Rav Avigdor Nebenzahl asks the following intriguing question as to the wondrous event described in our Parasha:’The name given to an event has significance - why, then, do we call the whole of the singular episode - not only in common parlance, but also in our prayers and in the Gemara ( Rosh Hashanah 16. ) by the name: עקידת יצחק: ‘the binding of Yitzchak’?
‘The binding was but a detail, as Avraham could have offered up Yitzchak without binding him. It would surely have been more appropriate to call it:’העלאת׳: the ‘offering’ of Yitzchak, or הקרבת: the ‘sacrificing’ of Yitzchak, to denote the mesirut nefesh and the Yirat Shamayim that was involved.’
Answers the Rav:’It would seem that THIS was what was so wondrous in the episode: that Yitzchak consented to be sacrificed as an offering, an act which necessitated a complete disregard of this world; Yitzchak forgoes his whole future in this world, all his thoughts of his lofty destiny as the inheritor of the House of Avraham.
‘He would not inherit the Holy Land which he so treaured, and its holiness; he would not leave any sons or trace, even his body would not be brought to burial.
‘We can perceive then. that in these last minutes, all of the thoughts of Yitzchak were focussed on one matter: to cleave to Hashem ‘with all his heart and all his soul.’
‘Here lay the greatness: in the midst of all this lofty service between man and his Creator, Yitzchak does not forget his obligations between-man-and-man.
‘As the Midrashim relate (Breishit Rabba 56 ), the binding of Yitzchak was at his behest - he asked his father to bind him, fearing that, on seeing the knife approaching, he might inadvertently ‘kick out’ to avoid it, and strike his father, thereby impinging on his honor, or perhaps invalidate the sacrifice.
‘It is very likely that this wondrous concern is what we implore Hashem to remember as a merit for us, on Rosh Hashanah.’
Rav Moshe Sternbuch adds:’Indeed we find that in the piyut Yotzer of the second day of Rosh Hashanah, before Kedusha, we say:’and the individual commanded that he be bound hand and foot, lest he offend against the honor of his father’.
‘We see here the wondrous Awe of Hashem of our Avot, that Yitzchak, about to offer himself up for kidush Hashem, is concerned lest he offend.
‘Though the akeida was to confer merit for Bnei Israel for all generations, that, in his eyes, did not allow him to transgress, even inadvertently, against the honor of his father, and he therefore asked his father to bind him, lest he strike him, and transgress the Mitzvah to honor his father.’
Rav Yehonatan Eyebshitz sweetens our understanding of the eternal significance of the ‘binding’, expounding: ‘Each of us should follow in the footsteps of the Avot, to be willing to be moser nefesh for Hashem, and to consider himself ‘bound’ to the Will of Hashem, at one with His Will, as if he is a pure offering, so that he will thereby ‘bind’ his yetser ha’ra, and overcome it.
‘This is the objective of mentioning ‘the binding of Yitzchak’.’
Rav Aryeh Leib Heiman offers a singular praise for Yitzchak’s actions:’In the akeida, Yitzchak rose to the level of a Kohen Gadol, as it were.
‘ The restrictions on a Kohen Gadol, especially regarding mourning for close relatives, require great spiritual strength - way beyond the natural feelings of man for those closest to him.
‘The reason for this is that he is sanctified with the Sanctity of Hashem, which takes precedence over any other relationship.’
Rav Pinchas Friedman brings new insights into our subject, first bringing the Gemara that confers fulsome praise on the actions of Yitzchak: ( Rosh Hashanah 16. ):’Rav Abahu says: Why do we sound the shofar of the ram ( on Rosh Hashanah ) ? Said Hakadosh-Baruch-Hu: Sound before Me the shofar of a ram, so that I will remember to your merit the binding of Yitzchak, the son of Avraham, and I will credit you as if you bound yourselves, before Me.’
The Aruch laNer comments:’Why was it necessary for the Gemara, to tell us that ‘Yitzchak’ was ‘the son of Avraham’, did we not know this ?
‘It did so, to teach that there were two separate merits in the akeida: the merit of Avraham who overcame his attribute of mercy, and bound his son, AND the merit of Yitzchak who offered himself up, and was bound for the sanctification of Hashem - both of which merits are recalled before Hashem by the ram’s horn.’
Rav Baruch Epstein expands on the greatness of Avraham Avinu’s actions, in this episode: ’When one does something which is totally against his essence - in this case, the pillar of chessed offering up his only son, only because of the commanded to do so by Hashem - we can but wonder at his actions.
‘This, in fact, is why the Angel, at Hashem’s behest, said to Avraham, when ordering him not to harm his son, says: ‘Now’ - as a result of your actions against your nature of chessed - ‘i know that you are ירא אלקים: a G-d fearing man’.
The Maharal adds - on the words:’And I will credit you as if you bound yourselves, before Me’: ’Since the father is the root of the son, therefore when the father being the root of the ייחוס: the attribution, the branch is like him.
‘So, too, Israel would offer themselves for the honor of Hashem, and therefore are credited by Hashem as if they bound themselves, before Him.’
Here Rav Friedman asks:’Since the objective of sounding the shofar is to recall the binding of Yitzchak, would it not have been more apt to mention one of the actions of Avraham in this episode, as we read:’Avraham built the altar there, and arranged the wood; he bound Yitzchak, his son, and he placed him on the altar atop the wood. Avraham stretched out his hand, and took the knife to slaughter his son.’
‘Wonder of wonders, then, that instead of doing so, Hashem chose to recall the episode by the shofar of the ram, which Avraham sacrificed after the angel adjured him: ’Do not stretch out your hand against the lad nor do anything to him’ - the Shofar recalling Avraham being prevented from sacrificing his son, not his binding on the altar.
‘The Shem miShmuel provides an answer to our query, by advancing a new reason for the sounding of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah, based on a Yerushalmi.
‘The Yerushalmi ( Taa’nit 2:1 ), lays down, that in the times of draught, trumpets are sounded - why? expounds the Korban Ha’Eda: ‘as a horned animal pleading before You, have mercy on us.’
‘Adds the Shem miShmuel, this alludes to the words of the Psalm ( 36:7 ):’You care for people and animals alike, O Lord’: those people who, like animals, fully accept whatever their Master orders, especially so, when they do not understand the reason for the command.
‘All their deeds are solely because of Hashem’s command - and this is the message of the shofar of the ram, as the Gemara says: ’Why do we sound the Shofar? Because Hashem commanded: תקעו: sound it’.
‘The Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh offers a beautiful reason as to why Hakadosh- Baruch-Hu accepts atonement for man’s transgressions, by an animal offering.
‘This - says the Sage - is because, when he transgresses, the sinner descends in his stature, from being an אדם: a ‘man’, to becoming a בהמה: an animal; however, when he repents, he returns to the stature of a ‘man’.
‘It would not therefore be appropriate - now that he has again become a ’man’, to bring himself as an offering for atonement, as he is then no longer a בהמה.’
The actions of Yitzchak, in asking that he be bound, so that he perform the command - as he understood it - to be offered on the altar, is surely a paradigm of acquiescence to Hashem’s command - rightly compared to the animal unquestioningly obeying its master.
‘This is the merit we ask Hashem to remember for us, each Rosh Hashanah, by the sound of the animal horn.
We have, guided by the wisdom of our parshanim, sought to throw some light, on the reason why this wondrous episode is called ‘the binding of Yitzchak’, and why this is by the sounding of the Shofar of the ram.
At the same time, we note that this episode is counted by our Sages as the final, culminating test with which Hashem tested Avraham.
We brought the exposition of Rav Epstein on this subject.
Let us conclude by elucidating on the words which throw light on this.
We read: ’וישלח אברהם את ידו: And Avraham stretched forth his hand and took the knife, to slaughter his son’.
Haktav veHakabalah comments:’This indicates that Avraham did not do so in the manner of one who was doing something that he did not want to do, but did so with great alacrity, as one anxious to take something which is dear to his soul, the language of stretching his hand, alluding to alacrity.’
Rav Nebenzahl, however, has a different understanding of these words.
Expounds the Rav: ’The choice of these words poses a difficulty - the Torah which is known for the brevity of its words, could have instead said:And he took the knife’, without the seemingly superfluous words: ’and he stretched forth..’.
‘Perhaps these words allude to a ‘sending’ of something - as if Avraham split into two, one part of him sending the other part, to take the knife.
‘Here we sense a certain disconnect between mind and feeling - on the one hand, the mind commands that we heed Hashem’s Voice in all instances; on the other hand, the natural feeling of a loving father continues to beat, even strengthening, and even the mind continues to struggle with what is being commanded.
‘This struggle is what these words suggest - as if a gap exists between Avraham, and the hand ‘sent to take the knife.’
לרפואת כל פצועי צה"ל ולרפואת נועם עליזה בת זהבה רבקה ונחום אלימלך רפאל בן זהבה רבקה, בתוך שאר חולי עמנו.