BackA Timely Lesson from the Binding of Isaac
By: Rabbi Dr. Abraham Unger
In this week’s parsha, we read the formative narrative of Akedat Yitzchak, the binding of Isaac, in which Abraham is called to offer up Isaac. Rashi, the foremost exegete of the Torah, makes a startling comment. He states that G-d only wished for Isaac to have the Halakhic, or legal, status of an offering, but not to actually become a real sacrifice. Rashi, doing close reading of text, points out that the Hebrew word used here for the offering was not related to the word “Shechitah,” slaughter.
One possible way to read this comment by Rashi is as a remark on the dangers of zealotry. Was Abraham so passionate in his convictions that he jumped into the most extreme behavior possible indicated by G-d’s command? Rashi claims that as soon as Isaac was brought up to the mountain, G-d told Abraham to descend and start hiking down. Clearly, something was amiss.
In our time, this reading of the episode hits home. Let’s listen carefully, and act with care and reserve. Let’s not jump to conclusions, and let’s not indulge in the all-too-easy road to extremism of any kind. Judaism is an intellectual and spiritual tradition that believes firmly in the reason and dialogue of Talmud study, and in the quest of the human spirit found in prayer. Reason and spirituality are indeed our guideposts, and they are the building blocks of our eternal people.