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(א) וַיֵּרָ֤א אֵלָיו֙ יְהֹוָ֔ה בְּאֵלֹנֵ֖י מַמְרֵ֑א וְה֛וּא יֹשֵׁ֥ב פֶּֽתַח־הָאֹ֖הֶל כְּחֹ֥ם הַיּֽוֹם׃ (ב) וַיִּשָּׂ֤א עֵינָיו֙ וַיַּ֔רְא וְהִנֵּה֙ שְׁלֹשָׁ֣ה אֲנָשִׁ֔ים נִצָּבִ֖ים עָלָ֑יו וַיַּ֗רְא וַיָּ֤רׇץ לִקְרָאתָם֙ מִפֶּ֣תַח הָאֹ֔הֶל וַיִּשְׁתַּ֖חוּ אָֽרְצָה׃ (ג) וַיֹּאמַ֑ר אֲדֹנָ֗י אִם־נָ֨א מָצָ֤אתִי חֵן֙ בְּעֵינֶ֔יךָ אַל־נָ֥א תַעֲבֹ֖ר מֵעַ֥ל עַבְדֶּֽךָ׃ (ד) יֻקַּֽח־נָ֣א מְעַט־מַ֔יִם וְרַחֲצ֖וּ רַגְלֵיכֶ֑ם וְהִֽשָּׁעֲנ֖וּ תַּ֥חַת הָעֵֽץ׃ (ה) וְאֶקְחָ֨ה פַת־לֶ֜חֶם וְסַעֲד֤וּ לִבְּכֶם֙ אַחַ֣ר תַּעֲבֹ֔רוּ כִּֽי־עַל־כֵּ֥ן עֲבַרְתֶּ֖ם עַֽל־עַבְדְּכֶ֑ם וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ כֵּ֥ן תַּעֲשֶׂ֖ה כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר דִּבַּֽרְתָּ׃
(1) יהוה appeared to him by the terebinths of Mamre; he was sitting at the entrance of the tent as the day grew hot. (2) Looking up, he saw three figures standing near him. Perceiving this, he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them and, bowing to the ground, (3) he said, “My lords! If it please you, do not go on past your servant. (4) Let a little water be brought; bathe your feet and recline under the tree. (5) And let me fetch a morsel of bread that you may refresh yourselves; then go on—seeing that you have come your servant’s way.” They replied, “Do as you have said.”
Dr. Avivah Zornberg, The Particulars of Rapture, p. 349
At that limnal place, at the petach, the tent entrance...which is both inside and outside...the private work with fantasy and desire, 'each at the entrance of his tent.' (Exodus 33:10)
Rabbi Shefa Gold, Torah Journeys, p. 35
Standing at the door of our tent, our first challenge is to remain alert, attentive, and open to opportunities for service. We can't just stand by and watch passively as life goes by; we must run to meet each moment with eagerness and joy.
Rabbi Shefa Gold, Torah Journeys, p. 34
Our attentiveness to these strangers will determine the extent of our blessing. If we are ready with open hearts, our eyes watching for opportunities to serve, if our humility is intact, and we have the energies and resources to express the natural flow of our generosity - then we will be given hope, and the fulfillment of our deepest desires. This openness to seeing God in 'the stranger' is rewarded abundantly.
Bava Metzia 86b
§ The Gemara expounds another verse involving Abraham: “And the Lord appeared to him by the terebinths of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day” (Genesis 18:1). The Gemara asks: What is the meaning of “the heat of the day”? Rabbi Ḥama, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, says: That day was the third day after Abraham’s circumcision, and the Holy One, Blessed be He, came to inquire about the well-being of Abraham. The Holy One, Blessed be He, removed the sun from its sheath in order not to bother that righteous one with guests, i.e., God made it extremely hot that day to allow Abraham to recover from his circumcision, as he would not be troubled by passing travelers whom he would invite into his tent.
Rashi on Genesis 18:1
(1) וירא אליו AND THE LORD APPEARED UNTO HIM to visit the sick man. R. Hama the son of Hanina said: it was the third day after his circumcision and the Holy One, blessed be He, came and enquired after the state of his health (Bava Metzia 86b)
Bereishit Rabbah 48:10
(10) "And he said, "My lords, if only I have found favor in your eyes..." (Bereshit 18:3) R' Chiyah taught: he said this to the greatest of them, Michael. "Please let a little water be taken..." (Bereshit 18:4) R' Eliezer said in the name of R' Simai: the Holy One said to Avraham "you said 'let a little water be taken.' By your life! I will recompense your children in the wilderness, in the settled lands and in the time to come.
Louis Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, p. 204
[Abraham] did not depend upon his own judgment in reading the character of his guests. By his tent a tree was planted, which spread its branches out over all who believed in God, and afforded them shade. But if idolaters went under the tree, the branches turned upward, and cast no shade upon the ground. Whenever Abraham saw this sign, he would at once set about the task of converting the worshippers of false gods.
Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Covenant and Conversation: The Book of Genesis, p. 99
Faced with a choice between listening to God, and offering hospitality to what seemed to be human beings, Abraham chose the latter. God acceded to his request, and waited while Abraham brought the visitors food and drink, before engaging him in dialogue about the fate of Sodom. How can this be so? It seems disrespectful at best, heretical at worst, to put the needs of human beings before attending on the presence of God. What the passage is telling us, though, is something of immense profundity. The idolaters of Abraham’s time worshipped the sun, the stars, and the forces of nature as gods. They worshipped power and the powerful. Abraham knew, however, that God is not in nature but beyond nature. There is only one thing in the universe on which He has set His image: the human person, every person, powerful and powerless alike.
Rabbi Mark Borowitz, Finding Recovery and Yourself in Torah, p. 25
Here Abraham is hanging out with God and leaves God to serve three strangers. What chutzpah! Actually this teaches us that if we cannot serve God’s creations, if we are indifferent to the needs of others even when we are meditating, praying, or studying, then we are not really connected to God.
Rabbi Mark Borowitz, Finding Recovery and Yourself in Torah, p. 23
...we have to lift up our eyes to see. I understand this interesting phrase to mean that we have to make a conscious effort in order to see. Merely looking does not do it. Too often we look and don’t see. We lift up our eyes and see when we are engaged in pursuing truth. We lift up our eyes and see when we ask questions. We lift up our eyes and see when we are passionate about life. We lift up our eyes and see when we revel in the wonder of living. We lift up our eyes and see when we recognize and honor the sacredness of each event in our lives. We live in a world that is in dire need of sight. Our world has chosen to wear blinders and keep our narrow, egotistical, and selfish views.
(13) Then יהוה said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I in truth bear a child, old as I am?’ (14) Is anything too wondrous for יהוה ? I will return to you at the same season next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” (15) Sarah lied, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was frightened. Came the reply, “You did laugh.”
(22) The agents went on from there to Sodom, while Abraham remained standing before יהוה. (23) Abraham came forward and said, “Will You sweep away the innocent along with the guilty? (24) What if there should be fifty innocent within the city; will You then wipe out the place and not forgive it for the sake of the innocent fifty who are in it? (25) Far be it from You to do such a thing, to bring death upon the innocent as well as the guilty, so that innocent and guilty fare alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?” (26) And יהוה answered, “If I find within the city of Sodom fifty innocent ones, I will forgive the whole place for their sake.” (27) Abraham spoke up, saying, “Here I venture to speak to my lord, I who am but dust and ashes: (28) What if the fifty innocent should lack five? Will You destroy the whole city for want of the five?” “I will not destroy if I find forty-five there.” (29) But he spoke up again, and said, “What if forty should be found there?” “I will not do it, for the sake of the forty.” (30) And he said, “Let not my lord be angry if I go on: What if thirty should be found there?” “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” (31) And he said, “I venture again to speak to my lord: What if twenty should be found there?” “I will not destroy, for the sake of the twenty.” (32) And he said, “Let not my lord be angry if I speak but this last time: What if ten should be found there?” “I will not destroy, for the sake of the ten.” (33) Having finished speaking to Abraham, יהוה departed; and Abraham returned to his place. (1) The two messengers arrived in Sodom in the evening, as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to greet them and, bowing low with his face to the ground,
(1) You will win, O ETERNAL One, if I make claim against You,
Yet I shall present charges against You:
Why does the way of the wicked prosper?
Why are the workers of treachery at ease?
Walter Brueggemann, Genesis, pp. 168, 176
...It is as though Abraham is [God’s] theological teacher. . . . He does not flinch from urging God and even offering himself as a theological teacher to God so that God may think more clearly and responsibly about his own vocation. . . . We must not miss the point. This revolution in the heart of God is because Abraham intervened.
Pirkei de Rabbi Eliezer 25:8
(8) Rabbi Jehudah said: They made a proclamation in Sodom (saying): Everyone who strengthens the hand of the poor or the needy with a loaf of bread shall be burnt by fire. Peleṭith, daughter of Lot, was wedded to one of the magnates of Sodom. She saw a certain very poor man in the street of the city, and her soul was grieved on his account, as it is said, "Was not my soul grieved for the needy?" (Job 30:25). What did she do? Every day when she went out to draw water she put in her bucket all sorts of provisions from her home, and she fed that poor man. The men of Sodom said: How does this poor man live? When they ascertained the facts, they brought her forth to be burnt with fire. She said: Sovereign of all worlds ! Maintain my right and my cause (at the hands of) the men of Sodom. And her cry ascended before the Throne of Glory. In that hour the Holy One, blessed be He, said: "I will now descend, and I will see" (Gen. 18:21) whether the men of Sodom have done according to the cry of this young woman, I will turn her foundations upwards, and the surface thereof shall be turned downwards, as it is said, "I will now descend, and I will see whether they have done altogether according to her cry, which is come unto me" (ibid.). "According to their cry" is not written here (in the text), only "According to her cry."
Meshekh Hokhmah, cited in Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, USCJ and RA, p. 103
Abraham's challenge to God is rooted in the audacious claim that even God is subject to the moral standards divinely decreed for humans. If God is to be obeyed when commanding moral behavior, God must exemplify that moral behavior. A commentary takes this not as a question or challenge but as a demand: 'Do not exact strict justice on these people! You, Lord, know how weak human nature is. You know how hard it is to be a good person in Sodom. Treat them more leniently than strict justice would require!'
Nahum Sarna, The JPS Torah Commentary: Genesis, p. 133
This is no longer a simple appeal to the attribute of justice but a call for divine mercy. It carries with it two implications: Indirectly it asserts that there is a greater infraction of justice in the death of an innocent few than in allowing a guilty majority to escape retribution; it assumes that the merit of a minority is powerful enough to overcome the wickedness of the majority.
Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Covenant and Conversation: Genesis, p. 106
..the Torah is intimating a profound truth, not about a human challenge to God, but the opposite: God’s challenge to humanity. God wants Abraham and his descendants to be agents of justice. For justice to be done and seen to be done, both sides must be heard. There must be not only an advocate for the prosecution but also for the defence. So deep does this principle go in Jewish law, that it contains the extraordinary proviso that if, in a capital case, the judges are unanimous in finding the plaintiff guilty, the case is dismissed...Justice is a process, not just a product. It is not enough for the court to be right. It must hear both sides of the argument.
Search its squares,
Look about and take note:
You will not find a man,
There is none who acts justly,
Who seeks integrity—
That I should pardon her.
Nehama Leibowitz, New Studies in Bereshit, p. 185
In other words, the few can turn the scales and save the place, if the righteous individuals concerned are 'within the city,' playing a prominent part in public life and exerting their influence in its many fields of activity. But if they merely exist, living in retirement and never venturing forth but pursuing their pious conduct unseen and unknown, they will, perhaps, save themselves, but will certainly not possess the spiritual merit capable of protecting the city.
Nahum Sarna, The JPS Torah Commentary: Genesis, p. 128
[Chapter 18] divides into two distinct parts...the appearance of angelic visions to Abraham...[and] the intended divine visitations upon Sodom and Gomorrah...The first carries a message of life and posterity, the second of death and everlasting destruction.
Bereshit Rabbah 50:2
(2) "But He is at one with Himself, and who can turn him? And what His soul desireth, even that He doeth." (Job 23:13) It was taught: One angel does not carry out two commissions, and two angels do not carry out one commission. And you say "two"!? (Genesis 19:1) Rather, Michael said his tidings and departed, Gabriel was sent to overthrow Sodom, and Raphael to rescue Lot.
Louis Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, p. 206
[The angels'] way led in the direction of Sodom, whither two of the angels were going, the one to destroy it, and the second to save Lot, while the third, his errand to Abraham fulfilled, returned to heaven.
(12) Then the agents said to Lot, “Whom else have you here? Sons-in-law, your sons and daughters, or anyone else that you have in the city—bring them out of the place. (13) For we are about to destroy this place; because the outcry against them before יהוה has become so great that יהוה has sent us to destroy it.” (14) So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, “Up, get out of this place, for יהוה is about to destroy the city.” But he seemed to his sons-in-law as one who jests.
Nehama Leibowitz, New Studies in Bereshit, p. 177, citing unreferenced midrash
Mockery is a grievous manner, since punishment did not overtake the Sodomites till they mocked Lot as it is said: 'And see seemed as one that mocked unto his sons-in-law' (19:14). Said they to him: 'Fool that you are! Psalters, harps and flutes in the city and you say: Sodom is to be overthrown!'
(17) When they had brought them outside, one said, “Flee for your life! Do not look behind you, nor stop anywhere in the Plain; flee to the hills, lest you be swept away.” (18) But Lot said to them, “Oh no, my lord! (19) You have been so gracious to your servant, and have already shown me so much kindness in order to save my life; but I cannot flee to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me and I die. (20) Look, that town there is near enough to flee to; it is such a little place! Let me flee there—it is such a little place—and let my life be saved.” (21) He replied, “Very well, I will grant you this favor too, and I will not annihilate the town of which you have spoken. (22) Hurry, flee there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” Hence the town came to be called Zoar. (23) As the sun rose upon the earth and Lot entered Zoar, (24) יהוה rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah sulfurous fire from יהוה out of heaven— (25) annihilating those cities and the entire Plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation of the ground. (26) Lot’s wife looked back, and she thereupon turned into a pillar of salt. (27) Next morning, Abraham hurried to the place where he had stood before יהוה, (28) and, looking down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of the Plain, he saw the smoke of the land rising like the smoke of a kiln.
Ramban on Genesis 19:17
In Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer there is a similar text: “The angels said to them, ‘Do not look behind you since the Divine Presence of the Holy One, blessed be He, has descended to rain brimstone and fire upon Sodom and Gomorrah.’ The compassion of Edis, Lot’s wife, welled up for her married daughters who were in Sodom, and she looked behind her to see if they were following her. She thereupon saw the back of the Divine Presence, and she became a pillar of salt.”
His Wife, Shirley Kaufman, trans. by Myra Glazer, in WRJ The Torah: A Women's Commentary, p. 109
But it was right that she
looked back. Not to be
curious, some lumpy
reaching of the mind
that turns all shapes to pillars.
But to be only who she was
apart from them, the place
exploding, and herself
defined. Seeing them melt
to slag heaps and the flames
slide into their mouths.
Testing her own lips then,
the coolness, till
she could taste the salt.
(30) Lot went up from Zoar and settled in the hill country with his two daughters, for he was afraid to dwell in Zoar; and he and his two daughters lived in a cave.
(ז) וְעַתָּ֗ה הָשֵׁ֤ב אֵֽשֶׁת־הָאִישׁ֙ כִּֽי־נָבִ֣יא ה֔וּא וְיִתְפַּלֵּ֥ל בַּֽעַדְךָ֖ וֶֽחְיֵ֑ה וְאִם־אֵֽינְךָ֣ מֵשִׁ֔יב דַּ֚ע כִּי־מ֣וֹת תָּמ֔וּת אַתָּ֖ה וְכׇל־אֲשֶׁר־לָֽךְ׃
(7) Therefore, restore the man’s wife—since he is a prophet, he will intercede for you—to save your life. If you fail to restore her, know that you shall die, you and all that are yours.”
Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, USCJ & RA, p. 112
Though one could see Abimelech as the aggrieved party, the Midrash praises Abraham for so readily and wholeheartedly forgiving one who did him wrong and then sincerely apologized (Midrash Ha-Gadol). Similarly, the Sages condemn the person who refuses to forgive someone who sincerely apologizes (BT Bava Kamma 93a). Only after Abraham prays for others are his prayers for his own needs answered.
Rabbi Mark Borowitz, Finding Yourself and Recovery in Torah, p. 27
In this parashah, after the argument with God, Abraham succumbs to his own fear and apathy. When Sarah decides to throw his son, Ishmael, out of the house and the community, Abraham is silent. While he does ask God what to do and God tells him to listen to Sarah, he does not argue this time. What happened to the person who could argue for nameless and faceless strangers? I am perplexed that Abraham, in this case, just accepts what God says. We know that he loves his son and Hagar from what happens later in the story, yet he does not argue in favor of their staying part of the family and community.
(יד) וַיַּשְׁכֵּ֣ם אַבְרָהָ֣ם ׀ בַּבֹּ֡קֶר וַיִּֽקַּֽח־לֶ֩חֶם֩ וְחֵ֨מַת מַ֜יִם וַיִּתֵּ֣ן אֶל־הָ֠גָ֠ר שָׂ֧ם עַל־שִׁכְמָ֛הּ וְאֶת־הַיֶּ֖לֶד וַֽיְשַׁלְּחֶ֑הָ וַתֵּ֣לֶךְ וַתֵּ֔תַע בְּמִדְבַּ֖ר בְּאֵ֥ר שָֽׁבַע׃ (טו) וַיִּכְל֥וּ הַמַּ֖יִם מִן־הַחֵ֑מֶת וַתַּשְׁלֵ֣ךְ אֶת־הַיֶּ֔לֶד תַּ֖חַת אַחַ֥ד הַשִּׂיחִֽם׃ (טז) וַתֵּ֩לֶךְ֩ וַתֵּ֨שֶׁב לָ֜הּ מִנֶּ֗גֶד הַרְחֵק֙ כִּמְטַחֲוֵ֣י קֶ֔שֶׁת כִּ֣י אָֽמְרָ֔ה אַל־אֶרְאֶ֖ה בְּמ֣וֹת הַיָּ֑לֶד וַתֵּ֣שֶׁב מִנֶּ֔גֶד וַתִּשָּׂ֥א אֶת־קֹלָ֖הּ וַתֵּֽבְךְּ׃ (יז) וַיִּשְׁמַ֣ע אֱלֹהִים֮ אֶת־ק֣וֹל הַנַּ֒עַר֒ וַיִּקְרָא֩ מַלְאַ֨ךְ אֱלֹהִ֤ים ׀ אֶל־הָגָר֙ מִן־הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וַיֹּ֥אמֶר לָ֖הּ מַה־לָּ֣ךְ הָגָ֑ר אַל־תִּ֣ירְאִ֔י כִּֽי־שָׁמַ֧ע אֱלֹהִ֛ים אֶל־ק֥וֹל הַנַּ֖עַר בַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר הוּא־שָֽׁם׃ (יח) ק֚וּמִי שְׂאִ֣י אֶת־הַנַּ֔עַר וְהַחֲזִ֥יקִי אֶת־יָדֵ֖ךְ בּ֑וֹ כִּֽי־לְג֥וֹי גָּד֖וֹל אֲשִׂימֶֽנּוּ׃ (יט) וַיִּפְקַ֤ח אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶת־עֵינֶ֔יהָ וַתֵּ֖רֶא בְּאֵ֣ר מָ֑יִם וַתֵּ֜לֶךְ וַתְּמַלֵּ֤א אֶת־הַחֵ֙מֶת֙ מַ֔יִם וַתַּ֖שְׁקְ אֶת־הַנָּֽעַר׃
(14) Early next morning Abraham took some bread and a skin of water, and gave them to Hagar. He placed them over her shoulder, together with the child, and sent her away. And she wandered about in the wilderness of Beer-sheba. (15) When the water was gone from the skin, she left the child under one of the bushes, (16) and went and sat down at a distance, a bowshot away; for she thought, “Let me not look on as the child dies.” And sitting thus afar, she burst into tears. (17) God heard the cry of the boy, and a messenger of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heeded the cry of the boy where he is. (18) Come, lift up the boy and hold him by the hand, for I will make a great nation of him.” (19) Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. She went and filled the skin with water, and let the boy drink.
Nahum Sarna, The JPS Torah Commentary: Genesis, p. 145
...Ishmael's name never occurs, an omission that betokens his fading from the scene of [the Jewish] patriarchal history. Yet the nondescript term 'the boy' [Heb. ha-na'ar] by which he is referred to also appears six times and the stem sh-m- of which the name Ishmael is compounded, is allusively employed three times.
Nahum Sarna, The JPS Torah Commentary: Genesis, p. 148
Both sons of Abraham are saved at a critical moment by an angelic 'voice from heaven' (see also Gen 22:11)
Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, USCJ & RA, p. 114
God performed a miracle, not by creating a well where none had been before, but by opening Hagar's eyes so that she could see what she previously had been blind to, the existence of life-sustaining resources in her world.
Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, Bedside Torah, p. 25
The miracle of the well is that it was there all along. Hagar had not noticed it before, and now she is able to see it. Trapped by her own despair and her own past, she had been unable to recognize possibilities for her own survival. Her awareness of God and the resurgence of hope liberate her from the shackles of her experience.
Louis Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, p. 245-246
In Beer-sheba Abraham dwelt many years, and thence he endeavored to spread the law of God. He planted a large grove there, and he made four gates for it, facing the four sides of the earth, east, west, north, and south, and he planted a vineyard therein. If a traveller came that way, he entered by the gate that faced him, and he sat in the grove, and ate, and drank, until he was satisfied, and then he departed. For the house of Abraham was always open for all passers-by, and they came daily to eat and drink there. If one was hungry, and he came to Abraham, he would give him what he needed, so that he might eat and drink and be satisfied; and if one was naked, and he came to Abraham, he would clothe him with the garments of the poor man's choice, and give him silver and gold, and make known to him the Lord, who had created him and set him on earth. After the wayfarers had eaten, they were in the habit of thanking Abraham for his kind entertainment of them, whereto he would reply: "What, ye give thanks unto me! Rather return thanks to your host, He who alone provides food and drink for all creatures." Then the people would ask, "Where is He?" and Abraham would answer them, and say: "He is the Ruler of heaven and earth. He woundeth and He healeth, He formeth the embryo in the womb of the mother and bringeth it forth into the world, He causeth the plants and the trees to grow, He killeth and He maketh alive, He bringeth down to Sheol and bringeth up." When the people heard such words, they would ask, "How shall we return thanks to God and manifest our gratitude unto Him?" And Abraham would instruct them in these words: "Say, Blessed be the Lord who is blessed! Blessed be He that giveth bread and food unto all flesh!" In this manner did Abraham teach those who had enjoyed his hospitality how to praise and thank God. Abraham's house thus became not only a lodging-place for the hungry and thirsty, but also a place of instruction where the knowledge of God and His law were taught.
(א) וַיְהִ֗י אַחַר֙ הַדְּבָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֔לֶּה וְהָ֣אֱלֹהִ֔ים נִסָּ֖ה אֶת־אַבְרָהָ֑ם וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֵלָ֔יו אַבְרָהָ֖ם וַיֹּ֥אמֶר הִנֵּֽנִי׃ (ב) וַיֹּ֡אמֶר קַח־נָ֠א אֶת־בִּנְךָ֨ אֶת־יְחִֽידְךָ֤ אֲשֶׁר־אָהַ֙בְתָּ֙ אֶת־יִצְחָ֔ק וְלֶ֨ךְ־לְךָ֔ אֶל־אֶ֖רֶץ הַמֹּרִיָּ֑ה וְהַעֲלֵ֤הוּ שָׁם֙ לְעֹלָ֔ה עַ֚ל אַחַ֣ד הֶֽהָרִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֖ר אֹמַ֥ר אֵלֶֽיךָ׃ (ג) וַיַּשְׁכֵּ֨ם אַבְרָהָ֜ם בַּבֹּ֗קֶר וַֽיַּחֲבֹשׁ֙ אֶת־חֲמֹר֔וֹ וַיִּקַּ֞ח אֶת־שְׁנֵ֤י נְעָרָיו֙ אִתּ֔וֹ וְאֵ֖ת יִצְחָ֣ק בְּנ֑וֹ וַיְבַקַּע֙ עֲצֵ֣י עֹלָ֔ה וַיָּ֣קׇם וַיֵּ֔לֶךְ אֶל־הַמָּק֖וֹם אֲשֶׁר־אָֽמַר־ל֥וֹ הָאֱלֹהִֽים׃
(1) Some time afterward, God put Abraham to the test, saying to him, “Abraham.” He answered, “Here I am.” (2) “Take your son, your favored one, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the heights that I will point out to you.” (3) So early next morning, Abraham saddled his ass and took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. He split the wood for the burnt offering, and he set out for the place of which God had told him.
Nahum Sarna, The JPS Torah Commentary: Genesis, p. 151
He who was so daringly eloquent on behalf of the people of Sodom surrenders in total silence to his own bitter personal destiny. He does not question divine constancy. Early the next morning, the old man rises to fulfill the divine charge. He performs a series of preparatory acts all described with an economy of words appropriate to the somber silence that pervades the scene. /remarkably, Sarah is ignored throughout the chapter. Early exegesis has Abraham concelaing from his wife the true purpose of his journey lest she hinder him from doing God's bidding.
(ז) וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יִצְחָ֜ק אֶל־אַבְרָהָ֤ם אָבִיו֙ וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אָבִ֔י וַיֹּ֖אמֶר הִנֶּ֣נִּֽי בְנִ֑י וַיֹּ֗אמֶר הִנֵּ֤ה הָאֵשׁ֙ וְהָ֣עֵצִ֔ים וְאַיֵּ֥ה הַשֶּׂ֖ה לְעֹלָֽה׃ (ח) וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ אַבְרָהָ֔ם אֱלֹהִ֞ים יִרְאֶה־לּ֥וֹ הַשֶּׂ֛ה לְעֹלָ֖ה בְּנִ֑י וַיֵּלְכ֥וּ שְׁנֵיהֶ֖ם יַחְדָּֽו׃
(7) Then Isaac said to his father Abraham, “Father!” And he answered, “Yes, my son.” And he said, “Here are the firestone and the wood; but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” (8) And Abraham said, “It is God who will see to the sheep for this burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them walked on together.
Nahum Sarna, The JPS Torah Commentary: Genesis, p. 152
There is a tough of bitter irony here: Isaac, unaware, cooperates in carrying some of the instruments of his own destruction. He whose name means 'laughter' appears to be on the verge of becoming the personification of tragedy...the brief dialogue over - the only such recorded between Isaac and his father - they continue their fateful trek...
Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, USCJ & RA, p. 120
Menahem Mendal of Kotzk taught that although it was hard for Abraham to bind Isaac on the altar, it was just as hard to release him. For Abraham realized that Isaac, for the rest of his life, would remember that his father had almost killed him.
Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, Bedside Torah, p. 29
What happened to Isaac during his ordeal on the altar? What did he see when he was under the knife? For a brief and agonizing moment, Isaac came face to face with the reality of his own mortality, with the certain knowledge that he would someday die. Such an insight must permanently affect the perspective of any human being, must forever change a person's priorities and conduct.