וַיִּקְרָ֛א מַלְאַ֥ךְ יְהוָ֖ה אֶל־אַבְרָהָ֑ם שֵׁנִ֖ית מִן־הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃
Kemudian malaikat Yang Mahakekal berseru kepada Abraham untuk kedua kalinya dari langit,
Vayikra Rabbah
“He called to Moses” – did He not call to Adam?17The verse “He called to Moses” is understood to imply something unique about Moses, that God called to him without Moses actively seeking or preparing for prophecy. However, the Torah indicates that God similarly called out to Adam (Etz Yosef). Is it not already stated: “The Lord God called to the man” (Genesis 3:9)? Rather, there is no disgrace in a king speaking to his sharecropper.18Adam is compared to God’s sharecropper, because the verse states that God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden “to cultivate it and to safeguard it” (Genesis 2:15). “The Lord spoke to him” – did He not speak with Noah? Is it not already stated: “God spoke to Noah” (Genesis 8:15)? Rather, there is no disgrace in a king speaking to his shepherd. “He called to Moses” – did He not call to Abraham? Is it not already stated: “The angel of the Lord called to Abraham” (Genesis 22:15)? Rather, there is no disgrace in a king speaking to his innkeeper.
“He called to Moses” – unlike Abraham. Regarding Abraham it is written: “The angel of the Lord called to Abraham” (Genesis 22:15) – the angel called, and the divine speech spoke. However, here, Rabbi Avin said: The Holy One blessed be He said: It is I who calls, and it is I who speaks, as it is stated: “I, it is I, who has spoken, I also have called him; I brought him, and his way is successful” (Isaiah 48:15).
“He called to Moses” – unlike Abraham. Regarding Abraham it is written: “The angel of the Lord called to Abraham” (Genesis 22:15) – the angel called, and the divine speech spoke. However, here, Rabbi Avin said: The Holy One blessed be He said: It is I who calls, and it is I who speaks, as it is stated: “I, it is I, who has spoken, I also have called him; I brought him, and his way is successful” (Isaiah 48:15).
Aggadat Bereshit
Chapter 31: The Torah [1] And it came to pass after these things, that God tested, etc. (Genesis 22:1) "I will not break my covenant, nor change that which has come out of my lips." (Psalms 89:35) "What covenant did Hashem make with Avraham that day?" (Genesis 15:18) "And how can I break my covenant, if Yitzchak is slaughtered? Even the angels gathered together and wept," as it is said, "Behold, their mighty men cry out without, the messengers of peace weep bitterly." (Isaiah 33:7) The people said, "Master of the universe! The paths have been silent; the sabbath traveler passes by, and the covenant is broken!" (Shabbat 33a) But if Yitsak was slaughtered, where were the footprints? Where is it written about them: "The Israelites said to him: 'We are going up the highway'? (Numbers 20:19) "The paths have been quiet" - Did you not say to him: "Yitsak's name is your seed"? (Gen. 21:12) God answered, "I swear by your life that I will not break my covenant, nor change that which has come from my lips," as it is said, "Take, pray for your son, etc." (Gen. 22:2) "And how can I keep both promises?" It can be compared to the king who said to his beloved, "I want to see a peacock on my table." His beloved immediately went and brought the peacock and placed it on the table. The king rushed to bring a knife to slaughter it, but the bird spread its wings and flew away. The king exclaimed: "What are you doing? Isn't this what I asked you - to bring the peacock to my table to be slaughtered?" The Beloved replied: "Here it stands before you, and you have a knife. Slaughter it under the peacock." Likewise, God said to Abraham, "I wanted to see your only son Yitzhak on Mount Moriah as a burnt offering. As soon as you brought him there and placed him on the altar above the tree, I thought you would have already sacrificed him." (Midrash Tanchuma, Vayera 22) Rabbi Chanina asked: What does "ma'al" (above) mean in the verse "The Seraphim stood above him" ( Isaiah 6:2)? It means that above the altar, which was opposite the Throne of Glory, Abraham stretched out his hand to take the knife to slaughter his son, as it says: "And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son" (Genesis 22:10). For at that moment God called to him from heaven, saying, “Avraham, Avraham!” And he answered, “Here I am.” And God said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy and do nothing to him. For now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld your beloved son from me." (Genesis 22:11-12) ).The Midrash teaches that at that moment God told Avraham that just as he had brought his son to be sacrificed, so in the future God will command his children to bring sacrifices to Him. And it says, "And God called Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying: Speak to the people of Israel and say to them: When one of you sacrifices cattle to Hashem, choose your own. offering from the flock or herd" (Leviticus 1:1-2).The rabbis learned from the verse, "I did not speak to your fathers, nor did I command them about burnt offerings or sacrifices" (Jeremiah 7:22), that God did not command Jephthah to sacrifice his daughter. Nor did God command the king of Moab to sacrifice his son on the wall, as it says, "And he took his firstborn, who was to succeed him as king, and offered him as a burnt offering on the wall." (2 Kings 3:27) For it never occurred to me in my heart to tell Abraham to sacrifice his son, although I told him to take him and offer him as a burnt offering. (Genesis 22:2) Therefore I will not break my covenant.
Bereshit Rabbah
“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,52The binding of Isaac was the tenth and last of Abraham’s tests (see Mishna Avot 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.53The people of Tarmod were implacable enemies of the Jews. 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:54Babylon. 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 night55Abraham did not bring Isaac back with him, but told him to travel later on, at night. due to the evil eye.56He did this so that the evil eye would not affect Isaac in the wake of the miracle that was performed on his behalf. [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.57After they survived, all the gentiles mocked Israel and spat at them, saying: ‘You have a God capable of such miracles, and yet you worship idols?’ God took the lives of Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya so that Israel would no longer be mocked by the gentiles. 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.58If they would be saved, it would be a sign of God’s greatness. If they would not be saved, it would be a sign of loyalty to God even at the cost of one’s life.
“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,52The binding of Isaac was the tenth and last of Abraham’s tests (see Mishna Avot 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.53The people of Tarmod were implacable enemies of the Jews. 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:54Babylon. 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 night55Abraham did not bring Isaac back with him, but told him to travel later on, at night. due to the evil eye.56He did this so that the evil eye would not affect Isaac in the wake of the miracle that was performed on his behalf. [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.57After they survived, all the gentiles mocked Israel and spat at them, saying: ‘You have a God capable of such miracles, and yet you worship idols?’ God took the lives of Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya so that Israel would no longer be mocked by the gentiles. 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.58If they would be saved, it would be a sign of God’s greatness. If they would not be saved, it would be a sign of loyalty to God even at the cost of one’s life.