Vayera

PARS HAT V AYERA

THE T RI AL Ra bbi Ari Kahn per se So it is written “thou didst love righteousness and hate wickedness” (Psalms 45:8) and it is further written “Avraham who loves me” (Is. 41:8) Avraham is said to have loved G-d because he loved righteousness; this was Avraham’s love of G-d in which he excelled all his contemporaries (Zohar 1:76b) Din And it came to pass after these things, that Elokim tested Avraham, and said to him, Avraham; and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now your son, your only son Yitzchak, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell you.” (22:1-2) And the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, Avraham, Avraham; and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not your hand upon the lad, nor do anything to him; for now I know that you fear Elokim, seeing that you did not withhold your son, your only son, from me. (22:11,12) Midrash Rabbah - Genesis LVI:3) Din Avraham arose early in the morning. He saddled his donkey. He took two of his young men with him and Yitzchak his son. And he took the fire in his hand and the knife. And they both went together. AND THEY WENT BOTH OF THEM TOGETHER (ib.): one to bind and the other to be bound, one to slaughter and the other to be slaughtered. Midrash Rabbah - Genesis LVI:3 And Yitzchak spoke to Avraham his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Here is the fire and the wood. Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” And Avraham said, “My son, G-d will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering,” and both of them walked on together. Din Take your son, your only whom you love, Yitzchak, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him as an offering on one of the mountains which I will tell you of. AND SAW THE PLACE AFAR OFF (ib.). What did he see? He saw a cloud enveloping the mountain, and said: ‘It appears that that is the place where the Holy One, blessed be He, told me to sacrifice my son.’. He then said to him [Yitzchak]: ‘Yitzchak, my son, seest thou what I see?’ 1 2

Rabbi Mordichai Elon made this observation.

‘Yes,’ he replied. Said he to his two servants: ' See ye what I see? ' ' No,’ they answered. Since ye do not see it, ABIDE YE HERE WITH THE ASS,’ (XXII, 5) Midrash Rabbah - Genesis LVI:1,2 “Father, the soul is willing, but the flesh is weak. Tie me down in order to restrain me, to prevent me from flinching upon seeing the blade.” So Avraham returned to his young men and they rose up and went together to Beersheba. (22:19) And Yitzchak went out to meditate in the field at the evening time; and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming. (24:63) . Din R. Shmuel, the son of Nachmani, said in the name of Rav Yonatan: What does the verse mean,” You are our father, for Avraham did not know us and Israel did not recognize us. You [G-d], our Father, Redeemer, forever is Your Name.” (Isaiah 63). In the future, G-d will say to Avraham, “Your children have sinned against me Avraham will say in front of Him, “Master of the Universe, wipe them out for f the sanctification of Your Name. G-d will say, “Perhaps Jacob, who had experienced difficulty raising his children, will ask for mercy for the Jewish people.” G-d will say to him, “Your children have sinned against Me.” He will say in front of Him, “Master of the Universe, wipe them out for the sanctification of Your Name.” G-d will say, “The old man has no reason, and the young one has no advice.” G-d will then say to Yitzchak, “Your children have sinned against me.” He will say in front of Him, “Master of the Universe, my children? My children, and not Your children?” When the Jews said “We will do and we will listen,” You called them “my first-born son,” and now You call them my children, and not Your children?” Besides, how much did they sin? How many years are the years of a man’s life—seventy? Subtract 20, for which is a person is not punished [a person is not punished for the sins of the first twenty years of his life], you are left with 50. Subtract 25, which are evenings, and you are left with 25. Subtract 12-1/2 which a person uses to pray, to eat, and answer nature’s call, and you are left with 12-1/2. If You can tolerate all of this, good; if not, then let us split it, half on You and half on me. If you will say that all of the years of their sins are on me, remember that I sacrificed my soul in front of you (for you). [Thereupon] they shall commence and say, ‘For thou [i.e., Yitzchak] art our father.’ Then shall Yitzchak say to them, ‘Instead of praising me, praise the Holy One, blessed be He,’ and Yitzchak shall show them the Holy One, blessed be He, with their own 3

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The Zohar and the Maharal have expanded teachings on this topic, I will return to this concept in my discussion of Chaye Sara. See the remarkable comments of the Ibn Ezra on this verse – specifically the concept that he is rejecting – the thought that Yitzchak may have actually died.

Midrash Rabbah - Genesis LVI:8

eyes. Immediately they shall lift up their eyes on high and exclaim, ‘Thou, O Lord, art our father; our redeemer from everlasting is thy name.’ (Shabbat 89b) baal tshuvah‫א‬ba’aley teshuva