One of the more salient lessons that we derive from this week's Torah reading regarding Abraham and Isaac is the emphasis that the Torah places on the fact that they ascended the mountain of Moriah together. This is because continuity, the bond between generations, has been the hallmark of Jewish life throughout its long history.
Every generation differs in many aspects from the generation that preceded it—and this is especially true regarding the generations of Jews who have lived over the past few centuries. Scientific discoveries, enormous social changes, technology and communication that was previously unimaginable, plus an entirely different set of social and economic values, have transformed the Jewish world in a radical fashion. It is much more difficult, if not sometimes impossible, for parents and children to walk together towards a common goal.
The secularization of much of Eastern-European Jewry during the 19th and 20th centuries testifies to this fact. Even though different generations will always see matters in a different light, there has perhaps never been such a radical and almost dysfunctional separation of generations as we have undergone during this period.
It is basically true that the generation of the 20th Century also wanted to climb the mountain of Moriah, but they did not want to do so in the company of their elders. In discarding the preceding generation, its teachings and way of life, the new generation ascended many mountains, but they never climbed the right one. And much of Jewry today is stranded on strange peaks and at dangerous heights.
The challenge of the continuity across thegenerations is an enormous one. No matter how hard each family may try, not one has a guarantee of 100% success in maintaining the great chain of Jewish tradition. In fact, in my opinion, the challenge and task of today's generation, to somehow remain connected and to retain their values and purpose in life, is far greater than when I was a child.
There is no magic bullet, no one-size-fits-all solution to this type of challenge. There is a famous metaphor attributed to one of the great Eastern European rabbis who said that we are all but ships traversing the sea to arrive at our final destinations. Every ship leaves a wake in its passing to mark where the safe passage exists. However, that wake soon disappears and every ship must make its own way across the sea of life. The same is true about binding the generations together. The attempt to do so must be constant and one should never despair. It can be achieved.
Shabbat shalom, Rabbi Berel Wein
