Abstract
The chapter addresses Saramago’s re-telling of the Biblical “Sacrifice of Isaac” in his 2009 novel Cain on account of both its narratological and philosophical implications. Consequently, the theological-metaphysical Biblical events shall not be conceived as the progressive fulfillment of divine premises but rather the convulsed history of humans, who are struggling with and against a “lower-case God”—irrational and unpredictable. I show how Saramago has filled some narratological blanks the Biblical “Sacrifice of Isaac” suffers from, comparing his text with another one: the Jewish midrash of this very Biblical passage. I maintain that Saramago intends to tell the story of the “Sacrifice of Isaac” from the perspective neither of the perpetrators (God and Abraham) nor of the victim (Isaac)—rather from the perspective of humanity.
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Notes
- 1.
The term midrash—from the Hebrew verb darash (“to research”)—designates a genre of Rabbinic literature that contains early interpretations of Scripture. It might address legal issues (midrash halakhah) or nonlegal issues (midrash aggadah). Midrashic literature spans from early Judaism to Talmudic and then Medieval Judaism, exhibiting a variety of methodology and theological principles. In the present context, midrash exclusively designates a kind of running commentary on Scripture, whose main purpose is hermeneutical but, strictly speaking, not legal. Scholarship on the midrash is extremely rich. For a historical and hermeneutical setting, see the classic work by Boyarin (1994) and, more recently, Bakhos (1996). On the reception of Cain and Abel in the Jewish midrash, see Luttikhuizen (2003) and Erzberger (2011).
- 2.
This juxtaposition is hardly coincidental and actually recalls many anti-Semitic stereotypes of the past. Christian typologists usually drew parallels between the way in which Cain treated Abel and the way in which the Jews treated Jesus, with the clear consequence that the legend of the Wandering Jew “has been taken as the crystallization of the odyssey of the descendants of Cain, wandering over the earth with the brand of a brother’s blood as their curse” (Baring-Gould 1977, p. 25; qtd. in Davison 2004, p. 42). See also Chazan (2010), pp. 87–88.
- 3.
The quite common Hebrew term berit—from the Hebrew verb barah (“to cut,” “to select,” “to eat”)—designates both a “pact” among men (for instance, Gen 14.13; 26:28, 31:44; Jos 9:6,7,11,15,16; Ex. 23:32; 34:12, 34:12,15; Deut 7:2) and a “covenant” between God and men (for instance, Gen 15:18, 17:2–21; Ex 2:24; 6:4; Lev 26:0.42). Biblical and Rabbinic texts are quoted from the Bar Ilan Judaic Responsa Project Library (Version 24) on CD-ROM. Translations from Hebrew and Aramaic are mine.
- 4.
- 5.
The Jewish tradition assumes that Isaac has not been sacrificed but only “bound” to the altar. Therefore, it addresses this episode as “the Binding of Isaac” (‘aqedat Itzhaq) rather than “the Sacrifice of Isaac,” which has a clearly Christian undertone, since Isaac would prefigure Jesus Christ. In the present context, the traditional definition “the Sacrifice of Isaac” is preferred only as a convention. On the emergence of the “Sacrifice of Isaac” in modern Jewish literature, see Feldman (2010).
- 6.
- 7.
Rabbi Tobiah ben Eliezer, Leqah Tov, comm. on Gen 22:4. This interpretation is founded on a particular rendering of the Hebrew adverb “afar off.” The Hebrew term mrhq is normally vocalized as an adverb: merakhoq (“from afar off”). In this particular case, this interpretation is based on a different reading: marakhaq (“to set off”) in conformity with the twin Aramaic verb. It is implicitly sustained that Satan has moved the place far away.
- 8.
Rabbenu Bakhya ben Asher, comm. on Gen 22:5.
- 9.
Rabbi Tobiah ben Eliezer, Leqah Tov, comm. on Gen 22:9.
- 10.
In his famous investigation on Freud , Derrida (1978) has assumed that “belatedness” (Nachträglichkeit) constitutes a crucial moment of delay in the “mechanics” of Hegelian dialectics. A similar concept—yet from a radically different context—resonates also in the Jewish-Christian Italian theologian Paolo De Benedetti (1992), who coined the expression “what is late will take place” (quel che tarda avverrà) with respect to the Jews who are waiting for the Messiah to come.
- 11.
Disputations between God and His angels are a common topic in the midrash and stem from apocalyptic Judaism that tries to negotiate between an omnipotent God and the emergence of evil on earth. See especially Michalak (2012).
- 12.
This notion is based on a different vocalization of the verb we-nivrekhhu (“and they will be blessed”) on the basis of the verb le-havrikh (“to graft”) so that the verse would sound: “and they will be grafted,” as clearly maintained by Jewish exegetes. See Rabbi Shemuel ben Meir (Rashbam) on Gen 12:3 and 28:14. Cf. also Strack and Billerbeck (1961), to Rm 11:17, pp. 290–91. On these themes, see in particular Dal Bo (2012).
- 13.
The notion of Sinn der Erde—introduced in Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra—has a political meaning, especially in the sense that the “overman ” (Übermensch) shall refrain from following transcendent values but rather pursue an “embodied life.” On Nietzsche’s notion of “earth,” see Shapiro (2016).
- 14.
R. David bar Amri, Midrash ha-Gadol, comm. on Gen 22:19.
- 15.
R. Tobiah ben Eliezer, Lekakh Tov, comm. on Gen 22:19.
- 16.
“This gold, however, and this laughter—these he takes from the heart of the earth: for you should at least know this—the heart of the heart is full of gold” (Nietzsche 2005, p. 115). The notion of Herz der Erde has recently been interpreted as the Overman’s majestic laughter over French revolution (Del Caro 2004, p. 143).
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Dal Bo, F. (2018). A Contemporary Midrash: Saramago’s Re-telling of the “Sacrifice of Isaac”. In: Salzani, C., Vanhoutte, K. (eds) Saramago’s Philosophical Heritage. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91923-2_7
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