Recently, Sephardic Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar gave in to pressure from some in the Haredi community and cancelled the planned international conference of rabbis and rabbinic judges looking for halakhic solutions for agunot.  It reminded me of a discussion on the topic of parshat Toldot about Abraham and Isaac.

In parshat Toldot, Isaac flees to the city of Gerar because of a famine in the land of Canaan.  And when it says in the Torah:  “the men of the place asked him about his wife,” Isaac’s strategy for dealing with the depraved local inhabitants was the same as his father’s. “He said ‘she is my sister,’ for he was afraid to say ‘my wife,’ thinking, ‘the men of the place might kill me on account of Rivka, for she is beautiful.’” (Genesis 26:6)

Isaac is foregoing his wife’s dignity in order to save his or perhaps both their lives.  But does he not remember that the same thing happened to his mother Sarah in Egypt!  And I quote:   “Pharaoh’s courtiers saw her and praised her to Pharaoh, and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s palace (12:15).”

Rabbi David Kimchi, also known as the Radak,  writing in the 13th century defends our forefather’s actions:  Abraham faced a real moral dilemma: telling the truth might result in his being killed and in his wife being taken anyway.   Lying would allow them both to survive, although at a high cost to Sarah…Abraham rightly made a choice.  However, Ramban of the 12 century (on Genesis 12:15) denounces Abraham for his behavior: “Know that our father Abraham inadvertently committed a great sin by placing his virtuous wife in a compromising situation because of his fear of being killed. He should have trusted in God to save him, his wife and all he had, for God has the power to help and to save . . .” Ramban maintains that the entire decision to go down to Egypt was sinful and he knew what the cost would be for Sarah.    I  would add, how much more true for Isaac.

How is this similar to the cancelled conference on agunot?  It took a lot of courage (and entirely too much time) for Rabbi Shlomo Amar to organize this conference intended to save women from the living hell of being agunot.  However, in my opinion, what more could God want from rabbis and rabbinic judges with a healthy fear of heaven, than to help people with halakhic solutions to their problems?

But the whole conference collapsed because of social pressure.   The Haredim did not learn the lessons of Abraham and Isaac who gave up the dignity of their wives in order to protect themselves.  And they even did it for the same reason – they feared their fellow man more than they feared God.

Recent Articles by Rabbi Paul Aberman

• Toledot: Fearing our fellow man and fearing God - November 24th, 2006
• Lekh-Lekha: Acts of Conversion-Save the Life of My Child - November 11th, 2005
• Rabbi Paul Arberman - August 3rd, 2004

Categories: Bereshit / Genesis, Toledot
Tags: Bo, court, fen, human rights, judge, order, palestinians, settlers, truth