In our recent Torah readings, we’ve been seeing a pattern: Abraham, a deeply-loving spiritualist, ends up with a wild and destructive son, Yishmael, and Isaac and Rivka, lofty and empathetic exemplars, raise a vicious murderer, Esau. What’s the Torah’s message?
Yishmael and Esau were each gifted with a wonderful upbringing, and each had a golden opportunity to carry it forward in their own lives. But sometimes good – even great – values can be taken off the rails.
Yishmael, for example, grew up in an atmosphere of unconditional benevolence. As the boy’s self-gratification needs developed, he translated ‘unconditional benevolence’ into ‘there are no boundaries.’ So, he lived a life of undisciplined trespassing into other people’s lives. He warped the idea of “what’s mine is yours” into “what’s yours is mine.”
Esau similarly perverted his parents’ lofty values. While those details are beyond the scope of this essay, the Torah’s message that even sublime ideas can be taken to harmful places, is exactly my point.
‘Social justice’ is an ancient Jewish concept. While the wider world was regularly practicing savagery and cruelty, Isaiah consistently called on society to care for the disadvantaged and vulnerable. Over the past years, this beautiful notion seems to have energized many high-minded and good-hearted people to advocate for the marginalized and the mistreated.