30 Sep IS THE AKEDAH ETHICAL?

It seems that every
few years, someone
argues that the
message of the
Akedah, the binding
and near-sacrifice of
Yitzchak (Gen. 22),
is something other than that we should
follow G-d’s commands no matter
how hard they may be. I don’t want
to speculate why people offer these
provocative suggestions and instead I
take them at face value. They believe
this is the simple message of the biblical
text and contemporary Orthodox Jews
are mistakenly influenced by the 19th
century Christian philosopher Soren
Kierkegaard. Kierkegaard, in his Fear
and Trembling, argued that Avraham
suspended his ethical concerns in order
to follow G-d’s command. Supposedly,
Orthodox Jews have internalized this
view and forsaken the true, and possibly
even traditional Jewish, understanding
of the Akedah. Keep in mind that we
read this passage in synagogue on the
second day of Rosh Hashanah, yet
according to this claim we have adopted
a Christian understanding of it.

I don’t want to argue here about the
true peshat, the correct simple reading
of the biblical text. I say this mainly
because there are so many different
arguments of a similar nature that I
cannot keep up with the latest books
and articles on the subject. I am content
with Jewish tradition which, long before
Kierkegaard was born, established
standard approaches to understanding
the Akedah.
Rambam (Moreh Nevuchim 3:24)
was troubled why an omniscient G-d
would need to test anyone. In the course
of his discussion, Rambam says that
Avraham was prepared to slaughter
his son, Yitzchak, based on his fear
of G-d. He did this not out of fear of
punishment or desire for reward but out
of his exemplary awe of the Creator.
G-d set up this test in order to show the
world Avraham’s love and fear of G-d,
which serves as an example from which
everyone can learn. After multiple days,
during which Avraham thought deeply
about this command, he chose to go
through with this difficult task until G-d
sent an angel to stop him. In explaining
why we read the Akedah passage

on Rosh Hashanah,
Rav Menachem

Meiri (Chibbur Ha-
Teshuvah 1:2:2)

invokes Rambam’s
explanation, saying
that all Jews are
expected to learn
from the Akedah this
important lesson of
the extent of fearing
and loving G-d — it
includes sacrificing
even that which is most important to
you.
The Mishnah (Avos 5:3) says that
Avraham was tested ten times in his
life. Commentators disagree over which
experiences count among the ten tests
but all agree that the Akedah is on
the list (Gen. 22:1 seems to make that
clear). The commentary attributed to
Rashi explains that Avraham is praised
for those ten tests because despite
everything, out of his great love for G-d,
Avraham never questioned G-d’s midos,
His attributes, His ethics. Avraham
acceptes G-d’s command without
question. This same language is used by
later commentaries on that Mishnah,
such as Meiri, Rashbatz and Tosefos
Yom Tov. They all praise Avraham for
following G-d’s orders and passing
His tests without questioning G-d’s
attributes of justice and mercy.
Most importantly, in the Musaf prayer
of Rosh Hashanah, in the Zichronos
blessing (not just a liturgical poem
but the actual blessing), we say the
following (Sacks translation):
“Remember for our sake, Lord our G-d,
the covenant, the loving-kindness, and
the oath that You swore to Abraham
our father in Mount Moriah. And let
the image of that binding, when our
father Abraham bound Isaac his son
upon the altar, be present before You;
when he suppressed his compassion,
to do Your will wholeheartedly. So,
too, let Your compassion wrest Your
anger from us,…”
According to this blessing, Avraham
succeeded in his test by suppressing
his compassion for his son in order
to fulfill G-d’s command. In memory
of that, we ask G-d to suppress his
anger with compassion. This is the
classical Jewish understanding of the
message of the Akedah — fulfill G-d’s
commands without question.

Rav Avigdor Nebenzahl (Sichos Al
Rosh Hashanah, p. 313) explains with
a parable why this is not a suspension
of the ethical. Avraham did not stop
thinking or reasoning in order to fulfill
G-d’s command. When you are sick and
ask a doctor for guidance, why do you
follow his advice? Even if you get a
second medical opinion that agrees, you
can go on the street and find a dozen
people with contrary advice. You might
not agree either. Why is it logical to
follow the doctor’s guidance? Because
you seek and follow the most expert
opinion on the subject.
When it comes to anything in the
world, G-d is the greatest expert. This
is true of ethics, as it is true of anything
else. Therefore, when Avraham was
commanded by G-d to slaughter his son,
he knew that the most ethical thing to
do, the most logical course of action, is
to follow G-d’s guidance. Questioning
G-d is itself illogical and contrary to
reason.
As it happened, the outcome of the
Akedah was positive and Avraham was
redirected at the last minute to refrain
from slaughtering his son. Avraham’s
profound faith in G-d was vindicated
and continues to be remembered to
this day in our prayers. Throughout
history, Jews have suffered martyrdom
in order to follow G-d’s commands.
The outcome was not always positive,
at least in this world, but the lesson of
the Akedah is that we must be prepared
to sacrifice anything in order to follow
what we know is the most ethical path
even if we don’t understand how, that of
G-d’s command.