Genesis · Chapter 22

And it came to pass after these events that Hashem tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham," and he said, "Here I am."

אחר הדברים האלה AFTER THESE THINGS [or, WORDS] —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). הנני HERE AM I — Such is the answer of the pious: it is an expression of meekness and readiness (Midrash Tanchuma, Vayera 22).

AND G-D TRIED ABRAHAM. The matter of “trial,”, III, 24. in my opinion, is as follows: Since a man’s deeds are at his absolute free command, to perform them or not to perform them at his will, on the part of one who is tried it is called “a trial.” But on the part of the One, blessed be He, who tries the person, it is a command that the one being tested should bring forth the matter from the potential into actuality so that he may be rewarded for a good deed, not for a good thought alone. Know further that G-d trieth the righteous, See also Bereshith Rabbah 34:2. “The Holy One, blessed be He, trieth only the righteous.” for knowing that the righteous will do His will, He desires to make him even more upright, and so He commands him to undertake a test, but He does not try the wicked, who would not obey. Thus all trials in the Torah are for the good of the one who is being tried.

"And God tested Abraham" — Some say that the samekh [in נִסָּה, tested] stands in place of a shin [yielding נִשָּׂה, raised/elevated], and the heh in place of an alef. But the meaning of the entire passage refutes them; rather, נִסָּה means exactly what it says. Scholars of sound judgment have stated that there are two kinds of knowledge: knowledge of the future before it occurs, and knowledge of the actual thing once it exists. This is the interpretation of [the word] נִסָּה, as well as [the phrase] "for now I know" (Gen. 22:12). The Gaon [Saadia] said that the word נִסָּה means to display [Abraham's] righteousness to other people, and that the word "I know" similarly means "I have made known." But did this Gaon not realize that when he bound his son there was no one present, not even his young men? Others said that the meaning of "and offer him up there as a burnt offering" is that he should bring him up to the mountain, and this would count for him as a burnt offering — and that Abraham did not know the secret intent of the prophecy, and hastened to slaughter him, whereupon Hashem said to him: this is not what I asked. Still others said: [the command means] "show that you are bringing him up as a burnt offering," as in "and you shall give them wine to drink" (Jer. 35:2). These Geonim were driven to such interpretations because they held that it is impossible for Hashem to command a commandment and then say: "do not do it." But they gave no thought to the firstborn, whom He exchanged for the Levites after a year. Moreover, since Scripture states at the outset "And God tested Abraham," all their objections fall away. Hashem tested him so that he might receive reward. As for the meaning of "for now I know" — it is like "and if not, I will know" (Gen. 18:21). I will yet explain its deeper sense at the verse "I have known you by name" (Exod. 33:12), if Hashem, who knows all hidden things, aids me.

נסה את אברהם, to demonstrate that Avraham’s love for G’d as well as his fear of G’d was not merely potential but actual, much as G’d's goodness is not merely potential but actual. The purpose of man’s existence is to emulate the virtues of G’d, and by means of this “test” Avraham had an opportunity to demonstrate this. When G’d created man He had set Himself the objective of “let us make man in Our image etc.,” i.e. as much like Divine beings as is it possible for a creature to be. (Genesis 1,26)

ויהי אחר הדברים האלה. It was after these events. The events referred to are Abraham's various adventures, the tortuous route to becoming Isaac's father at an advanced age. In the meantime Isaac had grown up since we find Abraham described as "living in the land of the Philistines for many years," and Isaac was born during the first year of Abraham's stay there. The test assumed much greater impact in view of the repeated promises G'd had made to Abraham concerning Isaac and his future. To be told at this stage to offer Isaac as a sacrifice and not to hesitate or challenge G'd's command or even ask for an explanation, was a tremendous act of obedience. Isaac too deserves great credit for submitting. Another reason that the Torah wrote "after these events" is, that only now could G'd refer to Isaac as Abraham's only son. As long as Ishmael had not yet been expelled by Abraham the description "your only son" would not have been appropriate. והאלוקים נסה את אברהם. G'd tested Abraham. The Torah adds the conjunctive letter ו before the word אלוקים to remind us that this was not Abraham's only test, only the most recent and most difficult one. ויאמר אליו אברהם. He said to him: "Abraham." This introductory call by G'd was to prepare Abraham that G'd would ask him to do something difficult. Abraham understood this; this is why he said "I am ready (for whatever You are going to tell me to do)."

ויהי אחר הדברים האלה, “it was after these events;” according to Rashi, the “events” refer to the banquet arranged on the occasion of Yitzchok’s being weaned; Satan accused Avraham of not having offered a single sacrifice to G-d on that occasion. G-d replied that he would have been willing to offer even his own son as such an offering if asked. and that year [when Avraham came back from the land of Plishtim and sat in Chevron] was 12 years before the Akeda of Yitzchok. A different interpretation of the words: הדברים האלה, “these words;” Yishmael had boasted to Yitzchok that he had voluntarily undergone circumcision at an age when it was most painful, to which Yitzchok had replied that he, Yishmael, had endured pain only on one organ, whereas he, Yitzchok, would be prepared to undergo such pain on his whole body, i.e. he would even give his life for G-d. The reason why Rashi chose the first interpretation is that the word אחר normally refers to an event that had immediately preceded the subject raised, whereas here the call for the binding of Yitzchok would then have occurred many years earlier. According to a statement by Rav Hunna in Bereshit Rabbah 44,6, the word for “after” that the Torah should have used should then have been “אחרי.”A third interpretation of the words: ויהי אחר הדברים האלה is that they refer to the treaty concluded between Avraham and Avimelech, when Avraham had voluntarily postponed the fulfillment of G-d’s promise to him without having first obtained G-d’s permission to do so. [It is a historical fact that sovereignty over the land of the Philistines was achieved by the Israelites only about 100 years prior to the destruction of the first Temple, (under King Yoshiyahu), over 800 years after Joshua conquered the rest of the Holy Land. This was part of the punishment for the Israelites not having carried out G-d’s command not to allow a single soul of the then residents to remain alive (if they did not emigrate). (Deuteronomy 20,16). [In other words, although Avraham was the first to cause of the fulfillment of G-d’s promise to be delayed, he was not the last Israelite to do so. Ed.] Another interpretation, one which places the emphasis on the words נסה את אברהם, “He tested Avraham.”Avraham was not tested in order for G-d to convince Himself of his willingness to offer up his beloved son, seeing that such matters are known to Him, Who is omniscient; he was tested by the attribute of Justice which had dared question the degree of loyalty he could summon when so tested. Passing this test successfully would convince the people around him of the absolute obedience to any command G-d would issue to him. There was no way the nations of the world could challenge his faith thereafter.

והאלוקים נסה את אברהם, “and G’d had tested Avraham.” This is the portion dealing with the binding of Yitzchak, an event which is the cornerstone of the Jewish faith throughout the ages. Jews have placed their trust in their eternal future in the merit accumulated by both Avraham and Yitzchak as protecting them against extermination by their enemies. We must not make the mistake of thinking that G’d tested Avraham in order to find out for Himself how Avraham would respond to this trial. It was a “test” only when viewed from the vantage point of his contemporaries who could not have known in advance how Avraham would respond to a trial which conflicted so absolutely with everything he thought he knew about what G’d wanted from man. G’d used this “test” in order to demonstrate to the people of his own time as well as to his descendants the greatness of this man’s devotion to G’d. He did not flinch for a moment nor even argue with G’d as he had done when advised of the impending judgment of the people of Sodom. We read of a general principle that G’d tests the righteous in Psalms 11,5 ה' צדיק יבחן, “G’d will examine (test) the righteous.” The reason why this paragraph follows the report about what happened to Avraham and Sarah when they were in Gerar with Avimelech has been explained in the Midrash. The word נסה is an expression similar to זעף, “to be angry, displeased.” Onkelos translates it thus in 40,6 where he explains the word זועפים as נסיסים. G’d had been displeased with the oath Avraham swore to Avimelech guaranteeing future immunity of Avimelech’s offspring from incursions by Avraham’s descendants. He should not have given the seven sheep to Avimelech. Eventually, (during the time of the High Priest Eli) the Holy Ark was captured and remained in the hands of the Philistines for seven months before the latter returned it having found that it was a source of curse for them. (compare Bereshit Rabbah 54,4). The incident of the binding of Yitzchak was designed to demonstrate the extent of Avraham’s reverence for G’d as well as his love for G’d. Love is something which can exist on three levels: 1) Someone loves his king and because he loves him he tells others about the king’s virtues and his accomplishments. Such a tribute to his king does not involve the one who extols the king’s virtues in any sacrifice. It does not cost him a penny to tell others complimentary things about his king. 2) Love on a higher level is someone who spends a great deal of his own money to make his king popular; however, even he draws the line at laying down his life on behalf of that king. 3) This subject not only tells the world about the greatness of his king and spends all his money advertising this fact, but he is also prepared to lay down his own life on behalf of his king. Avraham’s love for G’d, the king of Kings, included all the levels we have just described. We know from 21,33 that he publicly proclaimed the greatness of G’d. He did so because the other people of his generation attributed the order in the universe to horoscopes, etc. (Maimonides Hilchot Avodah Zara 1,2). Avraham guided people along the path of true religion and monotheism. We are told in Job 5,8 saying exactly this, i.e. ואל אלוקים אשים דברתי, “I aim my words as proving that G’d is the cause of events.” The speaker, Eliphaz, makes the point that fate is not blind but that an all-seeing G’d guides it. He does not assign your fate to the stars, leaving it all to them. Avraham had also demonstrated the second level of love for G’d by the manner in which he entertained guests lavishly at great cost to himself, all in order to proclaim G’d’s greatness. Our sages (Midrash Tehillim 110) illustrate this when they said that Avraham’s tent had an entrance in all four directions. Any guest who entered by one door would leave by another so as to avoid feeling embarrassed by other travelers who would see him. We find support for this in 21,33: “he planted an orchard at Be’er Sheva;” we had already explained that this referred to Avraham providing food, shelter and escort for his visitors. Not only would he welcome guests but he would actually run after them to make sure they did not pass him by; He did this even while still suffering from the after-effects of the circumcision (18,2). He had demonstrated the third and highest level of love for G’d when he laid down his life and preferred to be burned in Nimrod’s furnace rather than desist from preaching the greatness of his Creator. This is why G’d called him (Isaiah 41,5) אברהם אוהבי, “Avraham who loves Me.” In the matter of his binding Yitzchak in preparation for slaughtering him as an offering to G’d, Avraham demonstrated his love for G’d in a manner which is quite beyond comparison to any of the three levels we have mentioned. This was a level which goes way beyond martyrdom. Had Avraham even possessed 100 bodies, it would have been appropriate that he sacrifice all of them for the sake of his son Yitzchak. What he did here bears no resemblance to anything he had ever done before. This “test” was totally different from any previous tests which Avraham had passed with flying colors. Our imagination is quite inadequate to properly grasp the enormity of what was demanded of him and how he complied. Avraham had longed to have a son such as Yitzchak for many decades. When Yitzchak was finally born, his love for him grew from year to year, and the certainty that such a miracle would not be repeated and that he would not have another if anything were to happen to Yitzchak must have crossed his mind many times. When he was suddenly commanded to kill Yitzchak with his own hands, we can hardly imagine how he must have felt on a journey of three days towards the unnamed site of the sacrifice, and how his reason must have assailed his feelings of reverence for G’d which alone could prompt him to go through with such an act. Avraham realised that in spite of all his love for Yitzchak, his love for G’d must take precedence in a situation where the two loves could not be reconciled. Had G’d told Avraham to slaughter Yitzchak immediately, without giving him three days during which he had to reflect on what he had been asked to do, the command would have been far easier to comply with. On the other hand, seeing that G’d gave Avraham three days to think about the enormity of what he had been asked to do made the decision to go through with it one that could not be attributed to a momentary spiritual high, to a spontaneous act, but it was an act which had been carefully considered and which reflected Avraham’s deep-seated feelings of overriding reverence for G’d. This is what the sages in Bereshit Rabbah 55,5 must have had in mind when they said: “why was Avraham to offer Yitzchak only on the third day and not on the first day of his journey? Answer: in order not to give the gentile nations an opportunity to claim that he had been emotionally disturbed, that G’d’s command had overwhelmed him so much that he went and slaughtered his son. This is why he performed this task with his own hands as a demonstration of both his love and reverence for G’d.” The element of reverence referred to has nothing to do with the fear of being punished for non-compliance, and the love demonstrated had nothing to do with any compensation he hoped to receive from G’d in return for displaying this degree of love for His Creator. Any act dictated by love which looks forward to some kind of reward be it only at the back of the person’s mind performing the deed, is not truly an act of love. There are people who drink a bitter-tasting medicine because they hope that in the end the beneficial results will compensate them for the galling experience. When G’d said to Avraham (22,12) at the end of the paragraph עתה ידעתי כי ירא אלוקים אתה, “now I know that you are indeed a G’d-fearing individual,” (and we know that G’d knew beforehand that Avraham would not flinch), this simply meant that as of that moment Avraham’s potential had been converted into an actuality. Not only had G’d had proof of Avraham’s deed, but He had observed with what alacrity and single-mindedness of purpose Avraham had applied himself to the task. He could have taken with him a number of members of his household. He had taken only the two “lads” the Torah spoke of i.e. Eliezer and Ishmael (according to Targum Yonathan as well as Rashi). Even these two “lads” did not accompany him to the top of Mount Moriah (22,5) as Avraham had told them: שבו לכם פה עם החמור, “remain here with the donkey, etc.” He did not want them to come with him on “the last mile,” in order that neither of them should attempt to stay his hand at the last moment.

והאלוקים נסה, “and G’d tested.” Nachmanides describes the function of such “tests” as a device to ensure that the action undertaken by man under such conditions be perceived by him as absolutely free from external pressure, whereas from G’d’s perspective, of course, it is a commandment. (it is difficult to assume that G’d did not know beforehand how man would react to such a commandment.) G’d only wants to translate something He knew potentially into the domain of reality, a demonstration that what He knew man is capable of, man would actually carry out. Man cannot expect to be rewarded for potential acts of goodness, obedience, etc. In order to qualify for reward man must demonstrate that his goodness is more than just “potential.” Seeing that G’d’s objective is to reward man, there is no point in His subjecting the wicked to similar tests, as they will not only not garner the reward but incriminate themselves further by failing to carry out the command which constitutes the “test.” G’d subjects only the righteous to such tests, as He knows they will pass them with flying colours. Rash’bam explains the word נסה, as introducing a painful experience for the subject of such a test. An example of the use of the root נסה in such a context would be Exodus 17,7 where the Israelites had been tested in a painful manner in having gone without water before G’d provided same, miraculously. Other examples can be found in Job 4,2 or Psalms The reason Avraham was subjected to such a painful test was that although G’d had given him a son at the age of 100 years, he had seen fit to make a covenant with Avimelech covering hundreds of years in the future, when he did not even know yet if this son would not die before ever having sired any offspring himself. Avraham did not realize that G’d did not actually want him to slaughter Yitzchok, but only wanted him to “offer” him on the altar, as the words העלהו לעולה indicate. Some commentators understand the word נסה to mean “elevate to a higher stature” in a spiritual sense, such as Kings II The meaning would be parallel to נשאו with the letter ש instead of ס.

And He said, "Take now your son, your only one, whom you love — Isaac — and go to the land of worship, and offer him up before Me there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains that I will tell you."

קח נא TAKE NOW — The word נא is used as a request: God said to him, “I beg of you, stand firm for me in this trial, so that people may not say that the previous trials were no real tests” (Sanhedrin 89b). את בנך THY SON — Abraham said to God, “I have two sons”. “He answered him, “Thine only son”. Abraham said, “This one is the only son of his mother and the other is the only son of his mother”. God then said, “the one whom thou lovest”. Abraham replied, “I love both of them”. Whereupon God said “even Isaac”. Why did He not disclose this to him at the very first? So as not to confuse him suddenly lest his mind become distracted and bewildered and in his confused state he would involuntarily consent, when there would have been no merit in his sacrifice, and so that he might more highly value God’s command and that God might reward him for the increasing sacrifice demanded by obedience to each and every expression used here (Genesis Rabbah 55:7). ארץ המוריה THE LAND OF MORIAH — This is Jerusalem, and so we find in Chronicles (2 Chronicles 3:1) “To build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem in Mount Moriah”. Our Rabbis have explained that it is called Moriah — Instruction — because from it (i.e. from the Temple built on that mountain) instruction הוראה came forth to Israel (Genesis Rabbah 55:7). Onkelos translates it by “the land of the Divine Service”. He takes it as having reference to the offering of incense brought in the Temple on Moriah in which there were myrrh (מור) nard and other spices. והעלהו AND OFFER HIM (literally, bring him up) — He did not say, “Slay him”, because the Holy One, blessed be He, did not desire that he should slay him, but he told him to bring him up to the mountain to prepare him as a burnt offering. So when he had taken him up, God said to him, “Bring him down” (Genesis Rabbah 56:8). אחד ההרים ONE OF THE MOUNTAINS — The Holy One, blessed be He, first makes the righteous expectant and only afterwards discloses fully to them his intention — and all this in order to augment their reward. Similarly we have (Genesis 12:1) “[Go to] the land which I will show thee”, and similarly in the case of Jonah 3:2 “Make unto it the proclamation which I shall bid thee” (Genesis Rabbah 55:7).

TAKE NOW THY SON, THINE ONLY SON. Since Isaac was the son of the mistress and he alone was to be the one to carry his name, He called him Abraham’s only son. The description was for the purpose of magnifying the command, thus saying: “Take now thy only son, the beloved one, Isaac, and bring him up before Me as a burnt-offering.” MORIAH. Rashi comments: “This is Jerusalem, and we find it in the book of Chronicles: To build the house of the Eternal at Jerusalem on mount Moriah. Our Rabbis have explained that it is called Moriah (instruction) because from the Temple built there on that mountain, instruction came forth to Israel. See Deuteronomy 17:8-11. Onkelos translated it as “the land of Worship.” This he derived on the basis of reference to the burning of incense, which contained mor Thus according to Rashi’s understanding of Onkelos. Ramban will later differ with this interpretation in the meaning of Onkelos. (myrrh) and other spices, [as part of the Divine Service].”Now if so, [i.e., if this be the explanation of the name Moriah], the meaning of the verse will then be, “Go into the land which will be called Moriah.” Or it may be that it was always called so on account of the future. In Bereshith Rabbah,36955:9. the Sages have said thus: “The Rabbis say, Go into the land of Moriah means into the land where incense will be offered on the altar of G-d, even as it is said, I will get me to the mountain ‘hamor’ (of myrrh).” But the opinion of Onkelos, who said “the land of worship,” does not appear to be based on the myrrh in the incense, as Rashi said, for the word “service” does not refer to one of the species used in one of the Divine Services. Besides, why did not Onkelos say, “to the land of the incense of spices?” Instead, Onkelos’ intent is to say, “in the land in which they will worhip G-d.”Onkelos thus matched that which the Sages interpreted in Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer, where they said, “The Holy One, blessed be He, showed Abraham the altar with a finger. He said to him, ‘This is the altar on which the first man sacrificed. This is the altar on which Cain and Abel sacrificed. This is the altar on which Noah and his sons sacrificed.’ For it is said, And Abraham built ‘hamizbei’ach’ (the altar) there, here. mizbei’ach (an altar) is not written here, rather, hamizbei’ach (the altar). This is the altar on which the predecessors have sacrificed.” Thus far [is the interpretation of Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer]. And the name Moriah the Rabbis derived from the word mora (fear), for there the people feared G-d and worshipped Him. The correct interpretation, in line with the plain meaning of Scripture, is that the name Moriah is like the expression, To the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense, for on that mountain [Moriah] are found myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon, even as the Rabbis have said: “Cinnamon grew in the Land of Israel, and goats and deers ate of it.” Or it may be that it was so called in praise of the Land of Israel. It was, however, called by that name, in order to give praise to the land where these things grow. Now here Scripture calls the name of the land, the land of Moriah, and there [in the book of Chronicles, mentioned above], it appears that only the Temple mount was called mount Moriah. Perhaps, the city376“The City.” The Tur, quoting Ramban, has “the land.” was called by the name of that mountain which it contains, [and the name “land of Moriah” means] the land which contains the Moriah, but it was the mountain alone that was called Moriah. Now Abraham knew the land but did not know the mountain. Hence G-d told him to go to the land of Moriah, and He will there show him one of the mountains which is called by that name. He commanded him to offer up his son in that place for that is the mountain which G-d hath desired for His abode, and He wanted the merit of the Akeidah (the Binding of Isaac) to be in the sacrifices forever, as Abraham said, The Eternal seeth. here. Moreover, for His righteousness’ sake, He increased the scope of the trial and wanted Abraham to do it after walking three days. Had Abraham been commanded to do so suddenly at his place, his deed would have been performed in haste and confusion, but since it was done after walking for days it was thus performed with reflection of mind and counsel. And so did the Rabbis say in Bereshith Rabbah:5. “Rabbi Akiba said, ‘G-d surely tried [Abraham with a clear-cut situation] so that people should not say that He confounded him and confused him and he did not know what to do.’”

"One of the mountains" — This is where the Temple was built, as is stated explicitly: "And Solomon built the House on Mount Moriah" (2 Chron. 3:1). It is not a high mountain. Upon it was the threshing floor of Araunah.

קח נא את בנך. "Please take your son, etc." G'd meant for Abraham to proceed immediately and not to ask for time before carrying out the command, such as happened with the daughter of Yiftach (Judges 11,37) who had asked to be given two months before becoming her father's sacrifice to G'd. Tanchuma 22 on our verse describes Abraham as spending the whole night asking Sarah to permit him to take Isaac with him to teach him Torah. Our verse also contains a hint that seeing that Isaac had not previously been tested, Abraham should broach the matter to him in a manner that would secure Isaac's willingness. Abraham should convince Isaac that by agreeing to serve as an offering to G'd he would achieve great moral stature. את בנך את יחידך, "your son, your only one, the one you love, Isaac." Here the Torah alludes to three levels of love that G'd demands of each Jew, i.e. to love G'd with all his heart, all his soul, and all his financial resources (Deut. 6,5). The word בנך alludes to the heart; nothing is closer to a man's heart than the love for his children. Concerning love with one's soul, the Torah mentions יחידך; when a person has no children he is alone and considered as dead. Love with one's soul is therefore love with the only thing one has left to love with. The words אשר אהבת refer to one's possessions; G'd meant that Abraham loved Isaac more than all his other possessions. G'd's test consisted of Abraham demonstrating that though he loved Isaac from all these perspectives he was yet willing to give him up to G'd in the form of a total offering.

אל ארץ המוריה, “to the land of Moriah;” the proper spelling should have been האמוריה; it is not unusual for the Torah to omit the consonant aleph, when it would have been silent anyways, one example being Exodus 10,21 וימש חושך instead of.ויאמש חושך [This missing letter א is not unusual, for instance it occurs in Isaiah 13.20] לא יהל ערבי instead of לא יאהל ערבי, “no Arab shall pitch his tent.” והעלהו שם לעולה, “and offer him up there as burnt offering.” When Avraham is supposed to have asked G-d: “how can I offer a burnt offering in the absence of the priest whose duty it is to perform such rites? G-d answered that Avraham had been appointed as a priest by Him already. (Bereshit Rabbah 55,7) This is how the sages explained Psalms 110,4: נשבע ה' ולא ינחם אתה כהן לעולם על דברתי מלכי צדק, “The Lord has sworn and will not retract that you are a priest forever as per My word to Malki Tzedek.” (compare Genesis 14,20 where the latter was deprived of that priesthood as he had blessed mortal Avraham before blessing the immortal Lord)

קח נא את בנך את יחידך אשר אהבת את יצחק, “please take your son, your only one, the one whom you love, etc.” The Torah describes G’d’s command as particularly long-winded in order to lend extra importance to the fulfillment of this commandment. Our sages in Tanchuma Vayera 22 phrase it thus: “When G’d said: ‘take your son,’ Avraham asked: ‘which son?’ When G’d continued: ‘the one whom you ‘love,’ Avraham countered: ‘I love them both.’ Finally, G’d said: ‘Yitzchak.’” ולך לך, “and go for yourself, etc.” Avraham underwent ten trials of his faith. The first one commenced with the words לך לך, “go for yourself,” and the last one concluded with the introduction לך לך, “go for yourself.” Avraham scored perfect marks each time (Avot 5,3). The first trial was “leave your country;” the last one was the binding of Yitzchak. אל ארץ המוריה, “to the land of Moriah.” Mount Moriah is Jerusalem. G’d called the entire land around it “the land of Moriah” because Mount Moriah is situated within it. (compare Chronicles II 3,1). The reason why Jerusalem is called ”mountain,” is because Solomon refers to it by this name in Song of Songs 4,6 when he wrote: אלך לי אל הר המור, “let me proceed to the mount of myrrh, (Moriah) etc.;” cinnamon and other categories of spices used to grow there. Our sages in the Jerusalem Talmud Peah 7,3 stated that cinnamon was something consumed by the goats and the Israelites used to grow it. Onkelos translates the word as ארע פולחנא, “land of Temple service.” He appears to derive the word מוריה from מורא, “fear, reverence,” the place where in the future the Jewish people would demonstrate their reverence for G’d by serving Him there. Bereshit Rabbah 55,9 derives the word from הוראה, “instruction.” From this place G’d’s instructions would be transmitted on a permanent basis (a reference to the seat of the Jewish Supreme Court being in one of the offices of the Temple Mount) והעלהו שם לעולה, “and offer him there as a burnt-offering.” The letter ל in front of the word עולה is somewhat puzzling. Why did the Torah not simply write והעלהו שם עולה, and I would have known exactly what was meant? According to the plain meaning of the text the letter ל here means “instead.” The verse means: “offer him there in lieu of a burnt-offering.” The meaning of the letter ל in this word is similar to Genesis 11,3 הלבנה לאבן, “the brick would serve in lieu of stone.” If the meaning of our verse had been that G’d actually wanted Avraham to sacrifice Yitzchak as a burnt offering, how could He have countermanded His own instructions afterwards? Avraham misunderstood G’d out of his great love for Him. He thought G’d really wanted him to slaughter Yitzchak and burn his remains as a burnt-offering. Seeing that G’d had only wanted to “test” Avraham, He did not command him to actually slaughter Yitzchak. This is the mystical dimension of Jeremiah 19,5 אשר לא ציויתי ולא דברתי ולא עלתה על לבי, “which I did not command, nor ever said, nor had it ever occurred to Me.” [The prophet speaks of the abominable cult of human sacrifice. Ed. The Talmud Taanit 4, adds that the words: ”it had never occurred to Me,” refer to the actual slaughtering of Yitzchak]. It is also possible that the wording of this commandment contains within it the mystical dimension applicable to the offering of any (animal) sacrifice. The word לעולה would be an allusion to the tenth emanation, the emanation which is the “link” from a terrestrial to a celestial dimension. The word לעולה then means: “as a means of rising to spiritually lofty dimensions.” It is remarkable that the same formulation appears again when Avraham had offered a ram in lieu of Yitzchak. The Torah writes; ויעלהו לעולה תחת בנו, “he offered it as a burnt-offering in lieu of his son.” By rights the Torah should merely have written ויעלהו עולה. We also find that when Yitzchak had inquired about the absence of the lamb for the offering, that he had said: ואיה השה לעולה “and where is the lamb for the offering?” When his father answered him he also used the word לעולה in his reply. It seems clear from the repeated use of the letter ל when there was no need for it, that we are dealing with an additional dimension of what underlies the entire episode of the עקדה, i.e. it was intended to be a preamble to ascension of the participants to a higher, loftier spiritual dimension. The Torah teaches here that the attainment of such loftier spiritual dimensions is tied to the offering of the bodies of the animals being sacrificed. We may combine the extra letter ל with the letter ה in the word המזבח in verse 9 [which was also superfluous seeing we had not previously heard about “the” altar], to make לה' “for G’d”, i.e. for a loftier spiritual dimension.” The intelligent reader will draw the correct conclusions.

“And go forth [lech lecha] to the land of Moriah.” The phrase lech lecha is mentioned [specifically] referring to your essence, because from there comes forth the material [of humanity], which was taken from the place about which it is said An altar of earth you shall make for Me (Exodus 20:21), as explained in Parshat Lech Lecha (12:1). And in the word HaMoriah, the [letters] “yah” appear superfluous, for it is [elsewhere] stated I will go to the mountain of myrrh [har hamor] (Song of Songs 4:6). Rather, this is because there is located the Even Shetiyah [Foundation Stone], from which the two worlds were founded, which were created with the Divine Name of “Yah.” For there is the gateway to heaven, and there the union between the Holy One, blessed be He, and Israel was completed, like the intimate connection between a husband and wife where the Name “Yah” mediates between them. And its companion [concept] testifies to this: the 15 steps that were from the Women’s Courtyard [in the Temple], corresponding to the numerical value of the Name “Yah.” And this was a sign for the Temple that would be built there after 15 generations from Abraham to Solomon. And regarding what He said, upon one of the mountains which I will tell you — this is because that place where the Temple would be built was not revealed by the Holy One, Blessed be He, to any creature, as will be explained later in Parshat Re’eh (12:4), God willing. Only Abraham knew this secret, which is why he called it the Lord will see, as will be explained soon, God willing, in the verse the Lord will see. Another explanation of which I will tell you is that in the future, God’s word would come to His prophets from there, as it is written And I will speak with you from above the ark cover (Exodus 25:22). And some say that which I will tell you refers back to and bring him up for a burnt offering. It does not say “bring him up as a burnt offering” but rather for a burnt offering, meaning to offer up a different burnt offering which I will tell you — whether it will be your son or something else that will be the offering.

אל ארץ המוריה, “to the land around Moriah.” Nachmanides understands the term מוריה as describing the region on earth whence reverence for the Lord originates. Other commentators connect it to the incense and frankincense offered on that site. Onkelos translates the term as ארעא פולחנא, i.e. a land in which G’d is being worshipped. The word מוריה, means fear and reverence, as at that site G’d is being revered and people are in awe of Him. This is also what Midrash Rabbah had in mind when focusing on the line (verse 9) ויבן שם אברהם את המזבח, “Avraham erected there the altar.” Avraham did not build a new altar, but used an altar on which religious people in former years had offered their sacrifices to the G’d in heaven. Regarding the plain meaning of the text, the words אל ארץ המוריה mean that this was a region where a variety of spices could be found, including first and foremost מור, myrrh. Whereas the Torah here refers to the whole region as ארץ המוריה, Ezra, in a parallel reference in Chronicles calls only the mountain הר המוריה. (Chronicles II 3,1) Avraham had been familiar with the region but not with the specific mountain G’d had in mind. This is why G’d instructed him to go to the general region, and once there, He would point out the specific mountain He had in mind. This mountain had already become a point on earth which G’d was especially fond of, and on which He had selected to make His terrestrial residence when the time was ripe. The merit Avraham would acquire by offering his beloved son there to G’d as a sacrifice would further endow this site so that prayers addressed to G’d from there in the Temple would be especially effective.

And Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took his two young men with him, and Isaac his son, and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place that Hashem had told him.

וישכם AND HE ROSE EARLY — He was alert to fulfil the command (Pesachim 4a) ויחבוש AND HE SADDLED [HIS ASS]—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. (“Love” here means Love of God as displayed in obedience to His command.) (Genesis Rabbah 55:8) את שני נעריו HIS TWO LADS — Ishmael and Eliezer. For a man of high standing should not travel without two men as attendants (Leviticus 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) ויבקע AND HE CLEAVED [THE WOOD] — Its rendering in the Targum וצלח has the same meaning as the verb in (2 Samuel 19:18) And they rushed into the Jordan”, which signifies cleaving the waters; old French fendre; English to split.

AND HE CLEAVED THE WOOD FOR THE BURNT-OFFERING. This illustrates Abraham’s zeal in performing a commandment for he thought that perhaps there would be no wood in that place, and so he carried it for three days. It may be that Abraham disqualified for use as an offering any wood in which a worm is found, as is the law of the Torah, and so he took from his house sound wood for the burnt-offering. Hence it says, And he cleaved the wood for the burnt-offering.

"And he split wood for the burnt offering" — and placed them on the donkey.

וילך אל המקום, to the land of Moriah.

וישכם אברהם בבוקר. Abraham arose early in the morning. Abraham acted in line with what we know from Leviticus 7,38, that sacrifices may be brought only by day. Our sages also said (Zevachim 98) that one must not bring an offering at night. Abraham therefore set out at an hour that was suitable for bringing an offering. He did not know how far he had to travel and he wanted to have enough time left to offer the sacrifice once he would be at the right place. In view of G'd having addressed Abraham by day, perhaps he should not have waited until the following day; it is possible that he received the instructions in the late afternoon or that Isaac was not at home at the time. By reporting that Abraham rose early, the Torah explains that the day's delay was not due to any negligence on Abraham's part.

ויקח את שני נעריו, “he took his two attendants;” here Rashi does not interpret what he had explained in connection with a similar expression when Bileam took his two servants (Numbers 22,22). There he had explained that prominent people must always travel in the company of two attendants so that one of them has to follow a call of nature so the prominent person will not have been left alone.

ויבקע עצי עולה, “he split the wood for the burnt-offering.” Avraham did this already at this stage as he was concerned that when he would arrive at the site he might not find suitable kindling. This demonstrated that he was so eager to carry out G’d’s command that he carried the wood with him a distance of three days’ journey. It is also possible that Avraham was aware of the halachic ruling that firewood for the altar which is worm-infested is unfit, and that this is the reason he took wood from his home which he had had a chance to examine for the presence of worms. According to Bereshit Rabbah (55,8) G’d paid Avraham his reward for having troubled himself to split the firewood when He split the sea of reeds for Avraham’s descendants to walk through on their march out of Egypt. This is alluded to in the text when the Torah describes the splitting of the waters in terms of splitting wood, i.e. ויבקעו המים, ”the waters were split” (Exodus 14,21). There is an opinion expressed in the same Midrash that such an interpretation does not do justice to the event, but that both G’d and Avraham respectively each did what they could to bring about a desired result.

ויבקע עצי עולה, “He split the kindling for use in the burnt offering.” He had made all these preparations in the event there would be no trees on that mountain. Alternately, he brought the wood from his house after he had examined that it was free from worms. We have a halachah, according to which worm eaten wood must not be used on the altar of the Temple.

On the third day, Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place from afar.

ביום השלישי ON THE THIRD DAY — Why did God delay and not show it to him at once? So that people should not say, “He confused and confounded him suddenly and bewildered his mind. If, however, he had had time for consideration, he would not have obeyed” (Midrash Tanchuma, Vayera 22). וירא את המקום AND HE SAW THE PLACE — He saw a cloud lowering over the mountain (Genesis Rabbah 56:1).

AND HE SAW THE PLACE AFAR OFF. He saw a cloud attached to the mountain, and through this was fulfilled the Divine assurance, which I will tell thee of. here. It is possible, in line with the simple meaning of Scripture, that the verse, And he saw the place afar off, means that he saw the land of Moriah for he knew that entire land [although he did not know the specific mountain].

"On the third day" — from when he set out from Beer-sheba.

וישא אברהם את עיניו וירא את המקום, the place for offering the sacrifice on the mountain of Moriah. מרחוק, he was granted additional eyesight to espy this place from a greater distance than he would normally have been able to see.

וישא אברהם את עיניו, “Avraham raised his eyes;” The letter ו in the word וישא is superfluous. [I confess that I have not understood this. Ed.]

וירא את המקום מרחוק, “he saw the place from a distance.” According to Tanchuma Vayera 23, at that point Avraham asked Yitzchak: “Do you see what I see?” Yitzchak answered: “I see a beautiful mountain which has a cloud attached to it.” Thereupon Avraham said to the two lads: “Do you see anything unusual?” They said: “we do not see anything unusual at all, only deserts and a bare mountain.” Thereupon Avraham said to them: “you and the donkey stay here,” (seeing they had not noticed anything beyond what also the donkey must have seen). He added that he and Yitzchak would go somewhat further, i.e. ואני והנער נלכה עד כה. Avraham may have unwittingly chosen the expression כה (a Freudian slip) seeing that at the covenant between the pieces in Genesis 15,5 G’d had assured him כה יהיה זרעך, “so will be your descendants.” He must have wondered how this statement could be reconciled with what he was being asked to do at that time. Alternatively, he meant he would go to face the G’d who had assured him of numerous offspring at a time when he had not yet fathered even Ishmael. It is remarkable that the Torah describes a man of 37 years of age such as Yitzchak as נער, “lad.” When you peruse Scripture you will see that this is not as remarkable as it appears at first glance. Joshua is described as a נער at a time when he was 56 years old (Exodus 33,11).

And he saw the place from afar. But not from up close, because he saw the radiance of the Divine Presence of the Holy One, Blessed be He, who is called “the Place of the world,” specifically from afar — a physical sight, like looking at the sun, which a person can gaze at from afar but not from up close, because the sense of sight lacks the power to look at the sun when it is close to a person. This is all the more so regarding the brilliant radiance of His Divine Presence, may He be blessed. Similarly, Moses said, Let me turn aside now and see (Exodus 3:3) — Let me turn aside now means to distance himself from the holy place and not to be close to it, all so that he would be able to see. And so too Jeremiah said, The Lord appeared to me from afar (Jeremiah 31:3), implying but not from nearby.

וירא את המקום מרחוק, “he saw the place from a distance.” He observed that only this particular mountain was covered by a cloud. According to the plain meaning of the text, the verse means that Avraham could recognize the region already from a distance, as he had been familiar with it.

And Abraham said to his young men, "Wait here for yourselves with the donkey, while I and the young man go as far as there, and we will bow down in worship and return to you."

עד כה YONDER — meaning a short distance: to the place in front of us. The Midrashic explanation (based upon the meaning of כה “thus”) is: I will see where will be (i.e. what will happen to) the promise which God made to me, (Genesis 15:5) “Thus (כה) shall thy seed be” (Genesis Rabbah 56:2). ונשובה AND WE WILL COME BACK — He prophesied that they would both return (Midrash Tanchuma, Vayera 22).

Some ask: how could Abraham say "and we will return"? Others answered that his intention was to bring back [Isaac's] bones, and that Abraham put them off with words so that they would not leave before his return, and so that Isaac would not realize [what was happening] and flee. Our Sages, of blessed memory, said that when Isaac was bound he was thirty-seven years old. If this is a received tradition we must accept it — but by way of reason alone it is not sound, for it would have been fitting that Isaac's righteousness be made manifest and his reward be doubled over his father's, since he surrendered himself willingly to slaughter. Yet Scripture says nothing at all about Isaac. Others said he was five years old — this too cannot be, since he carried the wood for the burnt offering. The view closest to reason is that he was close to thirteen years old, and that his father forced him and bound him against his will. The proof is that his father concealed the matter from him and said, "God will see to the lamb for Himself" — for had he told him, "you are the offering," he might well have fled.

שבו לכם פה, so that they should not be able to interfere with what he was about to do.

!שבו לכם פה, “you stay here!;” Avraham was afraid that if he did not leave them behind they might attempt to stop him from slaughtering his son. עם החמור, “with the donkey;” he warned them not to let the donkey graze somewhere. [If he was afraid the servants might interfere with him, this was no reason to leave the donkey behind and carry the firewood themselves. Ed.]

ונשובה אליכם “and we will return to you.” At that time Avraham intended to bring back Yitzchak’s bones (for burial) and this is why he said “we will come back.”

Stay here with the donkey. [The letters ayin, mem can spell either “with” or “people.”] A people that is similar to a donkey, for if not [this interpretation], it should have said “let the donkey stay with you.” Why did He make them secondary to the donkey? Because the donkey acts according to its nature, while they sin willfully. Therefore, He made them secondary to the donkey.

ונשתחוה ונשובה אליכם, “we will prostrate ourselves (before the |Lord) before returning to you.” According to Ibn Ezra Avraham said this in order not to reveal to Yitzchok as yet what he had in mind. Other commentators suggest that the line be understood as a question: “do you really think that all we will do there is say a prayer and immediately return to you?”

And Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it upon Isaac his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife, and the two of them went together.

המאכלת — means a knife. It is called מאכלת from אכל to eat, because it devours the meat, — just as you say, (Deuteronomy 32:42 “And my sword shall devour (תאכל) flesh”— or because it makes animal flesh fit for eating (מאכלת) (by killing the animal; because while the animal is living its flesh is unfit for eating). Another explanation: זאת נקראת This knife is called מאכלת (and the term is never used of an ordinary knife) because Israel still eats of the reward given for it (Genesis Rabbah 56:3). וילכו שניהם יחדיו AND THEY WENT BOTH OF THEM TOGETHER — Abraham who was aware that he was going to slay his son walked along with the same willingness and joy as Isaac who had no idea of the matter.

And Isaac said to Abraham his father, and said, "Father," and he said, "Here I am, my son." And he said, "Here are the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"

ויאמר יצחק אל אברהם אביו ויאמר אבי, ויאמר הנני בני, “Yitzchak said to his father ‘my father!’ His father said: ‘I am here my son.’” This verse contains four statements and I do not know why. In Bereshit Rabbah 56,5 the words “Yitzchak said to Avraham” are understood to mean that Samael came to Avraham and challenged him: “what kind of father are you? Are you really going to slaughter a son who has been born to you when you were already one hundred years old?” Avraham answered “nevertheless.” Thereupon Samael addressed Yitzchak saying: “you son of a disappointed mother! He (your father) is going to slaughter you!” Yitzchak answered: “nevertheless.” This is why the Torah wrote twice: “Yitzchak said to his father.” Why do the words “my father” appear twice? In order that his father’s parental mercy be stirred; the exclamation was like that of a man who is in difficulties and, referring to himself, says: “woe to me, woe to me.” ויאמר הנה האש והעצים ואיה השה, “he said: ‘here are the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt-offering?’” Avraham answered him that “G’d will select the lamb for the offering,—my son.” From the way Avraham placed the colon in this verse, Yitzchak understood that he had been chosen to be the “lamb.” In spite of this realisation, the Torah continues: וילכו שניהם יחדו, “they continued to walk together”, i.e. they were of one mind. In order to make this point clear, the Torah had to repeat the sentence: “they walked together.” The release of the information that Yitzchak was going to be the victim did not drive a wedge between his relations with his father. At the time the Torah wrote these words for the first time, Yitzchak did not yet know that he was going to be the sacrifice. Many people asked who of the two principal characters in this drama displayed greater love and devotion vis-a-vis G’d? Was it Avraham who had to perform this commandment of slaughtering his son with his own hands, or was it Yitzchak who had to submit to being slaughtered? Some people argue that Avraham displayed greater strength seeing that it is easier to suffer something passively without resisting than to summon the emotional fortitude to kill one’s beloved son with one’s own hands. Besides, according to the general principle that שב ואל תעשה, that passive participation in a sin or in the performance of a מצוה is inferior to active participation, there can be no question that Avraham’s part in this drama was by far the greater of the two. Those who argue that Yitzchak’s (“sacrifice”) was the greater of the two, point to the difference between fulfilling a command by G’d and one by one’s father. Avraham, after all, had been commanded to do what he set out to do by G’d Himself, whereas Yitzchak had to take his father’s word for it that he had been so commanded. If, nonetheless, Yitzchak did not make an issue of the matter, this demonstrates his absolute faith both in G’d and in his father. Personally, I believe the argument which claims that Avraham displayed greater strength of faith is the correct one. Yitzchak, though he had not been commanded to lay down his life by G’d directly, knew that his father was an accredited prophet, and that therefore he was under an obligation to consider his father’s instructions as equivalent to G’d’s instructions. We are told in Deut.18,19 concerning the commandment to listen to the instructions of an accredited prophet: והיה האיש אשר לא ישמע אל דברי אשר ידבר בשמי אנכי אדרוש מעמו, “it shall be that the man who will not hearken to My words which he shall speak in My name, I shall exact it from him.” This is the reason that Avraham and not Yitzchak was given this commandment; G’d wanted to give Avraham the opportunity to fulfil His commandment and to demonstrate the power of his faith.

“And he said, ‘My father,’ etc.” Isaac had not yet said anything to him, but merely called out my father and was silent. This was because Isaac sensed that his father’s intention was to offer him as a burnt offering, and he thought, “If so, he is not showing me mercy as a father should have for his children, and has turned cruel toward me” — for he did not yet know that this was the Creator’s will. Therefore, he called out my father to test whether he would answer him, [to determine] if it was still fixed in his heart that he was his father, or if he had already dismissed it from his heart as if he were not his son. Through this, he wanted to know who would be sacrificed. When Abraham answered him Here I am, my son, showing that he still had all his paternal longings for him, Isaac then said, “If so, where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham replied, God will see to the lamb for the burnt offering, my son — meaning, “It was not I who chose you, but God, and both you and I are obligated to honor Him.” Only then did they both walk together with one intention, whereas until this point they had been divided in their thoughts.

And Abraham said, "Before Hashem it is revealed — the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went together.

יראה לו השה — this means as much as: He will look out for and choose a lamb for Himself, and if there will be no lamb for a burnt offering, then, בני MY SON will be the offering. Although Isaac then understood that he was travelling on to be slain, yet. וילכו שניהם יחדיו THEY WENT BOTH OF THEM TOGETHER — with the same ready heart (Genesis Rabbah 56:4).

יראה לו השה לעולה, “He will select the lamb that should be the one to serve as the burnt offering.” Even though G-d had told him that his descendants would become known through his son Yitzchok (21,12), he was afraid that Ytzchok would be slaughtered. He had said to himself: “perhaps Yitzchok has already been intimate with a woman without my having been aware, and that woman had already given birth to a son or a daughter for him, so that G-d’s promise will be fulfilled even if he dies here.” After all Yitzchok was already 37 years old.

And they came to the place that Hashem had told him, and Abraham built the altar there, and arranged the wood, and bound Isaac his son, and placed him on the altar upon the wood.

ויעקד AND HE BOUND his hands and feet behind him. Hands and feet tied together is what is meant by עקידה “binding”. It is associated in meaning with עקודים in (Genesis 30:35) “[she-goats] that were streaked” — whose ankles were streaked white so that the place where they are bound could be plainly seen.

AND THEY CAME TO THE PLACE WHICH G-D TOLD HIM OF — now, ” All this is in line with the plain meaning of Scripture, as Ramban mentioned above. “This is mount Moriah,” for He told him, “Behold, this is the mountain of which I told you.”

ויבן אברהם מזבח Avraham built an altar;” Yitzchok did not participate in that activity; the reason that he did not do so was not that he would not have been willing to do so, but his father had hidden him so that Satan would not be able to tempt him, as he had tried to tempt Avraham not to carry out G-d’s request by hurting him so that he would be unfit to serve as an offering. את המזבח, the altar. The Torah did not write: “altar” without the prefix letter ה which meant that it was an altar that had previously served for such a purpose. According to our tradition, Adam, Hevel, Noach and his sons, had all offered offerings to G-d on that same altar.

ויבן שם אברהם את המזבח, “Avraham built the altar there.” The letter ה at the beginning of the word המזבח, shows that a specific altar was meant, i.e. the altar. According to the plain meaning of the text it means that the altar corresponded halachically to the rules governing such altars in Jewish law, i.e. that they must not be constructed from stones which had been treated with iron tools (compare Exodus 20,22). A Midrashic approach: (Pirke d'Rabbi Eliezer 31) sees in the letter ה which is a definite article an allusion to the altar which Adam had built and on which also Cain and Hevel had offered their respective sacrifices. The site of this altar had been known to be at Mount Moriah. This was also reputed to be the altar on which Noach had offered his thanksgiving to G’d after the deluge.[The latter detail is difficult to reconcile with the distance Noach would have had to travel from Mount Ararat in North Eastern Turkey to offer his thanks to G’d. Ed.] A kabbalistic approach: The meaning of the Midrash we quoted is that the original “recipient” is the final product of the “structure.” In other words, there is a causal relationship between the words ויבן, “he built,” and the word מזבח, “altar.” [I believe a good way of phrasing this may be this. As soon as G’d had completed “building” the universe with the creation of man, the time had come for man to reciprocate in some form by offering gifts to the Creator by means of the altar. Ed.] Kabbalists view this altar as one on which both terrestrial beings and celestial beings offered sacrifices. I will have more to say on the subject in my commentary on Parshat Vayikra 1,9. [The altar is viewed as a place where benevolent celestial input to the terrestrial world evokes input by terrestrial man addressed to the celestial spheres. Ed.] ויערך את העצים, “and he arranged the fire-wood.” The letter ה at the beginning of the word העצים is a reference to the wood which Avraham had taken with him from home with which we are already familiar. On the other hand, the letter ה may simply teach that not all kinds of wood are acceptable as the kindling for an offering on the altar. ויעקד את יצחק בנו וישם אותו על המזבח, “he bound his son Yitzchak and placed him on top of the altar.” We are told in Tanchuma Vayera 23 that when Avraham was about to slaughter his son, that Yitzchak asked to be bound hand and foot in order that he should not invalidate the offering if he were to move at the moment his father would cut his throat. ממעל לעצים, “above the wood.” Rabbi Chanina is reported to have said that Avraham built the altar facing the throne of G’d’s glory in the heavens. He derived this from the wording here i.e. ממעל לעצים, and Isaiah 6,2 שרפים עומדים ממעל לו.

ויבאו אל המקום אשר אמר לו האלוקים, “they arrived at the place that G’d had spoken to him about.” This was Mount Moriah, which G’d had said He would point out to him.

And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.

ויקח את המאכלת, “he took the knife.” According to the Tanchuma quoted above, Yitzchak told his father: “when you tell my mother about what happened, do not tell her while she is standing on the roof or near a well so that she will not fall into the well or to the ground from shock.” When Avraham was about to slaughter Yitzchak, an angel called to him from the heaven calling out his name twice. The reason the angel had to repeat Avraham’s name was to stop him in time as Avraham was in such a hurry to complete his task and to slaughter Yitzchak. (compare Tanchuma Vayera 23). He said: “do not stretch out your hand, etc.” Avraham replied: “who are you?” The angel responded: “I am an angel of G’d.” Avraham retorted: “when I was instructed to offer Yitzchak as a sacrifice G’d told me personally. Now that He apparently wants me to desist, He would have to tell me personally.” Thereupon the Torah (verse 16) writes: “An angel called out to Avraham a second time from the heaven saying to Avraham: “I have sworn an oath by Myself says the Lord, etc.” When Avraham heard this he said “You have sworn;” “I have also sworn an oath that I will not descend from this altar until I have said to You what is on my mind. Did You not first say to me כה יהיה זרעך, ‘this is how numerous your descendants will be?’ Who did You have in mind would be the one from whom these descendants would come forth?” G’d answered “from Yitzchak.” Thereupon Avraham said This is the sort of thing I meant to answer you: ‘Yesterday You told me that my descendants will be known though Yitzchak and now You told me to offer him as a burnt-offering! I suppressed my impulse to ask You all these questions. Now, if and when my descendants will sin and they will experience difficulties, I want You to suppress Your feelings when You punish them remembering that I suppressed my inclination to ask You some embarrassing questions. I want You to consider as if Yitzchak’s ashes had already been piled up on this altar, as if his blood had been sprinkled on it and as a result You will forgive the transgressions of my offspring.”

And the angel of Hashem called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham," and he said, "Here I am."

אברהם אברהם ABRAHAM, ABRAHAM — The repetition of his name is an expression of affection (Genesis Rabbah 56:7).

"Abraham, Abraham" — [the name is called] twice, as [is the manner] in urgent haste.

אברהם, אברהם! “Avraham, Avraham!” The repetition of Avraham’s name is to indicate that the call was of an urgent nature. This is a formulation also known in other languages.

“Abraham, Abraham.” This is an expression of endearment. The reason He did not call him twice [by name] the first time as an expression of endearment was because his beloved status was not yet known to all inhabitants of the world, as perhaps he would not withstand the test. However, after he passed the test, it became clearly visible to all, with greater intensity and strength compared to others. Therefore, He called him Abraham, Abraham twice as an expression of endearment, for this test was for the benefit of the one being tested — to make known his beloved status. Another explanation: When he was engaged in the mitzvah of binding his son, he was so intensely focused on completing the commandment properly that he did not pay attention to the [first] calling voice. Therefore, it was necessary to call him a second time, and this is the reason for the repetition of Abraham, Abraham. This was unlike the first [divine call to Abraham], when he was not yet preoccupied with a mitzvah. And some say that Abraham understood from this call that Heaven would prevent him [from completing the sacrifice], therefore he made himself like a bewildered man and like one who does not hear, in order to complete the mitzvah, until they called him a second time.

ויקרא אליו מלאך ה' מן השמים, “an angel of the Lord called out to him from the heaven, etc.” Why did the angel call from the celestial regions instead of first descending to earth and addressing Avraham, as had occurred on other occasions? The interference had become such an urgent matter that he was afraid that he would be too late, Avraham having already concluded the act of slaughtering Yitzchok.

And he said, "Do not stretch out your hand against the young man, and do not do anything to him, for now I know that you are one who fears Hashem, and you have not withheld your son, your only one, from Me."

אל תשלח LAY NOT THINE HAND [UPON THE LAD] to slay 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, “Neither do thou anything (מאומה) to him” — inflict no blemish (מום) on him (Genesis Rabbah 56:7). כי עתה ידעתי FOR NOW I KNOW—R. Aba said: Abraham said to God, “I will lay my complaint before you. Yesterday (on an earlier occasion) you told me, (Genesis 21:12) “In Isaac shall seed be called to thee”, and then again you said, (Genesis 21:2) “Take now thy son”. Now you tell me, “Lay not thy hand upon the lad”! The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, in the words of Psalms 89:35, “My covenant will I not profane, nor alter that which is gone out of My lips”. When I told you, “Take thy son”, I was not altering that which went out from My lips, namely, My promise that you would have descendants through Isaac. I did not tell you “Slay him” but bring him up to the mountain. You have brought him up — take him down again” (Genesis Rabbah 56:8). כי עתה ידעתי 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: I have an opening of the mouth (i.e. I have an excuse, a reason to give them) now that they see that you are a God-fearing man (Genesis Rabbah 56:7).

FOR NOW I KNOW THAT THOU ART A G-D FEARING MAN. At the beginning Abraham’s fear of G-d was latent; it had not become actualized through such a great deed. But now it was known in actuality, and his merit was perfect, and his reward would be complete from the Eternal, the G-d of Israel. The doctrine of this chapter which teaches that G-d is the One who tries Abraham and commands him about the binding of Isaac, and it is the angel of G-d who restrains and promises him, will be explained in the verse, The angel who hath redeemed me.

Now I know. These were the words of the angel — “Now I know why God elevated you above us.” From Me (or, “than I am”). These are also the words of the angel. The verse should be inverted and read: “You are more God-fearing than I am because you did not withhold your son”.

עתה ידעתי, “now I know for a fact, etc;” did G-d not already know? Actually the meaning is: “now I am able to make My knowledge public to all.” We have a similar formulation in Exodus 32,12, where G-d said to Moses: ידעתיך בשם, “I have made your name well known.” The appropriate translation would be: “I have made you so famous that no one can dispute it.”

“Now I know that you are God-fearing.” Not every usage of the word “now” [etah] excludes the time that preceded it, as we find And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear Him (Deuteronomy 10:12) — and did He not ask for fear of Him before this? Rather, it is as if it said “Behold, Israel.” Similarly, Now I know is as if it said “Behold, I know.” Some say that I have known means “I have made known,” for the purpose of this test was to raise a banner to show the nations the beauty of His actions. Thus the phrase And God tested [nassa] would be related to the raising of a banner [nes] that is visible to all people. For better is open rebuke that comes from concealed love (Proverbs 27:5) — when there is great love but it is hidden, the Holy One, Blessed be He, sends upon him an open rebuke, and by way of accepting it with love, His love becomes revealed and visible to all eyes. Now regarding God’s knowledge of everything before it comes into being, while man still maintains free choice — many have been perplexed by this investigation, and most investigators have gone out to gather [explanations] but found none, no satisfactory way to resolve this doubt, for these concepts seem to contradict each other. This is a deep matter — who can fathom it? And regarding this, the Rambam explained the saying of our Sages (Avot 3:15): Everything is foreseen, yet free will is given — that even though everything is foreseen before Him, may He be blessed, nevertheless free will is given to man and he remains with his power of choice.

אל תשלח ידך אל הנער, “do not touch the lad!” According to the Midrash, the angel saw that Avraham had suddenly realized that he no longer had a knife in his hand. (this is why the angel told him not to harm Yitzchok with his hand, instead of with his knife). Avraham therefore decided to strangle Yitzchok with his bare hands in order to carry out G’d’s command. This is when the angel had to tell him not to harm Yitzchok in any manner. כי עתה ידעתי, “for now I know, etc.” Nachmanides writes that the meaning is that up until that moment the degree of reverence for G’d that Avraham was capable of existed only as a potential; now it had been translated into reality.

And Abraham lifted his eyes after these things, and he looked and saw — behold, a ram was caught behind by its horns in a tree — and Abraham went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son.

והנה איל BEHOLD, A RAM — It was predestined for that purpose from the six days of Creation (Avot 5:5; Midrash Tanchuma, Vayera 23). אחר AFTER the angel had said to him “Lay not thy hand upon the lad” he saw it being caught in the thicket. And that is what we mean when we translate it in the Targum by “And Abraham lifted up his eyes after these (i.e. after these words)”. Other versions of Rashi have: according to the Midrashic explanation, after means after all the words of the angel and the Shechinah, and after all the arguments of Abraham. בסבך IN A THICKET— a tree. בקרניו BY ITS HORNS — because it was running towards Abraham, but Satan caused it to be caught and entangled among the trees (Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 31). תחת בנו IN THE STEAD OF HIS SON — Since it is written, “He offered it up for a burnt offering”, surely nothing is missing in the text; what then is the force of “in the stead of his son”? At every sacrificial act he performed on it he prayed saying, “May it be Thy will that this act may be regarded as having been done to my son — as though my son is being slain; as though his blood is being sprinkled; as though his skin were being flayed; as though he is being burnt and is being reduced to ashes” (Genesis Rabbah 56:9).

"Behind, caught" — after it had become caught in the thicket by its horns. If the chet of נֶאֱחַז carries a qamatz, then the word "was" is missing [from the text], and its meaning is: "after it had been caught" — and there are many [such elliptical constructions]. Some interpret "behind" (אַחַר) as connected to [the preceding clause] "and Abraham lifted his eyes" — but if that were so, it should read "afterwards" (אַחֲרֵי) or "after so" (אַחַר כֵּן) or "after this" (אַחֲרֵי זֹאת), as is the proper usage of the language in every established [instance of this kind].

והנה איל אחר נאחז בסבך, this incident indicated to him that G’d must have arranged for this ram to be at his disposal, and that there could be no question of his committing robbery if he took this ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering. The fact that there had been no such ram when he prepared the altar and bound Yitzchok and suddenly this ram materialised, was ample evidence of its purpose. תחת בנו, in exchange for what he had had in mind to do with his son. The phrase reminds us of Psalms 15,2 ודובר אמת בלבו, “he spoke truthfully in his heart.” [the author justifies the use of the word תחת, “in lieu of,” for something which had not actually happened, i.e. Yitzchok had not been slaughtered. The verse from Psalms proves that the intention is as good as the deed when such an intention was sincere, wholehearted. Ed.]

אחר נאחז בסבך, “subsequently he saw a ram that had become entangled in the thicket.” We find a similar construction (using the preposition אחר) in Psalms 68,26: קדמו שרים אחר נוגנים, “the singers preceded the musicians,” or in Kohelet 12,2: ושבו העבים אחר הגשם, “and the clouds return after the rain.”According to Rashi, Avraham saw the ram as it became entangled. This is why he understood that it was not there accidentally, but that G-d had given him a hint to use it as a substitute for the offering he had been prevented by the angel to complete. If that ram had been standing there as did others, he would have thought it was privately owned by someone else and would not have touched it. A different interpretation: “he noticed it after it had become entangled by its horns.” (Ibn Ezra).

וירא והנה איל, “and he saw, and here there was a ram, etc.” This ram was one of the ten things which were created on the original sixth day of creation at dusk (according to Avot 5,6). This is why this animal was called איל instead of כבש. Normally, when the Torah refers to these types of animals in connection with their being used as sacrificial animals they are always referred to as כבש or כבשים בני שנה “one year old sheep.” The word כבש suggests that this animal (when offered as a sacrifice) is כובש, “suppresses” the sins of the Jewish people. When this animal grows to maturity it is known as איל, when it is only a day old it is referred to as כבש, as we know from Leviticus 22,27 שור או כשב או עז כי יולד, “when an ox, a sheep or a goat is born, etc.” Another reason why this ram which was sacrificed as a burnt-offering was called איל is the similarity of this word with the word אילת השחר, a complimentary name applied to the כנסת ישראל, “the spiritual concept represented by the Jewish people” (compare Psalms 22,1). Allegorically speaking, this ram represents Israel which receives its spiritual input via שחר which protects it generation after generation due to the merit accumulated by Avraham as a result of his having bound his son. [The word describes something which precedes the light of the morning. G’d preceded everything in this world. Israel receives its spiritual and material input from such pre-historic sources. Ed.] אחר נאחז בסבך בקרניו, “subsequently, caught by its horns in the thicket.” The plain meaning of the text is that after the angel had told Avraham not to touch Yitzchak he saw this ram. The word בסבך suggests that the part of the mountain on which the binding took place was full of trees and low brush, a place also known in Kings I 7,2 as יער לבנון, a type of Cedar forest. In Psalms 132,6 David said of the שכינה, G’d’s benevolent presence, מצאנוה בשדי יער, “we found it in the fields of Yaar.” This place was within the boundaries of the territory of Benjamin of whom it is said (Genesis 49,27) בנימין זאב יטרף. These words are translated by Onkelos as “G’d’s benevolent presence will reside in the territory of Benjamin, and His Holy Temple will be built there.” A Midrashic (Bereshit Rabbah 56,9) approach: the words אחר נאחז בסבך בקרניו, “after Israel has become enmeshed by its sins all year round, and as a result find themselves in deep trouble, they will blow the horn of the ram, i.e. the שופר on New Year’s Day appealing to G’d to remember the binding of Yitzchak.” Another allegorical interpretation: After Israel has become “enmeshed” in sins and as a result has been exiled amongst the “thicket,” the kingdoms of Babylon, Medes, Greece and Rome, they will ultimately experience redemption. This will be heralded by the blowing of the ram’s horn as we mention in our daily עמידה prayer in the paragraph commencing with the words תקע בשופר גדול לחרותנו, “blow the great horn to announce our freedom.” This prayer is based on Zechariah 9,14 who assured us that G’d Himself will blow this Shofar. Our sages (in Pirke d'Rabbi Eliezer at the end of chapter 31) believe that we are dealing here with an allusion to the Shofar that G’d was going to blow during the revelation at Mount Sinai (19,16). It is written of that Shofar that its sound was very strong (Exodus 19,16) and that it was the Shofar of the ram found during the binding of Yitzchak. We are commanded to blow the Shofar on New Year’s Day. Although, halachically speaking (Rosh Hashanah 26,1), a number of horns from a number of animals are acceptable for this ceremony, the best way to fulfill the commandment is by means of a ram’s horn. When the sages described this Shofar which was blown on the occasion of the revelation as “the Shofar of Yitzchak,” they referred to the virtue of Yitzchak, to his outstanding characteristic. They did not mean to imply that the horn used on that occasion (some 360 years after the binding of Yitzchak) was physically the same horn as the one belonging to the ram which Avraham slaughtered. In fact, this would have been impossible as the rules of the burnt-offering include that the entire animal be burned (except its skin and hair). The horns and hooves are included in the parts which need to be burned. Our sages alluded to the attributes of גבורה, power, we heard from G’d’s mouth directly when He addressed the entire assembly of the Jewish people and told them the first two of the Ten Commandments, i.e. “I am the Lord, etc.,” and “you must not have any other gods, etc.” G’d revealed this attribute at that time and it is called by our sages פחד יצחק, (compare Genesis 31,53). This attribute of G’d to which Yitzchak more than any other of our patriarchs related, is what we call upon in times of distress when we say עננו פחד יצחק, “answer us ‘attribute’ which Yitzchak related to with utmost reverence.” This is the voice of the soul which was audible at the time when the Torah was given and we allude to this voice when we blow the Shofar on New Year’s Day, the anniversary of the creation (completion) of the universe. You should understand that the day on which the Torah was given was the first day G’d’s kingdom had been accepted as such by the Jewish people, seeing that there cannot be a king without an army. [The Jewish people in their capacity as G’d’s people, are considered G’d’s “army.”] You also need to know that the apparently strange phenomenon in this paragraph, i.e. that G’d is the one who subjects Avraham to the trial whereas the angel prevented him from going through with it, needs to be understood as follows: The “angel” mentioned in our paragraph is not of the category of the נפרדים, ”disembodied spiritual creatures,” but it belonged to what are known as the נטיעות, “the emanations of G’d.” [a divine voice much closer to G’d’s Essence than “mere” angels. Ed.] Had the angel who called out to Avraham and instructed him to desist belonged to the category known as נפרדים, Avraham would have ignored him, would not have allowed himself to be countermanded by a subordinate of the One who had instructed him in the first place. Moreover, it is quite unthinkable that an angel of the “lower” category נפרדים would have been allowed to say to Avraham ולא חשכת את בנך ממני, “and you did not withhold your son from Me.” He would have had to say: “you have not withheld your son from Him.” All of this proves that the voice which the Torah describes as emanating from an “angel of G’d,” was of a superior divine level. This “angel” is also known as the “great angel,” who manifested himself in Exodus 14,19 when the Torah describes him as traveling in front of the encampment of the Jewish people (performing all kinds of miracles). The words מלאך האלו-הים employed there by the Torah do not mean “angel of the Lord,” i.e the word מלאך is not a possessive clause, the angel being merely an attribute of G’d. The word האלו-הים in that verse must be understood as an explanation of the word מלאך. When the Torah describes this divine emanation as מלאך, the meaning is that G’d is “contained, present,” within this divine emanation. We encounter something similar in Exodus 23,21 where G’d explains to Moses that the מלאך who will be accompanying the Jewish people needs to be related to with the utmost reverence as “My Name is within him.” Apparently, the word substituted for this attribute of G’d we called פחד יצחק, an attribute which brooks no defiance of any sort. When we read in Genesis 48,16 when Yaakov blesses before his death המלאך הגואל אותי... בקרב הארץ “the angel who has rescued me, etc. etc. is in the midst of the terrestrial world,” this is an allusion to the אדנות, the attribute of “mastery” which this “angel” represents. He has authority בקרב הארץ within the whole terrestrial universe. Seeing that this attribute contains also the element of mercy, “He” suddenly describes Himself as י-ה-ו-ה when He says 'בי נשבעתי נאום ה “I have sworn by Myself says Hashem, i.e. the attribute of Mercy, etc.” Up until this moment the attribute mentioned in this chapter had only been the attribute אלו-קים, i.e. G’d manifesting Himself as the attribute of Justice. Whereas before the binding Avraham had spoken of אלוקים יראה לו השה, that the G’d known as elokim would select the lamb for Himself, after the episode Avraham begins to view this elokim as Hashem when he said בהר ה' יראה, “at the mountain of the (merciful) G’d He may be seen (experienced).” At that time this attribute promises Avraham that He would bless his descendants making them numerous and bestowing powerful blessings on them. The repetition of the words ברך אברכך and הרבה ארבה are proof that these blessings will be more numerous and more powerful than ordinary blessings. Such expressions always mean that the power from which such blessings emanate contain another power within the overall attribute from which such blessings emanate. The Torah drew attention to this subordinate “power” by comparing it to the “stars of the heaven” and “the sand on the beaches of the sea.” G’d also describes the result of such powerful blessings as being that not only would Avraham’s seed be numerous, but that it would take permanent possession of the gates of its enemies. When the blessing concludes with the words עקב אשר שמעת בקולי, “as a result of your having hearkened to My voice,” it becomes plain that G’d Himself is the One bestowing this blessing. ויעלהו לעולה תחת בנו, “he offered it as a burnt-offering in lieu of his son.” Rashi explains the words תחת בנו, as meaning that from that time on every time Avraham would perform a sacrificial service he would commence the ceremony by saying: “may this act of service be considered as equivalent to my offering up my own son.” In other words: “may the act of slaughtering the animal be considered as if I were to slaughter my son. May the act of sprinkling its blood on the altar be considered as if I were to sprinkle the blood of my son on this altar, etc.”

And behold, another ram was caught in the thicket by its horns. The word acher [another/after] implies as if there were two rams here and it wants to distinguish between them, saying that this is a different ram from the first one. Although according to this interpretation, the letter chet should have been vowelized with a tzeirei, nevertheless we can interpret it as if it had a tzeirei, because the current vowelization of the chet with a patach doesn’t fit so well, since the word acher is written between ayil [ram] and ne’echaz [was caught]. And some say that this ram was not one of those rams that were created during the six days of creation, but rather it was a different ram, because the ram of Isaac was created on the eve of the first Sabbath, during twilight (Avot 5:8). What appears most correct to me in this matter is that anyone who sins and rebels greatly is comparable to a horned man who gores upward, through sins between man and God, blessed be He, as Rashi explained in Parashat Lech Lecha (14:2) that [he was named] Shemever — he would place his limb [sam ever] to jump and fly upward, and similarly regarding the nations it is said the ram that you saw, the one with horns (Daniel 8:20). Thus, the metaphor here refers to this horned ram, for there is one who gores upward — this is one who sins against heaven, and most animal horns point right and left, for so too does a person who sins against their fellow harm them both in length of days which is on the right, and in wealth and honor which is on the left. Therefore, Adam, who was alone in the world and sinned only against heaven, was provided for his atonement an ox that had one horn on its forehead, meaning that because it was on its forehead it pointed upward, for through what he sinned he would rectify. From here our Sages learned (Chullin 60a) to say that it had one horn specifically on its forehead. But for future generations, every sinner brings an ox or sheep or goat with horns pointing right and left, to atone for having sinned against their fellow, because even one who sins in matters between man and God nevertheless also harms other creatures, both because all Israel are guarantors for one another and many bear the punishment for their sin as is known, and because they cause others to learn to act as they do. Therefore, their law is to bring animals with horns pointing right and left, to atone for what they sinned against creatures, and the Holy One, blessed be He, forgives His portion, for if their transgressions multiply, what can they do to Him? But to a person like themselves, they could strike a mighty blow according to their strength. Therefore, their laws differ regarding sacrifices — for the anointed priest and Sanhedrin, whose power is great and who could strike a mighty blow against others, their law is to bring a bull whose goring is greater and more dangerous. And any ordinary individual whose goring against their fellow is not so great is like a sheep or goat whose goring is not so great, therefore their law is to bring a sheep or goat. But the poor person whose strength to harm is weak is like a bird striking with its wings in the manner of “ever min hachai,” therefore their law is to bring turtledoves and young pigeons, suggesting that they are pursued like them and nevertheless strike others with their wings, and in extreme poverty one is considered like dead, therefore their offering is flour which has no living soul. This will be further explained, God willing, later in Parashat Vayikra, because every atoning entity needs to resemble in its characteristics the one receiving atonement. This is what is meant by I said to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’ and to the wicked, ‘Do not raise a horn; do not raise your horn on high’ (Psalms 75:5). Do not raise a horn implies one horn, meaning do not sin against heaven alone; do not raise your horns on high implies two, corresponding to one who also sins against man, therefore it says do not raise on high — two raisings, one to the right and one to the left, as mentioned. This matter was hinted to Abraham, since there is no righteous person on earth who does good and never sins, and especially according to those who say (Nedarim 32) that the Egyptian exile was due to Abraham’s sin when he said How shall I know, which caused his children to experience affliction, slavery, and death of children in Egypt, as if he was goring them right and left. Therefore, his judgment was to sacrifice another ram, which was different from the first, for the first ram represents the sinning person who gores north and south, and in God’s mercy, He took in its place a ram that was caught in the thicket by its horns. The matter of it being caught in the thicket, which is a tree, hints that this is how the sinner becomes entangled in sin, which stems from eating from the Tree of Knowledge, which was the cause of all sins. And the matter of by its horns is because the horns of the sinner caused them to become entangled in sin, as if to say that one is caught and trapped in the snare because they have the horns of a wild ox, raising their horn on high or to the right and left. And in Genesis Rabbah (56:9) they said and behold another ram. What does another mean? Throughout history, Israel becomes caught in transgressions and entangled in troubles, but they will ultimately be redeemed through the ram’s horns. The simple meaning of this midrash agrees with our explanation that this verse speaks of the sinner who has great power, from whom horns extend. And regarding what was said “they will ultimately be redeemed through the ram’s horns” — it seems to me this refers to the shofar of Rosh Hashanah, which comes from the horn of a ram, and through it Israel will be redeemed from their evil inclination, whose net is spread over all living things, and through the shofar which comes to confuse Satan, they will be redeemed from his hand, for the shofar awakens a person to repentance, as it is written If a shofar is blown in the city, will the people not tremble? (Amos 3:6). And regarding what our Sages said (Rosh Hashanah 16b) that the shofar confuses Satan, because he thinks perhaps it is the shofar of the Messiah — Satan is not so devoid of knowledge. Doesn’t he know that this is a prescribed law for Israel from ancient times, and still the Messiah has not come? And it would be logical to say that since it’s routine, it’s routine [i.e., there’s nothing special about it]. Rather, Satan knows that these are God’s commandments upon us, and he also knows the reason for the commandment — to awaken [people] to repentance, and repentance brings the redemption closer. Therefore, he is anxious that perhaps the Messiah will come, because even though in previous years they did not properly awaken to repentance, eventually there will come a time when they will regret their evil ways and perform complete repentance. Thus, he fears in each and every year that perhaps now they will become fearful and repent. And since the horn is the place of sin, it will also be the place of rectification, similar to Adam’s fig leaves, for through that which was corrupted comes the correction. Just as [sin came] through a horn, so through it will come rectification, and the prosecutor will transform into an advocate. For every penitent person, their intentional sins are transformed into merits; similarly, this horn, which is the place of intentional sins, will become the means through which merits are achieved.

והנה איל אחד, “and lo there was a ram, etc.” According to Ibn Ezra, Avraham had not seen the ram until it had become enmeshed in the thicket with its horns. Other commentators hold that Avraham had observed the same ram previously when it was unencumbered and grazing, whereas now he saw it suddenly caught in the thicket by its horns. He assumed that this was in order for him to be able to secure it easily as a substitute for Yitzchok.

And Abraham worshiped and prayed there in that place, and said, "Before Hashem, here shall the worshipers of the generations serve." Therefore it will be said on that day: "On this mountain Abraham worshiped before Hashem."

'ה יראה Its real meaning is as the Targum renders it: The Lord will choose and select for Himself this place to make His Shechinah reside in it and for sacrifices to be offered there. אשר יאמר היום AS IT IS SAID TO THIS DAY — In the generations to come people will say of it,” On this mountain the Holy One, blessed be He, shows Himself to His people.” היום THIS DAY — the future days, with the same meaning as עד היום הזה “even until this day” wherever it occurs in the entire Scriptures: that all future generations who read this passage will refer the phrase “even unto this day” to the day in which they live. The Midrashic explanation is: May God see this Binding of Isaac every year to forgive Israel and to save them from punishment, so that it may be said “in this day” — in all future generations — “there are seen in the mountain of the Lord” the ashes of Isaac heaped up as it were and serving as a means of atonement (Midrash Tanchuma, Vayera 23).

The meaning of "On the mount of Hashem it shall be seen" is [found] in "These are the Words" [= Deuteronomy].

אשר יאמר היום, the place of which the Israelites had said on the day that the Torah was written (or given) that G’d manifests Himself on the mountain. G’d would reveal which mountain this is only in the future, in the days of David, seeing that even in Deuteronomy 12,11 only veiled reference is made to such a mountain. It was this mountain, subsequently known as the Temple Mount which Avraham now named ה' יראה.

ה' יראה, Avraham said the following: “Hashem will become my witness after I have fulfilled this commandment of His.” The reason that this is necessary is some people will say that this is the mountain to which I brought my son in order to prove that I would honour Him even by offering my son as an offering and at which I had weakened at the last moment and not gone through with my intention, as proved by the fact that I returned with my son intact. They will not give me credit when told that G-d had to stop me from going through with slaughtering my son in His honour.”

ה' יראה, “the Lord (attribute of Mercy) may be experienced.” He “renamed” G’d as ה' יראה, i.e. that this attribute of G’d may be manifest for all future times. In other words: “the merit acquired by the act of binding Yitzchak will endure throughout the generations.” אשר יאמר היום, “of which it is said (already) today, etc.” Even this day that I find myself on this mountain, what I have done is already reflected in G’d responding to my righteousness. Avraham prayed both for the present and for the future. This is how Nachmanides explains this verse. Personally, I would divide the verse into two parts. The words ה' יראה refer to the present, whereas the words אשר יאמר היום refer to the future, i.e. a future which will be influenced by the new-found insight of this day that G’d primarily relates to the Jewish people as the attribute of Mercy. This would be an allusion to the homiletical explanation I quoted already on verse ten where I quoted Avraham as engaging G’d in a dialogue where he retroactively tells G’d of the various questions concerning this whole episode which he had refrained from asking though it had not been easy for him to do so. At this point the Torah presents these words of Avraham as a form of prayer. Shem had called this site שלם, (Bereshit Rabbah 56,10) whereas Avraham called the same site now יראה. G’d decided to call it ירושלים, thus combining the names given to it by both Shem and Avraham. According to a Midrash, Yitzchak saw the image of a lion while he lay bound on the altar. The meaning of this “lion” is to illustrate to us the concept of פחד יצחק. [His reverence or fear of the Lord was comparable to a person who faces a ferocious lion. Ordinary people do not relate to invisible sources of danger in the same way as they relate to visible and immediate dangers facing them. Ed.] It is also possible that the “lion” referred to in that Midrash is the same as that referred to in Chulin 59 where the Talmud relates that the Roman Emperor insisted on seeing the lion called the “lion of Ilai.” When he was warned that he might not like what he would see, he still insisted and finally, the roar of that lion was heard from 400 miles away and it made the towers of Rome tremble and pregnant women lose their fetuses, etc. These occurrences became even more frightening as the lion drew somewhat closer with the result that the Emperor begged to have that lion return to its lair. We may see an allusion to this in our verse where we are told: “it (G’d’s attribute) will be manifest on the mountain of the Lord.” According to Bereshit Rabbah 56,11 the words בהר ה' יראה refer to two visions Yitzchak experienced of the two Temples being built as well as being in ruins. They base this on the verses (Lamentations 5,18) על הר ציון ששמם, “on the mountain of Zion which is in ruins”, and on Deut. 16,16 יראה כל זכורך, “everyone of your males shall appear there” (the site of the Temple). A third verse describing the Temple as rebuilt is found in Psalms 102,17 כי בנה ה' ציון נראה בכבודו, “for the Lord has built Zion, He has appeared in all His glory.”

And he called the name of that place “The Lord will see,” as it is said this day, “On the mountain the Lord will be seen.” Since it is written (Exodus 34:23) all your males shall be seen, which can be read as both “will see” [yireh] and “will be seen” [yera’eh] — with the yud vowelized with a tzeirei — to teach that just as one comes to be seen, so too one comes to see. Similarly, here it states for the same reason both will see and will be seen as they are one and the same concept. However, to explain the phrase as it is said this day, I say that this is why he called the name of the place The Lord will see in the future tense: Because the Holy One, Blessed be He, did not reveal this holy place to any creature. Even to Abraham it was only said upon one of the mountains which I will tell you, and we do not find that He told him anything except what Abraham sensed when he saw the cloud tied to the mountain. Nevertheless, there was no explicit statement or words that “this is the mountain that God desired for His dwelling.” For God concealed it for reasons that will be explained later in Parshat Re’eh (12:4), God willing. Therefore he called it The Lord will see, in the same sense as God will see to the lamb. Thus he said that the time would come when the Lord would see and choose this place, and at that time it will be said for generations This day on the mountain of the Lord it will be seen — today and not before, because until the day it was chosen, the Holy One, Blessed be He, did not reveal it.

And the angel of Hashem called to Abraham a second time from heaven.

And said, "By My Word I have sworn, says Hashem, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only one —"

BECAUSE THOU HAST DONE THIS THING. In the beginning He promised him that he would increase his descendants as the stars of heaven and the dust of the earth, but now He gave him the additional assurance that because thou hast done this great deed, He swore by His Great Name [that He would increase his descendants as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore], here. and that his seed will possess the gate of its enemies. here. Thus Abraham was assured that no sin whatever would cause the destruction of his descendants, nor would they fall into the hand of their enemies and not rise again. Thus this constitutes a perfect Divine assurance of the redemption which is destined to come to us.

"By Myself I have sworn" — this is the great oath that stands forever as a witness. "Inasmuch" (יַעַן) — from the sense of "answer" (עָנָה): this deed answers and testifies.

נאם ה' כי יען אשר עשית, “I, G’d, say that because you have done this I will bless you in an increased measure.”

Because you have done this thing, etc. From the fact that it [later] states and did not withhold your son, we can learn that the phrase because you have done refers to something else. Furthermore, above it stated and did not withhold your son, your only one, from Me, but here it does not mention “from Me.” Additionally, the doubling of language in I will surely bless you needs explanation, for according to Rashi’s interpretation that one blessing is for the father and one for the son, the doubling of I will greatly multiply remains difficult to understand. Therefore, it appears to me that since with every sacrificial service [Abraham] would say “May it be Your will as if my son were slaughtered,” it is as if he performed two acts: the actual sacrifice of the ram in deed, and the sacrifice of his son in thought. Therefore it says because you have done this thing, referring to the actual act of sacrifice, for all the promises were given to him in merit of the sacrifices. And you did not withhold your son refers to mentioning him in every single service. This is why it doesn’t say “from Me” here, which would indicate an actual sacrifice, since at this point He wasn’t actually planning to sacrifice him. Therefore, I will surely bless you is a double blessing — one corresponding to the deed and one corresponding to the thought — and this is the reason for I will greatly multiply.

יען אשר עשית את הדבר הזה, “because you have done this thing, etc.” G’d had already assured him long before this that He would greatly increase the number of Avraham’s biological descendants and compared them to the stars in heaven and to the sand on the beaches of the sea, etc. At this point G’d adds an additional blessing in the form of an oath that Avraham’s seed will be successful in conquering the land of their enemies.

"— that I will surely bless you and greatly multiply your descendants like the stars of the heavens and like the sand that is on the shore of the sea, and your descendants shall possess the cities of their enemies."

ברך אברכך I WILL SURELY BLESS THEE — The double use of the term “bless” is intended to signify a blessing for the father and a blessing for the son (Genesis Rabbah 56:11). והרבה ארבה AND I WILL GREATLY MULTIPLY— once for the father, and once for the son (Genesis Rabbah 56:11).

"The gate of his enemies" — provinces/city-states that have [walled] gates.

בי נשבעתי, “I have sworn to Myself that I will greatly bless you/ you.”

.וכחול אשר על שפת הים, and like the sand on the beaches of the sea. This promise became fulfilled during the reign of King Solomon. (Kings 5,9)

“Like the stars of heaven and like the sand, etc.” We find that sometimes [Scripture] compares Israel to stars, and sometimes to the sand on the seashore, and sometimes to dust, as it is said Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth (Genesis 28:14). For each [comparison] indicates a different time period. During times of tranquility and success, He compares them to stars — a language of greatness, as Rashi explains on the verse The Lord your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are today like the stars of heaven in abundance (Deuteronomy 1:10) — He multiplied and magnified you. Similarly, I will greatly multiply mentioned here is an expression of greatness. The metaphor of the sand teaches us about the time when nations rise against Israel to destroy them but are unable to do so, like waves that rise up as if wanting to flood the whole world, but immediately upon reaching the sand, they break. So it is with the nations, as it is said All Your breakers and waves passed over me (Psalms 42:8). However, they will not prevail against them, for there they fell and broke; therefore they are called Your breakers. This is why Israel is compared to this sand that breaks the waves so they cannot pass beyond it, for just as the sand is the boundary and limit of the sea, so too the nations cannot destroy Israel. Therefore, when Esau came to meet Jacob, Jacob said in his prayer And You said, ‘I will surely do good with you and make your offspring like the sand of the sea’ (Genesis 32:13). Why did he specifically mention the promise of sand and not the stars, which have two positive aspects — multiplication and greatness? Also, why didn’t he mention the language of multiplication but rather said I will make your offspring like the sand of the sea? Rather, since this was a promise that their enemies would not be able to overcome them, so too Esau would not be able to harm him. For this reason, he specifically mentioned the sand on the seashore — and is there no other sand in the world besides this? Rather, it is because it breaks the waves as mentioned; therefore it says here and like the sand which is on the seashore. And your offspring shall inherit the gate of their enemies — how does this relate to the previous matter? Rather, this is a case of “not only this, but also that” — not only will they be like sand that the waves [meaning the enemies] cannot overcome, but moreover, they will inherit their enemies’ gate and prevail over them. The metaphor of dust indicates [the following]: Regarding the time of lowliness, for in the time when they [the Jewish people] will be like dust to be trampled upon in the lowest depths, from there they will rise from their lowly state and spread forth in all directions, as it is written And your descendants shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread out to the west and to the east (Genesis 28:14), and as it is written For our soul is bowed down to the dust (Psalms 44:26), and what is written after it? Arise and help us. The reason for this is because Israel does not seek God with all His heart except when they are in the ultimate state of lowliness, as is known from the ways of all generations, including our own. And perhaps the metaphor of dust alludes to the Egyptian exile, where the Egyptians plowed upon their backs just as one plows upon the dust, and this will be further explained later in Parashat Vayetzei (28:14), God willing.

"And through your descendants all the peoples of the earth shall be blessed, because you obeyed My Word."

"Because" (עֵקֶב) — reward at the end [of things].

והתברכו בזרעך כל גויי הארץ, if and when your descendants will join together in proclaiming the holy name of the Lord, the nations of the world will be blessed as they will try to follow your example and to be like you. עקב אשר שמעת בקולי, as a consequence. This is what we know as the concept of שכר מצוה מצוה, that the fulfillment of one commandment begets the opportunity of fulfilling another commandment. By doing this you will receive the satisfaction that your children will be a banner to the nations, teachers to the gentile nations instructing them in how to serve the Lord. All of this will accrue to you as a credit, a merit.

And Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beer-sheba, and Abraham dwelt in Beer-sheba.

וישב אברהם בבאר שבע AND ABRAHAM DWELT AT BEER-SHEBA — This does not mean really dwelling there but merely staying there on his way home, because he was, as a matter of fact, living at Hebron. Twelve years before the Binding of Isaac he had left Beer-Sheba and had gone to Hebron, as it is said, (21:34) ‘‘And Abraham sojourned in the land of the Philistines many days”, i.e. exceeding in number the earlier days when he had resided at Hebron — altogether 26 years, as we have explained above (21:34).

"And Abraham returned" — and Isaac is not mentioned, for he is under his father's authority. As for the one who says that [Abraham] slaughtered him and left him and he afterward came back to life — that person has stated the opposite of what Scripture says.

וישב אברהם אל נעריו, “Avraham returned to his lads;” where did Yitzchok go? According to Midrash hagadol, quoted in Torah shleymah item 204 on our verse, he was kept in gan eden for the next three years [until he married Rivkah.] A different interpretation: he proceeded to study Torah during those three years in the academy of Ever. (Bereshit Rabbah 56,11)

וישב אברהם, “Avraham went back, etc.;” why has Yitzchok not been mentioned here? What did he do now? Avraham sent him off under cover of darkness to protect him against the “evil eye.” It is noteworthy that when Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah, after they had escaped unharmed from Nebuchadnezzar’s furnace have never been heard about again. (Daniel chapter 3-4, with Babylonian names for them) According to one view in the Talmud, tractate Sanhedrin, folio 91, these men were killed by the evil eye. According to the view of Rabbi Shimon ben Yehutzdak, they changed their place of residence and went to study Torah with Joshua, the High Priest. He bases his opinion on what is written in Zecharyah 3,8: שמע נא יהושוע הכהן הגדול אתה ורעיך היושבים לפניך כי אנשי מופת המה, “hearken well O High Priest Joshua, you and your colleagues sitting before you! For these men are to be wondered at.” According to B’reshit rabbah 56,11, the line means that the three men we mentioned were chosen by Me to serve as survivors after I performed miracles for them.

And it came to pass after these events that it was made known to Abraham, saying, "Behold, Milcah too has borne children to Nahor your brother —"

אחרי הדברים האלה AFTER THESE THINGS [IT WAS TOLD ABRAHAM] etc. — When he returned from Mount Moriah Abraham was pondering and he said, “If my son had really been slain, he would have died without children! I must marry him to one of the daughters of Aner or Eshcol or Mamre”. The Holy One, blessed be He, therefore had the announcement made to him that Rebecca, the one fit to be his (Isaac’s) consort, had been born. This is what is meant by “after these things or words” — namely, “after the words” that expressed the thoughts aroused by the Binding of Isaac (Genesis Rabbah 57:3). גם היא SHE ALSO — She also had a number of families equal in all respects to those which Abraham was to have — namely, twelve, and just as in the case of Abraham, of the twelve tribes born of Jacob) eight were the children of the principal wives and four those of the hand-maids, so here, also, eight were sons of the principal wife and four were sons of the concubine (Genesis Rabbah 57:3).

BEHOLD, MILCAH, SHE ALSO HATH BORN CHILDREN. Since Milcah was the daughter of his brother Haran, this was a tiding to Abraham that his older brother Nahor had been visited with many children from the daughter of his dead brother Haran., Verse 27). Since Nahor was older than Haran, Ramban refers to him as “the older” brother. Now from the text of Scripture it would appear that Abraham had no knowledge of any of them except on that day. If they were visited with children in their younger days, it would be impossible for them not to have been heard until this time for the distance between Mesopotamia and the land of Canaan is not great. Now when Abraham left Haran he was seventy-five years old, and Nahor was also elderly and his wife too was not young. Indeed, we must say, G-d performed a miracle for them in that they were visited with children in their old age. This is the sense of the verse, Milcah, she also. In the words of our Rabbis, it is said See the complete quote in my Hebrew commentary, p. 127. that Milcah was visited with children as was her sister Sarah. (Rashi, ibid.)

"Milcah bore" — to establish the lineage of Rebecca.

She also gave birth. Avraham was told that if he did not wish to take Rivkah for his son, Re’umah also had a daughter — Ma’achoh — who was fitting to be Yitzchok’s wife. גם היא, in addition to the children born by his concubine.

ויהי אחרי הדברים האלה, ויגד. After these events Abraham was told, etc. The reason that the Torah recorded this whole paragraph as well as the words "after the events," something totally unrelated to what the Torah spoke about previously, is to tell us that now Rebeccah, Isaac's soul-mate, had been born. We have already explained why Rebeccah was born only at that point in time. Isaac, whose soul had originated in the female emanations, had not acquired a soul from the male emanations until after the עקדה, the binding on the altar. ובתואל ילד את רבקה, Bethuel fathered Rebeccah. This is the principal line of the whole paragraph. Why did the Torah have to bother to list all the other descendants of Nachor including those from his concubines? The Torah reminds us that ever since the spiritual poison of the original serpent permeated Adam, purity could no longer exist in isolation. The birth of even the most perfect human being is invariably accompanied by the birth of impure people who lie in wait for the pure. By telling us of the other descendants of Nachor, the Torah indirectly extols the virtue of Rebeccah, mother of all that is holy, who, despite the environment she grew up in, shone forth with her many virtues.

ויהי אחרי הדברים האלה, “It was after these events, etc.;” according to Rashi, the event that had occurred on Mount Moriah; when returning from that experience, Avraham reflected and realised that if he had indeed slaughtered his son, how could he now get married so that G-d’s promised to him could be fulfilled. If you were to point out that in Genesis 15,1, Rashi had interpreted the line: אחר הדברים האלה, by commenting that wherever we find this construction in the Torah it means that what follows followed immediately after the events recorded previously, whereas here three years elapsed until Avraham sent Eliezer to get his son a wife, we have to make a distinction between the use by the Torah of the word: אחר and אחרי. When the latter word is used it means that the events now described did not necessarily occur immediately following those described previously.

ויגד לאברהם לאמר הנה ילדה מלכה גם היא, “Avraham was informed that ‘here Milkah too has given birth, etc.’” Nachmanides explains that this news concerning his older brother being blessed with children which Avraham is reported to have received at this time was reported now as both Nachor and Milkah were already quite advanced in years when they were blessed with offspring. They too were beneficiaries of such a miracle in their old age. The miracle occurred due to their sister Sarah’s merit. This is why the Torah wrote the extra words גם היא, “she too,” when reporting that Milkah had born children. If all this is so, how does Nachmanides explain that Nachor’s concubine gave birth? Surely, even granting that Sarah’s merit may have sufficed for G’d to work a miracle for her sister, why would G’d trouble Himself to perform a miracle for Nachor’s concubine so that the Torah wrote the words “she gave birth also?” The Torah reports that Milkah bore eight sons. These eight sons corresponded to the eight sons born to Yaakov by his two major wives Leah and Rachel. The four sons born to his concubine corresponded to the four sons born to Yaakov by Zilpah and Bilhah. The Torah compares Nachor’s family to that of Avraham The point of informing us about all these details is to relate to us that Rivkah who became the mother of Yaakov, the founding father of the Jewish nation, was born to a member of Avraham’s family. All of this was related to stress that members of Nachor’s family were suitable to intermarry with the descendants of Avraham. who cleaved to the Lord G’d as testified by Moses in Deut. 4,4 “and you who have cleaved to the Lord your G’d are all alive as of this day.”

ויהי אחרי, “it was after;” according to Rashi the words הדברים האלה refer to the עקדה, to the episode of the biding of Yitzchok immediately preceding this paragraph. Although as a general rule the word אחרי, as opposed to the word אחר, refers to matters not immediately before what had been related last, in this instance it could mean either. הנה ילדה מלכה גם היא, “Milkah also gave birth to several children.” According to Nachmanides the use of the introductory word הנה suggests that up until that moment Avraham had been unaware that Milkah had born any children. If Milkah had already born children while a young woman, it is difficult to imagine that Avraham would not have heard about this. After all, they did not live that far apart from one another. When Avraham had emigrated he had been 75 years old, whereas at this point he was 137 years old. Nachor obviously had also aged in the interval, and Milkah apparently had not been blessed with children until late in life. Nachor’s family had also become the beneficiary of G’d’s miraculous intervention in their lives. Milkah had shared the good fortune of her sister.

"— Uz his firstborn, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram;"

קמואל אבי ארם. According to Nachmanides, Aram is mentioned in order to have an excuse to mention Kemuel, to show that Kemuel’s son Aram became far more distinguished than his father. [normally, the Torah lists the names of people as “son of such and such.” The reverse here indicates that the son outshone the father. Ed.]

את עוץ בכורו, “his firstborn son Utz, etc.; according to B’reshit rabbah this is a reference to Job (Job, 1,1) where we are told about Job living in the land of Utz. קמואל, he is supposed to be identical with the prophet Bileam, who tried to manipulate, rise up against, G–d (Yalkut Shimoni)

"— and Kesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel."

And Bethuel fathered Rebekah. These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, the brother of Abraham.

ובתואל ילד את רבקה AND BETHUEL BEGAT REBECCA — The entire genealogical record is given only for the sake of this verse (i. e. to lead up to this verse).

AND BETHUEL BEGOT REBEKAH. The verse does not mention Laban, even though he was older than Rebekah, for its intent is only to mention the eight children which Milcah bore to Nahor. Hence the verse does not intend to mention the children of Bethuel, namely, Laban. Rebekah, his daughter, however, was mentioned for the reason explained in the text. However, Rebekah is mentioned since the entire chapter is written to make known her genealogy. Kemuel the father of Aram. here. Aram is mentioned only in order to make known the identity of Kemuel as Aram was a more important man than his father. Perhaps, also, there was another Kemuel in their generation. Hence [Scripture identifies Kemuel by saying that] he was the father of Aram.

ובתואל ילד את רבקה, the person relating all this to Avraham added that Betuel, a son of Nachor’s proper wife, sired Rivkah. The meaning of the message was that there had been born in his own family a girl who would be a suitable wife for Avraham’s son so that he would not have to look for such a wife among the Canaanites surrounding him.

ובתואל ילד את רבקה, “and Bethuel sired Rivkah.” The Torah fails to mention Lavan at this stage, so that we have no clue whether he was older than Rivkah. The only reason for writing this paragraph at all was to inform us about the birth of Rivkah.

And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore — Tebah, and Gaham, and Tahash, and Maacah.

AND HIS CONCUBINE, WHOSE NAME WAS REUMAH. Scripture tells the entire tiding which they related to Abraham concerning his brother’s children. It is possible that this was written in order to make known the entire genealogy of Nahor, to establish that all of them were worthy to marry the children of Abraham, and it was with reference to all of them that Abraham said to Eliezer: But thou shalt go unto my father’s house and to my family. Chayei Sarah.

ופילגשו ושמה ראומה, “and his concubine who was called Re-umah.” The Torah relates all the details that had been reported to Avraham about his family at that time. It is possible that the reason why the Torah bothered to record all these details is to inform us about the genealogy of Nachor, to let us know that all of his family were potentially suitable marriage partners for Avraham’s family, and that concerning all of them Avraham had instructed Eliezer to search for a wife for Yitzchok when he told him “go only to my country and to the house of my father.”