Holy Saturday At the Easter Vigil in the Holy Night of Easter Reading 2 (April 3, 2021) Gen 22:1-13

The Sacrifice of Isaac

1 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”

Rashi

After these things—Some of our Rabbis say (Sanhedrin 89b) that it means after the words of Satan who denounced Abraham saying, “Of all the banquets which Abraham prepared not a single bullock nor a single ram did he bring as a sacrifice to you.” God replied to him, “Does he do anything at all except for his son’s sake? Yet if I were to bid him, ‘Sacrifice him to me,’ he would not refuse.” Others say that it means “after the words of Ishmael” who boasted to Isaac that he had been circumcised when he was thirteen years old without resisting. Isaac replied to him, “You think to intimidate me by mentioning the loss of one part of the body! If the Holy One, blessed be he, were to tell me, ‘Sacrifice yourself to me’ I would not refuse” (Sanhedrin 89b).

Here I am—Such is the answer of the pious: it is an expression of meekness and readiness (Midrash Tanchuma, Vayera 22).

Sanhedrin 89b:8

Apropos the binding of Isaac, the Gemara elaborates: It is written: “After these matters God tried Abraham” (Gen 22:1). The Gemara asks: After what matters? How does the binding of Isaac relate to the preceding events?

Sanhedrin 89b:14

The Gemara cites an alternative explanation of the verse: “After these matters God tried Abraham” (Gen 22:1). Rabbi Levi says: This means after the statement of Ishmael to Isaac, during an exchange between them described in the verse: “But Sarah saw the son of Hagar . . . mocking” (Gen 21:9). Ishmael said to Isaac: I am greater than you in the fulfillment of commandments, as you were circumcised at the age of eight days, without your knowledge and without your consent, and I was circumcised at the age of thirteen years, with both my knowledge and my consent. Isaac said to Ishmael: And do you provoke me with one organ? If the Holy One, blessed be he, were to say to me: Sacrifice yourself before me, I would sacrifice myself. Immediately, God tried Abraham, to confirm that Isaac was sincere in his offer to give his life.

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. 1CO 10:13

2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.

Rashi

So . . . rose early—He was alert to fulfil the command (Pesachim 4a).

Saddled—He himself: he did not order one of his servants to do so, for love disregards the rule imposed on one by his exalted position in life (Bereishit Rabbah 55:8).

Two of his young men—Ishmael and Eliezer. For a man of high standing should not travel without two men as attendants (Vayikra Rabbah 26:7) so that if one needs to ease himself and goes aside for this purpose the other will still remain with him (Midrash Tanchuma, Balak 8).

And he cut—Its rendering in the Targum וְצַלַח has the same meaning as the verb in (2Sa 19:18) “rushed down to the Jordan,” which signifies cleaving the waters; Old French fendre.

If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. LUK 14:26

9 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.

Rashi

And bound his hands and feet behind him. Hands and feet tied together is what is meant by עִקֵידָה. It is associated in meaning with עִקֻדִים in (Gen 30:35) “female goats that were streaked”—whose ankles were streaked white so that the place where they are bound could be plainly seen.

And they bound him and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate the governor. MAT 27:2

10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.

17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son,

18 of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.”

19 He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. HEB 11:17-19

11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”

Rashi

Abraham, Abraham!—The repetition of his name is an expression of affection (Bereishit Rabbah 56:7).

And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” ACT 9:4

12 He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.”

Rashi

Do not lay to slaughter him. Then he (Abraham) said to God, “If this be so, I have come here for nothing; let me at least inflict a wound on him and draw some blood from him.” God replied, “Do not do the slightest thing (מְאוּמָה) to him”—inflict no blemish (מוּם) on him (Bereishit Rabbah 56:7).

For now I know—From now I have a reply to give to Satan and to the nations who wonder at the love I bear you: Now I have a reason (lit. an opening of the mouth), for they see “that you fear God.” (Bereishit Rabbah 56:7).

For now I know—R. Aba said: Abraham said to God, “I will lay my complaint before you. Yesterday you told me (Gen 21:12), ‘for through Isaac shall your offspring be named,’ and then again you said (Gen 21:2), ‘Take now your son.’ Now you tell me, ‘Do not lay your hand on the boy.” The Holy One, blessed be he, said to him (Psa 89:35): “ ‘I will not violate my covenant or alter the word that went forth from my lips.’ When I told you, ‘Take,’ I was not altering that which went out from my lips. I did not tell you ‘Slaughter him,’ but ‘Offer him.’ You have brought him—now take him down” (Bereishit Rabbah 56:8).

37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. MAT 10:37-38

13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.

Menachot 82b:13

Rather, the term utensil must be referring to a knife, as the slaughter may be performed only with a knife and not with a sharp stone or reed. The Gemara asks: And with regard to a burnt offering itself, from where do we derive that it must be slaughtered with a knife? This is learned from that which is written: “Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son” (Gen 22:10); and there, Abraham was sacrificing a burnt offering, as it is written: “and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son” (Gen 22:13).

Rashi

After the angel had said to him, “Do not lay your hand,” he saw it as it the ram was caught. And that is what we mean when we translate it in the Targum by “And Abraham lifted his eyes after these words, i.e., after the angel said, ‘Do not lay your hand.’ ” Other versions of Rashi have: according to the Aggadah, “after all the words of the angel and the glory and after the arguments of Abraham.”

And behold, behind him was a ram—It was predestined for that purpose from the six days of creation (Midrash Tanchuma, Vayera 23; Pirkei Avot 5:5).

In a thicket—A tree.

By his horns—Because it was running towards Abraham, but Satan caused it to be caught and entangled among the trees (Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 31).

Instead of his son—Since it is written, “and offered it up for a burnt offering,” nothing is missing in the text; what then is the force of “instead of his son”? At every sacrificial act he performed on it he prayed saying, “May it be your will that this may be regarded as if it were being done to my son—as if my son were slaughtered, as if his blood were sprinkled, as if his skin were flayed, as if he were burnt and reduced to ashes” (Bereishit Rabbah 56:9).

9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.

10 He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. 2CO 1:9-10

14 So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

Pesachim 88a:4

Rather, the verse specifically mentions Jacob to allude to the fact that the temple will ultimately be described in the same way that Jacob referred to it. It will not be referred to as it was referred to by Abraham. It is written of him that when he prayed at the location of the temple mountain, he called it mount, as it is stated: “As it is said on this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided” (Gen 22:14). And it will not be referred to as it was referred to by Isaac. It is written of him that he called the location of the temple field when he prayed there, as it is stated: “And Isaac went out to meditate in the field” (Gen 24:63). Rather, it will be described as it was referred to by Jacob, who called it house, as it is stated: “He called the name of that place Bethel” (Gen 28:19), which means house of God.

Rashi

The Lord will provide—Its real meaning is as the Targum renders it: The Lord will choose and select for Himself this place to make his divine presence reside in it and for sacrifices to be offered there.

As it is said to this day—In the generations to come people will say of it, “On this mount the Holy One, blessed be he, shows himself to his people.”

To this day—The future days, with the same meaning as “until this day” wherever it occurs in the entire Scriptures: that all future generations who read this passage will refer the phrase “until this day” to the day in which they live. The Midrash Aggadah explains: The Lord will see this binding every year to forgive Israel and to save them from punishment, so that it may be said “in this day”—in all future generations—“On the mount of the Lord the ashes of Isaac heaped up as it were and serving as a means of atonement” (Midrash Tanchuma, Vayera 23).