riday, January 3, 1975
V'Jenisti ffcracf/atn and Sbote ol Hollywood
Page 9-

???AskAbe???
QUESTION: How old was Isaac
when Abraham took him up to
Mt. Moriah for the sacrifice?
Name withheld upon request
ANSWER: According to the
Biblical narrative of the Akedah,
there is no positive statement to
indicate the age of Isaac. Ake-
dah is the Hebrew word meaning
"binding" which is used in the
Scriptures in connection with the
dramatic story of the binding of
Isaac by his father Abraham, in
the land of Moriah. (Genesi3
22:1-19:)
The key Hebrew word in the
narrative is "Naar" in the follow-
ing passage. "Then Abraham said
to his servants, 'You stay here
with the ass. The boy and I will
go up there; we will worship and
we will return to you.' (Genesis
22:5.)
According to an earlier trans-
lation of the Torah by Alexander
Harkavy (1863-1939), the word
Naar is translated as "lad."
Sometimes this Hebrew word is
used in connection with the
English word youth.
In the Encyclopaedia Judaica
article on the Akedah, Volume 1,
page 482, the following para-
graph appears. "The opinion is
found in the Midrash that
Isaac was 37 years old at the time
of the Akedah. Abraham ibn Ezra
(1C89-1164 C.E.) rejects this as
contrary to the plain meaning of
the narrative in which Isaac is
old enough to carry the wood but
young enough to be docile."
Apparently Ibn Ezra refers to
the exchange in the narrative be-
tween Isaac and Abraham. "Then
Isaac said to his father Abraham,
'Father!' And he answered. 'Yes,
my son.' And he said, 'Here is
the firestone and the wood; but
where is the sheep for the burnt
offering?' And Abraham said,
'God will see to the sheep for
His burnt offering, my son.' And
the two of them walked on to-
gether." (Genesis 22:7, 8.)
It is interesting to note that
even though Isaac was the in-
tended victim, the narrative in
Genesis and the Commentaries
on the Akedah emphasize the
Akedah as a test of Abraham.
It is repeated again and again
in the Commentaries that Abra-
ham with supreme self denial
was prepared to carry out the
divine command to offer up his
[' only son by Sarah as a sacrifice
to God. His hand was stayed only
at the last moment by an angel.
Having passed the supreme test
of faith. Abraham received an
affirmation of the divine bless-
ing. "I will bestow My blessing
upon you and make your de-
ASE HALPERN
scendants as numerous as tho
stars of heaven and the sands on
the seashore; and your descend-
ants shall capture the gates of
their enemies. All the nations of
the earth shall bless themselves
by your descendants, because you
have obeyed My command."
(Genesis 22:17, 18.)
From this point on. there is
no mention of Isaac in the nar-
rative of the Bible until the ac-
count of his marriage to Rebekah,
as told in detail in Genesis Chap-
ter 24. Following the affirma-
tion of the blessing, the narra-
tive states that Abraham re-
turned to his servants. They
went together to Beer Sheba. and
Abraham dwelt in Beer Sheba.
The following chapter in the
Bible tells about Sarah's death
in Hebron at the age of 127.
Abraham proceeded to mourn for
Sarah, purchased the cave of
Machpelah and buried her. There
is no mention of Isaac participat-
ing in the mourning of Sarah or
her burial.
Since Isaac was born when
Sarah was 90, he was 37 years
old when she died at the age of
127. But whether or not Sarah's
death was close in time to the
Akedah is not clear. Many school-
ars agree that the narrative in
the Bible clearly indicates that
he was much younger than 37
at the time of the intended sac-
rifice.
The Bible specifically states
that Isaac was 40 years old when
he married Rebekah (Genesis
25:20) This would indicate that
his marriage took place 3 years
after his mother's death.
One other interesting fact
about Isaac. Although he is one
of the three Patriarchs, he is
overshadowed in the Bible and
in the Commentaries by his
father Abraham and his son
Jacob.
Editor's note:
Please send vour questions to:
??? ASK ABE ???
c'o Jewish Federation of
South Broward
1909 Harrison Street
Hollvwood. Florida 33020
'We Should Write To Express
Appreciation To Sen. Jackson9
EDITOR, Floridian-Shofar:
While we are all grateful for
the understanding reached with
regard to the emigration of So-
viet Jews, as reflected by the
recent exchange of letters that
took place between Secretary of
State Kissinger and Senator Jack-
son, it is imperative that we fully
appreciate the following:
# That despite the Jackson
understanding it is by no means
evident as of this moment that
freedom of emigration will be
granted to all Soviet Jews who
wish to leave.
continue unabated.
 That drastic acts of harass-
ment against Soviet Jews who
indicate their desire to leave con-
0 That under these circum-
stances it is imperative that we
continue our efforts on behalf
of Soviet Jewry, with particular
attention to the fate of Jewish
Prisoners of Conscience now
languishing in Soviet prisons and
work camps.
1 would like to call upon all
HMMH
!
OUR
READERS
WRITE
"Let Thy V/orit Be Brief*
Kohehth (Ecclit)
|l1l,,r.ii..iiliiiii.i|iiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiwin^r"
the leaders of our many organiza-
tions and the readers of The
Shofar to extend to Senator
Jackson the support he vitally re-
quires in his continuing efforts
on behalf of Soviet Jewry by
writing to him now and express
ing our aomeciation for these ef-
forts and the success he has so
far achieved.
SAM J. PERRY
Hollywood
Soviet Jewry
No Change
By FRAN NEVINS
Since the dramatic announce-
ment of a Jackson Amendment
"agreement" on Oct. 18, the
Kremlin's anti-Jewish stance ap-
parently has changed little, if
any.
The text of the two Jackson-
Kissinger letters declares it is
understood the USSR will:
# Place no "unreasonable oi
unlawful impediments" in
the way of applicants for
exit (as punitive draft, per-
mission of parents even
where the applicant is an
adult, punitive "criminal"
charges)
# Process applicants on a
first-come, first-serve basis,
with hardship cases han-
dled "sympathetically and
expeditiously"
0 Continue to suspend the
"education tax" (although
applicants are still paying
the 900 plus ruble "fees")
# Hold those applicants who
had access to "genuinely
sensitive" information no
Sabra Group's
Meetings Are
Rescheduled
The Sabra Group of Hadassah,
which has been meeting on the
third Thursday of each month,
will begin a new meeting sched-
ule starting with the Jan. 9
meeting. General meetings will
thereafter be held on the sec-
ond Thursday of each month at
Temple Sold, 5100 Sheridan
St., Hollywood.
The Jan. 9 meeting will be a
paid up membership meeting
held in honor of lifetime mem-
bers and new members. The spe-
cial program will feature a skit
performed by Hadassah mem-
bers, and gifts will be presented
to all new members.
Life members to be honored
include Faye Plum, Melvia Toll.
Shirley R. Sterner, Barbara
Fertman, Barbara Zeitlin, Recsa
Frecdman, Sue Towbin, Judy
White, Leona Brauser, D'vorah
Friedman, Ruth Gillman, Flor-
ence Goldschmidt, Isabelle Mil-
ner, Regina Poslun, Jean Kru-
ce*-. Ma-ion I-evitats, Anne Lip-[
schitz, Sheila Riger, Lee Rosen-
berg, Dons Hosunstein, Kstlier ;
Rosenstrauss, Jae Ruderman. |
Alice Stolman, Jesse Subotky,
and Beverly Gandell.
Highlight of the evening will
be audience participation in a.
game of -Hadassah Squares," a I
take-oft on the well-known TV
show. Dessert and other refresh-1
ments will be served before the ;
meeting in order to allow time |
for the full schedule.
Mrs. Leon Brauser, president!
of the Sabra Group, or Mrs.
Joseph Rindner, membership vice
president, may be contacted for
further information. All Hadas-
sah lifetime members new to
this area who have not as yet
affiliated with a group are cor-
dially invited to attend.
I
In Kremlin's Stance
more than three years
 See to it that "the actual
number of emigrants would
rise promptly from the
1973 level and would con-
tinue to rise to correspond
to the number of applicants
and may therefore exceed
60.000 per annum." (Sen-
ator Jackson states in his
letter that 60,000 would be
considered a "benchmark,
a minimum standard of ini-
tial compliance")
 Reopen phone, telegraph
and postal communication
"to verify compliance set
forth"
As the year closes, we must
face the discouraging fact that
the Soviet Union has little or no
intention of allowing Jews freely
to exit for another land. But we
must continue to add joy and
hope to Soviet Jews through let-
ters and packages and our active
involvement in organizations
whose efforts are to be ap-
plauded.
NEWS BRIEFS
# Sylvia Zalmanson mot with
Senator Jacob Javits with regard
to freeing the 40 Jewish Prison-
ers of Conscience. Javits prom-
ised to seek a clearer statement
on the POC's from the Soviets
via the Administration. He also
asked for a list of Soviet Jews
who have been harassed since tho
agreement was announced.
ft ->
 In tho Omnibus Trade Re
form Act, the most-favored-na-
tion status plus the granting of
Government backed credits will
expire after 18 months. One
month before expiration date, the
President could ask Congress for
a one year renewal. If he does,
Congress could renew it by con-
current legislation within 60 days.
If no resolution is passed, the
trade benefits would continue un-
less within 45 days either House
voted to discontinue them. Re
newal would depend on whether
the Soviet Union lived up to
their agreements.
& tT ft
 In Minsk, persecution is ap-
plied not merely to those Jews
who have applied for exit but in
every case after even the receipt
of an invitation from Israel. A
typical example is musician
Alexi Kribulin, a member of the
Minsk Ensemble. He received an
invitation but had not yet de-
cided whether to apply for exit.
He was called before a meeting
of the entire ensemble and ac-
cused of being "a fascist, a Zion-
ist pig. a murderer of Arab chil-
dren and a traitor." He was dis-
missed from the ensemble.
ft ft ft
# Also in Minsk, people are
being compelled to sign a form
at work which in effect says that
"1 promise net to write to. speak
to, or hear from any foreigner.
I promise not to go on any trips
abroad and if I break any of
these promises. I shall inform
responsible authorities." Thus,
Jews are afraid to go to work as
this applies directly to them.
ft ft ft
C In I^ningrad, activist Mik-
hail Strugach's telephone was
cut. In Moscow, Boris Tsitlonak
was arrested on the street, taken
to the police station, was accused
of "parasitism" and was warned
he is in danger of being put into
a psychiatric hospital.
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