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The Faith of Abraham

100%

Wettstein H.

Edukacja Filozoficzna

2019

issue 68

55-67

There is something enormously powerful, even inspirational, about the Akedah story and about Abraham who was, after all, named the Father of Faith. He may be judged as inconsistent – his boldness concerning Sodom and Gomorrah seems to contradict with his silence in the face of God’s command to kill Isaac. However, we might note the contrast and take it as an indication that Abraham sees or understands something that we do not. Similarly, in the light of these stories it is worth rethinking God’s ways and the “strategy” of the Bible. We tend to explain God’s Will with the suggestion that if something happens there must be a reason for it – we treat it like a wound that requires mending; these understandable reactions nevertheless situate us a bit too closely to Job’s comforters. The biblical texts are plain; they do not so much as hint at theodicy. Perhaps the Bible’s unembarrassed directness about God’s ways is testing us, but not in a way acknowledged by the theodicies.

Jest coś niezmiernie potężnego, nawet inspirującego, w historii Akedah i w Abrahamie, którego bądź co bądź nazwano Ojcem Wiary. Może on się nam wydawać niekonsekwentny – jego śmiałość w sprawie Sodomy i Gomory wydaje się nie do pobodzenia z milczeniem w obliczu rozkazu Boga, by zabił Izaaka. Ale możemy też, zauważywszy tę uderzającą różnicę w postawie, potraktować ją jako wskazówkę, że Abraham widzi albo rozumie coś, czego my nie widzimy i nie rozumiemy. W świetle tych opowieści warto rozważyć ponownie działanie Boga i „strategię” Biblii. Mówimy zwykle o Woli Bożej, sugerując, że jeśli coś się dzieje, to z pewnością nie bez racji – jakbyśmy mówi o ranie, które musi się zagoić; te reakcje, choć zrozumiałe, niebezpiecznie upodabniają nas jednak do pocieszycieli Hioba. Teksty biblijne są jasne; nie zawierają nawet cienia teodycei. Być może nieskrępowana bezpośredniość, z jaką Biblia przedstawia Boże działanie, jest próbą, ale próbą innego rodzaju niż ta, z którą mierzą się teodycee.

Abraham’s Trials in Ancient and Medieval Jewish Writings

71%

Kaczorowska K. M.

Verbum Vitae

2021

vol. 39

issue 4

1357-1376

The article presents a brief overview of the Jewish rabbinical resources with regard to the Patriarch Abraham and his life, viewed as a series of trials. From the second century BCE, the Jewish authors were recognizing numerous events in Abraham’s life as ordeals, gradually more and more difficult and challenging. Through them God put Abraham and his faith to the test in order to assure that his election of Abraham was right. On the basis of The Book of Jubilees and several rabbinical works, including Pirqe Abot, Pirqe Rabbi Eliezer and Abot de Rabbi Nathan as well as the writings of Jewish medieval commentators (esp. Maimonides and Rashi), the paper in detail analyzes the concept of these trials and the differences that can be identified in the sources concerning their identification and order. Firstly, the reasons of the rabbinical commentators’ particular interest paid to Abraham have been given. Subsequently, the concept of his numerous trials, identified by the rabbis and Jewish scholars, have been discussed, followed by a thorough presentation of selected rabbinic works and discussions whether the experiences of Abraham’s life should and/or should not be regarded as trials.

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1 Edukacja Filozoficzna

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1 Kaczorowska K. M.

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The Faith of Abraham

Abraham’s Trials in Ancient and Medieval Jewish Writings