THE FAMILY AS THE BASIS OF SUSTENANCE OF JUDAISM
The biblical readings of Rosh HaShanah come from BereshIt and relate fundamental aspects of the life of the first 2 patriarchs. Those who designated which chapters should be read these days did not opt for those containing the Ten Commandments or the account of the creation of the universe, especially if one considers that Rosh HaShanah is Yom harat olam: the day of creation. It is clear that the Chachamim wished to emphasize the family and its integrity as the fundamental axis of society. Moreover, Jewish worship is centered within the family and the synagogue is only an additional factor.
The patriarchs had difficulty procreating, perhaps to point out that the birth of a human being is the result of the union of the sexes, but it also requires God’s intervention. Such was the case with the creation of the first human being, God made him from the earth. Each birth also has a miraculous aspect, it is a manifestation of Divine Providence, which bestows or can prevent the event.
While Yitschak follows the path of the patriarch Avraham, his son Yishmael, who had been born of the patriarch’s union with his concubine Hagar, deviates to another path. This fact teaches that the genetic factor is important but not determinative. Each person can alter his destiny regardless of the genetic code he possesses.
From the beginning, the Torah insists on a person’s responsibility for his fate, a message very appropriate for Rosh HaShanah, the Day of Judgment, Yom HaDin. The patriarch’s wife Sarah demands that Avraham banish Hagar and Yishmael from his home, because she fears the negative influence they may exert on their son Yitschak. Hagar‘s banishment from home is a cruel action that then gets God’s help. Yishmael later becomes the father of another people.
Notwithstanding this fact of apparent cruelty, Sarah feels and knows that the environment is very important, especially at the dawn of the birth of monotheism. Any distraction or temptation could have failed the incipient theological-religious thought that will revolutionize Humanity.
The Talmud teaches: Oy lerasha oy lishecheno, “woe to the wicked and woe to his neighbor.” There is an old discussion about which factor determines the development of the human being: the social environment or the hereditary factor. Without going into the depths of the argument, we assume that both ingredients are important. Therefore, once parents have imposed the genetic code, they must worry about the social environment of their children to ensure their harmonious and moral development.
The Second Day reading of Rosh HaShanah refers to the binding of Yitschak on an altar to be offered to God. It is a moving chapter, because it demonstrates the son’s absolute trust in his father and Avraham‘s unquestioning faith in God. Much ink has been spilled on this episode, which fundamentally teaches that man must be willing to sacrifice. On the one hand, God does not desire human sacrifice as the outcome of this account teaches, but at the same time there is the teaching that every human or divine relationship requires the giving of oneself. Without sacrifice you cannot cement a relationship. The Torah denies the wisdom and moral validity of human sacrifice, but, on the other hand, man must share his goods and emotions with his neighbor when he wishes to establish a brotherly relationship, of responsibility for the welfare of his neighbor.
The Torah readings for Rosh HaShanah warn and emphasize that the nuclear family is indispensable for the moral and spiritual growth of the human being. The teaching that Avraham wanted to transmit demanded the existence of a relationship of intimacy and trust between father and son to ensure the survival of his spiritual discovery: the existence of one God, father of Humanity.
