Many a scholar has struggled with the concept of the Akeidah, the binding of Isaac. Rabbi Shalom Spiegel, who taught at the Jewish Theological Seminary, wrote a book entitled The Last Trial: On the Legends and Lore of the Command to Abraham to Offer Isaac as a Sacrifice. In that light I want to bring up the wording used at the beginning of the passage.

God tells Abraham “Go forth and take your son, your only son, that you loved, Isaac.”^[1] A question asked by many commentators is why was Isaac’s name not said at the beginning? The medieval commentator Rashi cites a midrash from Genesis Rabbah asserting that Abraham stalled. When God said “your son,” he replied, “I have two sons: Isaac and Ishmael.” When God said your only son,” Abraham replied “This is the only son to his mother, and that is the only son to his mother.” God says “the one you love,” to which Abraham said, “I love both of them.” Finally God specifies Isaac. In this Midrash, Abraham argued for his sons, trying to stall the sacrifice, just as he had argued for the people of Sodom and Gemorah in Genesis 18.

The Midrash continues, though in a different vein. “Why did He not reveal the son’s name initially? So as not to confuse him abruptly, with the result of sending him of our his mind and driving him mad.”^[2] The concept of tiruf daat that Rashi refers to is described by the commentator Aviva Zornberg as “an experience of sharp dislocation and discontinuity.”^[3] Rather than have Abraham go through a brain shock, God according to Rashi has him ease into the idea of sacrificing his son.

The lesson I take from this is that words matter and that rabbinic teaching asserts that no word is extraneous. Your son, that you love, Isaac was not using extraneous words or words that were there for only poetics but rather words which took into account Abraham’s psychological state. Of course we can always overanalyze matters, which is dangerous. We cannot find an answer for everything and must be comfortable with ambiguity, which I will speak about tomorrow. At the same time, there is wonder and beauty in finding reasons for word order having been chosen in the Bible, especially when it is viewed from the perspective of the character’s psyche.

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^[1] Genesis 22:2

^[2] Rashi on Genesis 22:2 citing Genesis Rabbah 55:7

^[3] Aviva Zornberg “Lekh Lekha: Travails of Faith,” in Genesis: the Beginning of Desire. (Philadelphia: JPS, 1995), pg. 90.

It is now 16 years since I gave the Senior Sermon as a 5^th Year rabbinical student at the Jewish Theological Seminary. In honor of that event, I want to share one piece of my sermon this evening.

On his comment on the first verse “Go forth for yourself,” Rabbi Sholom Noach Berezovsky in his book Netivot Shalom comments “no person is like another” — from the moment of Adam’s creation, each person has their own destiny and role, and no one can fix what is the responsibility of another. In other words, each of us has our own, personal mission to fulfill in the world.

This text has brought me great comfort over the years, especially when I feel that I am in the midst of doldrum or stagnation. Remembering that we each are unique and have our own personal mission in this world often brings me energy. It reminds me of Pirkei Avot, the Ethics of the Fathers, that each of us must do our own portion of the work.

The next time you feel monotony or you are stuck, I hope you will reflect on this teaching of Rabbi Berezovsky and that it will help jumpstart you in life’s challenging moments.