Many years ago, I was intrigued by a book by Rabbi Daniel Jeremy Silver
of Cleveland. In Images of Moses, he
explored how Moshe was described by different generations of Jews. The
Alexandrian thinker, Philo, imagined
him as a Hellenic sage. The teachers of the Talmud saw Moshe as a scholar and
rabbi in the yeshivah. Christians criticised him for emphasising law rather than love.
Maimonides portrayed Moshe as a philosopher-lawgiver. Kabbalists considered him
to be a highly evolved mystic. Early modern Jews conceived of Moses as being
steeped in two cultures. Zionists regarded Moshe as a nation-builder.
Part of my motivation for teaching the various images of Abraham two years ago was to explore how Avraham was understood by different religious traditions and political perspectives. That is what brings me to this Shabbat morning, the secular anniversary of the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, Rachel’s bat mitzvah, the aufruf of Daniel and Lauren, the 70th anniversary of Gil and Helen, and the 60th anniversary of our congregation.
We find multiple images of Avraham in the Torah cycle of Genesis.
• The family man who leaves his family of origin to follow a call-summons from the One God.
• The frightened husband who endangers his beloved Sarah.
• The conciliator who offers his nephew Lot the choice land to settle.
• The warrior who goes to battle to rescue Lot and refuses to accept any of the spoils of victory.
• The partner in Covenant with God who hopes for a child to continue his vision and legacy.
• The gracious host who exemplifies ẖesed by asking God to wait while he attends to the needs of three unknown guests.
• The advocate of justice who bargains with God to save the innocent residents of Sedom, a city lacking ẖesed.
• The father of Yishma’el who must listen to his wife and banish his son.
• The leader who establishes a peace agreement with Avimelekh of Gerar-Gaza.
• The devoted father who loves the son born to Sarah.
• The father who accepts—without argument—God’s command to bring that beloved son as an offering-up.
Let me pose four questions:
• Which image of Avraham would we apply to Yitzhak Rabinz”l?
• Which image would we want for a contemporary leader of Israel?
• Which image guides our personal Jewish quest?
• On the 60th anniversary of our shul, which image would we want for our congregation and which image do you want for a new rabbi?
I grew up with the image of Yitzhak Rabin as the Palmaẖ Chief of Operations, the architect of the IDF training process and the general who led Israel to great victory during the Six Day War. I remember this somewhat shy man who served as Ambassador to the United States and who became Prime Minister after the resignation of Golda Meir in the wake of the Yom Kippur War. Rabin signed the first Sinai Agreement which stated that the conflicts between Israel and Egypt "shall not be resolved by military force but by peaceful means” and ordered the Entebbe raid. Rabin was Israel's minister of defence during the first Intifada and, following his re-election as prime minister, signed the Oslo Accords in September, 1993 and a peace treaty with Jordan in 1994.
I came to Beth Tzedec one month before the Oslo Agreement was signed on the lawn of the White House, with President Clinton, Prime Minister Rabin and Yasser Arafat momentarily shaking hands. I remember my hopefulness that Rosh Hashanah, even while articulating my fear that much blood would still flow. I never imagined that this would include the Prime Minister of Israel.
In 1995, I turned on the television after Shabbat Lekh Lekha to hear the terrible news. Unlike the Yitzhak of our Torah portion, there was no angel to restrain the hand of the killer of Rabin. The following few years, I went to Rabin’s grave to read Lamentation on the 9th of Av. Two years ago, I brought the Path of Abraham to Rabin Square, saying that it was impossible to understand contemporary Israel without coming to grips with how the assassination of Rabin had wounded all of Israel.
How do you imagine Yitzhak Rabin? Which elements of Abraham did he exemplify? I think of Rabin as Avraham the warrior. Even though he brought his children to be sacrificed, Rabin was also a peacemaker. A secular Jew, Rabin carried the covenant of Avraham forward, but not in a traditional way.
What Avraham qualities would you want carried on by the current leader of Israel? Should he be a warrior? Should he relinquish land, as did Avraham, to build a future with “the cousins”? Should an Israeli leader be a peacemaker with the rulers of Gaza, as Avraham was? Should he be an inclusive Avraham, welcoming those Arabs who, as citizens, live in the tent of the State of Israel, or should that leader be an Avraham who, with a measure of sadness, pushes away the Palestinian son to protect the interests and future of the child who carries on Abraham’s covenant?
Which Avraham should guide your personal religious quest? Although Avraham is pre-Sinai, two Jewish theologians looked to him as a model for Jewish spirituality.
Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, the great Orthodox teacher known to his disciples as the Rav, saw the narrative of the Akeida, when Avraham submits to the will of God, as the paradigm for Jewish life. We should accept and follow halakhah, even when our entire being struggles against some of its strictures. Devotion to God entails following the demands of the divine. Davven even when you don’t feel like it. Observe Shabbat even though it may create work or family challenges. Make yourself a vessel to accept traditional Jewish law, not seek to control or change it.
In contrast, Rabbi David Hartman saw the model for Jewish religious life in the debate-discussion of Avraham with God over the fate of S’dom. Wrestle with God. Recognise that there are ethical standards that pre-date Sinai. Demand that traditional Jewish practices reflect the ethical impulses that we aspire to attain. Don’t simply walk away. Don’t simply go along. We are called to take on responsibilities, so that we can teach our children and household the way of the Eternal, to preserve justice and righteousness.
These are each challenging Jewish paths, illumined by the personal example of Avraham. Which path is yours?
And for our congregation? We have been a a tower of strength for the Toronto community since our founding congregations were established: Goel Tzedec in 1883, and Beth Midrash Hagadol Anshe T’hillim in 1887. In the 60 years since our amalgamation, we have been a synagogue that stood for Conservative Judaism and community. We have helped to develop USDS (now Robbins Hebrew Academy), Camp Ramah, United Synagogue and university programs of Jewish studies. We have contributed leadership to UJA Federation and every other Jewish organization in Toronto. Our synagogue has hosted major community events and nurtured start-up projects. Which Avraham is our model?
As your rabbi, I have emphasised the Avraham who welcomed the three surprise guests. Hesed has been a hallmark of our congregation under my leadership. Interfaith families and Jews-by-choice, children with challenges and differences. We have encouraged presentations of divergent viewpoints about the nature and future of Jewish life. We have fed the hungry, clothed the homeless and opened our doors to strangers. We have tried to respond to members who are in hospital or homebound, seeing to make all ages, backgrounds and colour feel welcome in this building. And we have tried to do all this within a framework of civil discourse.
As I prepare to leave Beth Tzedec, you must give thought to the nature of the rabbi who will succeed me. Just as Avraham had many different aspects to his personality, so rabbis come with different strengths and weaknesses. Avraham was a teacher and a charismatic leader, one who could be a warrior and a conciliator, someone who cared about the totality of the family, but also made some difficult decisions.
Is Avraham the model that you want? Are their other paradigms of Jewish leadership that you might consider? As we read further in the Torah, think about the characteristics and qualities of each of our great founders. Which one defines you? What should define our community and your rabbi?
