Jewish tradition has a way of blowing your mind with concepts like that – especially when we delve into stories like the Exodus and the Binding of Isaac.
Imagine this: the Israelites are trapped. The Red Sea crashes before them, the Egyptian army thunders behind. Panic. Desperation. But at that very instant, something else is happening. According to a remarkable midrash, or interpretation, found in Mekhilta de-Rabbi Ishmael, Mount Moriah itself – the very mountain where Abraham prepared to sacrifice Isaac – begins to shift! And not only that, but the altar Isaac lay upon moves with it.
It’s an incredible image, isn’t it? But what does it mean?
The midrash doesn’t stop there. God, seeing the Israelites’ plight, urges Moses to act. "Moses, Moses, My children are in distress! The sea is blocking their path, and the enemy is pursuing them, and you stand so long praying?" As we find in Mekhilta de-Rabbi Ishmael, Moses asks, "What should I be doing?" And God replies: "Raise up your staff!"
As Moses lifts his staff, the Red Sea splits open. Miraculously, impossibly, a path appears. But at the very same moment, on Mount Moriah, the angel's voice rings out, "Do not raise your hand against the boy, or do anything to him!" (Genesis 22:12).
This, friends, is mind-bending stuff.
What’s so powerful about this midrash is how it collapses time. There's no "before" or "after." Past, present, and future are intertwined. The Binding of Isaac – the Akedah – and the parting of the Red Sea are not just two separate stories, but simultaneous events. As Tree of Souls (Schwartz) points out, it’s a clear statement about the nature of midrashic time.
But hold on, it gets even wilder!
The story suggests that the future event – the parting of the Red Sea, the ultimate act of divine mercy and salvation – actually affects the past. The power unleashed at the Red Sea saves Isaac from sacrifice! Think about that for a moment. The mercy generated by the Exodus ripples backward through time, intervening in one of the most pivotal moments in Jewish history.
It's a stunning vision, where the future can rewrite the past.
Interestingly, we see a similar connection between the Akedah and the Red Sea in Genesis Rabbah. However, here, the influence flows in the opposite direction. The merit of Abraham’s near-sacrifice, his unwavering faith, paves the way for the miracle at the Red Sea.
So, what are we to make of all this? Is time a river, flowing in one direction? Or is it more like a vast, interconnected ocean, where events echo and influence each other across the ages? These ancient stories invite us to consider the very nature of time, of faith, and of the enduring power of moments that shape not only our past, but perhaps our future as well.