Abrahams Trials English
Abrahams Trials English
Abrahams Trials English
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The story of Abraham's breaking his father's idols is so well known that most people
don't realize that it's not in the Tanakh. In one of the earlier versions Abraham is left
to mind the shop of his father Terah, the idol maker; Abraham first foils the sale of his
wares and then destroys them.
<gods28>
Alexander Karl Floersheim Haggadah, Amsterdam Haggadah, 1712
Abraham breaks the idols of Terah, 1737
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>abefam56<
Leipzig Mahzor, Abraham in Nimrod's Furnace, ca.1320
In our picture, Nimrod is seated on his throne; before him stands Terah—seen
by some midrashim as a supporter of the evil king—and his three sons. At Terah's
feet lies Haran, who died "in his father's presence" according to the Genesis 11: 27,
having been burnt to death by Nimrod, according to the midrash, because of his
feigned belief in God. Behind Terah, stand Abraham and Nachor. On the right,
Abraham is saved by a divine hand extracting him from the flames. This particular
form of execution is generated in the midrash by the name of Abraham's home town,
Ur, which in rabbinic Hebrew also means fire. Our illustration, placed along side a
Yom Kippur liturgical poem glorifying Abraham's faith in God, seems to reflect the
persecutions that Jews endured in Christian Europe during the Middle Ages.
Thus in these two pictures, Jewish artists expressed their admiration of and
identification with Abraham in his role as believer and activist.
The second trial in our counting is לך לךthe biblical portion in which Abraham is
commanded by God to go forth from "his land, his next of kin and his father's house".
The two words in Hebrew constitute an expression that has elicited much intepretation
in the history of Jewish commentary. Some of the midrashic sources (see below)
stress the disorientation implicit in the parasha and in these words – Abraham has
been uprooted from his homeland and has lost his parents; he then is commanded to
go to an unknown land. His trial is in his ability to withstand such loss of grounding
and remained focused on his mission.
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The two words look identical, inviting an interpretation that separates them: לךmeans
go out and לךmeans go in (to yourself). The definition of the spiritual journey
requires the two way movement; the hero goes forth and at the same time goes inward
to search for meaning.
<dali12>
S. Dali, Biblia Sacra, Abraham Father of many Nations, 1964-67
Or you can see Abraham's dominant shape giving form to the amorphous
potentialities of the unknown land. This dual view of the Dali work enables us to see
the dual meaning of לך לך, go forth as you go into yourself.
Anthony Dubovsky also creates a "before and after" by cutting his painting into two
distinct sections.
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<h&s01> <herzl>
Anthony Dobovsky, Abraham, 1992 Theodor Herzl, 1898
The introspective Abraham's forehead and chest are bathed in the light of the divine
command. Abraham's profile evokes the familiar image of Theodor Herzl, pondering
another Lekh Lekha. The larger half suggests desert, fire, sacrifice and trauma of the
external journey. A Midrash in Bereshit Rabba <link to BR 39:11> recognizing the
anxieties associated with travel, compensates Abraham with a triple blessing. He and
his destination (or destiny) are painted in the same colors, stressing their
interrelationship, if not their idenity.
<h&s03>
James Tissot, Abraham's counsel, 1896 - 1902
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In James Tissot's orientalist presentation, Abraham is a bedouin sheikh, selling
his concerns with tenative gestures, as Sarah listens incredulously.
In American performance artist Susan Benton's work, Sarah is masked, in
order to accommodate Abraham's anxiety and his wish to profit from their situation
>h&s10> <h&s04<
Susan Benton, Sarah Masked Max Ernst
The King playing with the Queen, 1944
A Byzantine ivory plaque plays out this complex story in its narrative
sequence.
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<h&s05>
In the left panel, Abraham stands at an altar to receive God's blessing, now
that he has arrived in the land of Canaan (Genesis 12:6-8). In the righthand panel,
Abraham and Sarah stand before Pharaoh, who is either receiving the weeping Sarah
from Abraham or returning her. In either case, Sarah at the center right is parallel to
the flames of the altar (center left): she is Abraham's sacrifice, prefiguring her
ultimate sacrifice (her death associated with the Akedah, Genesis 23).
Does Abraham pass this test?
Abraham's next trial is by combat, a role inconsistent with his pastoral image. His
kinsman Lot, has been abducted by four kings; Abraham pursues them into Syria
with just a small group of retainers, defeats them, rescues Lot and returns with much
booty. On encountering the King of Sodom, Abraham refuses any reward as
conqueror. What does the king of Sodom have to do with Abraham and Lot?
Previously (Genesis 13) these kinsman had almost come to blows over water rights.
Generously Abraham conceded to Lot the well-watered plains and agreed to withdraw
to the hills; as it turns out, these plains were home to the infamous but wealthy cities
of Sodom and Gomorrah. When four foreign kings attack the land of Canaan, this
rich area is their natural target and Lot is taken prisoner.
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As early as the fifth century, the mosaics of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome show the
parting of Abraham and Lot. On the right, Lot, his wife and two daughters are headed
toward a city. On the left, Abraham and company are backed by a tent and tree,
representing their rural environment. The two men look at one another with reluctance
at their separation.
In the wild battle scene below, from an Italian illuminated Bible, a bright red figure
draws us to the center. Among the cavalry, Abraham is identified as a civilian by his
Jew's hat, beard and robe, as he embraces his rescued nephew Lot in the midst of
fighting and dying cavalry.
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<Italian gothic>
Bible of Matteo di Planisio, Abraham's Battle with the Four Kings, ca. 1362
What is the trial in this episode? The traditional sources seem to be saying that the
peaceful Abraham's willingness to do battle, trusting in God's aid, is the mark of his
faith. But we might add that his test is how he deals with tension within his family
and whether he maintains his family bond despite these tensions.
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in a dark night, comforted again by the improbable promise. The gesture in both is
the gesture of receiving a gift: in the Lilien picture, Abraham holds his heart in
grateful anticipation; in the Vienna Genesis, covered hands is the visual convention
for receiving a gift. (In antiquity Roman soldiers would extend their covered hands to
the emperor, to receive their salary, a measure of salt. Salary derives from sal, salt-).
In the center, Abraham crouches in a trance before the split carcasses of the vision of
good news and bad news. The good news confirms his posession of the land; the bad
news forecasts the impending slavery of his descendents in Egypt.
Abraham just worries about continuity, but Sarah takes the initiative, introducing her
Egyptian handmaid, Hagar, whose hoped-for fertility will heal Sarah's barenness.
<h&s07>
Rembrandt, Sarah presents Hagar to Abraham, 1643-44
In Rembrandt's pen and ink drawing of ca. 1640, Sarah, in the center, brings
the demure Hagar, to the couch of the passive, reclining patriarch. Three gesturing
hands define the complexity of this proposal. And three feet of Sarah and Hagar show
them at a critical intersection. Two substantial breasts appear in the drapery, above
and to the right, focusing the pathos of the scene.
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<h&s08>
Rembrandt, Sarah complaining of Hagar to Abraham, ca. 1640
Hagar, proud and pregnant, no long downcaste and demure is identified by the
peacock behind. No longer the "fixer", Sarah, still in the center is bent and
devastated, pouring out her wrath on the nonplussed master of the household. Adam
Nordwall's statue "Split woman" expresses Sarah's dilemma.
<h&s09>
Adam Nordwall, Split Woman
At this point in Hagar's saga, Abraham mollifies Sarah: She's your handmaid,
do with her what you will. Progeny notwithstanding, Sarah abuses Hagar, who flees.
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<h&s48>
James Tissot,
Hagar and the angel in the desert,
1896 - 1902
<h&s51>
Pietro da Cartona, The Return of Hagar, ca. 1637
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This trial can be understood in two ways: 1) Abraham's equinimity is
challenged by a disturbed family dynamic or 2) Abraham's faith that God's providence
will justify the subsequent exile of Hagar and Ishmael.
7. Circumcision
Up to now the relationship between God and Abraham has been a promise;
now it becomes a contract or brit. The verbal is now cut into the flesh.
The twenty-seven verses of Genesis 17 are teeming (13 out of 27 verses) with words
connected with fertility: ' זרעseed', ' הרבהmake many', ' הפרהmake fruitful', ' ברךbless',
etc. The word בריתitself appears in this chapter thirteen times out of the 17 total
occurences in the Abraham narrative. The focus of the chapter is the circumcision rite,
mentioned here ten times, the first occurrence of this practice in the Tanakh. Both
here and in the context of agricultural law (Lev 19:23), the orla 'foreskin' is
considered to be an obstacle to fertility. Thus circumcision is required to enhance
human fruitfulness.
Two scenes appear in one of the few portrayals of this chapter in European art.
<18 MIMI>
Bible Historiale, The Circumcision of Ishmael, ca. 1430
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In this fifteenth century illuminated manuscript of Guiart des Moulins' Historical
Bible, Abraham kneels before God outside, on the left, and receives the divine
promise. Inside, on the right, we observe the ceremony of Ishmael's circumcision,
attended by the men of Abraham's house. In order to concretize the involvment of all
those "born in the house" (v. 23), a wall of the house is cut away exposing the
interior. Finally, both Sarai/Sarah and Abram/Abraham receive new names to mark
their new status. The heh in Sarah and Abraham emphasizes both the presence of
God ( )'הand the "muchness" ' 'המוןthat is to come.
<h&s24> <h&s33>
Rembrandt, Abraham dismisses Hagar, 1656 Jan Victors, The Expulsion of Hagar and
Ishmael, 1650
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Rembrandt was drawn repeatedly to the expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael because of
similiarities with his own personal life. In his portrayal, Abraham is filled with compassion
for Hagar and for Ishmael both. The heavy black cloud over Abraham expresses his anguish
over the forced exile. One hand caresses Ishmael, the other hovers toward the weeping
Hagar. The stoop suggests both an altar upon which mother and child are being sacrificed,
and intimates the missing presence of Sarah, usually standing in the doorway.
Jan Victors learned from his teacher, Rembrandt, the power of portraiture, especially
the play of light and shadow. He chooses the moment of separation; all are present at the
doorway, Hagar is already outside. Strong light illuminates her distressed face and wringing
hands as she looks back to her home. Innocent Ishmael's head is capped with light as
Abraham's hand hovers in blessing. The child's right hand reaching out to his father, calls
our attention to Abraham's fist. Strong light moves us to Abraham's far-away stare. Lesser
light illumines the tight-lipped Sarah, as usual in the doorway, the place of the manipulator.
Small light focuses on her hands, one clenched fist and an assertive index finger, pointing
Out. The totality of the painting is restraint, in comparison with Rembrandt's emotionality.
In our own times, the story has not lost its pathos. All the players are present in
George Segal's painted plaster installation.
<h&s38>
George Segal, Abraham's farewell to Ishmael, 1987
A modern family is breaking up. Father and grownup son embrace in parting. The
other woman stands alone, embracing herself. The matriarch, the manipulator, supervises in
the shadows. A large crack appears in the wall of separation.
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In contrast to the victim we have seen until now, a defiant Hagar emerges from the
feminist movement in the art of North Carolina artist Mickey Gault.
<h&s27> <h&s26>
Mickey Gault, Hagar and Ishmael
While defiance is clear from her arched back in profile, Hagar's face reveals tragedy.
The boy's bug-eyed look says fear, but his profile suggests urgency. None of the narrative
details are present: not the home, not the family, not the water or bread. The red sculpture
suggests a burning desert and high emotion. Gault's agenda is not Abraham's trial, but
Hagar's.
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<aked98>
Shraga Weil, Abraham's Dream, 1970
From a line of text containing the lekh lekha, a hail of letters awakens
Abraham, who covers his ears in dismay. A vague image of the Menorah descends
from the passage cut from a printed Bible, while the flood of letters below suggests
ripped newspapers, connecting the biblical narrative to the State of Israel and
contemporary protest against sacrifice of sons. An impression of broken glass and
shattered dreams pervades.
Avraham Ofek takes us on the journey to Moriah. Sparse lines and minimal
detail speak eloquently.
<Ofek sketch>
Avraham Ofek, On the way to the Mountain, 1980's
Abraham and Isaac in the lead, followed by the two servants and the donkey,
strain emotionally against the ascent as we observe from the side and behind. The
figures of Abraham and Isaac are filled in, as is the wood loaded on the donkey, while
the two boys are mere outlines. Diagonal movement stresses not only the ascent, but
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also the burden. The bare, harsh landscape and the threatening midrashic vulture
convey a bleak mood; salvation is not in sight.
<akdr297>
Abel Pann, Binding of Isaac, 1923
Paradoxic love and violence fill the scene in Abel Pann's painting of the Akedah
of 1923. A distraught father, staring into space, caresses with one hand and wields a
knife in the other. Neither the saving ram nor God's presence appears here, but rather
a vast tree shadows across the background.
The three major moments of the Akedah are God's call to Abraham, the journey
to Morah and the sacrifice, presented above. Jan Lievens, a colleague of Rembrandt,
painted a fourth, rarely illuminated scene, a midrashic reconciliation of father and son.
<akdr090b>
Jan Lievens, Abraham and Isaac, 1637
The biblical text (Genesis 22:19) speaks in the singular of Abraham's return
from Moriah—Isaac is not mentioned—leading to midrashic conjectures about his
whereabouts. Lievens creates positive closure, the embrace of Abraham and Isaac,
with the slaughtered ram at their feet.
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The reader has probably observed that Sarah is entirely absence from the
Akedah narrative. However, the next chapter opens with the announcement of her
death. It doesn't take much imagination for the Midrash to create a causal connection:
The satanic rumour reaches her; the shock kills her. In Dore's engraving of 1865, the
shrouded body of Sarah is placed upright in a niche within a burial cave.
<Dore Burial>
Gustav Dore, Burial of Sarah, 1865
Two burial workers are pushing the stone door into place; once again, the
shadowy figure of Sarah stands in a doorway. A group of mourners pull the reluctant
Abraham toward the exit. Abraham looks back in anguish, perhaps in guilt.
Abraham and Isaac go their separate ways. Hagar will soon find a bride for
Ishmael. Perhaps Sarah is the true sacrifice of the Akedah.
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