Abraham was kind, Isaac was straight, and Jacob was honest—who are we kidding?

Can their actions be justified without us becoming apologists?

Abraham delivered the ‘unkindest cuts’ to his household (circumcision) and was willing to slaughter his Jewish son on an altar; this is kindness?

Isaac hung out with his wicked son Esau; that is strictness?

Jacob tricked his brother to take his first-born right, misled his father to take the blessing, and fooled his boss and father-in-law; that’s honesty?

***

‘G^d wanted it’ is no excuse. G^d also wanted to destroy all of Sodom, which didn’t stop Abraham from pleading with G^d to let go.

On the one Hand, G^d teaches here that being kind to the unkind would end up being unkind to the kind. On the other Hand, He gave Abraham a share in the saving of Lot.

But why did Abraham not plead against circumcision and sacrificing Isaac?

And why did Isaac not drop his wicked son?

And how could Jacob trick his brother, father, and others?

Let’s agree not to ‘reason’ the crooked (on the face of it) straight.

I suggest that two reasons are at play here.

True Kindness

When G^d asks something unkind, it’s likely kind in the longer run.

Grownups can’t be circumcised without anesthesia and stitches and painful weeks of recovery, while babies sometimes sleep through it. Done at a later age, it might diminish sexual function too much. Done earlier in life, Jewish circumcision has no influence on the physical or emotional well-being later in life. The biggest problem is that you can’t explain the hurt to the child. But that’s the fate of all parents of young kids. No, they can’t run across the street, even if they don’t understand why.

There are good long-term reasons for circumcision that only become operative later in life. It minimizes pleasure from masturbation in men, which enlarges feelings of loneliness—the last thing a Jewish male needs.

***

It’s not good to give money to a drunk or junky. I was so happy when I was eating a falafel and someone asked me if I would buy a shawarma for him. And a drink. Whatever you fancy. He chose Cola. Things I never order.

The Greatest Trials

Every good and holy principle done to the extreme is no good. Our Holy Ancestors were tested especially in the areas of their greatest strengths.

Will Abraham be able to overcome his deep kindness for all human beings? At Sodom, he didn’t try to save the righteous. G^d would have spared them without him. No, he tried to get the wicked off the hook with them.

In the sacrifice of Isaac, Abraham called G^d’s bluff. His game of chicken paid off. He trusted enough in G^d to take the risk. And his trust became known. His kindness was still unmatched but now more by choice.

***

To be sacrificed was not a test of Isaac’s character. It was Abraham’s trial. It’s much easier to give up your life for G^d than to give your life to Him.

Isaac’s character was one of strictness and depth. His blindness did not matter much because he would never go for superficial impressions anyway. He re-dug spring after spring, but his character was to go deep.

Isaac’s trial was to have a bad son and not to reject him but continuously, against his inclination, trying to bring him closer to truth and decency. He would never give up on being mild in order to influence. ‘Bring me some of that delicious food you always bring me.’ He didn’t care about the food; he cared about ‘his’ son. (Jacob was ‘her’ son, of Rebecca.)

***

Jacob could have been stringent and not touched Rachel the first time he met her, but she was three years old and family. Stringencies can disrupt.

Jacob needed to be deceitful to his deceitful brother. It was tough on him to do. His father would never have understood it. But his mother was even a greater Prophet and she led the way. A Prophet can’t change Jewish Law, but may give commands one time contradicting it.

Jacob giving Laban [white!] all the speckled and spotted sheep, all of the black male lambs, and all of the spotted and speckled female goats was another tricking of a trickster. As a hands-on shepherd, he knew that the white comes from a dominant gene, so the white cattle would 75% be his. Laban fooled him many times. This was Jacob’s only way to get to justice.

Jacob’s honesty was still unparalleled but now more by choice.

Being sincere and honest with the wicked and deceitful gave us the Oslo Accords and over a thousand Jews murdered in the Second Intifada.

It was not becoming for Isaac’s wife or son to lecture him. The scheme had to be done, and Isaac would understand it coming from G^d.

The hairpieces on Jacob’s arms and neck lead Isaac to conclude, ‘The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are Esau’s hands,’ meaning: he still has an honest heart in his chest, but when it comes to handling (pun intended) the world, he can be tough as his brother—Jacob is ready to lead the Jews.

Only those as honest as Jacob might trick themselves into honest results.

***

Joseph used his beauty to become favored by the powerful (Potiphar). But when his wife tried to entice him, he succeeded in his trial.

***

When inconveniently we must or are asked to act out of character, we are not only tested, but we also have a chance to continue doing good, but from now on by choice rather than just by character or habit.

About the Author

MM is a prolific and creative writer and thinker, previously a daily blog contributor to the TOI. He often makes his readers laugh, mad, or assume he's nuts—close to perfect blogging. He's proud that his analytical short comments are removed both from left-wing and right-wing news sites. None of his content is generated by the new bore on the block, AI. * As a frontier thinker, he sees things many don't yet. He's half a prophet. Half. Let's not exaggerate. Or not at all because he doesn't claim G^d talks to him. He gives him good ideas—that's all. MM doesn't believe that people observe and think in a vacuum. He, therefore, wanted a broad bio that readers interested can track a bit what (lack of) backgrounds, experiences, and educations contribute to his visions. * This year, he will prioritize getting his unpublished books published rather than just blog posts. Next year, he hopes to focus on activism against human extinction. To find less-recent posts on a subject XXX among his over 2000 archived ones, go to the right-top corner of a Times of Israel page, click on the search icon and search "zuiden, XXX". One can find a second, wilder blog, to which one may subscribe too, here: https://mmvanzuiden.wordpress.com/ or by clicking on the globe icon next to his picture on top. * Like most of his readers, he believes in being friendly, respectful, and loyal. However, if you think those are his absolute top priorities, you might end up disappointed. His first loyalty is to the truth. He will try to stay within the limits of democratic and Jewish law, but he won't lie to support opinions or people when don't deserve that. (Yet, we all make honest mistakes, which is just fine and does not justify losing support.) He admits that he sometimes exaggerates to make a point, which could have him come across as nasty, while in actuality, he's quite a lovely person to interact with. He holds - how Dutch - that a strong opinion doesn't imply intolerance of other views. * Sometimes he's misunderstood because his wide and diverse field of vision seldomly fits any specialist's box. But that's exactly what some love about him. He has written a lot about Psychology (including Sexuality and Abuse), Medicine (including physical immortality), Science (including basic statistics), Politics (Israel, the US, and the Netherlands, Activism - more than leftwing or rightwing, he hopes to highlight reality), Oppression and Liberation (intersectionally, for young people, the elderly, non-Whites, women, workers, Jews, LGBTQIA+, foreigners and anyone else who's dehumanized or exploited), Integrity, Philosophy, Jews (Judaism, Zionism, Holocaust and Jewish Liberation), the Climate Crisis, Ecology and Veganism, Affairs from the news, or the Torah Portion of the Week, or new insights that suddenly befell him. * Chronologically, his most influential teachers are his parents, Nico (natan) van Zuiden and Betty (beisye) Nieweg, Wim Kan, Mozart, Harvey Jackins, Marshal Rosenberg, Reb Shlomo Carlebach, and, lehavdil bein chayim lechayim, Rabbi Dr. Natan Lopes Cardozo, Rav Zev Leff, and Rav Meir Lubin. This short list doesn't mean to disrespect others who taught him a lot or a little. One of his rabbis calls him Mr. Innovation [Ish haChidushim]. Yet, his originalities seem to root deeply in traditional Judaism, though they may grow in unexpected directions. In fact, he claims he's modernizing nothing. Rather, mainly basing himself on the basic Hebrew Torah text, he tries to rediscover classical Jewish thought almost lost in thousands of years of stifling Gentile domination and Jewish assimilation. (He pleads for a close reading of the Torah instead of going by rough assumptions of what it would probably mean and before fleeing to Commentaries.) This, in all aspects of life, but prominently in the areas of Free Will, Activism, Homosexuality for men, and Redemption. * He hopes that his words will inspire and inform, and disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed. He aims to bring a fresh perspective rather than harp on the obvious and familiar. When he can, he loves to write encyclopedic overviews. He doesn't expect his readers to agree. Rather, original minds should be disputed. In short, his main political positions are among others: anti-Trumpism, for Zionism, Intersectionality, non-violence, anti those who abuse democratic liberties, anti the fake ME peace process, for original-Orthodoxy, pro-Science, pro-Free Will, anti-blaming-the-victim, and for down-to-earth, classical optimism, and happiness. Read his blog on how he attempts to bridge any tensions between those ideas or fields. * He is a fetal survivor of the pharmaceutical industry (https://diethylstilbestrol.co.uk/studies/des-and-psychological-health/), born in 1953 to his parents who were Dutch-Jewish Holocaust survivors who met in the largest concentration camp in the Netherlands, Westerbork. He grew up a humble listener. It took him decades to become a speaker too, and decades more to admit to being a genius. But his humility was his to keep. And so was his honesty. Bullies and con artists almost instantaneously envy and hate him. He hopes to bring new things and not just preach to the choir. * He holds a BA in medicine (University of Amsterdam) – is half a doctor. He practices Re-evaluation Co-counseling since 1977, is not an official teacher anymore, and became a friendly, powerful therapist. He became a social activist, became religious, made Aliyah, and raised three wonderful kids. Previously, for decades, he was known to the Jerusalem Post readers as a frequent letter writer. For a couple of years, he was active in hasbara to the Dutch-speaking public. He wrote an unpublished tome about Jewish Free Will. He's a strict vegan since 2008. He's an Orthodox Jew but not a rabbi. * His writing has been made possible by an allowance for second-generation Holocaust survivors from the Netherlands. It has been his dream since he was 38 to try to make a difference by teaching through writing. He had three times 9-out-of-10 for Dutch at his high school finals but is spending his days communicating in English and Hebrew - how ironic. G-d must have a fine sense of humor. In case you wonder - yes, he is a bit dyslectic. If you're a native English speaker and wonder why you should read from people whose English is only their second language, consider the advantage of having an original peek outside of your cultural bubble. * To send any personal reaction to him, scroll to the top of the blog post and click Contact Me. * His newest books you may find here: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AMoshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&s=relevancerank&text=Moshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1