delivered him a son. Only now he wants Abraham to sacrifice him?
What’s going on here? What kind of crazy God would ask that of someone? What father in his right mind would ever listen to a God that would ask him to do this to his son?
Certainly, it would have been far easier for Abraham to ignore God’s call. It would certainly not cost him as much personally in the long run. His wife. His family.
How is this ethical?
Here’s the lesson. It is a lesson all religious people innately understand...
What God was making Abraham aware of was the fact that if you choose to be a person of faith, a person who believes in God, wherein God represents a belief in a higher power greater than yourself, you put yourself at risk. When you raise your children in your faith you pass that risk on to them.
And this is where I find relevancy in the story of the Sacrifice of Isaac today, 3000 years later.
Because, in a country as great and as free as America, it is far easier to choose assimilation. It is far safer to live a secular life and to raise your children without religion. Because choosing to be a person who “walks with God” potentially puts you and your children in harm's way. It singles them out because of their beliefs.
As a Jew, I circumcised my son when he was born. As his father, I chose for him to be a part of my faith. By doing so I put him in harm’s way. Harm from all the haters out there who would try and hurt him simply for what he believes.
For what he is. A Jew.
This is why my friend’s wife doesn’t want her son to wear his kippah to school anymore, in New York City. Because she is afraid he might be attacked. In New York City. Let that sink in. Like any parent, she loves her children deeply and the idea that any harm would ever come to any of them is too devastating to even think about. Every parent understands this.
We see the theme repeated in great works of art like Michelangelo‘s La Pieta which depicts the Virgin Mary cradling her son Jesus in her arms, broken by what the world has done to him. The look on her face is one every mother and father knows, as they contemplate whether this is a good world to bring their children into.
Even beyond religion, this is a risk to all of us share.
Why then do religious people pass that danger on to their children? Why subject our children to a life where people will discriminate against them? Where people hate them. Where people may try to harm them.
To answer a question with a question consider this: what is the difference between man and animals? Forget opposable thumbs. The real difference is the ability of men (and women, in case that’s not abundantly clear) to perceive the future. To understand that the actions taken today can ensure tomorrow. How do we do this? How do we prepare for the future?
Through SACRIFICE.
Sacrifice is how the successful negotiate the future. Any new parent immediately understands this. You sacrifice things you enjoy, need, and value: sleep, meals, work, friends, fun, and much more…
Why take all that risk?
What are we sacrificing for?
For the sake of your children’s future.
And what do parents want for their children when they grow up?
The answer is you want them to be GOOD PEOPLE.
It is no accident that Abraham is told to go to a mountaintop. The mountain represents the highest peak. (by the way, you see this theme repeated in contemporary movies/tv/books often. In “Logan” the final battle is fought while running up a mountain; this is not accidental.)
How do you do that?
By living ethically. Through belief in God, and the lessons, commandments HE/SHE teaches in the Bible offer the ways a person can live a good life. Whether it’s Hashem, Jesus, or Allah. At their core, when practiced properly, this is the central concern of all religions.
Often, parents today talk about kids being successful, having high self-esteem. This is not correct. Do you know which group of people consistently rate as having the highest self-esteem? Criminals. Inmates in prisons test off the charts in self-esteem.
What we should hope to do is raise our children not to be who we want them to be, but rather to be good people concerned with creating a good world, where good represents both morality and purpose.
When God creates the world he says the things he creates are good. This is not only descriptive of his “good works”, it is prescriptive. It is God telling his creations to be good, to fulfill the purpose for which he created them.
This is what we consecrate our children to when we raise them to be religious.
This is one of the reasons I suspect people are uncomfortable around religious or pious people. Because by virtue of the choice to live ethically a person is a reflection of an ideal that those who do not believe in any higher power greater than themselves fear they may not be living up to. Let’s face it, most of us spend a lot of our days wondering whether we are living up to our potential. We wonder if we are making the most of our lives.
This is the reason people attempt to tear down the history of America. Because America represents a moral beacon in the world. Israel represents a moral beacon in the world. Churches are a moral beacon. Mosques are a moral beacon.
So, the “test” which Abraham passes is not a demonstration of his own belief in God — he’d already demonstrated that. It is Abraham showing God he understands that as a father he is willing to risk his son such that his son can grow up to live a good life. Which of course Isaac does.
Which is what we all hope to do.
What we hope our kids will do, despite the risks to them for aiming for this higher good.
This is why we tell this story.
In Judaism it is a mitzvah to give credit to the people for their ideas. The following people helped me to develop this essay: Leon Kass. Ben Shapiro. Dr. Jordan Peterson. Rabbi Joseph Telushkin. Dennis Prager. Rabbi David Woznica. Pastor Dr. John Rosemond