This morning as I drove back from Boston, I heard a BBC report from Turkey in which a young thirteen year old Syrian boy discusses his urge to join ISIS and fight the West and even die for his cause. The reporter asked him about the possibility that he might be killed in this fight and the boy responded that he would be overjoyed if that were the case. At one point the reporter asked the boy's mother about her feelings should such a thing happen and how she would react and she too responded that should her son become a martyr, she would be overjoyed.
Just yesterday, I saw the pictures of several smiling Palestinian children flashing the victory sign after learning that their father had just been killed while conducting a terror attack against innocent civilians in Jerusalem. The children expressed their wish to one day also be able to give up their lives and die as martyrs in the fight against Israel.
Both the interview from Turkey and the picture from Jerusalem were deeply disturbing and tragic. Their love of death and willingness to die and kill, tell a story of people whose core values and morals have been badly corrupted.
What does Judaism have to say about the willingness of people to have Self Sacrifice for G-d?
Interestingly, in this week's Torah portion, the groundwork for the Jewish concept of self-sacrifice is being laid in the story of the binding of Isaac. It's a long, complicated and powerful story, in which Abraham is told to go to what is now known as Temple Mount and offer up his son as a sacrifice. It is a mental, spiritual, emotional and physical challenge to the highest degree. Yet in the end, G-d tells Abraham to hold off and not do anything as his unbending loyalty to G-d has now been proven and brought forth and manifest.
For Abraham who was the first Jew, this test, which marked the tenth G-d given challenge, was the final action that helped create an enduring and everlasting relationship between G-d and the Jewish people.
This is a story that requires a lot of learning and discussion, yet at the same time, it is also a story that has become a central part of the daily prayers. The commentaries explain, that the reason for the daily reading, is due to the intense message that is conveyed to us through this story and also as a reminder to G-d about what made G-d make his enduring promise to Abraham and his descendants.
To be clear, G-d never had any intention of wanting or allowing Abraham to carry out this action and the whole thing was orchestrated purely as a test for Abraham. Yet the Torah’s powerful recording of the story, along with it being included in the daily prayers, seems to highlight the tremendous takeaway and life lessons that one can learn from this story.
In Jewish teachings, this story is synonymous with the spiritual concept of self-sacrifice. Abraham is considered to be the one who took man's unbending loyalty to G-d to a level far beyond any other form of serving G-d that had been practiced before him. In a sense, as a result of his actions, Abraham caused that a commitment and loyalty to G-d's values and obligations that supersedes all else in life has become part of the spiritual DNA of all of his descendants.
It is precisely a commitment of this nature, which is based on self-sacrifice and of placing G-d and his mandate at the forefront and center of our lives, which has truly shaped and determined the Jewish people's survival and unshakeable commitment to G-d and Judaism throughout the ages. The unbridled commitment and determination that this attitude stands for, has given us the power and potential to overcome challenge after challenge, enemy after enemy, and spiritual and physical obstacles of every kind, shape and form.
Self-Sacrifice in simple terms, means putting your SELF and natural tendencies on hold while you aim for a higher goal, responsibility or commandment. It may be about pushing ourselves to help others more than we normally do or are comfortable with, or it may be by pushing ourselves to study and learn more than we are in the mood of or feel for, or it may be in pushing ourselves to do some extra Mitzvot, go to Synagogue, or celebrate a Shabbat Dinner at our home and create some G-d space for ourselves or our family, even though we don’t feel inclined that way.
Abraham’s self-sacrifice, reminds us of the need to create spaces and moments in our lives where G-d and his instructions come first. It is precisely spaces such as these that will allow us to connect with our inner self, G-d, and with others around us in a much deeper and closer manner.
This kind of self-sacrifice is about the now, it is about making the world a better place, it is about enabling your fellow man to have a better world, and ultimately it will make you too into an even better person!