A Question of Ethics and Morals

All year we have been talking about what it means to be G-d's chosen people and the duties and responsibilities that come along with it. Recently I experienced something that really made me think about this concept. I was in Kroger buying groceries, and decided to treat myself to an icee. I bought my icee and sat down to enjoy it as I waited for the rest of the dorm to finish shopping. As it turned out, everyone else also ended up buying an icee, and when all the purchases had been made we started heading towards to exit to go home. As we passed back by the icee machine, someone decided fill their icee back up to the top again, because they had drank some of it already. At that point, the person that had taken us to the store came up to the group and told us that refilling icees is wrong if they don't specify that you can have free refills and that this was giving the wrong impression. Everyone in the group had a different opinion on this, and the conversation that followed actually referenced different ideas that we have discussed in class. The main idea that was discussed was that it gives the wrong impression of us as students of the MHAFYOS, as well as dormers, and as Jews in general, and that we have to be extremely careful to always spot check everything we do, because who knows who may be watching. As descendants of Avraham, fulfillers of G-d's promise, and members of his chosen nation, we must always be an Or Lagoyim, a light to the nations, and people that are known for their tzedek and mishpat- in otherwords, no unauthorized refills.

The Bechorah

On our worksheet today we had the question: Why did Yaakov want the Bechorah so badly? This got me thinking to why did he want it so badly? I know that Esav stole it when they were coming out of the womb and that could be the reason, but I think it has to be something more. Yaakov tricked his brother, which makes me think even more than it had to be something bigger. I guess it could be that he was just so jealous and upset about his brother stealing his spot, but I just really think it is something more or bigger than that. This is probably bothering me so much because Yaakov is the good child, the child who follows in the path of Hashem. We would expect to see something like this done by Esav, but not Yaakov. Maybe it has something to do with how Yitzchak loved Esav more. Maybe Yaakov felt left out or something like that. Maybe he wanted to be loved by his father just as much as Esav was. If this is the case then it's really an issue of Yitzchak favoring one of his children over the other. Which then makes me question does Rivkah actually love Yaakov more or does she just feel bad that her husband chose one child over the other? This whole thing just really bothers me! HELP!!!!

Yitzchok

At this point we don't know very much about Yitzchok. We know that he is very spiritual, and that his wife is Rivkah. We know that he took Rivkah to his mothers tent and she filled his mothers place.

I'm going to start with the last points. Yitzchok took Rivkah to his mother's tent. His mother is dead. This means that he must see something special in Rivkah that led him to showing her something so sentimental. It also says that Rivkah "filled his mother's place". This proves to solidify our evidence that there was something about Rivkah that immediately clicked for Yitzchok.

Yitzchok is very spiritual. It is said that he was out in the field either meditating or davening mincha. It is also an accepted possibility that he wasn't physically blind, but rather his spirituality blinded him to the reality of Eisav's nature.

I think there is a very important lesson to be learned here. It is a wonderful and good thing to sit and learn and become righteous. But if by becoming learned you completely block out the outside world and become oblivious to everything around you, then that is not right. A happy medium is necessary.

The Meeting

A lot can be learned about Yitzchok and Rivka just from their meeting. We learn about their relationship and about each of their personalities. They both approach things in very different manners and balance each other out.

First we must begin with the story of how they met. Rivka was on her way to meet Yitzchok with Eliezer. Yitzchok is in the field meditating (or some say davening mincha), and hears the camels coming. When Rivka sees him she fall off her camel and covers herself with a scarf. She then asks Eliezer who that man in the field is and is told that is Yitzchok her future husband. Eliezer then tells Yitzchok everything that happened. Upon meeting her, Yitzchok brings Rivka to his mother Sarah's tent and marries her. He loves her and she fills the place of his mother.

The first question we must ask is why did she fall off her camel? Nobody knows for sure, but the answer that I think fits the best is that she is surprised. She comes from a place where you don't see people so engrossed in anything besides themselves. She is in awe of what she is seeing. Then Eliezer tells her that that very same man she is in awe of is to be her husband! She then covers herself because she is not sure she is worthy of him. Here she is with her background, getting married to someone so obviously in-tune with Hashem.

Her initial reactions of awe and self-doubt are going to define her character and their relationship until they die. Because she is unsure of herself compared to his greatness, she is going to be unlikely to speak out against him. As we see in the story of Yaakov and Eisav, she still knows what she wants, but will go about it in a quieter manner then Sarah. Just as Yitzchok is blind to his sons' differences he is also unaware of how Rivka feels. He does not realize that she feels insecure or I am sure he would do what he could to fix that.

Intro to Rivka

This week in class we learned that Rivka is one very abnormally kind, selfless, modest, and outgoing girl. When we first meet here, she is rushing to give Eliezer (who is a stranger to her) and all of his camels water. Assuming that her pitcher which she carries on her shoulder can hold 2 gallons of water, we calculated that it would take 200 trips to the well and back to fully satiate the camels. After making discovery, I realized how truly, incredibly crazy what Rivka did was. Even the most selfless, kind women I can think of would never even consider doing what Rivka did. She ran to the well and back 200 times to get water for a man she did not know and his camels. All he asked for was a little water from her pitcher. Of course, we know that Yitzchak's wife must be special and unique...but this seems a bit extreme.

When I was younger and I learned this story I thought that giving the camels water was very kind, but not too incredible. Other people might see a thirsty man with camels holding gold, silver, and clothing and think that by giving them water might get them a reward (from the riches) in return. I also thought that the hardest decision and the most incredible thing she did was when she decided to leave her family and go with Eliezer. She acted on blind faith, like Avraham had done when he followed G-d to Canaan many years earlier. Now, I see it differently. Of course, choosing to leave her family behind in order to go with Eliezer and begin a life guided by G-d seems like an unimaginable decision for the average person; however, we have just seen how kind and selfless she was when she gave Eliezer and his camels the water, so clearly she is not in the slightest similar to her family. It seems like she has already seen the faults her family has and knows the way she must act. She might not have believed in ethical monotheism, but she has morals and knows how to act as an ethical, kind human being.

By accepting the fact that Rivka knows how she is supposed to act, we can assume that she knows somewhere inside of her that her family does not act the way they are supposed to. She must know that their tricks and games are not right. When Eliezer told her of a place in which everyone believed in one G-d and acted BTzelem Elokim and with Tzedeck Oomishpat, she was probably fascinated by the idea. Finally she could live in a place that was based on moral and with ethical people who dedicated their lives to becoming better people, serving G-d, and helping others learn to do the same. After thinking about all of this, Rivka's decision to leave her family is a lot less baffling.

I still find the fact that she was willing to run to the well and back 200 times just to bring water to a stranger and his camels completely insane. There must be more to the story. It's hard to believe anyone would do that. Maybe she sensed that he was a man who followed G-d. Maybe Eliezer did something or wore something that hinted to her who he was/where he was from. Maybe she saw the gold and silver on the camels and realized that he was an important person and therefore should be treated extra specially. Or maybe she was really was just an extraordinary person.

Rivka

This week in class we learned a lot about Yitzchak and Rivka's first meeting and their initial feelings about each other. In addition, we learned how this encounter foreshadows the rest of their relationship. At first, we learned how, following the death of Sarah, Avraham felt that it was time for Yitzchak to wed and continue the family name. Avraham commanded his servant (Eliezer) to go back to Charan, to Avraham's family of "chosen people", or people with the potential to become ethical monotheists. The family of Betuel, Rivka's father, were totally wrong. They used the name of G-d to promise, but then went back on their word the next day. In short, they were not ethical monotheists. They lied, cheated, and acted immorally on a daily basis. If she came from a family like this, what was so special about Rivka? What made her worthy of accepting and spreading ethical monotheism?

We have compared Rivka's journey to Avraham's journey many times in class. They both stood out as "good people" in societies where acting immorally was considered the norm. We see this with Rivka when she ran to give Eliezer water and then gave ALL of his camels water. In addition, she had to turn to take a leap of faith when she agreed to leave her home and follow a complete stranger to a new land. Just like Avraham, she had to go through leaving her family, who would just impede her journey towards ethical monotheism. Once she was away from them, she could really concentrate on her spiritual growth.

The incident of falling off the camel can give us major insight into Rivka's character. When she saw Yitzchak praying in the field, she was overwhelmed by his spirituality. How could she, a girl who grew up in the wrong environment for ethical monotheism, be worthy of such a spiritual being? This idea is totally embodied by the fact that she covered her face with a scarf. In their future relationship, Rivka would look up to Yitzchak and revere him like a student would revere a great teacher. In addition, she felt that it was not her place to correct Yitzchak, since he was so clearly her superior in spirituality. As we learned before, Yitzchak was more of a passive person. Rivka was the active part of the relationship. In the future, when the time comes to give the birthright to either Esav or Yaakov, Rivka will take matters into her own hands and do the right thing: switch Esav for Yaakov. This act set the ball rolling for the Jewish people to be created; if Rivka had not done that, there would not be a nation of "ethical monotheists" in existence today.

Rivka and Yitzchak

We just learned in class all about Rivka and Yizchack's first meeting. After much frustration and waiting around, Yitzchak's servant finally convinced Rivkah and her family to let her accompany him back to Yitzchak. Of course though there were "terms". Lavan wanted to make him stay for much longer than he has intended in which time he had hoped that Rivkah would decide not to go. Eliezer also gave Rivkah and her family gold, jewelry, and more. Finally Eliezer got annoyed with all the waiting. He wanted answers. If Rivkah wasn't going to come then he wanted to know so he could move on and find his master a wife. Eliezer told them to tell them a final answer because they were just leading him on. Lavan then gave him a very religious answer, which was weird because they were not very into Hashem. At this point Eliezer must have been very annoyed. He suggested that they just ask Rivkah herself. Lavan agreed because he thought she would say no and not leave her family. When asked, Rivkah agreed. Lavan was shocked. Rivkah wanted to get away from all the bad influences in her family because she wanted to be better. So they packed up the camels and they were off. Finally when they approached where Yitzchak was, he was meditating. Rivkah must have been taken aback a little. I personally do not think she was expecting her future husband to be doing this. She asked Eliezer who that was and he told her. This also surprised her and she fell off her camel. When she got up, she covered her face with her scarf. I think this is because she might have been ashamed or thought of herself as unworthy. Here she is coming from a totally irreligious background and she is about to marry not only someone who IS religious, but someone who meditates to G-d. It did not matter to Yitzchak. He brought her right into his mother's tent and married her. We then saw that she brought him comfort. It's interesting to me though that we don't see her perspective so much after they meet. Pretty much all we hear about it how he is comforted by her. That she fills a "void" almost. She takes almost a backseat in the relationship. This is how she differs from Sarah. Sarah spoke her mind. She told Yaakov to kick out Yishmael when she wanted him to. He also listened to her. I don't think Rivkah will be that assertive with Yitzchak. In a way though Rivkah and Yaakov are similar. They both came from irreligious background, which they left to better serve Hashem.

It think when Rivkah covered her face, was her realization that this was going to be her new life. I think it was almost like an epiphany to her. I don't see it as a bad thing and I don't think she did either. I think she covered her face before meeting him because she wanted to be ready. She was preparing for her new lifestyle. I think that this is what she had always wanted and now she is getting it. She fell off her horse because she was surprised to find out that her husband was on such a high level, which was only better for her. I think it was very good that Hashem has Yitzchak marry Rivkah because she needed him. She needed him to pull her towards religiosity and set her down the right path, but also help her throughout.

A Moral Dilemma

In class today and a while ago, we discussed the moral issues behind Hashem commanding Avraham to kill. The first time we came across this, we were discussing the Akeda where Avraham is told to sacrifice his only son Yitzchok. Later in the Chumash, we are told to kill everyone in Amalek. We are told in Yehoshua to kill everyone in Yericho. Then there are non-biblical examples like the death penalty. We are to kill someone if their crime warrants it. Is that right? It used to be that people would be stoned, a really horrible way to die. Should we be allowed to do that?

On the one hand there is the idea that Hashem told us to do it, therefore we have to do it. Whatever He does is just and has a purpose in the workings of the world, something we mortals can never understand. But is it right? I don't think we will ever find the answer because, as we said today, if you are hearing voices telling you to kill someone then you should seek help. But how do we reconcile ourselves to this seemingly barbaric command? In the case of the death penalty it was legal even in America until recently. How did people justify it then?

I would like to propose the idea that Hashem telling us to kill off an entire nation and the death sentence may not be as similar as we think. Killing off an entire nation is something that happens. The French and Indian War, The American Revolution, The 6 Day War, The Holocaust, The Inquisition, Korea's Civil War, there are so many wars where people have tried to kill each other off. It is the way of the world. The Holocaust and the Inquisition cannot be justified, but the others are 2 enemies fighting over something. In all of those cases maybe they didn't end up killing off the other nation, but they tried. Englishmen killed off entire tribes of Native Americans. People fight and there is war. Let's be honest. Without it, the world would be terribly over populated and nothing would ever change. Like it or not, war and death push us towards change that would never happen otherwise. Whether it is good or bad is up to fate, but we have to try. Right?

The death sentence also is something that I see as not completely moral, but not immoral either. It is immoral to kill someone. But what if they will go out and kill 10 more people if you don't kill them first? Sometimes the things people do are more suited to the devil. These people need to be gotten rid of before they infect anyone else.

I guess my point is that you know what, no, it isn't perfectly moral to kill off a nation or give a death sentence, but it is necessary. Besides, what does moral mean anyway?

What was the real reason for the akeda?

When a person is asked why do they think that Avraham was tested with the Akeda most people will probably answer that Hashem was testing Avraham's faith in Hashem. But is that only reason? In class we had learned that maybe the idea of the Akeda is that Hashem would not have Avraham kill Yitzchak He just wanted to see if Avraham would go against his morals to do something that Hashem asked him to do. Avraham has been waiting for about the last 25 years for the promise to finally be fulfilled and the Zerah part is now fulfilled so yes it is also partially his faith because if he will kill the Zerah that he has been waiting so long he proves that he has faith in Hashem. With Avraham's response we see that he will truthfully do anything no matter how crazy or immoral for Hashem. When Hashem asked he answered right away and said yes.

Abnormal: good or bad?

Today in class, we were talking about Rifka and her famous story about how she gives water to Eliezer and all his camels without being asked. We can take from this that she is kind, generous, ready to go above the call of duty, and more. But another idea that was expressed a lot was the fact that this was just plain weird. In satiating all ELiezer's camel's thirst, she must have ended up carrying around 200 gallons of water. Even if you are a very nice person, 200 gallons is, well, a ton of water. It is very hard to see how it is in any way normal to offer to carry 200 gallons of water for camels. There is just something strange about this whole picture. Then, Mrs. Perl hinted at something that stuck with me: perhaps that's the point. Rifka is one of the mothers of our nation, so obviously there is something to learn from her behavior. Maybe we are supposed to be very different from everyone else. Then I realized just how true this is. Jewish girls wear skirts in public to show that we are different. Boys wear kippot and tzitzit. We look differently, act differently, live differently, talk differently, and there is no doubting that we stand out. Instead of being self conscious, maybe the lesson to take from this is that we should embrace this difference. Show the world that we are different and proud of it, and perhaps the world will look back and appreciate it. Maybe, like Rifka, we need to be different enough that people will notice, and then we will be able to influence and change the world.

Rifka is more than you might think

When we first hear that Avraham is looking for a wife for Yitzchak, we are content. That is understandable and normal enough, nothing different at all. If you take a closer look, however, a few things pop out that shed a different light on this situation. Yitzchak's future wife is being brought back to a foreign land where she doesn't know anyone, she can't meet her husband beforehand, and she has to prove herself first. She has to have a blind faith. Sound familiar yet? This girl will have to go on a similar journey to Avraham. Why will this have to happen to her, and why does Avraham want this type of wife for Yitzchak?

The answer is interesting. Avraham was an outgoing person. He was a military and political leader, he was spreading ethical monotheism, and he was communicating with G-d. We don't see Yitzcak having to undergo any of this. HE seems like a more sedentary type of person. HE sat learning. He was more passive and was not as much of an activist. Rifka is the "Avraham" in their relationship. She is the one that takes charge of the situation and makes things happen. SHe must be up to the task of being a mother of a nation.

Why Avraham will not let Yitzchak marry a Canaani woman

We learned in class that Avraham is very adamant that Yitzchak cannot marry a Canaani woman. Avraham also tells Eliezer that he must not let Yitzchak go with him to find a wife. Why? We discussed a few possibilities. The first is that the Canaanim were not moral and ethical, and in order to continue G-d's promise and Avraham's legacy, Yitzchak must marry someone moral and ethical and not be influenced by them and any other outside influences. The Canaanim are also not one of the chosen generations. They are nidche, and Yitzchak must marry someone that is nivchar. If he marries someone that is a Canaani, he might go and stay there, and if so he can't spread ethical monotheism or inherit the land.

chutzpa

We know as young adults that being a smart mouth is not accepted in most social situations. However, upon a closer examination of our forefathers and foremothers, I have discovered that they did not always say the most polite things. Also, the old and widely popular style of learning that used to be the norm in the biggest Yeshivas in Ashkenaz was a style of learning where they debated fiercely to try to prove each other and even their rabbis and teachers wrong! So, in essence, I guess you can say that our traditions are all based on us questioning each other over and over. SO the next time someone says something you think is wrong, say what's on your mind! If someone makes a comment and you want to add something, do it! That's what we are all about! Just try to keep the chutzpa level down a little bit...

Rivka

Today we talked about what about Rivka is emphasized in Perek 24. First is her lineage. We mentioned that this is very important because it shows that she is from the same roots as Avraham. This also tells us she is from the same "chosen" group descended from Shet. She also is willing to tackle a problem head on. If she sees a problem, then she has no qualms to put herself out and finish the job. This is a good quality to have in the future when she and Yitzchak continue Avraham's mission of spreading ethical monotheism and continuing the line with good values. She can be considered an "activist" for what she believes in.

When you see it like this, one can't help but notice the similarities between Rivka and Avraham. Both of them are modest yet outgoing. They are willing to take the weight of the world on their shoulders for the sake of the "greater good".

Now, this is all well and good, however there is something that bothers me. Rivka is giving Eliezer and the camels water. This means 200 trips to and from the well. This is an extreme sacrifice on her part. She could be doing many other things and yet she is helping this stranger. My question is what is the real lesson here? Is it really "you have to help people in need" or is it "you have to go out of your way to help people"? I feel this is an important distinction. If it is that you just have to help people, then if someone asks for something you help them and then if you feel like it you go beyond that. If you have to go out of your way, then what is the limit? Obviously you shouldn't risk your life, but what about small injuries, punishment, or loss of time?

G-d or Yitzchak

Earlier in the Parshah, G-d told Avraham that He was going to destroy Sedom. Most people would have not questioned G-d's plan-but Avraham did. He asked G-d if he could find 10 righteous people in Sedom then would He still destroy Sedom. G-d said that He wouldn't. Avraham could not and Sedom was eventually destroyed. The main point here is that Avraham stood up to G-d and told Him that he didn't think His plan was moral or just. Then a while later G-d tells Avraham to kill his son, Yitzchak. Avraham says nothing, and carries out G-d's orders (until the angel stops him). Why doesn't Avraham say anything to G-d? Why does he not stand up to G-d like he did before? Clearly this order is not moral or just. G-d is asking Avraham to kill the most precious person in his life (with the exception of Sarah). Avraham finally has his descendent that will be part of G-d's promise. Avraham had to wait decades for a child then kick out his first-born. Yitzchak is finally born and G-d tells him that he will be the Zera that Avraham had been waiting for. Now, G-d is telling Avraham to sacrifice him. And Avraham says nothing.

Of course, one could say that in the case of Sedom, Avraham was not given direct orders from G-d like he is during the time of the Akaidah story; therefore, he was allowed to disagree with G-d's plan. He is not allowed to question direct orders even if it means going against his own moral code.

Personally, I think Avraham has gained the right to disagree with G-d's orders on a few occasions after all that he's done. He should not have had to go through with the Akaidah. He has already shown full faith in G-d and has even spent his life teaching others about G-d. He should not have to choose between jepardizing his relationship with G-d and his son/Zera.

Angel vs. Hashem

Hashem told Avraham to go to a land and sacrifice his son, THE son-the one that Hashem had promised to him, the one he was waiting so long to finally get. This is a huge test and it was testing Avraham. Hashem was the person to actually speak to Avaraham about the test and tell him to do it. Avraham had done what Hashem had told him, he had lied to his son, got it ready, and was even about to do it. Right as he was about to sacrifice his son an angel came to him and told him to stop and he had fulfilled the test and Hashem now trusts him. I was thinking about it and it came to mind that it would probably please Avraham more if it were Hashem to come and tell him that he was down and He is satisfied. If Hashem was the one to tell him to do this why could he not be the one to stop it? So why an angel telling Avraham that Hashem is pleased why not Hashem coming straight to him and saying "I am pleased you passed the test, I now understand that you have complete faith in me, you do not have to kill your son."?

Egypt and Avimelech

Reading through the Pasukim and my notes I started thinking about the stories of Avraham and Sarah when they go to different cities and Avraham tells Sarah to tell them that she is her sister, this happened twice. In Egypt they went and Sarah was taken after telling them that she was the sister of Avraham and it was over that was the end of the story. When they get to Gerar Avraham tells Sarah again to tell them that she is his sister and she did exactly that, but this time was completely different. This time Hashem came to Avimelech in a dream and told him that he will die because he took a married woman, and Avimelech became mad at Avraham for lying and he gave back Sarah and gave Avraham gifts and servants. So this is what is confusing to me. If this story has already happened and everything was completely smooth with it nothing wrong and nothing happened to Avraham my question is why now? What is different this time that the person had found out that he was lying? If this is a test why this time and not the time before? If you know the answers to these questions please answer.

Pregnant in Egypt

Sarah mentioned in her last post that Sarah would have been pregnant with Yitzchak when she and Avraham went down to Mitzrayim for the second time. What I don't understand is how Avimelech didn't know that Sarah was married to Avraham if she was pregnant. You could say that it was because it was before she was visibly pregnant, but travel then was not like it is today. You couldn't just go somewhere faraway for a few days. It's not like she could have become pregnant there because Avimelech married her and if she had gotten pregnant before, it would have been noticed before HaShem had to tell Avimelech that Avraham and Sarah were married. Just thinking about it now though, that could have been one of the reasons Avimelech did find out other than HaShem telling him. But then, Sarah and Avraham would have already known that Yitzchak was going to be born before the malachim came to tell them. Which brings me back to original point. There is no way that Sarah could have been pregnant from before they went into Mitztrayim to Avimelech until the malachim came to their tent (possibly in Avraham's dream) to tell them without it being noticed. She must have spent at least a month or two in Mitzrayim, then they had to go back home, and get everything at least semi normal before the malachim would come. If this situation makes sense to anyone, please feel free to explain.

Sarah

Over the past three Parshiot, we have learned a great deal about Sarah, the wife of Avraham. In Parshat Lech Lecha, we heard that Avraham and Sarah married. They found out she was barren and still remained together. This is because Sarah also left her homeland with Avraham and had to put her (blind) faith in G-d. As a result of her faith, she merited being the mother of the Jewish people. The aspect of her personality that I would like to look at is the fact that she was barren. Was there, perhaps, a practical reason for this? How does this relate to the rest of her life?

When I first thought of this, I immediately thought of the two times where she was kidnapped and married Pharaoh and Avimelech. In the case of the kidnapping in Egypt, Sarah was quite far from the birth of Yitzchak. Because the people of Egypt were known as the opposite of morality and ethics, both Avraham and G-d probably felt that they could not accept Pharaoh's word that "nothing happened". What would have become of the promise if Sarah had become pregnant and had the child of the Pharaoh? If she was barren at that time, then there would be no chance of Sarah's side of the promise being messed up. When I looked back at her initial description, the Torah tells us that she was utterly beautiful and attractive. If she was so attractive, then why were men able to stay away from her and Avraham? Maybe it was because they knew that she was barren and had a "weird set of religious beliefs". Later on, she was kidnapped by Avimelech. At that point, she may have already been pregnant. (We don't know this for sure because "there is no order in the Torah".) The case with Avimelech was a little different from the one with Pharaoh because Avimelech did not know what he had gotten himself into and immediately recognized morality and ethics as the way to live properly. He did not even hesitate in returning Sarah to Avraham. This tells us that absolutely nothing happened and that he respected Avraham and Sarah's marriage.

All in all, there was probably a reason for her being barren until age ninety. We don't even know much about her first sixty-five years of life. Depending on where she lived, there might have been many opportunities for her to have more children. The main point of the promise of descendants with Avraham was that the child of both Avraham and Sarah would continue on their nation of ethical monotheists. Luckily, her first child was Yitzchak, whom we all know went on to promote ethical monotheism. His descendants would be the Jewish people.

When will the tests end?

We learned just before leaving for the trip all about Avraham's difficulties. Without the Akedah Avraham sure has had his share of hardships. Hashem though, didn't think so. On top of everything Avraham had to prove himself to Hashem yet again through almost killing his only son, but even more so his inheritor. This test in my opinion is just not right. Avraham spent his life proving himself worthy to Hashem. Time after time Hashem had Avraham do something or Avraham did something without Hashem telling him to, that proved he was the right person to lead Bnei Yisrael. It just bothers me that someone so great, and Hashem knew he was so great, still had to be tested of his greatness. It makes me think about how many times a month, week, or even day we are tested. I know personally I have had many hardships in my life. I'm sure we all have. Are these all tests proving our devotion to Hashem? I think it makes more sense for our current lives as opposed to Avraham receiving all these tests. We have a lot more to "distract" us from Hashem, so it would make sense for Him to test us daily. Avraham on the other hand did not have the kind of distractions we have nowadays. It just bothers me. Makes it seem like Hashem doesn't trust us or doesn't have the confidence in us that will just follow Him like we are supposed to. I simply think Avraham should have been trusted more and certainly after all those. Taking it as far as the Akedah, in my opinion, is just too far.

The Father of the Jewish People

In class this week we wrote obituaries for Avraham. We reviewed Avraham's life beginning with the story of Kivshon HaAish and ending with Yitzchak beign chosen as Avraham's Zera (that will fulfill the promsie). In between, we saw Avraham develop a strong, close relationship with G-d. Time and time again we saw Avraham prove his devotion to G-d and to teaching the world about ethical monotheism. We saw him evolve into the perfect role model for his descendants-The Jewish People. We saw him overcome many obstacles that most people probably could not have. Of course, as we all know Avraham is not 'most people'. He was able to realize that it was time to sepaprate from his only remaining family-Lot. He didn't let feelings stand in the way from seeing that Lot could jepardize the future of his descendants/the promise. He was able to stand up to G-d and plead for the evil, immoral people of Sedom to be saved. He was able to refuse the wealth that the kings offered him after he conquered land for them (money he righfully deserved). He is able to leave his father's house and follow G-d without any knownlege of where he was going. He was able to kick out his son that for years he had believed was the chosen Zera.

Clearly, Avraham is special. He is able to do things without hesitation that most people could not ever do. Everything Avraham did can teach us a lesson. There is a reason he's known as the father of the Jewish people. He was the first person to ever believe in a higher power. He was able to rise above his surroundings and serve a new type of G-d. He is an inspiration to all of his descendants today, and continues to inspire us to become better people and better Jews.

Sarah's Obituary

This week in class, we wrote an obituary for Avraham. This included all events and life experiences right up just before the Akeida. During my exploration of Avraham's character, I discovered a lot about Sarah's character as well. As we all know, she died right after the Akeida. So what if I was write an obituary for her? Here it is:

Sarah, wife of Avraham, was quite a unique woman. Little is known about her childhood. Her "history" really began when she met and married Avraham. Near the beginning of their marriage, they realized that Sarah was barren. Even so, she remained with Avraham (for the rest of her life). Afterwards, Avraham, Sarah, and Lot moved to the land of Canaan, led by the word of G-d. When a famine struck Canaan, the three moved down to Egypt in search of food. As Sarah was extremely beautiful, Avraham told her to tell the Egyptians that she and Avraham were brother and sister. Just like Avraham had predicted, the Egyptians kidnapped Sarah and gave her to Pharaoh to marry. G-d struck the house of Pharaoh. When Pharaoh found out that he had taken a married woman, he let Sarah go and sent them back to Canaan with a fortune. When they returned to Canaan, Sarah greatly aided Avraham in spreading ethical monotheism. When G-d first made the promise of the Land and numerous descendants, there was a question about whether Sarah would be included in this promise. After giving the original promise and restating it twice, Avraham and Sarah realize that the descendants will come from both Avraham and Sarah. In the time between the promises, Sarah gave Hagar to Avraham as a wife. This caused Hagar to act inappropriately towards Sarah. Sarah became jealous and it took a tremendous amount of faith in G-d and Avraham to stay true to herself. After the final reiteration of the promise, three angel men came to Avraham and Sarah's tent. They welcomed the men in. The angel men then told Avraham and Sarah that Sarah would become pregnant and have a child in exactly one year's time. At this, she laughed. Within that year, Sarah is kidnapped by Avimelech, king of Gerar. Once again, she told them that she was Avraham's sister. Once Avimelech found out what he had done, he immediately let her go and gives them more wealth. After this, Sarah gives birth to a son, who they name Yitzchak. She was ninety years old. As he was growing up, Sarah saw that Yishmael, Hagar's son, is an increasingly bad influence. Sarah went to Avraham and asked him to send them away. He did exactly that.

So, to sum up Sarah's life: She was the wife of Avraham, the proponent of ethical monotheism. He helped him spread their beliefs and educate the world about their one G-d. She was ninety years old when she finally had a son. She protected him and always looked out for her family. She was an extremely faithful woman and all generations of Jewish women have looked at her as an example of how women should behave as ethical monotheists. As nobody is perfect, she did make mistakes. It is the job of future generations to learn from her mistakes and emulate her strengths in order to become better people.