Killing in the Name of God

Vayera

Gen. 18:1-22:24         

Précis: God “appeared” (vayera) to Abraham in the form of three travelers to whom Abraham shows hospitality. They promise the birth of Isaac, overheard by Sarah (who laughs). God reveals His plans for the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and Abraham argues for its salvation for the sake of any innocents who might dwell there. The scene shifts to Sodom where Lot lives, and he and his daughters are rescued first from an unruly mob and then from the destruction of the city itself. Lot’s wife glances back and turns into the pillar of salt. His daughters, fearing that they are the last females alive, make Lot drunk and engage in sexual relations with him, later giving birth to founders of the tribes of Moab and Ammon (traditional adversaries of the Israelites).

Back with Abraham, Sarah conceives and gives birth to Isaac. She becomes unhappy with the continued presence of Ishmael and prevails upon Abraham to expel Ishmael and Hagar from the household, which he does (after being promised by God that Ishmael, too, will be the father of a great nation). Thereafter, the story continues with the attempted sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham, called “the Akedah” (the Binding of Isaac).

Gen. 18:26   “…Will not the Judge of the entire earth do justly?”

            Our belief in God can be challenged by the ongoing killing in His Name by terrorist attacks in Israel and by the despicable actions of ISIS and ISIS-inspired zealots in many parts of the world. How can we believe in God when millions have been killed in His Name over the centuries? Rabbi Avis Weiss has suggested (JTA, 10/20/13) that ethics and morality must originate with God, because, as Freud has suggested, when it comes to self-deception, human beings are geniuses. If Hitler were asked whether the murder of 6 million Jews was ethical, he would say it was. The same is true of the godless communist regimes that murdered millions during the course of the 20th century and of the ISIS adherents.

            But  the concept of morality originating with God is challenged by the story of Sodom, when God appears quite willing to slay innocent bystanders. Abraham of course challenges God, and demands that God adhere to His own justice. Weiss suggests to us that this example means that we are not free to disregard our “inner ethical voices.” As is pointed  in Midrash, “Any love that does not include challenging each other is not true love.” If  God commands us to kill an innocent, we have the responsibility to question, to challenge, to confront God.

            Our tradition comes down firmly on the principle that murder in the name of God is obscene. It is indeed a desecration of God’s name. How remarkably different from those who kill in the name of the God they call Allah.