Yiftach (Jephthah) made the following vow to the LORD: “If you deliver the Ammonites into my hands, then whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me on my safe return from the Ammonites shall be Hashem’s and shall be offered by me as a burnt offering.” Judges 11:30-31
“When Yiftach arrived at his home in Mizpah, there was his daughter coming out to meet him, with timbrel and dance! She was an only child; he had no other son or daughter.
When he saw her, he ripped his garments, and exclaimed, ‘Alas, my daughter! You have surely brought me to my knees! And you have become one of those who ruin me! For I have mouthed an oath before the LORD, and I cannot recant!"
‘Father,’ she said, ‘you have uttered a vow to the LORD; do to me as you have vowed, seeing that the LORD has vindicated you against your enemies, the Ammonites.” Judges 11:34-36 - after Yiftach was victorious against the Ammonites.
This is a story which, if read closely, almost outdoes the binding of Isaac. An angel of God tells Avraham to stop the sacrifice, for now Hashem knows that Avraham would not withhold Isaac, his beloved son, from Him. Yet Yiftach, unlike Avraham, does sacrifice his child, his only child, to God1. What did Yiftach do wrong? When Yiftach made the vow, he seemed to have the support of God, as the verse in Judges 11:29 recounts, “Then the spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah” (before proclaiming the above vow). Why? It is evident in the Judaic panoply of thought that this was a huge error of judgement on Yiftach’s part. This is seen as a tragedy2. Avraham’s actions however, are very much realized as a great sacrifice, despite the lack of actual sacrifice. In Sephardi Selichot, we recite
“דְּעָנֵי לְיִצְחָק עַל גַּבֵּי מַדְבְּחָא. עֲנֵינָן”- “To Him who answered Isaac atop the Altar, answer us”
אִם אָפֵס רֹבַע הַקֵּן - A Selicha (request for pardon - a poetic retelling of the Akedah) about the Binding of Isaac and how that action of Avraham’s should bestow hope for our sins
The Binding of Isaac is a monumental part of our High Holiday experience. Why is there no mention of Yiftach’s sacrifice? Why are Yiftach’s actions viewed as tragic, though Avraham’s are viewed as Patriarchal?
Classic Routes
I want to point out a few obvious reasons, then offer a deeper reading of the text, one which will explain the practical lesson for those of us who don’t spend too much time thinking about child sacrifice.
Avraham didn’t actually sacrifice Yitzchak, that’s the whole point.
Weakness - if Avraham was ready to, why did Hashem seem to support that idea? It still seems to be that there was something fundamentally different in the Binding of Isaac not present in the sacrifice of Yiftach’s daughter.
Avraham did not perform the commandment begrudgingly, Yiftach was torn over his promise.
Weakness - none of the commentators understand this to be his blunder.
Weakness 2 - this goes against rational reason (which Saadya Gaon and other medieval commentators prohibit when it comes to interpretation of verses except in extremely select circumstances).
Yiftach sacrificed his daughter in exchange for something, Avraham’s actions were dictated by God. Though similar, the crucial caveat is that Yiftach treated this as an exchange rather than a heartfelt instruction.
Weakness - none of the commentators understand this to be his blunder.
Weakness 2 - God never commanded and explicitly prohibits actual child sacrifice. The Avraham and Isaac case was a dramatized lesson against child sacrifice3.
The Deeper Lesson About Prayer
I remember once speaking to Rabbi Barry Nathan (z”l) - director of admissions for Lander College - regarding the incident of Yiftach’s daughter. He lamented to me that it is shocking how little Halakha the Judges seemed to have known - Yiftach should have known the Halakha about making vows and how to overturn them / properly apply them. Historical problems with this aside - he did touch on a very important point. Yiftach was missing something. He went through with this tragic sacrifice because he misunderstood something fundamental about the purpose of sacrifice. Nachmanides (Ramban) writes that sacrifices are not for God - God does not get hungry. Sacrifices are a part of the recognition that an animal takes our place when we sully God’s Presence in the world by sinning. This was a key element in sacrifice that Yiftach overlooked. The sacrifice is supposed to represent something to us.
It seems clear that to Yiftach, the sacrifice represented a bribe of some sort. To Yiftach, God was able to be bribed and wanted Yiftach’s daughter as a sacrifice. Yiftach should have realized that God wants for nothing. His utter terror when seeing his daughter come out with drums should have caused him to go to Pinchas (or any spiritual leader of the time), or to ask himself if God, who wants for nothing, really would have approved of this. God does not need us to do what we think God wants. God needs us to be honest with ourselves about what we and the people around us need. Things went downhill for Israel from there for some time. Indeed, after the sacrifice, all of Israel prohibited such a practice.
God Cannot be Bribed
I have spoken with many people who seem to approach the High Holidays with many resolutions, fanciful ones which seem to betray their belief that God demands their perfection. He does not. The Truth the Torah portrays is that human beings are flawed, and that is (partially) ok. As long as we strive to fulfill God’s Instruction (whatever particular form it takes), we are doing Teshuva. It is up to us to fix that which can be fixed and accept certain parts of ourselves which may be flaws, to the extent that they do not harm others or ourselves and are too much to take on at once. The Patriarchs and Matriarchs had flaws. Judaism does not believe in Sainthood as a virtue. Judaism believes in reality. If you get a chance to read my Free Will series on the
Substack, it will be all the more clear that we must be aware of our limitations. There are certain things which may take decades to fix, and we must be ok with the process, not looking for shortcuts. I believe this was Avraham’s attitude when being directed to perform the Akedah. There was seemingly no purpose, no intuitive reason for being directed to do so. Yet after the Akedah, child sacrifice was seen to be a disgusting act. It was this dramatization of the act of halting child sacrifice, by an influential figure of the time, which implanted into the human heart the contempt one should feel for doing so4. It was only possible because Avraham seemed to be able to show the world that sacrificing a child to “the gods” is not appropriate. We may think God wants us to sacrifice everything that is dear to us. This is not Teshuva. Penitence - Teshuva - is sacrificing our egos, accepting reality, and no longer trying to control the world. Teshuva is returning (shuv) to the Truth of God. This is a message that was lost to Yiftach, but clearly understood by the Israelites.Key Takeaway
Prayer is not bribery. We are not simply saying “Hey God, here is why I deserve to live for another year.” We are rather showing ourselves as we are and portraying who we want to be. If we are honest with ourselves, we can be honest in front of God. The truth is that none of us know whether we will make it through the following year. Let us not commit a sacrifice with Yiftach’s intentions, let us rather face reality with clear eyes and a hope for the future. Let us remember that the gates of Teshuva are always open because Teshuva is entirely up to us5. In order to repent, we need to face reality. Reality is not what we project onto God and assume of Him, it is facing who we are, emotionally naked and aware of what can be done - not knowing whether that is enough to keep us alive - but being aware that life is precious because of that uncertainty. It is only through this that we can do true Teshuva. As the Sages say6,
It would have been preferable had humans not been created than to have been created. Now that they have been created, we should examine our actions.
Shana Tova UmeTukah!
I know some commentators are skeptical of this - but it is heavily implied by the verses and endorsed by many commentators that this tragedy did in fact occur.
See Rashi on Judges 11:34, who says that Pinchas the Kohen (a spiritual leader of the time) lost his prophetic ability because he did not stop this from happening and that Yiftach was afflicted with terrible disease.
As heard from Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, ZT”L
I have spoken with someone who made me aware of the possibility that the Akedah was not an act committed in solitude. It could very well have been a public display of some sort which took place on a hill opposite a hill of idolaters who did worship their child. I think this an interesting explanation, though I have no source to support it.
As Rabbi Chaim Eisen pointed out to me.
Babylonian Talmud Eruvin 13B