The binding and sacrifice of Isaac is one of the most disturbing, gruesome, and hellish koan in all the Bible. How can God ask Abraham to raise his beloved son Isaac as a sacrifice? It is astounding! Yet, if we penetrate this koan fully, we are invited to raise our most compassionate heart-mind and not only save Isaac’s life, but Abraham’s and God’s lives too! And perhaps even our own!
And it happened after these things that God tested Abraham. And He said to him, “Abraham!” and he said, “Here I am.” And He said, “Take, pray, your son, your only one, whom you love, Isaac, and go forth to the land of Moriah and offer him up as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I shall say to you.” And Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey and took his two lads with him, and Isaac his son, and he split wood for the offering, and rose and went to the place that God had said to him. On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from afar. And Abraham said to his lads, “Sit you here with the donkey and let me and the lad walk ahead and let us worship and return to you.” And Abraham took the wood for the offering and put it on Isaac his son and he took in his hand the fire and the cleaver, and the two of them went together. And Isaac said to Abraham his father, “Father!” and he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “Here is the fire and the wood but where is the sheep for the offering?” And Abraham said, “God will see to the sheep for the offering, my son.” And the two of them went together. And they came to the place that God had said to him, and Abraham built there an altar and laid out the wood and bound Isaac his son and placed him on the altar on top of the wood. And Abraham reached out his hand and took the cleaver to slaughter his son. And the LORD’s messenger called out to him from the heavens and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” and he said, “Here I am.” And he said, “Do not reach out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him…. All the nations of the earth will be blessed through your seed because you have listened to my voice.” And Abraham returned to his lads, and they rose and went together to Beersheba, and Abraham dwelled in Beersheba. (Genesis 22: 1-12a; 18-19; translation by Alter, 2019)
The Most Difficult Koan of All
As difficult as this koan is, I have found little explanation or commentary that feels satisfying or genuinely reflective of the importance of this story so important to three major world religions.
From an academic perspective, what I have primarily found is the idea that the near sacrifice of Isaac reflects the shift in societal standards away from polytheism and child sacrifice practices of the Middle East at the time toward animal sacrifice, agrarian societal structures, and monotheistic religious ideas and practices.
From a religious perspective, the dominant Jewish, Christian, and Muslim commentaries tend to reflect an apologist perspective praising Abraham for his obedience to God, claiming that Abraham passed his final test and deemed himself worthy of the covenant with God.
Beyond Obedience is… Love
While not an anthropologist or religious studies scholar, I myself wrote a dissertation on Abraham and the near sacrifice of Isaac for my doctorate in clinical psychology.
In my dissertation, I advanced the idea that a psychoanalytic understanding of Abraham and Isaac can better frame the assessment and treatment of childhood trauma and help patients understand, make meaning, and heal from their traumas (Fogel A. G., 2008).
I’d like to think my dissertation contributed positively to the discussion, but neither the academic, apologist, nor even the psychological explanations most dear to me seem adequate!
Beyond academic knowledge and sacred religious notions of obedience, the near sacrifice of Isaac points us in the direction of something far more precious and meaningful. This koan teaches us about…love!
Whom You Love
In the opening of this koan, God calls out to Abraham. Abraham responds simply and immediately, “Hineini! Here I am!” This is true love! When someone calls out, we call back. When a loved one reaches for us, we reach back. True love indeed!
When a situation arises, we simply respond. Yet, what is the situation here in this koan? This koan is the very first time that the word love is mentioned in the entire Bible! Abraham hears the voice of God asking him to take his son Isaac whom he loves and to offer him as a sacrifice. The voice of God even asks nicely, saying “please.” Yet, is this the true voice of God? Can this be the true voice of God?
Every day Master Zuigan used to call to himself, “Master!” and would answer, “Yes!” Again, he would call, “Thoroughly awake! Thoroughly awake!” and he would answer, “Yes! Yes!” “Don’t be deceived by others, any day or any time.” “No! No!” (Gateless Gate, Case 12; Yamada, 2004)
This might be a strange thing to say as a psychologist, but we hear voices all the time. Perhaps not the literal voice that others may hear, but our minds are constantly moving—thought to thought to thought.
My experience has also been that the more traumatic and darker our experience, the darker and more unusual our thoughts might be. Abraham himself was not immune from this. The Jewish tradition teaches that he faced inordinate suffering as a child and was even thrown into a fiery furnace by his own father and King Nimrod as a punishment for his behavior and perceived threat to the kingdom.
Our hearts and mind are constantly trying to make sense and emotional meaning for our lives. Always! Yet awareness of these thoughts are different than following them or being obedient to them.
The Baal Shem Tov (1698-1760; also called the Besht and known as Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer) teaches, “Sometimes we say, “I can’t—I’m unable,” but what we really mean is, “I won’t—I’m unwilling.” The secret is learning the difference between the two.”
I pray we all learn and master this fundamental difference! What are you unwilling and willing to do for love? But please, do not be deceived by others and day or any time! Pretty please! With a cherry on top!
Isaac the Cat
Pain and suffering is so much a part of life. And so present in the koan of Abraham’s binding and near sacrifice of Isaac. I can only imagine the torture and horror that everyone involved must have felt. My heart aches even just writing these words.
Can you imagine what Abraham is going through as he hears the voice of God ask him to sacrifice his beloved son? To walk with his son for three days, build an altar to lay his body upon it, and sacrifice him as a burnt offering?
Can you imagine what Isaac must be feeling as he carries the fire and wood for days on end not knowing where the sheep is for his father’s sacrifice? To be bound to the altar, wood placed upon his body, and look up to see his own father raise a cleaver to literally slaughter him?
If it were the voice of God that Abraham hears, can you imagine what it is like for God to feel compelled to consider and ask of Abraham such a thing? To ask one’s own beloved—with whom an eternal covenant was barely established—to sacrifice his very son? And to see that Abraham is only all too willing to obey?
Once the monks of the eastern and western Zen halls in Master Nansen’s temple were quarrelling about a cat. Nansen held up the cat and said, “You monks! If one of you can say a word, I will spare the cat. If you can’t say anything, I will put it to the sword.” No one could answer, so Nansen finally slew it. In the evening when Joshu returned, Nansen told him what had happened. Joshu thereupon took off his sandals, put them on his head, and walked off. (Gateless Gate, Case 14; Yamada, 2004)
Yes, pain and suffering are natural parts of our life, as is conflict. One may think that well trained Zen Buddhist monks are beyond this. But no one is. Certainly not me!
Just as God challenges Abraham—and each one of us on Mount Moriah—that day and today in perpetuity, Zen Master Nansen is challenging his monks—as he is challenging us today—to save their cat. Can you hear him now?
Dare I ask, whose voice did Abraham hear that day? I surely do not know! Yet I encourage us all to hear the genuine voice of the Divine. When we are in pain, the angels speak. Please listen carefully!
Hark! The Angels Speak!
Just today, I went to the grocery store for some routine grocery shopping. There were no cashiers to be seen, and I felt in a bit of a rush. There were only self-checkout lanes open monitored by a customer service manager.
Frustration overtook me for a brief moment as my back was aching and I didn’t want to do all of that bending and twisting to scan and pay for a cart full of groceries. I hurt my back several years ago and sometimes have a nasty habit of doing things all on my own.
I decided to approach the manager and ask for her assistance. She explained that a couple of cashiers had called in sick but smiled broadly and was delighted to help.
While we were chit chatting about her pre-teen grandkids trying on makeup for the first time in their lives, a staff member came in through the front door reporting to duty. The manager exclaimed to herself, “Yah! I just saw an angel. I am not alone!”
I am always, yet never, surprised to see angelic generosity! Can you see it too?
Do You Really Love Me?
Are we ever alone? Yes! And no! Loneliness is real. We all feel alone at times. It is in part our nature. Don’t we all feel alone at times? We are individual bodies and people who are completely self-contained within our individual skins, yet we are never truly alone. The angels of God are truly everywhere! Can you hear them!
Every day in my work as a psychologist, I meet with men, women, and children who want nothing more than to be loved by those they love, to be accepted and held and simply shown care and affection the way they deservedly need, the way we all need.
Perhaps God wants this too? It must be so lonely to be God! I can barely be me! I cannot imagine how lonely it must be for God! What a terrible burden! Perhaps God yearns for love too?! Our love! Your love!
Yet doubt is a powerful nemesis. The Zen tradition teaches us to maintain both great doubt… and great faith. Perhaps God is plagued by doubt also? Yet faith cannot be demanded! And neither can love! Perhaps even for God?! Or even especially by God!
In this koan, who is testing whom? Is God testing Abraham? Or Isaac? Or are we all testing God? And ourselves?
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Adam Fogel
www.mindfuljudaism.com