Tears of Angels: Part Nine: Marc Gafni

posted by Dr. Marc Gafni assistant

The second way for Isaac and the rest of us to let go of anger at our parents is to have the profound epiphany/realization that our parents had parents too. Mom had a mom and dad and so did Dad.

What a thought! It is in learning and retelling our parents’ stories that we release anger and come to forgive them, opening up the channels for us to be once again alive and alove.

To retell Abraham’s tale

So let us now help Isaac let go of his anger towards Abraham by telling another small piece of the Abraham story. We need to return to the point of trauma, the story of the Binding of Isaac. This story is a climatic episode in the biography of our love word ra’ah. It is in this chapter that Abraham breaks through to the other side and is able to see with the eyes of God.

Recall that Abraham hears the voice of the spirit saying, “Do not harm Isaac; God will show you a ram in his stead.” (Note that the word used for God will show you is – ra’ah — as in ‘God will see for you’)

In the very next verse: “Abraham sees a ram.” But didn’t we just say God would see? The deep resolution has occurred — Abraham and God have collapsed into one wave; Abraham sees with the eyes of God. Abraham has crossed to the other side. He has become a lover. As Isaiah says, “Abraham my Lover.” (Isaiah ch. 40)

That is all very nice for Abraham but, as we have seen, Dad’s success story left Isaac deeply scarred from the trauma. Only much later in life must Isaac go and retell the story in order to transmute his anger into love, in order to be a lover in the world. So let us, with Isaac, revisit that episode in the biography of ra’ah and see what happened.

And that is what Dr. Marc will post for you tonight at the conclusion of his Sabbath.

posted by Dr. Marc Gafni asst.
posted on marcgafni.com
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