Parshat Vayeira – November 15, 2024 / 15 Cheshvan, 5785

This week, we are introduced to parsha Vayeira, which contains the deeply troubling account of the Akeidah, or the Binding of Isaac. We read this section of Torah on Rosh Hashanah, and it is commonly a difficult bit of text to wrestle with for so many people. The idea of Abraham, our first patriarch, so willing to sacrifice his own son, is disturbing to most modern sensibilities. How do we reconcile this biblical account with anything close to a modern moral and ethical explanation? 

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, of Blessed Memory, takes an interesting angle on the binding of Isaac. He says: “The Binding of Isaac is a polemic against, and a rejection of, the principle of patria potestas, the idea universal to all pagan cultures that children are the property of their parents.” We know that many ancient cultures engaged quite readily in the sacrifice of children. Whether to the pagan gods Baal or Molech, the Torah’s idea of NOT sacrificing a child was actually progressive. As opposed to a commentary on Abraham’s blind faith in God’s word, perhaps the Akeidah was the attention-grabber needed to make a strong statement against the this disturbing sacrificial practice. As Abraham is ready to lower his blade, he is stopped by God. God is saying that this child belongs to me, and does not belong to you. This child is not your property. 

It is true that this scene in Torah can seem disturbing and wrought with antiquated ways of thinking. I ask us today, on this Holy Shabbat: Has our society actually stopped sacrificing our children? Is this story really so absurd? The CDC tells us that 1 in 4 girls, and 1 in 13 boys in the United States are victims of child abuse. In Europe, the council of Europe estimates that 1 in 5 children are the victims of sexual violence. The World Health Organization tells us that globally, 1 billion children experience sexual violence. 1 billion children in a world of 8 billion total people .Of those in prison in the US, 14% of men and 36% of women experienced abuse as children. These are just the numbers that have been reported. Research tells us that Child abuse crosses all socioeconomic and educational levels, religions, and ethnic and cultural groups. Child abuse does not discriminate based on any apparent characteristics. 

So, with these numbers in mind, I ask again. Has society truly stopped sacrificing children? The answer seems to be “no.” While the conversation is not pleasant, isn’t it necessary? Children, whom we are told to teach carefully in our v’ahavtah, whom we are told to pass down our story in the Pesach haggadah, whom we are told should come into this world singing “Elohai neshamah shenatata bi t’hora hi- O God the soul that you have placed within me is PURE….these children are so often sacrificed. Their physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual well-being is sacrificed…sacrificed too often by those who rule over them. I often remark upon the fifth commandment of our decalogue…the commandment to honor one’s mother and father. I see the parents as a connection between the first set of commandments, which comment on the relationship between human beings and God, and the final set of commandments, which comment on the relationship between human beings and human beings. In the middle is the bridge between the two worlds: the parent, the adult, the grown-up. When we are children, those who rear us are like God. They are powerful. We are at the mercy of their decision-making. They can bring us din or rachamim, judgment or mercy. 

When Abraham is called out to by God in our Torah Portion, “AVRAHAM, AVRAHAM!” he responds with our well-known, “Hineini!-Here I am!” He put down his knife and realized in that moment that no child is ours to sacrifice. We must protect our children from those who wish to play God with their tender souls. Whether the catalyst that causes the abuse of a child is the narcissistic injury of a failed relationship, the inability to emotionally regulate when feeling stressed, the cycle of having been the victim of abuse oneself, or for a sundry of other reasons…we must name it to tame it. We must cry out as God did and say “this is not acceptable.” 

You can help. Research on trauma tells us that if a child has even one of what is often referred to as an SSNR (safe, stable, nurturing relationship) with one adult in their life, this can combat the trauma of abuse and neglect in a profound way. We, as Jews and as people of conscience, morals, and character, have a responsibility. In a world where children are too often sacrificed for the selfish needs and baggage of others, we can stand up and say something if we see something, support prevention education programs, parenting skills classes, and promote upstream prevention approaches. Most importantly, we must speak out. 

Directly after Abraham listens to the voice of God and does not hurt his son, we are told that he will be blessed and that his offspring will be greatly increased…his legacy will go on for generations. Let our legacy live on as a healthy inheritance of love, and not become tainted and torn with the temptations of temper, trauma and cyclical abuse. We are an ohr l’hoyim, a light unto the nations. First, let us be an “ohr l’yeledim-a light unto the children.

Shabbat Shalom. 

– Rabbi Josh Gray