Genesis Rabbah 56

¹“On the third day, Abraham lifted his eyes, and saw the place from a distance” (Genesis 22:4). “On the third day, Abraham lifted his eyes” – it is written: “He will revive us after two days; on the third day, He will lift us, and we will live before Him” (Hosea 6:2). “On the third day” of the tribes, as it is written: “Joseph said to them on the third day, [do this and you shall live]” (Genesis 42:18). “On the third day” of the spies [sent by Joshua], as it is stated: “You shall hide there three days, […and then go on your way]” (Joshua 2:16). “On the third day” of the giving of the Torah, as it is stated: “It was on the third day” (Exodus 19:16). “On the third day” of Jonah, as it is written: “Jonah was in the innards of the fish three days and three nights” (Jonah 2:1). “On the third day” of those who ascended [to the Land of Israel] from the Diaspora [with Ezra], as it is written: “We remained there three days” (Ezra 8:32). “On the third day” of the revival of the dead, as it is written: “He will revive us after two days; on the third day, He will lift us” (Hosea 6:2). “On the third day” of Esther: “It was on the third day; Esther donned royal raiments [and stood in the courtyard of the king’s house]” (Esther 5:1). She wore the royal raiments of her ancestor’s household. By what merit [did Esther succeed in her mission on the third day]? The Rabbis and Rabbi Levi, the Rabbis say: It was by the merit of the third day on which the Torah was given, as it is stated: “It was on the third day, when it was morning” (Exodus 19:16). Rabbi Levi said: It was due to the merit of the third day of Abraham our patriarch, as it is stated: “On the third day, [Abraham lifted his eyes].” “And saw the place from a distance” – what did he see? He saw a cloud attached to the mountain. He said: ‘It appears that this is the place where the Holy One blessed be He told me to sacrifice my son.’ ²“Abraham said to his young men: You stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go to there; we will prostrate ourselves, and we will return to you” (Genesis 22:5). He said to Isaac: ‘Do you see what I see?’ He said to him: ‘Yes.’ He said to his two young men [his attendants]: ‘Do you see what I see?’ They said to him: ‘No.’ He said: ‘Since the donkey does not see it and you do not see it: “You stay here with the donkey.”’ From where is it derived that slaves are likened to an animal? It is from here: “Stay here with the donkey [ im haḥamor ]” – the people [ am ] of the donkey [ haḥamor ]. The Rabbis derive it from here [i.e., from elsewhere], from the giving of the Torah, as it is stated: “Six days you shall work and perform all your labor…you, your son and your daughter, your slave and your maidservant, and your animal” (Exodus 20:9–10). Rabbi Yitzḥak said: [Abraham saw that] this place was destined to be distanced from its owners. Will it be forever? [No,] as the verse states: “This is My resting place forever; here I will settle” (Psalms 132:14) – when the one [the Messiah] arrives in whose regard it is written: “A humble man riding upon a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9). “I and the lad will go to there [ ko ]” – Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: [He was intimating:] We will go and see what will be the ultimate status of ko . ] shall be your descendants” (Genesis 15:5). Since Abraham had been commanded to sacrifice Isaac, they were now going to find out how God would fulfill his promise to Abraham that he would have a multitude of descendants. “We will prostrate ourselves, and we will return to you” – [his mouth] informed him that he would return in peace from Mount Moriah. Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Everything is due to the merit of prostration. Abraham returned from Mount Moriah [with Isaac] due only to the merit of prostrating – “we will prostrate ourselves, and we will return to you.” Israel was redeemed [from Egypt] due only to the merit of prostration, as it is stated: “The people believed…and they bowed and prostrated themselves” (Exodus 4:31). The Torah was given due only to the merit of prostration, as it is stated: “You shall prostrate yourselves from afar” (Exodus 24:1). Hannah was remembered [by God] due only to the merit of prostration, as it is stated: “They prostrated themselves before the Lord” (I Samuel 1:19). The exiles will be gathered in due only to the merit of prostration, as it is stated: “It will be on that day, a great shofar will be sounded…and they will prostrate themselves to the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem” (Isaiah 27:13). The Temple will be built due only to the merit of prostration, as it is stated: “Exalt the Lord our God and prostrate yourself at His holy mountain” (Psalms 99:9). The dead will be revived due only to the merit of prostration, as it is stated: “Come, let us prostrate ourselves and bow; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker [ oseinu ]” (Psalms 95:6). is an allusion to the fact that we will be made anew in the revival of the dead. ³“Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and placed it upon Isaac his son; he took in his hand the fire and the knife, and the two of them went together” (Genesis 22:6). “Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering” – like someone bearing his own gibbet on his shoulder. “He took in his hand the fire and the knife [ maakhelet ]” – Rabbi Ḥanina said: Why is a knife called maakhelet ? It is because it renders food [ okhalin ] fit to be eaten. The Rabbis say: All the eating that the people of Israel eat [ okhelim ] in this world, they eat due only to the merit of that knife [of Abraham’s]. “The two of them went together” – this one to bind and the other one to be bound; this one to slaughter and that one to be slaughtered. ⁴“Isaac said to Abraham his father; he said: My father. He said: Here I am, my son. He said: Here are the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” (Genesis 22:7). “Isaac said to Abraham his father; he said: My father” – Samael came to our patriarch Abraham. He said to him: ‘Old man, old man – have you lost your heart? Are you going to slaughter the son who was granted to you at the age of one hundred years?’ He [Abraham] said to him: ‘It is with this understanding [that I am going].’ He [Samael] said to him: ‘If He were to test you beyond this, would you be able to withstand it? –“If a matter tries you, will you be overwhelmed?”’ (Job 4:2). He [Abraham] said to him: ‘[I will comply] even if it is beyond this.’ He said to him: ‘Tomorrow He will tell you that you are a shedder of blood because you shed the blood of your son.’ He said: ‘It is with this understanding [that I am going].’ Since [Samael saw that] it was to no avail, he turned to Isaac. He said to him: ‘Son of the despondent woman, he is going to slaughter you.’ He [Isaac] said to him: ‘It is with this understanding [that I am going].’ He [Samael] said to him: ‘If so, all the finery that your mother crafted [for you] will go as inheritance to Ishmael, the one hated in her household, and you do not take all this to heart?’ If a word does not enter completely, it enters half way. That is what is written: “Isaac said to Abraham his father…My father” – why “father, my father,” twice? It was so that he should become filled with mercy for him. “He said: Here are the fire and the wood” – he said to Him: ‘May He [God] bring trouble upon that man who is the subject of His rebuke.’ In any case, “God will Himself see to the lamb, my son” (Genesis 22:8). [By this he meant:] And if not, [if God will not provide a lamb], you yourself will be the lamb for burnt offering. “Abraham said: God will Himself see to the lamb for a burnt offering, my son, and the two of them went together” (Genesis 22:8). “The two of them went together” – this one to bind and the other one to be bound; this one to slaughter and the other one to be slaughtered. ⁵“They came to the place that God had told him; Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood, and he bound Isaac his son and placed him on the altar, upon the wood” (Genesis 22:9). “They came to the place that God had told him; Abraham built the altar there” – and where was Isaac? Rabbi Levi said: He [Abraham] had taken him and concealed him, saying: ‘[I do this] so that that the one who is the subject of His rebuke will not throw a stone at him and disqualify him from being an offering.’ “Abraham built the altar there…and he bound Isaac his son” – Rabbi Ḥofni bar Yitzḥak said: For every action that our patriarch Abraham did in binding up his son Isaac below, [on earth], the Holy One blessed be He placed constraints on the guardian angels of the idolaters above, [in Heaven]. But He did not do so [categorically]. Rather, when Israel distanced themselves [from God] in the days of Jeremiah, the Holy One blessed be He said to them: ‘What do you think, that these restraints are permanent?’ It is as it is stated: “For they are like [ ad ] tangled thorns [ sirim ], and like drunken drunks” (Nahum 1:10) – for is it forever [ ad ] that the guardian angels [ sarim ] are entangled? [No, it is not.] Rather, when they [Israel] become “like drunken drunks,” those restraints become untied, as it is written: “They will be consumed like dried whole straw” (Nahum 1:10). At the moment that our patriarch Abraham extended his hand to take the knife to slaughter his son, the ministering angels wept. That is what is written: “Behold, the angels cried out outside [ ḥutza ]” (Isaiah 33:7) – what is ḥutza ? Rabbi Azarya said: It is beyond [ ḥutza ] the bounds of natural conduct for a person to slaughter his son. What were they saying [as they wept]? “The highways are desolate” (Isaiah 33:8) – Does Abraham not receive passersby? “Those passing on the way [ oraḥ ] have ceased” (Isaiah 33:8) – just as it says: “It had ceased to be with Sarah [the manner of [ oraḥ ] women]” (Genesis 18:11). “He breached the covenant” (Isaiah 33:8) – “I will fulfill My covenant with Isaac” (Genesis 17:21). “He has spurned the cities” (Isaiah 33:8) – “He [Abraham] dwelled between Kadesh [and Shur]” (Genesis 20:1). “He had no regard for man” (Isaiah 33:8) – is there no merit in existence for [sparing] Abraham? That is astonishing. And what tells you that the verse is referring specifically to ministering angels? Mimaal is stated here, ] the wood.” and elsewhere it is stated: “Seraphim were standing above [ mimaal ] him” (Isaiah 6:2). ⁶“Abraham extended his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son” (Genesis 22:10). “Abraham extended his hand and took the knife” – Rav asked Rabbi Ḥiyya the Great: ‘From where is it derived that [according to Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi] slaughter must be performed with an object that is movable?’ [Rabbi Ḥiyya replied: ‘Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi learned it] from here: “Abraham extended his hand.”’ He [Rav] said to him: ‘If he [Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi] said this to you as a homiletical interpretation, it is possible that he retracted his teaching; but if [he said it to you] as an actual derivation, he has not retracted his teaching.’ It is as Levi taught: If they were attached [to the ground] from the outset, they are invalid [for slaughter], but if they were detached and then were re-attached they are valid, as we learn in the Mishna: 1:2. One who slaughters with a hand sickle, with a harvest sickle, with a flint, or with a reed, his slaughter is valid. Rabbi Yosei said: Five things were stated regarding the stalk of a reed: It may not be used for slaughter; it may not be used for circumcision; one may not slice meat with it; one may not wipe his hands with it; and one may not pick his teeth with it, because an evil spirit rests upon it. ⁷“The angel of the Lord called to him from the heavens, and said: Abraham, Abraham. He said: Here I am” (Genesis 22:11). “The angel of the Lord called to him from the heavens, and said: Abraham, Abraham” –Rabbi Ḥiyya taught: This is an expression of affection, [and] an expression of exhortation. Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov said: [It also denotes that it is] for him and for future generations. There is no generation in which there is not someone like Abraham; there is no generation in which there is not someone like Jacob; there is no generation in which there is not someone like Moses; there is no generation in which there is not someone like Samuel. . “He said: Do not extend your hand against the lad, and do not do anything to him, for now I know that you are God - fearing, and you did not withhold your son, your only one, from Me” (Genesis 22:12). “He said: Do not extend your hand [against the lad]” – and where was the knife? Three tears fell from the ministering angels and destroyed the knife. He [Abraham] then said to Him: ‘[Since I no longer have the knife], I will strangle him.’ He [God] then said to him: “Do not extend your hand against the lad.” He [Abraham] said to Him: ‘I will extract from him a drop of blood.’ He said to him: “Do not do anything [ me’uma ] to him” – do not inflict any blemish [ muma ] on him. “For now I know” – I have made it known to everyone that you love Me. “You did not withhold [your son, your only one [ yeḥidekha ]]…” – so that one should not say that any ills that are external to one’s body are not really ills; rather, I ascribe credit to you as if I had said to you: ‘Sacrifice yourself,’ and you did not refuse. is sometimes used as a reference to the soul. When God said that Abraham did not withhold yeḥidekha , he was referring to his own life. ⁸Another matter, Rabbi Yitzḥak said: When Abraham sought to bind Isaac his son, he said to him: ‘Father, I am a young man, and I am concerned that my body will tremble due to fear of the knife, and I will [thereby] upset you, or perhaps the slaughter will [thereby] be rendered unfit and it will not be counted for you as a valid offering. Therefore, bind me very well.’ Thereupon, “he bound Isaac his son.” Is a person capable of binding a thirty-seven- year-old [variant reading: a twenty-six-year-old] without his consent? Immediately, “Abraham extended his hand.” As he extended his hand to take the knife, his eyes were emitting tears and the tears were falling into Isaac’s eyes, because of the father’s mercy [for his son]. Nevertheless, his heart was joyful in fulfilling the will of his Creator. The angels gathered themselves into groups up above. What did they cry out? “The highways are desolate, those passing on the way have ceased, he breached the covenant, he has spurned the cities” (Isaiah 33:8) – does He not in fact desire Jerusalem, and the Temple that He had planned to bequeath to Isaac’s descendants? “He had no regard for man” (Isaiah 33:8) – if the merit of Abraham is not sufficient, there is no significance for any person before Him. Rabbi Aḥa said: Abraham began to express his astonishment, [saying to God]: ‘These events are nothing short of bewildering. Yesterday You said: “For it is through Isaac that will be called your descendants” (Genesis 21:12), then You said: “Take you your son […and offer him up]” (Genesis 22:2), and now You say to me: “Do not extend your hand against the lad”? This is bewildering.’ The Holy One blessed be He said to Abraham: ‘“I will not violate My covenant, nor alter the utterance of My lips” (Psalms 89:35) – when I said to you: “Take you your son,” I did not say: “Slaughter him,” but rather, “take him up.” I said this to you in affection. You have taken him up and fulfilled My words, now take him down.’ <Variant reading: They said a parable; this is analogous to a king who said to his friend: ‘Bring your son up to [eat at] my table.’ He brought him to him, knife in hand. The king said: ‘Did I say to bring him up in order to eat him? I said: Bring him up out of affection for him.’ That is what is written: “[They built altars on which to burn their sons and daughters in fire, something that I never commanded] and which never entered my mind” (Jeremiah 19:5) – this refers to Isaac.> ⁹“Abraham lifted his eyes and saw that behold, there was a ram, after this, which had been caught in the thicket by its horns. Abraham went, took the ram, and offered it up as a burnt offering in place of his son” (Genesis 22:13). “Abraham lifted his eyes and saw that behold, there was a ram, after this” – what is meant by “after this”? Rabbi Yudan said: “After” all of Israel’s actions in which they become caught up in transgressions and encounter problems, ultimately they will be rescued through the ram’s horn, as it is stated: “The Lord God will sound the shofar…[the Lord of Hosts will protect them…]” (Zechariah 9:14–15). Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon said: “After” many generations, Israel will become caught up in transgressions and become entangled with misfortunes, ultimately they will be rescued through the ram’s horn, as it is stated: “The Lord God will sound the shofar” (Zechariah 9:14). Rabbi Ḥanina bar Rabbi Yitzḥak said: All the days of the year, the people of Israel are caught up in transgressions and become entangled in misfortunes, and on Rosh Hashanah they take a shofar and sound it, and they are remembered before the Holy One blessed be He and He forgives them, as it is stated: “The Lord God will sound the shofar” (Zechariah 9:14). Rabbi Levi said: Because Abraham saw the ram freeing itself from one thicket and going and becoming entangled in another thicket, the Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘So, too, your descendants are destined to become entangled in the [four] kingdoms, [going] from [being subjugated by] Babylon to Medea, from Medea to Greece, and from Greece to Edom. But ultimately they will be rescued through the ram’s horn.’ That is what is written: “The Lord God will sound the shofar” (Zechariah 9:14). “Abraham went, took the ram, and offered it up as a burnt offering in place of [ taḥat ] his son” – Rabbi Banai said: He said before Him: ‘Master of the universe, consider this ram’s blood as though it were the blood of Isaac my son, its fats [burnt on the altar] as though they were the fats of Isaac my son,’ like what we learned: [If one says:] This [animal] is in place of [ taḥat ] that one, this one is a substitute for that one, or this one is in exchange for that one – it is considered a substitute. Rabbi Pinḥas said: He said before Him: ‘Master of the universe, consider it as though I had sacrificed Isaac my son first, and then I sacrificed this ram in addition to [ taḥat ] him,’ just as it says: “Yotam his son reined after him [ taḥtav ]” (II Kings 15:7). ] his father, he did not supplant his father’s reign; rather, both he and his father were kings, albeit not simultaneously. Here, too, Abraham prayed that God should consider it as though he had offered both the ram and Isaac. It is like what we learn in the Mishna: [If one makes a vow, declaring that something shall be consecrated] like the sheep or like the sheepfolds, [it is consecrated] 1:3. When he said ‘like the sheep,’ it is assumed that he was referring to a particular sacrificial sheep, as the Midrash goes on to elaborate. – Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Like the sheep of the daily offering. Reish Lakish said: Like Isaac’s ram. There they said: Like the offspring of a sin offering. Bar Kapara taught: Like the lamb that never suckled in all its days. ¹⁰“Abraham called the name of that place The Lord will see, as it is said to this day: On the mount where the Lord will be seen” (Genesis 22:14). “Abraham called the name of that place The Lord will see” – Rabbi Yoḥanan said: He said before Him: ‘Master of the universe, when You said to me: “Take you your son, your only one,” I had something to argue in response: Yesterday you said: “For it is through Isaac [that descendants will be considered for you[”…” and now You say: “Take you your son … [and offer him up]”? (Genesis 22:2). But, God forbid, I did not do so. Rather, I suppressed my mercy to fulfill Your will. May it be Your will, Lord our God, when Isaac’s descendants encounter transgressions and wicked deeds, may this binding [of Isaac] be remembered for them, and may You become filled with mercy towards them.’ Abraham called it [Jerusalem] Yireh, as it is stated: “Abraham called the name of that place The Lord will see [ yireh ].” Shem called it Shalem, as it is stated: “Malki Tzedek king of Shalem” (Genesis 14:18). The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘If I call it Yireh , as Abraham called it, Shem, a righteous man, will have a complaint. If I call it Shalem, Abraham, a righteous man, will have a complaint. Instead, I shall call it Yerushalayim, as both of them called it, – Yireh , Shalem – Yerushalayim.’ Rabbi Berekhya said in the name of Rabbi Ḥelbo: While it was still called Shalem, the Holy One blessed be made Himself a provisional booth [ sukka ] and He would pray in it, as it is stated: “His abode [ sukko ] was in Shalem, His dwelling place in Zion” (Psalms 76:3). What did He say [in His prayers?] May it be My will that I will see construction of My [permanent] house [here]. Another interpretation, this teaches that the Holy One blessed be He showed him [Abraham] the [future] Temple as built, ). then destroyed and then built, as it is stated: “The name of that place The Lord will see [ yireh ]” – that refers to the Temple built, just as it says: “Three times in the year [all your males] shall appear [ yeraeh ]” (Deuteronomy 16:16). “As it is said to this day: On the mount where the Lord” – that refers to the Temple destroyed, as it is stated: “On Mount Zion that is desolate” (Lamentations 5:18). “The Lord will be seen” – [that refers to the Temple] built and perfected in the future, like the matter that is stated: “For the Lord has rebuilt Zion and is seen in His glory” (Psalms 102:17). ¹¹“The angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from the heavens” (Genesis 22:15). “He said: I swear by Myself, the utterance of the Lord, that because you have done this matter, and did not withhold your son, your only one” (Genesis 22:16). “The angel of the Lord called…a second time…He said: I swear by Myself” – what need was there for this oath? He [Abraham] said to Him: ‘Take an oath to me that you will not test me again from now on, nor Isaac my son.’ This is analogous to one who jumped from the bank of a stream, over the current, and took his son along with him as he jumped. Another interpretation, what need was there for this oath? Rabbi Ḥama ben Rabbi Ḥanina: He said to Him: ‘Take an oath to me that You will not test me again from now on.’ This is analogous to a king who was married to a noblewoman. She bore for him a first son, and he divorced her. [He remarried her and she bore him] a second son, and he divorced her, a third son, and he divorced her. When she bore a tenth son for him, all of them gathered together and said to him: ‘Take an oath to us that you will not divorce our mother from now on.’ So, too, when Abraham our patriarch was tested with the tenth ordeal, 5:3). he said to Him: ‘Take an oath to me that You will not test me again from now on.’ Rabbi Ḥanin said: “That because you have done this matter” – this was the tenth test, and yet you say [when reading the verse]: “That because you have done this matter”? The explanation is that this final ordeal is equal in importance to all the others combined, as had he not accepted it upon himself, he would have lost everything <variant reading:="" everything="" that="" he="" had="" done.=""> “For that I will bless you and multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand that is upon the seashore, and your descendants will inherit the gate of their enemies” (Genesis 22:17). “For that I will bless you [ varekh avarekhekha ]…” – [the doubling of the verb indicates] a blessing for the father, a blessing for the son. “And multiply [ veharba arbeh ]” – multiplication for the father, multiplication for the son. “And your descendants will inherit the gate of their enemies” – this refers to Tarmod. Fortunate are all those who will witness the downfall of Tarmod, as it was a partner to the two destructions [of the Temples]. Rabbi Yudan and Rabbi Ḥanina, one of them said: In the destruction of the First Temple, they provided eighty thousand archers <variant reading:="" shooters="">, and in the destruction of the Second Temple, it provided eight thousand archers. “Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba and Abraham lived in Beersheba” (Genesis 22:18). “Abraham returned to his young men” – and where was Isaac? Rabbi Berekhya in the name of the Rabbis from over there: He sent him away to Shem to learn Torah from him. This is analogous to a woman who became wealthy from plying her spindle. She said: ‘Since it was from this spindle that I became wealthy, it will never depart from my possession’. So, Abraham said: ‘Everything that has come into my possession is only because I engaged in Torah and mitzvot. That is why I do not want it to depart from my children forever.’ Rabbi Ḥanina said: He sent him at night due to the evil eye. [Similarly, we find] that from the moment that Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya emerged from the fiery furnace, their names are not mentioned again. Where did they go? Rabbi Elazar said: They died because of the spittle. Rabbi Yosei said: They died from the [evil] eye. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: They relocated and went to Yehoshua ben Yehotzadak to learn Torah from him. That is what is written: “Hear now, Yehoshua the High Priest, you and your colleagues who sit before you, [for they are men of wonders]” (Zechariah 3:8). Rabbi Ḥanina said: It is was with that understanding that Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya descended into the fiery furnace – in order that a sign would be performed through them.