Mina's Musings: Rosh Hashanah Day Two 2017 - Hearing God & Others Clearly

Shanah tovah. It is good to see all of you here on this second day of Rosh Hashanah.  Towards the end of the summer I read a book entitled: Autism and the God Connection. In the book I read a parable that I immediately knew I wanted to share with you. It read: 

“The man whispered, "God, speak to me."  And a meadowlark sang.  But the man did not hear. So the man yelled, "God, speak to me."  And the thunder and lightning rolled across the sky.  But the man did not listen.  The man looked around and said, "God, let me see you."  And a star shined brightly.  But the man did not see.  And the man shouted, "God, show me a miracle." And a life was born.  But the man did not notice.  So, the man cried out in despair, "Touch me, God, and let me know you are here," whereupon God reached down and touched the man.  But the man brushed the butterfly away and walked on.”

As we gather today in our annual re-coronation of God as King and Ruler of the Universe, the truth of the matter is that for some people, like the man in the parable, they don’t recognize when God is revealing God’s self to them.  I understand the struggle.  Our Torah tells of God having direct conversations with our great prophets while we have to search for God’s revelation to us in nature, in the kindness of others, and in the magnificence of life itself.  It is ironic that last Shabbat the Torah portion said:  “The hidden things are for the Lord, our God, and the revealed things are for us and for our children” when in fact God’s own self seems hidden at times. 

And yet, perhaps we shouldn’t complain about our own quests for God.  It certainly wasn’t easy for the prophets either.  Story after story in the Tanakh tells us of the difficulties the prophets had in serving as God’s prophets to the very stubborn Jewish people, and several are recorded as having tried to evade their duties – the prophet Jonah anyone?  Between the pressure from God telling them to get the people to listen, and the pressure from the people to leave them alone in their sinning, it was surely an often frustrating and thankless task.

But there were other challenges as well, such as getting God’s message just right.  I recently read a midrash on the Akedah, the binding of Isaac, the story we read each year not only on the second day of Rosh Hashanah but also during the annual cycle of readings, and in Orthodox synagogues, as part of the daily morning liturgy.   The midrash is from Genesis Rabbah 56 (on Gen. 22:12).  It reads: (Genesis Rabbah 56 (on Gen. 22:12))

“Rabbi Acha said, "Avraham started to wonder, 'These words – [Your words oh God] are only words of wonder. Yesterday, you told me (Genesis 21:12), "Because in Yitzchak will your seed be called." And [then] you went back and said, "Please take your son." And now You say to me, "Do not send your hand to the youth." It is a wonder!' The Holy One, blessed be He, said, 'Avraham, "I will not profane My covenant and the utterances of My lips, I will not change" (Psalms 89:35) – When I said, "Please take your son," I did not say, " שְׁחָטֵהוּ - slaughter him," but rather, " וְהַעֲלֵ֤הוּ - and bring him up -." For the sake of love did I say [it] to you: I said to you, "Bring him up," and you have fulfilled My words. And now, bring him down.’”

This is an unbelievable midrash.  As Rabbi Dianne Cohler-Esses once wrote concerning this midrash:  “The midrash turns the story completely around.  God emphatically reassures Abraham that God has been consistent all along.  Abraham has [it seems] misunderstood God.  And, moreover, the reader has misunderstood the story.  It’s as if someone would say, “Go jump in the lake” and when confronted concerning their rudeness their response would be, “Well, I only suggested [that] you ... go for a nice refreshing swim.”  …..For the sake, it seems, of God’s consistency, we are not to believe the plain meaning of what we just read.  Are we, then to believe that this story is all about miscommunication – this story of ultimate sacrifice whose mystery is at the heart of our tradition?”

I share Rabbi Cohler-Esses wonder concerning the midrash.  Moreover I see several intriguing ideas which emerge from this interpretation of the akedah.  One is the possibility of looking at the Akedah as a story about what happens when we misunderstand God.  The second idea is related to the first in that if we take the midrash to heart, then we learn that the “test” the Torah references in relationship to Abraham is perhaps NOT about his faith, but whether or not Abraham, after serving God for so many years was actually still hearing God correctly and behaving appropriately.  A question that emerges from the midrash is not about the contents of the story but rather the men who wrote it.  That is, WHY did the rabbis who write the midrash feel compelled to make this unique interpretation?  Another question the midrash elicits is about Abraham.  If Abraham, a prophet, who spoke with God for decades had such a huge miscommunication with God, what caused it?  And finally, what if anything can we learn about how to prevent and overcome the miscommunications we have with our own loved ones, friends, co-workers, etc.?     

Before we get to the questions the midrash elicits, let’s first look at the Torah text itself.  It reads:  “Some time afterward God put Abraham to the test.  He said to him, “Abraham,” and he said, “Hineni – Here I am.”  And He said, “Take your son, your favored one, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, וְהַֽעֲלֵהוּ שָׁם לְעֹלָה

– and raise him up there as an olah – on one of the heights I point out to you.” 

Now in almost every instance in the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible, that we have the word olah – it means a burnt offering.  It is the word olah that is translated in older English versions as the holocaust offering.  So it SEEMS very clear what God was commanding Abraham and that the author of the midrash is just ignoring that for the sake of keeping God’s behavior consistent - EXCEPT that there are three times where the word means “ascendant” or “ascent.”  If we use that translation it would be something like “Take your son, your favored one, Isaac, and raise him up as one who is ascendant on one of the heights I point out to you.”  I have to say, visions of Rafiki holding up baby Simba in the Lion King come to my mind when I imagine this translation.  The only difference is Simba was a baby and Isaac was a full-grown man!  But what would it mean?  It would mean that God wanted Abraham to bring his beloved son up to the mountain and hold him “closer” for God to see.  I am not sure I am convinced but it sure is an interesting possibility.  How many of us go to mountains to feel close to God?  Perhaps God wanted the same from Abraham and Isaac.

In any case, now that we understand how it is possible for the midrash to say what it does, let’s tackle the ideas and questions the midrash elicits.  The first is what it means for us if Abraham could misunderstand what he heard from God.  There is, to my mind, no other way to view this idea than as a warning to all those who want to act zealously for God.  If Abraham, the first Jew could misunderstand God’s words, then all the more so must we be EXTREMELY careful in declaring that we know exactly what God wants us to do, or even worse using God as an excuse to hurt other people.  That of course leads right to the possible explanation of HOW or WHY this midrash exists in the first place.  The rabbis of old had seen with their own eyes the results of Jewish fanaticism – the failed Bar Kohba revolt and the eventual death of many faithful Jews at Masada.  This midrash is a response to fanatics everywhere – God desires that we live, that we help others LIVE in order to serve God, and not that we kill others as some quest to serve God. 

Finally, as we are now in the season of repentance the midrash causes us to pause and think about our own relationships.  What can we learn about our own behavior from the story? 

Let me start with how we hear – or don’t hear God.  At the beginning of my d’rash I told of a man who refused to hear God.  Abraham let his eagerness to hear God distort what we heard.  We need to find a middle way – both with God and our loved ones.  I believe we often get ourselves and our loved ones into difficult situations when we don’t stop to make sure that we are actually HEARING and UNDERSTANDING exactly what is being said to us. 

My family knows not to believe anything I say if I am talking to them while simultaneously reading my Kindle.  My brain isn't engaged in the conversation and they know it.  They also know - as should everybody - NOT to try to talk to me from another room.  Not only can't I hear but if someone wants to talk to me then they can make the effort to come into the room!

Then there is the problem of hearing but not understanding.  My guess is that everyone in this room has at one time or another gotten angry because of something they THINK they heard someone say.  Perhaps you misunderstood a joke as a criticism, the tone in the person’s voice confused you or upset you, or whatever the person you are talking to you said reminded you of a situation in the past that upset you.  The problem with such miscommunication is that we then often act in ways which reinforce our mistaken belief. 

For example – totally theoretical of course – Let’s imagine the following scenario.  You prepare a meal for your loved one.  They say, “Wow, that was delicious.” However, something in their tone of voice reminds you of the time someone else said the same words in a sarcastic manner.  So you respond snarkily to what was SUPPOSED to be a compliment.  This causes the person offering the compliment to become confused and upset, not to mention wary of complimenting you the next time.  Indeed, a few days later you make another nice meal and they in fact don’t give you a compliment – not because they didn’t like the food – but because they don’t want to be attacked by you.  Then, when they don’t give you a compliment you assume wrongly AGAIN that they are unhappy with the food you’ve made.  Soon you’re refusing to cook at all for them.  A simple miscommunication and you hurt yourself and your loved one REPEATEDLY.  Oh and your wallet's taken a hit too now that all you can do is go out to dinner! 

However, this midrash is a reminder exactly why we must be careful in assessing what we hear.  Abraham, the midrash says, nearly killed his beloved son Isaac because of a misunderstanding.  How many of us have killed our own relationships with friends, spouses, co-workers, parents, children, neighbors because of failed, hurtful communication?  On the list of sins we ask forgiveness for today and on Yom Kippur a great number of them have to do with how we hurt others through the words of our mouths.  That is why we ask every single day of the year for the words of our mouths to be acceptable to God.  We do so much damage with them.  But it does not have to be that way.  We can listen more carefully and respond more kindly.    

I asked earlier what may have caused Abraham to mishear God.  Rabbi Cohler-Esses suggests that he was hearing the call of pagan gods who did demand human sacrifice.  I don't know.  I can't presume to know.  I just know I truly appreciate the midrash which suggests a misunderstanding.  It's so human, so possible.

As we enter 5778 let us learn from Abraham the importance of truly hearing and understanding those we speak to.  Let us hear them with love in our hearts. Remembering that they are made in God’s image, we realize that listening to them can be like listening to the voice of God.  As Valjean said in Les Miserables – to love another person is to see the face of God.  So let us hear with love and may we respond with words that are acceptable to them, to God, and to us, and may those words be as sweet as the apples and honey we eat today.  Shanah tovah