ויהי אחר הדברים האלה, after what happened to Avraham with Avimelech and as a result of his pact he had resided among the Philistines for many years, so that he had decided to migrate to Beer Sheva. At that point he received the instruction from G’d concerning his only son (by Sarah). It is very difficult to explain the matter of G’d’ “testing” someone, seeing that G’d knows in advance what the result of such a test is going to be. What then is the point of such a test? If the point was to demonstrate to the world at large that Avraham successfully passed such a test, how could this be accomplished in a setting where only Avraham and Yitzchok were present? He had even left the lads who had accompanied him behind so that there were no witnesses whatsoever to his carrying out a command which he had not even told Yitzchok about until the last possible moment! Even if Avraham had told someone what had transpired on the mountain, who would have believed him? The truth is that the purpose of the trial was to demonstrate to the world Avraham’s love for G’d. It was not meant to demonstrate anything to the generation during which Avraham lived, but to prove this to subsequent generations of people who believed in the Torah which was handed down to us by Moses at the command of G’d Himself. All that is written in the Torah [including such stories as that of Bileam and Balak, none of which had been witnessed by any Jew alive at that time, Ed.] is meant to teach the extent to which we are expected to demonstrate our love for G’d if and when the occasion arises. We know that Avraham loved Yitzchok more than he loved himself, seeing that he was already old and did not expect anymore out of life. If Yitzchok were to die at that time before he had married and raised a family, he would not have enjoyed any true satisfaction in his life on earth. This thought must have been very upsetting for his father Avraham. If he was nonetheless prepared to carry out G’d’s command without hesitation this was indeed a feat that all his descendants would marvel at. The fact that Avraham, who had prayed to G’d for sinners to be given a reprieve, did not even pray to G’d to spare the life of Yitzchok until he had at least married and started to raise a family, is meant to be an inspiration to all of us. Moreover, G’d Himself had provided Avraham with arguments which would have entitled him to at least defer sacrificing Yitzchok since he had told him that he, Avraham, would be known in history through Yitzchok. How could such a promise be fulfilled if Yitzchok were to die now? This story became the powerful message which Yitzchok transmitted to his son Yaakov, and which Yaakov transmitted to his sons. After the Torah was committed to writing the story became famous throughout the world, some people believing it, others not. Nowadays, after primitive paganism has ceased to exist in most of civilised society, most of mankind believes the story recorded in the Bible without hesitation. If large sections of mankind express some doubts about what is written in the Torah this concerns only whether everything written in the Torah as fact needs to be understood as historical, literal truth, or if many stories are to be understood as allegorical, but conveying the same ethical and moral messages. Similarly, these doubters believe that many of the practical commandments in the Torah were not meant to be fulfilled literally, but were examples demonstrating G’d’s attitude to certain problems confronting man. The very fact that the majority of mankind does believe that Avraham did what the Torah writes he did, is proof that Avraham had lived the kind of life which inspired man to believe that one can love G’d more than anything else in the universe.

ויאמר אליו אברהם, the vision took place at night, seeing that immediately afterwards the Torah reports Avraham as rising early in the morning.

ויאמר...את יחידך, even though he is your only one and you love him very much as he has been born to you by your beloved wife when both of you were already well into your old age, and although My request is a very difficult one, I am asking you to do this.

ולך לך, this phraseology is quite common. We have encountered it in 12,1, in Jeremiah 5,5, in Exodus 18,27 as well as in Numbers 22,34 and again in Genesis 45,19. There are more such examples.

אל ארץ המריה, Jerusalem and district are referred to as ארץ המריה, and this is why the mountain on which Yitzchok was bound is also known by that name. Compare Chronicles II 3,1 לבנות בית ה' בירושלים בהר המריה, “to build the House of G’d in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah.” Our sages, as quoted by Rashi, say that the name reflects the fact that G’d’s instructions to man are issued from that mountain. [the seat of the Jewish Supreme Court which decides when there is any doubt about the authenticity of Torah legislation. Ed.] Onkelos translates the term as לארעא פלחנא, “the land where the priests perform service.”

על אחד ההרים, even now G’d did not tell Avraham precisely on which mountain he was to offer up Yitzchok as a burnt offering. Instead, G’d only said: אשר אמר אליך, just as at the time when Avraham had been told to leave Charan and move to the Land of Canaan in 12,1 he had been told only to move to a country which G’d would specify later on. At that time Avraham had correctly assumed that he was to set out in the direction of the Land of Canaan. The absence of this detail in both instances was to show us the readers that instead of questioning G’d on details, Avraham set out to undertake difficult tasks without looking for any excuse to delay carrying out G’d’s instructions. It would have been so easy to ask G’d why, if he was to offer Yitzchok as a sacrifice, he first had to travel a long distance to the site where this was to take place. After all, we are speaking about a man of 137 years of age. Actually, if we do not err, G’d had two good reasons why He told Avraham what to do in such an ambivalent fashion. Firstly, to give Avraham additional credit for complying with a command which was wrapped in a riddle, without questioning G’d about it. If G’d had asked him to do this at once near his home, Avraham would not have had time to recover from the initial shock after hearing G’d’s instructions. If, after having had time to digest the implications of what had been asked of him, Avraham proceeded without hesitating, this is even more to his credit. The second reason why G’d worded the instructions in the manner in which the Torah records them, is to teach us that the site where this binding eventually took place is such a holy site; moreover after Avraham named the site, we know that it is one where the attribute of Justice may be changed to the attribute of Mercy due to the manner in which man relates to G’d’s commands. Not only that, but man learned that sometimes the intention behind an action is worth more to G’d than the action itself, so that the binding of Yitzchok rated in G’d’s eyes as if his father had actually sacrificed him.

וישכם אברהם, he rose early to carry out G’d’s bidding without telling Sarah anything about it. He was afraid that she might do harm to herself out of her love for Yitzchok.

את שני נעריו, the ones who usually accompanied him on any journey.

אל המקום אשר אמר לו, to the land known as Moriah, seeing that G’d had not yet revealed to him on which mountain he was to offer Yitzchok as a burnt offering.

ביום השלישי וישא אברהם, the letter ו is something additional, a phenomenon we encounter frequently, such as in Genesis 36,24 ואלה בני צבעון ואיה וענה. The Torah could also have written ביום השלישי נשא אברהם את עיניו, “on the third day Avraham raised his eyes.” (using the ordinary past tense, instead of the future tense with the vav hahipuch. It is possible to justify the use of the form with the letter ו by understanding this verse as a continuation of the previous verse and reading that one as if it had been written: וילך אל המקום ביום השלישי, “he went (arrived) to the place on the third day.” At that time he raised his eyes in the direction of the site in question, i.e. Jerusalem. In other words, once Avraham had entered the general area known as ארץ המוריה, he raised his eyes to look for the specific site G’d must have had in mind. At any rate, he did not yet know which mountain G’d had chosen for him to erect the altar on which to sacrifice Yitzchok. According to Pirkey de Rabbi Eliezer chapter 31 and other Midrashim, the words וירא את המקום מרחוק refer to Avraham actually seeing the mountain in question. He identified it as he saw a column of fire on that mountain. He asked his son if he saw anything specific on any of the mountains, to which Yitzchok replied that he saw a column of fire on one of the mountains. When Avraham repeated the same question to Ishmael and Eliezer previously described as נעריו, his lads, they both answered in the negative. Upon hearing that both of these men did not notice anything out of the ordinary, he told them to remain near the donkey which could also not see anything unusual. שבו לכם עם החמור, with those who are like donkeys.

ויאמר...ונשתחוה, from these words the lads understood that Avraham would not only prostrate himself there in prayer but would offer an animal as part of such prayer. They reasoned this way, having observed that Avraham took kindling and a knife when going up the mountain. Normally, a reference to השתחויה includes slaughtering a sacrificial animal, as we know from Samuel I 1.3, describing Elkanah’s habits.

ויקח, he did not take the donkey along so that the lads should not think that they were going to a distant location. Also, there would not be anyone guarding the donkey at the time when he would be occupied with binding and slaughtering Yitzchok. Furthermore, he did not want the donkey to enter such sacred precincts.

הנני בני, with a dagesh also in the second letter נ.

ויאמר...אלוקים יראה לו השה לעולה בני, Avraham’s reply to his son is capable of two interpretations. One interpretation would be that the word בני is a response to Yitzchok’s cry or question, meaning “I am here my son; G’d will select the lamb for the burnt offering.” In other words: “don’t worry G’d already knows who is going to be the lamb for the offering. He will put it at our disposal.” The second interpretation of Avraham’s answer would arrange the words as follows: “G’d will select the lamb for the offering; who is the lamb? It is my son.” Yitzchok understood from this that he had been chosen to be the offering. This is why the Torah continues, significantly: וילכו שניהם יחד, “they continued walking together,” i.e. of one mind and of one spirit.

ויבאו אל המקום, this refers to Mount Moriah.

אשר אמר לו האלוקים, when Avraham and Yitzchok had been walking together (after leaving the lads behind) G’d told Avraham the exact location, showing it to him in a prophetic vision. According to Bereshit Rabbah 56,2 He showed him either a column of fire over that mountain or a localised pillar of cloud, as we mentioned earlier. According to this aggadic interpretation the words אשר אמר לו refer to the moment when he became aware of this phenomenon and his awareness was the equivalent of what is described in our verses as an אמירה, a verbal communication.

ויערוך את העצים, he arranged them above the fire to kindle them.

ויעקד את יצחק, he bound both his hands and his feet so he should not involuntarily kick when the knife would strike him. This was in spite of the fact that Yitzchok was perfectly willing to be the offering. He was afraid that at the last moment he would rebel; this was why he asked his father to tie him securely. (Bereshit Rabbah 56,8)

וישלח...לשחוט את בנו, to first slaughter him before the fire would burn up the body. This is the usual procedure when meat offerings are brought on the altar.

ויקרא...מן השמים, he heard a voice without seeing a visual image.

אברהם, אברהם, G’d repeated his name to ensure that Avraham would listen immediately.

ויאמר...ואל תעש לו מאומה, again G’d repeated what He had said in different words, in order to lend additional emphasis to His warning not to touch Yitzchok.

כי עתה ידעתי, if we were to explain this word as derived from the root ידע in the kal conjugation and we follow the path we outlined in verse 1 that G’d wanted Avraham to translate his potential into an actual, in verse 1 of this chapter, the problem is that we never find the root ידע in a transitive mode; therefore I suggest that the meaning of ידעתי is similar to Exodus 33,12 ידעתיך בשם, or Exodus 33,17 ואדעך בשם. [This means כי שב החלק, “individual attributes form an integrated part of the larger pattern of one’s personality.” This is my understanding of the somewhat obscure phrase כי שב החלק, seeing that we do not have the author’s commentary on the verses in which he quotes himself as having interpreted the root ידע in such a fashion. Ed.] This allusion is sufficient for the initiated. (author’s words).

כי ירא אלוקים אתה. The word יראה, “fear,” mentioned here is none other than a form of אהבה, love, seeing that the fear was not something physical, concern for his body, but concern that he soul should not suffer irretrievable damage. Avraham was prepared to sacrifice his son to demonstrate that his love for abstract, invisible G’d was greater than his love for his physical, mortal son. He wanted to ensure that neither of them would forfeit their lives in the world to come.

וישא, he raised his eyes in order to see if there was some pure animal suitable for a sacrifice which he could offer in lieu of his son.

וירא והנה איל אחר נאחז, after it had become enmeshed in the thicket. בסבך בקרניו, this served Avraham as an invitation from G’d that seeing that this ram was caught in a thicket away from the flock it belonged to, something which its shepherd had not even become aware of. This is why we have learned in the Mishnah Avot 5,6 (according to some scholars) that among the things which had been created at dusk on the 6th day of creation was also this ram which would eventually serve as the sacrifice brought by Avraham instead of his son. If Avraham had been able to locate the shepherd of this ram, he would have compensated him for the value of the animal. He would not have wanted to offer an animal as a sacrifice without paying for it.

ויקרא...ה' יראה, a reference to his having said to Yitzchok in verse 8 that G’d would select the animal for the offering.

אשר יאמר היום, a reference to the day on which this story is being related. This occurrence would be remembered every time G’d would manifest Himself on that mountain. When the Temple would be built, this event would be commemorated, for instance. Avraham had been told in a prophetic vision why this mountain had been chosen by G’d for this particular event. It was because also in the future Avraham’s descendants would make a point of offering their sacrifices on that mountain. בהר ה' יראה, G’d would manifest Himself in the future also on this mountain.

ויקרא, He called him a second time to inform him that as compensation for what he had just been prepared to do, G’d would compensate his children when the occasion would arise to do so.

ויאמר בי נשבעתי, G’d added an oath to the blessing He had already bestowed on Avraham. When G’d swears an “oath” it is as if He were to say “by My life, etc.” Just as He is eternal and therefore will be able to keep His oath, so He can keep His oath to the children and grandchildren of the ones to whom He promises something by oath. While it is true that G’d does not need to swear an oath to assure us that He will keep His word, the new element in G’d swearing an oath is that even if the recipient of the oath did not keep his part of the bargain, i.e. sinned in the meantime, G’d promises that this will not invalidate His blessing, the one He confirms by an oath. Furthermore, He added another dimension to the existing blessing,

וירש זרעך את שער אויביו, the meaning of the words שער אויביו is ארץ אויביו, the land of its enemies. A land surrounded by oceans and mountains is difficult to conquer. Eretz Yisrael is such a country. When one has breached the coastal defences, or conquered the mountain ranges, it is as if one had broken through the gates of the fortified walls around a city. This is why the Torah here describes such a victory as “inheriting the gates of one’s enemies.” We find a similar expression used in Nachum 3,13 פתח נפתחו שערי ארצך, “the gates of your country will be completely open.” The prophet refers to the country lying at the mercy of an invader. G’d added further:

ככוכבי השמים וכחול, by this simile, and especially the repeated reference to two different hyperboles, He wanted to reinforce the meaning of this promise. Up until now, the only simile for the multiplying of Avraham’s seed had been the expression כעפר הארץ, “as the dust of the earth.” (13,15) On another occasion (15,5) the comparison had been to the stars. Now, two comparisons are mentioned, showing that the blessing had been reinforced. והתברכו בזרעך, this too is an additional dimension of the promise made to Avraham concerning his offspring.

וירש, one of the letters י that we would have expected as part of this word is missing. It is the י which is part of the root of the verb ירש. The י which does appear is the one describing the future tense indirect speech masculine. [this is common for roots beginning with the letter י. Ed.]

כי ברך, we already explained the meaning of the repetition of such formulations.

והתברכו, the meaning of this word is not identical with the wordונברכו in 12,3 which we explained at the time as meaning that wherever you would reside the people around you would benefit from you or your children’s proximity. In this verse the meaning of the word והתברכו is that the gentile nations, thanks to their prayers, will accumulate merits and therefore blessings for themselves. They will make the kind of blessings Avraham has experienced the focus of their own prayers. They will acknowledge Avraham’s G’d as the source of all blessings.

עקב, as a reward. It is an apt simile, seeing that he heel, עקב is the lower end of the body, so the reward is what one acquires at the conclusion of performing G’d’s commandments.

אשר שמעת בקולי, both in this instance as well as in all the other instructions I have issued to you

וישב אברהם, there was no need to mention that Yitzchok accompanied him. Rather it mentioned Avraham mentioned, because he was the principal.

וישב אברהם בבאר שבע, the Torah did not mention for how many years Avraham lived in Beer Sheva, seeing Sarah died in Hebron, [something which must have greatly dampened his joy at living there. Ed.]

ויהי, after the binding of Yitzchok.

גם היא, just as Sarah had born a son, so Milkah bore these children to Nachor your brother. It would appear that Milkah had stopped bearing children for a while already, but she had not been barren as had Sarah. Therefore Avraham was given the news that more children had been born for Nachor by his wife Milkah. This whole paragraph describing the children born to Nachor, both by his wife and his concubine Re-umah, has been written in honour of Avraham and to tell us among other facts that Rivkah had been born.

את עוץ בכורו, as we explained already on Genesis 10,15 in connection with the phrase את צידון בכורו.

אבי ארם, perhaps Aram was the better known of the two, and that is why his father is mentioned as an adjunct to his more famous son Aram. We have a similar construction in Genesis 10,21 אבי כל בני עבר, and numerous other examples in Chronicles dealing with historical details. Generally, people so described are complimented, although on occasion such descriptions may mean something derogatory, as in Genesis 9,18 אבי כנען. We have commented on these matters in connection with Genesis 10,23.

ואת כשד, this man became the founding father of the famous nation known as the Kasdim as we mentioned on 11,28.

ובתואל ילד את רבקה, Laban is not mentioned as the focus of the story is Rivkah. The whole paragraph is recorded only on account of Rivkah.

ופלגשו...ותלד גם היא, the words ותלד גם היא must be understood as ותלד לו גם היא, that his concubine also bore these children for Nachor. The letter ו at the beginning of the word ופלגשו made it unnecessary to add the word לו, “for him,” after the word ותלד.