The story of the Akeida, in parshah Vayeira, can appear to be a very frightening situation: the patriarch Abraham is being guided by his higher awareness of God to sacrifice his only son, the one he loves, on Mount Moriah. This request is so outrageous that the natural response would clearly be “No!” But the Torah is not just a story—it’s giving us insight into how we can deal with any challenges we face in the present day. There are many valid interpretations about this drama, and there’s much relief that Isaac survived and went on to marry Rebecca; but I want to share my own interpretation of this story, and show how it can help every one of us whenever we find our self in a very challenging situation.
This is all about the intensity of life that can sometimes show up in our lives, at a moment when we’re being seriously challenged but we don’t know how to get out of it. Clearly, the whole concept of sacrificing his son must have made Abraham intense with fear. He had waited so long for his son to be born, and now he was being asked to take his life! At the same time, Isaac was obviously terrified at the possibility of giving up his life. How intensely he must have questioned his own father’s love for him, at the prospect of being sacrificed. So how can this story help us today?
In the present day, no one is being asked to sacrifice his or her child. It’s unthinkable! But many of us might, at some time, find our self in such a difficult situation that we have no idea how we can come through our challenge safely.
This is when we have to remember the story of the Akeida, because, at the beginning, it looked like everyone was about to suffer, and yet, in the end, it turned out that everything was OK. That’s because of one incident … The ram!
At the strategic moment when Abraham was about to perform this action against his son, he was told that he must stop! Because Abraham had been ready to show that he surrendered his will to the higher wisdom of God, through his willingness to sacrifice the most precious son that he loved so much, he no longer had to prove his love for God. So when he was told that he could stop what he was going to do, he looked up at a growth of bushes on the hillside, and could see the ram! The ram’s horns were trapped in the bushes, and he could not break free. And there, Abraham realized, was the sacrifice he would give on Mount Moriah!
As a vegetarian, I’m not so happy with this part of the story, but as a spiritual traveler I find it inspirational.
Whenever we are struggling to come through any difficulty, we have to remember the ram. When we are able to realize, through our inner path, that everything we experience is actually coordinated by the higher wisdom of the universe, we need to remember that the metaphorical ram will always show up in some unexpected way, and create the perfect solution to whatever difficulty we are facing.
We’re not here on this earth to suffer, even though it can sometimes feel like we are. The Inner Torah teaches that we’re all on a path to notice and discover the actions of the higher wisdom that created and continues to support every life on this planet, as well as everything beyond it.
This Torah parshah, Vayeira, has given us something to remember whenever we’re stuck between a rock and a hard place: Remember the ram!