Parashat Vayera - Seventh Aliyah

Abraham is commanded to take Isaac, his beloved son, to the land of Moriah and offer him as a burnt offering. He rises early and sets out with Isaac and his two attendants. On the third day he sees the place from afar, leaves the attendants with the donkey and continues with his son. Isaac carries the wood, and Abraham the fire and the knife. Along the way Isaac asks where the lamb for the offering is. Abraham replies that God will see to the lamb, and the two continue together.

On the mountain Abraham builds an altar, binds Isaac and reaches out to take the knife. At that moment an angel of God calls to him from heaven and tells him not to harm the boy. Abraham sees a ram caught by its horns in a thicket and offers it in place of his son. He then receives a promise, confirmed by an oath, of blessing, numerous descendants and blessing for the nations of the earth through them. The aliyah ends with news of the family of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, and among the names Rebecca appears as well. Genesis 22

What does the test add?

The Torah tells its readers from the outset that this is a test. Abraham himself receives a command without the explanation given to us. That gap accompanies our reading: we know there is a test here, yet we struggle to understand the demand that a father sacrifice his son.

Ramban explains that the test is meant to bring a person’s potential into action. The choice is in that person’s hands, and the deed adds something that intention alone did not contain: reward for a good action, beyond reward for a good heart. In his interpretation, God knows that the righteous person will do His will and tests him for his benefit. Ramban on Genesis 22:1

This interpretation does not remove the difficulty of the story. It directs our attention to what happens to a person when faith becomes choice and action. God’s knowledge of Abraham and the path Abraham himself travels are not the same thing.

Walking together, even after the question

Twice Abraham and Isaac are described as walking together: before Isaac asks about the lamb, and again after his father’s reply. Between the two descriptions we hear a son’s brief call to his father, and Abraham answers:

hineni veni

Translation: Here I am, my son.

Within the story of the binding, the Torah leaves room for this conversation too. Genesis 22:6-8

Rashi reads Abraham’s answer as containing a difficult possibility as well: if no lamb is found, Isaac will be the offering. According to his interpretation, Isaac understands that he is going to be slaughtered, yet continues with his father. Rashi interprets their walking together after the reply as walking with equal resolve, sharing the same willingness. Rashi on Genesis 22:8, first comment, second comment

In Rashi’s reading, Isaac too becomes a conscious participant in what is happening. His question changes how we read their walk: the same father and son, the same path, but now the son too understands where he is going.

Why end with Rebecca?

After the binding, the blessing and the return to Beersheba comes a list of the members of Nahor’s family. At first glance this is an abrupt shift from an emotionally charged story to a list of names. But within that list Rebecca, Bethuel’s daughter, is mentioned.

Rashi brings a midrash connecting the two parts of the aliyah: on his return from the binding, Abraham reflects that, had Isaac been slaughtered, he would have died without children, and that he should have arranged a marriage for him. He is then told that Rebecca, his son’s future wife, has been born. Rashi on Genesis 22:20

According to this midrash, the news of Rebecca concerns precisely what was at risk on the mountain: the continuation of Abraham’s family through Isaac. The aliyah opens with the possibility of losing the son and ends with our first introduction to the woman who will build the next generation with him.

More Questions on the Parsha

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Hineni in the Torah: Why Does Abraham Say It Three Times?

Abraham answers Hineni to God, his son and the angel who stops him. Three replies invite a reading about listening, connection and the ability to stop.