Rosh Hashanah

September 13, 2007

Today's Rosh Hashanah reading is a sacred fool's tale in which sadness and joy, and bad behavior and grace, commingle to form the unexpected and the redemptive. Sarah and Abraham's fortune changes. Sarah finally gets pregnant and gives birth to a long promised son. Everyone is jubilant because Abraham is a hundred years old when his son Yitzchak is born. And everyone is also laughing their head off that Abraham is a hundred years old when his son through Sarah is finally born. (Talk about 100 being the new 30!)

The name Yitzchak means will laugh, or will play. The name "will laugh" is as much about a long wait to laugh as it is about the onset of mirth. And indeed Yitzchak arrives as God's outrageously late fulfillment of a promise in a household full of vulnerability and outrageous behavior. During her painful, frightening reproductively infertile years Sarah has made life difficult for some and miserable for others. Before the arrival of Yitzchak Sarah resorted to acquiring a child with Abraham by using Hagar, her Egyptian slave woman, as her surrogate womb. Nine months and six seconds afterwards Abraham and Hagar had a son together named Yishmael which means God will hear.

During Hagar's pregnancy Hagar and Sarah had a tense relationship. Hagar acted uppity towards her mistress Sarah. And Sarah did her very best to torture Hagar. Hagar even fled to the desert where God advised her to return and survive, albeit in Sarah's Guantanamo. God also promised Hagar great things for Yishmael, and said: "he will be a wild ass of a man". In these stories Abraham can be read to be both an inspiring faith-filled spouse and a self-serving passive aggressive patriarch.

Though the birth of Yitzchak had been foretold, his arrival comes nevertheless as a great surprise for Sarah. Sarah declares in today's story: "God has brought me laughter; everyone who hears will laugh with me." Clearly, with the experience of physical motherhood Sarah's womb and heart open beyond what she thought possible. In this magical moment, Sarah harbors no hard feelings toward the God who had held out on her, or toward the people who doubted her. At the birth of Yitzchak, Sarah consciously experiences a fearless laughter that is a state of grace. We might imagine she might even be nice to Hagar now.

But things change, and some years after the bris Sarah and Abraham throw the weaning party for their yingele Yitzchak. At Yitzchak's weaning Sarah sees the son who Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham "m'tzachek". Does the Torah mean to say that Sarah saw Yishmael laughing, playing, mimicking his brother Yitzhak, or something more sinister? Our commentators duel over the possibilities within the Torah's tight ambiguous language. Sarah demands that Abraham do the right thing and vote the slave woman and her son, off the island. Sarah declares: "For the son of that slave shall not share in the inheritance with my son Isaac."

In the surprise of Yitzchak's birth, Sarah's heart opened wide to everyone's laughter, and Sarah accepted the mixed bag of experience God had bestowed upon her. At Yitzchak's weaning where Sarah must let her baby go again Sarah rigidifies and her heart shuts out a fellow sacred fool, a fellow laugher: the child Yishmael.

Traditional scholars debate Sarah's motivation for condemning and banishing Yishmael and Hagar. Nearly everyone is appalled by Sarah's brutality.

Abraham gets really upset with how things have turned out for his son. But God in maddeningly reassuring tones tells Abraham to listen to Sarah and do everything she says because Abraham won't need to worry: "Ki Byitzchak Yikarai lecha zara". For it is through the one who will laugh that offspring shall be continued for you. Or Ki Byitzchak Yikarai lecha zara can mean: "for it is through Isaac that offspring shall be continued in you." Both meanings are valid since Yishmael is also a metzachek, a laugher, and the verse could equally well be about him. Indeed, in the very next verse Abraham is told that his son with Hagar will become a nation from Abraham as well.

So Abraham wakes up early the next day and with great faith and outrageous betrayal gives Hagar a mere loaf of bread and a single jug of water for her and the boy and sends them away into the desert.

Hagar wanders in the desert near Beer Sheva. When the water in the jug is gone, Hagar leaves the child under a bush and sits a bowshot away for she thinks: " I can't see him die like this." Then Hagar bursts into tears. God hears the cry of the boy and an agent of God tells Hagar. Don't worry for God has heard the cry of the boy b'asher hoo sham- from where he is.

God opens Hagar's eyes and there is a well of water, along with a career for Yishamel as an archer in the wilderness. I imagine Hagar never again takes orders from any woman or man, since the text tells us that Hagar herself contracts a wife for her son from the Land of Egypt, generally a privilege of patriarchs in the Torah.

Then our story switches to issues with Avimelech, a local Tony Soprano with whom there is a dispute over sheep and wells and who could theoretically claim to be Yitzchak's Dad. But we won't go there. In the end tensions around water rights are resolved with a peace treaty.

This Rosh Hashanah origin tale affirms that we are all God's elect fools in an outrageously painful and joyously wonderful universe. Though we behave badly, there is also grace for us. God was with the metzachek, the laughing then crying Yishmael, b'asher hoo sham, where he was. And even when Sarah acted out cruelly, God demanded that Abraham really listen to her. We are here in shul wondering what can we do to reduce our bad behavior: our apathy and lack of consciousness, our narcissism, aggression and cruelty. The humor of the Torah hints that reducing our fear of things would help. Too much fear degrades one's ideals. How can we live in less fear? We must seek out the unthinkable. But that is unthinkable. God tells Abraham today: "Ki Byitzchak Yikarai lecha zara". For through laughter you will find your fertility.

If you want to give birth to something new, laugh. Laughter is a sonic cleansing of the soul, like the shofar blasts for the community. Your belly laughter is your own private shofar. And if laughter isn't helpful or possible, wail, ululate, howl, yowl, bay, karate keeyih, have a crying fit, rip a high pitched fear release or give a good cleansing yell. In the Torah Rosh HaShanah is called Yom Terua and Zichron Terua- It's a Day to Remember to Make a Big Noise. Be a good sacred fool this Teshuva season and find constructive ways to clear some fear and grief and let go some anger. Aizehoo Gibor HaKoveish Et Yitzro- Who is Courageous- one who can conquer her will. So assault your wonderful defenses with a sonic bowshot. Fear less so you can love more in the present tense. Surprise yourself. Give yourself and everyone the benefit of the doubt. And remember Yom HaKippurim is coming, which is a day just like Purim.

Shanah Tovah.