The Wilderness and The Mountain – Vayera 5787

As we progress through the book of Bereishit, we find ourselves bracing for its climax; the (almost) sacrifice of Yitzchak on Mount Moriah.

It is an emotional wound that we carry all year, though this season especially, its trauma weighs on our hearts.

What is somehow overlooked is that the Akeidah was preceded by Avraham’s willingness to sacrifice another son, his firstborn.

Twice was Avraham called upon to commit the unthinkable, and twice was he willing; once on the altar and once in the wilderness.

Ishmael is seldom spoken about. The commentaries on this episode focus heavily on his descendants.

And yet, Avraham, the greatest ever servant of Hashem became a father. He held his child and loved him as a first-time father would.

On a human level, setting aside spiritual ramifications, why do we not place the same emphasis on the emotional toll of the casting out of Ishmael as we do on the Akeidah of Yitzhak?

This episode was an equally unimaginable act, undertaken in response to a divine directive.

Avraham, at this point in his life, was also estranged from his own father meaning that at the time of Hagar and Ishamel being cast out, there is deep emotional trauma in his life; past, present, and future.

Before standing at the altar with Yitzhak, Avraham had already watched a young son depart into the wilderness.

This perspective paints the Akiedah in a new, even more powerful light.

Could Avraham have abandoned his faith the first time he was asked to sacrifice a son? How about after the second?

Could we have blamed him?

The lesson here is something we have heard throughout our lives with the caveat being, it’s not enough to say, “you’re going to get knocked down, get back up”.

More appropriate is, “God is going to knock you down, help you to your feet again, and then God will knock you down again”.

What will you do?

As we seek to grow in our faith and our emunah, our living with Hashem everyday, I invite you to reflect on this.

To think about Yitzhak and Sarah, but also about Avraham, Ishmael, and Hagar in that moment, and to consider our vulnerability in the shadow of doubt, but perhaps even more so, in its absence.

Shabbat Shalom