{"id":71021,"date":"2020-03-01T10:53:26","date_gmt":"2020-03-01T08:53:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=71021"},"modified":"2022-03-06T17:32:44","modified_gmt":"2022-03-06T15:32:44","slug":"restoring-gods-faith-in-humanity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/restoring-gods-faith-in-humanity\/","title":{"rendered":"Restoring God\u2019s Faith In Humanity"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The framing of this climactic scene strongly echoes the opening scene of Abraham\u2019s story. God again commands Abraham to leave his home and <\/span>lekh-lecha<\/span><\/i>, betake yourself, go forth. The place he is headed toward, again, is unnamed, only \u201cthe place that I will show you.\u201d God again presents Abraham with a string of synonyms loaded upon the object he must lose (home, his son). Both of these bookend experiences are cast as difficult journeys toward unknown destinations containing religious tests\u2014Abraham\u2019s twin pilgrimages. This similarity reinforces the sense that Abraham\u2019s life consists of one long pilgrimage. Finally, at the conclusion of the <\/span>Akedah<\/span><\/i>, God returns to the promise God made in Genesis 12:2-3. Abraham\u2019s own story is nearly done, but his impact on history will be profound.<\/span><\/p>\n

The idea of the pilgrimage offers some help in understanding this most challenging of religious narratives. For Abraham, life is a journey whose path is determined by his unfolding relationship with God. Not God alone, not Abraham alone, not other people alone set the path; the journey is shaped in the space between, through their interactions. Throughout his pilgrimage to date, God has been Abraham\u2019s trusted guide and companion. God and this man have revealed their inner plans and thoughts to one another; they can respectfully disagree. During the <\/span>Akedah<\/span><\/i>, God pushes their relationship to the limit, but because that relationship has been strong and founded on trust throughout his whole life, because he has walked with God all this long way so far, Abraham will not abandon God even now. Without this history, Abraham\u2019s silent obedience would appear the act of a pious madman.<\/span><\/p>\n

The notion of a pilgrimage may give us some insight into God\u2019s actions in the <\/span>Akedah<\/span><\/i> as well. In Abraham, God discovers the extent to which God can trust a person. Until Abraham, human history has presented God with a string of disappointments. Adam and Eve cannot be trusted to carry out God\u2019s first command; in Noah\u2019s time, God determines that the \u201cdevisings of man\u2019s mind are evil from his youth\u201d (8:21). God chooses Abraham because in him God senses the opportunity for a new beginning to God\u2019s relationship with human beings: at last, here is someone worthy of God\u2019s trust. The story of Abraham thus also represents the story of <\/span>God\u2019s<\/span><\/i> pilgrimage, a journey in which God changes God\u2019s own view of people and develops a sense of trust in them. Abraham restores God\u2019s faith in humanity\u2014in fact, in the whole project that starts with Creation. Abraham\u2019s saga can thus be seen as having two protagonists, Abraham and God. The <\/span>Akedah<\/span><\/i> is the final stage in the restoration of trust between God and people. Will Abraham remain faithful to that relationship even when his reason, his emotions, his closest personal ties tell him not to? By passing the test, Abraham creates a model for a relationship based on trust that has been nourished by God and people throughout the generations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Adapted from <\/span><\/i>The Biblical Hero: Portraits in Nobility and Fallibility <\/span>by Elliott Rabin by permission of the Jewish Publication Society. \u00a92020 by Elliott Rabin.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":69430,"id":69430,"title":"BiblicalHero","filename":"BiblicalHero.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/BiblicalHero.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-gap-between-god-and-humankind\/biblicalhero\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"biblicalhero","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":69219,"date":"2020-02-02 17:04:11","modified":"2020-11-23 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