Sarah and the Binding of Isaac-A New Midrash for the New Year

"Tomb of Isaac" by Photo by C. Raad. Northern British-Israel Review. January 1911. (Glasgow). Editor Mr M. Graham Coltart. - Palestine Exploration Fund Magazine. Quarterly Statement July 1912. Pages 145-150. Cenotaphs of the Hebrew Patriarchs at the Cave of Machpelah. By the Rev A.B. Grimaldi M.A.. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tomb_of_Isaac.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Tomb_of_Isaac.jpgption

This past summer was replete with horrific loss of life.  Rampant religious violence wrapped in unholy flags of intolerant nationalism left Jewish, Moslem, and Christian parents in tears in Israel, Gaza, and Mosul.  All three classic Abrahamic faiths can find commonality through a shared sense of loss.

Since all three faiths share a common Matriarch in the person of Sarah*, I wondered anew what Sarah's reaction to this religious violence might have been, given that it was apparently so common in her own day. According to Jewish tradition, one message of the story of Isaac's Binding in Genesis 22 was to show God's rejection of child sacrifice.  The ancient rabbinic imagination considered the placement of Sarah's death account in Gen. 23 immediately after the near-death of Isaac in Gen. 22 to contain a hidden message.  They understood that Sarah died because she received a false report of Isaac's death at Mt. Moriah caused by Abraham's own hand.

As I considered Sarah's possible reactions, I recalled the stories of the Syriac Christian parents besieged by Islamic State troops.  News reports that parents killed their own children to spare them the horrors of capture, torture and rape, and eventual slavery and murder closely mirror the responses by medieval Jewish parents who faced the murderous Crusader hordes.  I tremble to consider the horror that would lead any parent to such acts. It is my experience that most parents would rather suffer themselves than see their children hurt.

With this appreciation in mind, I offer the following modern midrash, dedicated to all the parents, especially the mothers, who have lost their children to unholy, religiously-inspired violence this summer.  May we see the day soon when God's voice is heard anew in absolute rejection of child sacrifices under any guise.

*Even though Sarah did not give birth to Ishmael, she is honored in Islamic traditions as the matriarch-wife of the Patriarch Abraham and the mother of prophets. Both Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims consider her part of the Ahlul-Bayt. These are the "Godly Ones of the Family of the Holy Prophet."  Universally acknowledged by Sunni and Shi'ite Islam as "Pure Personalities" they are considered "Infallible Holy Ones" who were purified directly by God.  Sarah is thus revered as a spiritual matriarch within Islam.

Sarah, Local Prophetess and Princess, Dead at 127

A Kiryat Arba Sun Exclusive

Compiled from staff reports

Sarah, the wife of Abraham, local nomadic warrior-prince and prophet-priest for God-Most-High, died today, 1 Tishrei.  According to witnesses, Sarah apparently went into a prophetic trance and while muttering the words “Moriah, Moriah, don’t take my son! Take me instead!” Sarah blindly stumbled through the busy Kiryat Arba central marketplace. In what local officials wishing to remain anonymous will refer to only as “a really freakish accident”, Sarah tripped over a bound ewe in front of the Sacrifices-R-Us kiosk. Dazed but conscious, she lay motionless while prone on her back when an atypically long and exceedingly sharp knife fell from its wall holder, inflicting a fatal wound across her exposed neck.

Sarah first become a fixture on the Canaan social circuit as Sarai, an extension of her famous husband Abraham formerly of Ur, Mesopotamia  and Haran, Assyria.  She became famous in her own right having her son Isaac “the miracle baby” well into her old age after her publicly controversial sojourn in Egypt, and subsequent name change. Sarah's long-delayed pregnancy resulted not only in the birth of Isaac, but in other miracles as well.  She became beloved by barren women all around the region when they too gave birth along with her. Seers from around the region also reported that after her delivery of Isaac, the blind were made to see, the lame were made whole, the mutes gained their voices, and the mentally ill were healed.  According to Melchi-Zedek, priest of God-Most-High in Shalem City, “Sarah had a rare ability to discern a person’s truest essence.  She was really an amazing woman, able to deal with anyone from kings and viceroys to commoners and serving boys.  I don’t know how Abraham and Isaac are going to get along without her.”   Eliezer, Chief Steward of the House of Abraham, released a statement requesting that the public express its support for the family by respecting their need for privacy during this difficult time. 

Sarah is survived by her husband Abraham, and son Isaac.  Authorities are attempting to locate Abraham so that appropriate burial arrangements can be made.