Honesty is the Best Policy

Sponsored by Sharona and Josh Halickman in Memory of Mr. Walter Kramer z"l, beloved father of Naomi Dorfman   In last week’s Parsha, Parshat Vayera,  22:2-3 we read “And God said, Please take your son, your only one, whom you love, Yitzchak and go to the Land of Moriah; bring him up there as an offering upon one of the mountains which I shall tell you. So Avraham woke up in the morning and he saddled his donkey; he took his two young men with him and Yitzchak his son; he split the wood for the offering and stood up and went to the place of which God had spoken to him”.   What is missing in this whole account is Sarah.   Why didn’t Avraham tell Sarah where he was going before he left?   One could answer that Avraham wanted to spare Sarah from the pain and anguish of knowing that her son is going to be brought up as a sacrifice. And if it turns out to be a happy ending (which it did) then what would have been the point of worrying her?   The only problem is that by Avraham not being out in the open, there was a chance that Sarah would find out from someone else.   According to the Midrash in Pirkei De Rebbi Eliezer, when Avraham returned peacefully from Har HaMoriah, Satan was angry that Avraham did not end up sacrificing Yitzchak. Satan went to Sarah and said: “Did you hear what just happened in the world”? Sara answered “no”. Satan then told her that Avraham killed Yitzchak and sacrificed him. At that point Sara began to cry and passed away.   By reading this midrash it seems that if Avraham had been more honest and open with Sarah then she would have been spared the grief may have even lived longer.   Honesty is the best policy.