Our God and God of our fathers, remember us favorably before You and be mindful of us for deliverance and compassion from the eternal high heavens. Remember in our behalf, Adonoy, our God: the love of our ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants; the covenant, the kindness, and the oath which You swore to our father Abraham on Mount Moriah, and the binding of Isaac, his son on the altar, as it is written in Your Torah.¹

footnotes: ¹ Genesis 22:1-19.

After these events,² God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” and he [Abraham] said, “Here I am.” He said, “Please, take your son, your only one,³ whom you love—Isaac— and go to the land of Moriah, and bring him up as a burnt-offering on one of the mountains which I will designate to you. Abraham awoke early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took his two attendants⁴ with him, and also his son Isaac. He split the wood of the burnt-offering, and rose up, and went to the place that God had designated to him. On the third day, Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place from afar. Abraham said to his attendants, You stay here with the donkey, and I and the boy will go to that place. We will prostrate ourselves [in worship] and return⁵ to you.” And Abraham took the wood of the burnt-offering and placed it on his son Isaac. In his hand he took the fire and the knife,⁶ (root: אכל = to eat) which means that it renders meat fit for eating through slaughtering the animal. Another interpretation is: his knife is called ma’achelesbecause we still enjoy (eat) the reward of Abraham’s virtue when he agreed to use it to slaughter his son.—Rashi and they both went together. Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “Father,” and he said, “Here I am my son.” He said, “Here are the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt-offering?” Abraham said, God Himself will show the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went together.⁷ They came to the place that God had designated to him, and Abraham built the⁸ altar there, and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac, and placed him on the altar, on top of the wood. Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. An angel of Adonoy called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham! Abraham!” and he said, “Here I am.” He [God] said, Do not harm the boy, nor do anything to him; for now I know that you are one who fears God and have not withheld your son, your only one, from Me.” Abraham raised his eyes and beheld a ram⁹ after it had been caught in the thicket by its horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and brought it up as a burnt-offering instead of his son. Abraham called the name of that place, Adonoy will see;¹⁰ as it is said [to] this day On Adonoy’s mountain, He will be seen. An angel of Adonoy called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, ‘I have sworn by Myself,’ declares Adonoy, ‘that because you performed this deed, and did not withhold your only son, I will greatly bless you and make your descendants as numerous¹¹ as the stars of the sky and like the sand on the seashore, and your descendants will inherit the gate of their enemies. All the nations of the world will be blessed Through your children, because you heeded My voice.’” Abraham returned to his attendants, and they rose and went together to Beer Sheva, and Abraham dwelt in Beer Sheva.

footnotes: ² These events refer to the previous nine tests by which God tested Abraham. This was to be the tenth and the most difficult test of all.—Ha’amek Dovor ³ Isaac was Abraham’s only son by Sarah. ⁴ Ishmael and Eliezer.—Rashi ⁵ Abraham unwittingly prophesied that both of them would return.—Rashi ⁶ The Hebrew word is ma’acheles ⁷ Although Isaac understood that he was going to be slaughtered, “They went together”—with like hearts.—Rashi ⁸ The Torah says that he built “the” altar not just “an” altar, to indicate that Abraham rebuilt the same altar which was originally built by Adam and used by Cain, Abel and by Noah.—Targum Yonoson ben Uziel ⁹ Tradition tells us that this ram was prepared for this purpose from the time of creation. Rashi (in Maseches Avos 5:6) ¹⁰ The Midrash interprets the following: “God will see the binding of Isaac and through its merit He will pardon Israel every year and rescue them from trouble. It will thus be said, “On this day,” by all generations that the ashes of Isaac are seen by God and serve as our atonement.—Rashi ¹¹ 11 If these blessings were intended to increase the population of Abraham’s descendants, it was superfluous, since God had previously blessed him for that purpose. God here blessed the descendants of Abraham with the nobility of spirit and courage to fulfill the command to sanctify God even when self-sacrifice is required. Only the nation of Israel, Abraham’s children, were commanded to fulfill this mitzvoh, because of the legacy we inherited from him.—Ha’amek Dovor.

Master of the Universe! May it be Your will Adonoy, our God and God of our fathers, to recall for our sake the covenant of our fathers. Just as our father, Avraham suppressed his compassion for his only son and would have slaughtered him to do Your will, so may Your compassion suppress Your anger against us; and may Your compassion prevail over Your [other] attributes,¹ to deal with us more leniently than the letter of Your law. Deal with us, Adonoy, our God, kindly and with compassion. In Your great goodness, turn Your fierce anger away from Your people, and from Your city, from Your land, and from Your territorial heritage. Fulfill for us, Adonoy, our God, the promise You made, through Your servant Moshe, as was said,² “I will recall My covenant with Yaakov, also My covenant with Yitzchak, and also My covenant with Avraham will I recall; and I will recall the land.”

footnotes: ¹ This refers to Hashem’s attribute of stern justice. ² Vayikra 26:42.