[Avodah] on a Jewish Mother

[Prof. Levine]

At 11:49 AM 11/13/2008, Joseph C. Kaplan wrote:
>RYL writes about Hagar:

RSRH wrote this about Hagar, not me.

>
>"Hagar's whole behavior is highly characteristic; it typifies the unrefined
>Chamite nature. A Jewish mother would never abandon her child,
>even if all she could do for him would be to speak softly to him, to
>soothe him if only for a millionth part of a second. One who abandons
>a child and does nothing because "she cannot bear to see the child's
>misery" does not act out of compassion."
>
>This story appears, as I recall, in the same 
>book as a story about a Jewish father who was 
>prepared to slit the throat of his own, and 
>only, son.  One could argue that the Abraham's 
>actions typifies the unrefined and primitive 
>Jewish nature.  Please note: I'm not making that 
>argument.  I'm simply pointing out that perhaps 
>we shouldn't be making statements about the 
>unrefined nature of other cultures based on a single story.
>
>Joseph Kaplan

Again, the "we" is RSRH, not you and me. 
(Parenthetically, I find your terminology "in the 
same book" unusual. This is in the Torah, which 
is not simply some book.  Perhaps I am reading 
too much into your choice of words. If so, then I apologize.)

Perhaps Rav Hirsch's commentary on the Akeidah 
will clarify things. On 22: 11 - 12  An angel of 
God called to him from heaven and said, Avraham! 
Avraham! and he replied, Here I am!   He said: Do 
not stretch your hand toward the lad, nor do the 
slightest thing to him, for now I know
that you are God-fearing, since you did not 
withhold your son, your only son, from Me.

Rav Hirsch writes: [The bold emphasis below is mine.]

It is significant that here God sent a message through an angel,
whereas elsewhere, throughout Avraham’s life, God Himself spoke
with Avraham. Here, to stop the performance of a command, the
agency of an angel sufficed.

This exception to the rule gives us an indication of the deep inner
struggle by which Avraham was tested. *Had an angel brought him
word of a command to offer up his son as an offering, Avraham
would not have believed him, so glaring was the contradiction between
this command and God’s previous revelations to him — revelations
generally, and regarding Yitzchak particularly. But for the retraction
of the Akeidah command, the agency of an angel sufficed.* To clarify the
reason for this retraction, and to explain the whole command of the
Akeidah as a test in which demonstrating one’s readiness to meet the
test is tantamount to having met it – for that purpose no extraordinary
revelation was necessary. This retraction fit in harmoniously with everything
else that Avraham knew of God.

 From this I deduce that the only reason why 
Avraham was willing to sacrifice Yitzchok was 
because HaShem spoke directly to him and told him to do it.


Yitzchok Levine
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