Wednesday, February 22, 2012
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.
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I just want to add to what Racheli said. I do think that this was the ultimate test for two reasons. First of all, it involved violating Avraham's personal moral code. Secondly, it involved "sacrificing" his descendant, which he had waited twenty five years for. This raises the following question: is there morality separate from G-d? In other words, is the fact that G-d commanded us to be moral and ethical the only reason people would choose to act "properly"? I disagree with this. I believe that every person has it in them to be good. They may be corrupted by their societies or their peers.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, if G-d came to me and commanded my to kill my child, or an entire nation for that matter, I would say no. This just further highlights Avraham and his unique faith in G-d. He was willing to do anything because he knew that everything would turn out alright.