All for the Children
In our mystical tradition, the shared experiences of our forefathers and us are more than just a fortuitous coincidence. It is even more than just an omen. When these events occurred with the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, they actually generated the spiritual energy that enabled us, their children, to go through the same experiences.
Response to the Cynics
When the Torah introduces the progeny and experiences of the Patriarch Isaac, the Torah states:
“These are the offspring of Isaac the son of Abraham, Abraham fathered Isaac.”
The commentators raise the obvious question: why does the Torah have to repeat itself. Isn’t it quite obvious that if Isaac was the son of Abraham, that Abraham had fathered Isaac?
One answer provided by Rashi is that the Torah’s repetition was a response to the cynics who claimed that Abraham was not the true father of Isaac, but that Avimelech, the Philistine king who had abducted Sarah, was the real father.
To allay any such suspicions, the Torah emphatically declares that, indeed, it was Abraham who fathered Isaac. Rashi adds, that this fact was made known to all by virtue of a miracle that G-d performed. Isaac’s facial features were made identical to that of Abraham.. Now everyone knew that Abraham was truly Isaac’s father.
A question has been raised. If the Torah wished to stress that Abraham was the real father of Isaac— and not Avimelech—why did the Torah not make that point as soon as Isaac was born? Why did the Torah wait to inform us of the miracle until Isaac became a father?
Portent of the Future
The answer to this question lies in a better understanding of the role of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs. Their position in life was not just to be the progenitors of the Jewish people, but, moreover, their lives were a portent of what would occur in the future with their progeny. When Abraham was forced to go down to Egypt, it was a forerunner of the Israelites going down to Egypt. And when Abraham came back up from Egypt with great wealth, this was an omen that his descendants would, likewise, leave Egypt laden with immense wealth.
In our mystical tradition, this relationship between the Forefathers and their descendants is more than just a fortuitous coincidence. It is even more than just an omen. When these events occurred with the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, they actually generated the spiritual energy that enabled their children to go through the same experiences.
We can now understand why it was so crucial that the Torah mention that Isaac was identical to Abraham in the context of Isaac’s children.
Had the cynical canard that Avimelech was the real father of Isaac just reflected on Isaac personally, the Torah would not gone out of its way to dismiss their frivolous accusation? After all, if Sarah, who was 90 years old, could have the child, why would Abraham not be able to be the father? Does the Torah have to contend with every critic and every type of criticism?
Moreover, would G-d have performed a miracle— fashioning Isaac’s facial features to be a spitting image of his father Abraham—just to answer the charges made by scorners? We know that G-d does not perform miracles for no good reason. It would have been a total waste of G-d’s powers to perform the miracle just to defend the integrity of Isaac.
Thus, the Torah waits until Isaac himself is ready to establish a family and set up the nucleus of a Jewish people. At this point, we do take any accusation—as frivolous as it may be—that can undermine the integrity of the Jewish nation.
Worse than Holocaust Denial!
Throughout history, our adversaries worked very hard to discredit and delegitimize us. If they couldn’t win us over to their side and convince us that their religion was superior, they would then turn against us and try to discredit every aspect of Judaism.
Holocaust denial is not the first attempt at robbing us of our history. It is just the most recent one. The enemies of Israel have tried to deny that there was ever a Jewish presence in Israel, or that there was ever a revelation at Sinai where G-d gave us the Torah.
Holocaust denial denies us the ability to even claim that we were victims; but denial of our Bais Hamikdash and of the revelation at Mount Sinai denies us our very identity as Jews.
When the Torah informs us that G-d goes out of His way, as it were, to perform a miracle, not just for Isaac’s sake, but for the sake of his descendants, we are, in effect, being told that G-d will never let our enemies get away with their canards about the genesis, history and character of the Jewish people.
Moshiach=Validation
We are living in momentous times. Because we are at the verge of the Messianic Age, at which time, the Jewish people and their mission in life will be fully vindicated, validated and fulfilled, our enemies are making their last stand to strip us of our dignity and destiny.
This is not a time to despair, however, because we are confident that once more, G-d will expose the calumnies of the modern day cynics and show the entire world that we are the children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the rightful heirs to Biblical tradition, including, and particularly, possession of the Land of Israel.
From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Toldos by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
