Vayeyro / וירא

This is a weekly series of frum, trans, anarchist parsha dvarim [commentaries]. It's crucial in these times that we resist the narrative that Zionism owns (or worse: is) Judaism. Our texts are rich—sometimes opaque, but absolutely teeming with wisdom and fierce debate. It's the work of each generation to extricate meaning from our cultural and religious inheritance. I aim to offer comment which is both true to the source material (i.e. doesn't invert or invent meaning to make it say what I want it to say) and uses Torah like a light to reflect on our modern times.

Content note: This parsha includes long descriptions of familial abuse, and brief mentions of rape. As usual, the text also includes misogyny, and arguably homophobia.

This is a parsha that really makes you go, "That's fucked up." Hashem is willing to destroy the entire city of Sodom with no regard for the innocents there. When a roving mob of Sodomite men threaten to gang rape Lot's guests—who we know to be מלאכים [angels]—Lot offers them his two (unnamed) virgin daughters instead. Lot's wife (who also doesn't get a name) is turned into a pillar of salt for disobeying the divine command to not look back at the destruction of the city. Lot's daughters get him drunk and take turns raping him in a cave. But arguably, the most fucked up part of the parsha is the עקידה, the binding of Yitskhok: ⊕ Bondage; transforming the body into a beautiful ritual object; the threat of the knife; obedience beyond reason; violence; death; sacrifice. It's fucked up but it is also, admittedly, sexy. Avrohom is instructed by Hashem to sacrifice his younger son as a burnt offering, or an "ascent offering", and Avrohom agrees without protest, going so far as to tie Yitskhok up on an alter and raise his knife to him with intent to kill—but another מלאך [angel] stops him at the last moment.

In last week's parsha לך־לך, Avrohom argued with Soray for the welfare of his first son Yishmoel when she wanted to banish him and his mother Hogor (who Avrohom is not too concerned about). This week Avrohom advocated for and bargained with Hashem on behalf of the wicked of Sodom, negotiating down from 50 to only 10 righteous people (which, ultimately, were not to be found; the city was destroyed). This is the tone set for Avrohom as a character: he embodies חסד [loving-kindness] and is not afraid of conflict even with Hashem on behalf of other people (read: men), be they strangers or kin.

But when Hashem commands Avrohom to sacrifice Yitskhok as an offering, Avrohom doesn't argue. Hashem makes a point of calling Yitskhok "your son, your only one, the one you love" as though we're supposed to forget about—or at least devalue—Yismoel because Yitskhok is more important. Yet despite this great importance, he doesn't take issue with the news that he's supposed to kill him. Why not? His faith and love for Hashem is greater.

And why does Hashem make this demand of Avrohom, his first devoted servant? To test Avrohom, and potentially to test Yitskhok too. Hashem is omnipotent, so knows whether or not they will meet the challenge—just as He should know if you and I will meet our challenges or fail—and yet He challenges us because the process is important. By meeting the challenge, we're supposed to become closer to Hashem. Maybe I'm not like Avrohom, but what little faith I have is only diminished by my pointless suffering: immigration difficulties, poverty, domestic violence, trans medical neglect, survival sex work. None of that made me stronger, built "character", or made me closer to The Highest One, Blessed Is He. Rather it depressed me and made me less able to participate in the shared work of creation, in improving the world and enjoying its beauty. My faith and closeness to Hashem is strongest when I'm happy. My faith is even lesser when I witness others suffer.

The עקידה is considered one of Avrohom's greatest tests of faith. It is a cruel test. All tests for the sake of testing are cruel. There is no acceptable reason for intentionally increasing suffering. The ends do not justify the means. And because he did not protest, I believe that Avrohom failed.