Comentário sobre Gênesis 22:1

אחר הדברים האלה AFTER THESE THINGS [or, WORDS] —Some of our Rabbis say (Sanhedrin 89b) that it means after the words of Satan who denounced Abraham saying, “Of all the banquets which Abraham prepared not a single bullock nor a single ram did he bring as a sacrifice to You ’. God replied to him, “Does he do anything at all except for his son’s sake? Yet if I were to bid him, “Sacrifice him to Me’’, he would not refuse’’. Others say that it means “after the words of Ishmael” who boasted to Isaac that he had been circumcised when he was thirteen years old without resisting. Isaac replied to him, “You think to intimidate me by mentioning the loss of one part of the body! If the Holy One, blessed be He, were to tell me, “Sacrifice yourself to Me” I would not refuse” (Sanhedrin 89b).

ויהי אחר הדברים האלה, whenever we find the construction אחר הדברים האלה what follows is conceptually immediately following what has been reported immediately before. Examples are found in 15,1 after Avraham had killed the four kings who had taken Lot captive. At that time G’d had told him not to be afraid of any repercussions. We also find such a construction in verse 20 of our chapter where the Avraham was informed of the birth of Rivkah after we heard that Yitzchok had been born. We find a similar construction also in Esther 3,1 where Mordechai told Esther and she told the king about the assassination plot by Bigtan and Teresh. The event occurred around the time when Haman was promoted and wanted to kill Mordechai and the Jewish people. The fact that he had saved the king’s life became the immediate cause of Mordechai’s rise in the king’s esteem. [if I understand the author correctly, he wants to tell us that although sequentially the matters related are not immediate chronologically, the Torah or Scriptures use the formulation to trace them to events which occurred some time back. Yitzchok was at least 37 years old before Avraham heard about the birth of Rivkah. Similarly, if the king had rewarded Mordechai for his part in discovering the plot immediately, history might have taken a different course. Ed.] Here too, the words mean that what follows occurred after Avraham and Avimelech had concluded their covenant according to which until the fourth generation Avraham’s descendants would not register a claim against lands owned by the Philistines at this time. G’d became very angry at this high-handed action by Avraham, seeing that he had given away lands which were part of what G’d had promised to Avraham and his descendants at the “covenant of the pieces” in chapter 15. We know that a condition of that covenant had been not to allow a single soul of the Canaanites to survive in that land, according to both Deuteronomy 20,16 as well as according to Joshua 13,3 and 15,45-47. Clearly lots had been cast concerning the lands owned by the 5 Philistine rulers, and who was to settle in those lands after the conquest. As a result of Avraham’s high-handed action,

AND G-D TRIED ABRAHAM. The matter of “trial,”³⁶⁴See Rambam’s discussion of this problem, ibid., III, 24. in my opinion, is as follows: Since a man’s deeds are at his absolute free command, to perform them or not to perform them at his will, on the part of one who is tried it is called “a trial.” But on the part of the One, blessed be He, who tries the person, it is a command that the one being tested should bring forth the matter from the potential into actuality so that he may be rewarded for a good deed, not for a good thought alone.
Know further that G-d trieth the righteous,³⁶⁵Psalms 11:5. See also Bereshith Rabbah 34:2. “The Holy One, blessed be He, trieth only the righteous.” for knowing that the righteous will do His will, He desires to make him even more upright, and so He commands him to undertake a test, but He does not try the wicked, who would not obey. Thus all trials in the Torah are for the good of the one who is being tried.

נסה את אברהם, to demonstrate that Avraham’s love for G’d as well as his fear of G’d was not merely potential but actual, much as G’d's goodness is not merely potential but actual. The purpose of man’s existence is to emulate the virtues of G’d, and by means of this “test” Avraham had an opportunity to demonstrate this. When G’d created man He had set Himself the objective of “let us make man in Our image etc.,” i.e. as much like Divine beings as is it possible for a creature to be . (Genesis 1,26)

ויהי אחר הדברים האלה. It was after these events. The events referred to are Abraham's various adventures, the tortuous route to becoming Isaac's father at an advanced age. In the meantime Isaac had grown up since we find Abraham described as "living in the land of the Philistines for many years," and Isaac was born during the first year of Abraham's stay there. The test assumed much greater impact in view of the repeated promises G'd had made to Abraham concerning Isaac and his future. To be told at this stage to offer Isaac as a sacrifice and not to hesitate or challenge G'd's command or even ask for an explanation, was a tremendous act of obedience. Isaac too deserves great credit for submitting. Another reason that the Torah wrote "after these events" is, that only now could G'd refer to Isaac as Abraham's only son. As long as Ishmael had not yet been expelled by Abraham the description "your only son" would not have been appropriate.

ויהי אחר הדברים האלה, after what happened to Avraham with Avimelech and as a result of his pact he had resided among the Philistines for many years, so that he had decided to migrate to Beer Sheva. At that point he received the instruction from G’d concerning his only son (by Sarah). It is very difficult to explain the matter of G’d’ “testing” someone, seeing that G’d knows in advance what the result of such a test is going to be. What then is the point of such a test? If the point was to demonstrate to the world at large that Avraham successfully passed such a test, how could this be accomplished in a setting where only Avraham and Yitzchok were present? He had even left the lads who had accompanied him behind so that there were no witnesses whatsoever to his carrying out a command which he had not even told Yitzchok about until the last possible moment! Even if Avraham had told someone what had transpired on the mountain, who would have believed him? The truth is that the purpose of the trial was to demonstrate to the world Avraham’s love for G’d. It was not meant to demonstrate anything to the generation during which Avraham lived, but to prove this to subsequent generations of people who believed in the Torah which was handed down to us by Moses at the command of G’d Himself. All that is written in the Torah [including such stories as that of Bileam and Balak, none of which had been witnessed by any Jew alive at that time, Ed.] is meant to teach the extent to which we are expected to demonstrate our love for G’d if and when the occasion arises. We know that Avraham loved Yitzchok more than he loved himself, seeing that he was already old and did not expect anymore out of life. If Yitzchok were to die at that time before he had married and raised a family, he would not have enjoyed any true satisfaction in his life on earth. This thought must have been very upsetting for his father Avraham. If he was nonetheless prepared to carry out G’d’s command without hesitation this was indeed a feat that all his descendants would marvel at. The fact that Avraham, who had prayed to G’d for sinners to be given a reprieve, did not even pray to G’d to spare the life of Yitzchok until he had at least married and started to raise a family, is meant to be an inspiration to all of us. Moreover, G’d Himself had provided Avraham with arguments which would have entitled him to at least defer sacrificing Yitzchok since he had told him that he, Avraham, would be known in history through Yitzchok. How could such a promise be fulfilled if Yitzchok were to die now? This story became the powerful message which Yitzchok transmitted to his son Yaakov, and which Yaakov transmitted to his sons. After the Torah was committed to writing the story became famous throughout the world, some people believing it, others not. Nowadays, after primitive paganism has ceased to exist in most of civilised society, most of mankind believes the story recorded in the Bible without hesitation. If large sections of mankind express some doubts about what is written in the Torah this concerns only whether everything written in the Torah as fact needs to be understood as historical, literal truth, or if many stories are to be understood as allegorical, but conveying the same ethical and moral messages. Similarly, these doubters believe that many of the practical commandments in the Torah were not meant to be fulfilled literally, but were examples demonstrating G’d’s attitude to certain problems confronting man. The very fact that the majority of mankind does believe that Avraham did what the Torah writes he did, is proof that Avraham had lived the kind of life which inspired man to believe that one can love G’d more than anything else in the universe.

And after these events: It is clear that this section has a relationship to the section before it. As otherwise, the expression, "after these events," is not fitting. Though the manner of the relationship is explained in Rashi's commentary according to the aggadah in Sanhedrin (89) - if it is so, they are distant in time from one another, according to the tradition that Yitzchak was thirty-seven at the time of the binding. And there are some that explain that it is a punishment for the covenant he made with Avimelekh. But this is also not proximate in time - for behold that the matter of the covenant was at that [same] time, of Yitzchak and the expulsion of Yishmael. In truth, there is an argument in the Midrash if, "after (achar)" is proximate, and "following (achrei)" is remote, or the opposite. However it appears that the explanation of, "after these events" [here], is after all the utterances and statements that there were between the Holy One, blessed be He, and Avraham. And He had raised him - little by little - higher and higher: From the beginning of His blessing him with the Land of Israel and with seed like the dust of the earth; and afterwards with the increase of children like the stars of the sky - meaning people of great worth - and afterwards, He blessed him at the time of the circumcision that the would be a father to many nations. That is that he would have the ability to have even the nations of the world - who would be called by the name, nations, and would not completely convert - recognize the God of the world. However there was still a particular that was missing, as will be explained. And the matter of the binding was after all of these things. For with this, the greatness of Avraham, our father, and his seed was completed, such that nothing more was needed. So from then on, the Holy One, blessed be He, did not speak with him; and there was no more content and addition to the goal that had been desired. And because of that. it is written, "and God tested (nissa) Avraham." As even though the text does not depart from its straightforward understanding, which is the matter of a test - according to its straightforward understanding alone, it is superfluous. As we surely see that it is a test. And this is even though we should not ask why God, who knows everything from the beginning, needs a test - as it is a question of [divine] knowledge and [human] choice, which is loftier than human knowledge. So we should [just] know that the ways of God are above our ways, as are His thoughts [above] our thoughts. However there is another meaning to this, as it is found in Rabbah (Bereishit Rabbah 55:1) on this: Nissa is from the usage, "You have given a banner (nes) to those who fear You, that it may be displayed (lehitnosess)" (Psalms 60:6) - meaning He raised him upon a banner. The Sages, may their memory be blessed, explained that with this test, He extended the power of Avraham, our father, and raised him to the purpose of the Israelite nation, as will be explained. And the Sages, may their memory be blessed, in Rabbah there, have already drawn a metaphor about the content of the test with three analogies: 1) To a good jug that a buyer knocks, as opposed to a bad one. 2) To good flax that he hits much; so that the more he hits it, the more it improves, as opposed to bad flax. 3) He adds much to the load of a good donkey, and examines it [to determine whether] it can carry more. And the matter of the three analogies is to teach us that a test comes for three aspects. On one occasion, it comes like the analogy of the good jug, about which the knocking is not in order to improve it, but rather to know how strong the jug is. And on [another] occasion, it comes like the analogy of the flax, about which the knocking does not come in order to know [its] strength, but rather to improve [it]. And on [a third] occasion, it comes like the analogy of a donkey, about which it does not come in order to know [it] or in order to improve [it]; rather when its owner has a large load, he is testing his donkey [whether] it can carry more, which will be good for him. And the owner will add to its nourishment afterwards according to the additional load that his donkey carries. Likewise on one occasion, a test comes to know the power of a person's righteousness, and that is considered an examination. On [another] occasion, a test comes in order to add to his righteousness. As even though this action rests in a person's potential, so long as the action has not come to him and he has not actualized the potential, this potential has nevertheless not become rooted within him. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, brings him to this test; and he [then] strengthens himself to actualize his potential and roots this potential inside himself. And on [a third] occasion, a test will come for the iniquity of the generation. So He will place them - a load of afflictions - upon the righteous one, and he will receive his full reward afterwards. From here, the midrash on this section teaches us that we should not think that this test came about only like the first analogy of the jug, as an examination. For if so, Avraham, our father, did not become elevated with this. It is not so. Rather the Holy One, blessed be He, raised the power of our father Avraham's holy being with this action. And that is the meaning of, "[God] nisa Avraham, from the usage, "You have given a banner (nes) to those who fear You, that it may be displayed (lehitnosess)." And with that which this potential was rooted into Avraham's being, this action remained rooted in the Israelite nation for [all] generations - as will be further explained on verse 17 (Haamek Davar on Genesis 22:17). And see Exodus 16:4 and Deuteronomy 8:2 and 9:7. Furthermore, it should be explained that which, "test," is not also written about Yitzchak - as behold, he was already thirty-seven years old! However it shall be explained below that the purpose of this act upon Yitzchak was on account of the settlement of Israel upon their land, [such that] their bread was fixed by way of the daily sacrifices. So it was particularly fit that it would be so through Yitzchak, since this principle came out to the world with his birth, as I wrote earlier [on] 21:3 (Haamek Davar on Genesis 21:3). So it was not for the purpose of a test; and it was then like the other tests through which Avraham was tested, and about which it was [also] not written that it was a test. However, that which the Holy One, blessed be He, hid the intent from Avraham, our father - that was only in order to be a test.

והאלוקים נסה, “and G’d tested.” Nachmanides describes the function of such “tests” as a device to ensure that the action undertaken by man under such conditions be perceived by him as absolutely free from external pressure, whereas from G’d’s perspective, of course, it is a commandment. (it is difficult to assume that G’d did not know beforehand how man would react to such a commandment.) G’d only wants to translate something He knew potentially into the domain of reality, a demonstration that what He knew man is capable of, man would actually carry out. Man cannot expect to be rewarded for potential acts of goodness, obedience, etc. In order to qualify for reward man must demonstrate that his goodness is more than just “potential.” Seeing that G’d’s objective is to reward man, there is no point in His subjecting the wicked to similar tests, as they will not only not garner the reward but incriminate themselves further by failing to carry out the command which constitutes the “test.” G’d subjects only the righteous to such tests, as He knows they will pass them with flying colours. Rash’bam explains the word נסה, as introducing a painful experience for the subject of such a test. An example of the use of the root נסה in such a context would be Exodus 17,7 where the Israelites had been tested in a painful manner in having gone without water before G’d provided same, miraculously. Other examples can be found in Job 4,2 or Psalms The reason Avraham was subjected to such a painful test was that although G’d had given him a son at the age of 100 years, he had seen fit to make a covenant with Avimelech covering hundreds of years in the future, when he did not even know yet if this son would not die before ever having sired any offspring himself. Avraham did not realize that G’d did not actually want him to slaughter Yitzchok, but only wanted him to “offer” him on the altar, as the words העלהו לעולה indicate. Some commentators understand the word נסה to mean “elevate to a higher stature” in a spiritual sense, such as Kings II The meaning would be parallel to נשאו with the letter ש instead of ס.

...And the content of this test, in my opinion, was in the coming of the prophecy to him in unclear wording; and that is that the Lord, may He be blessed, said to him, about Issac, "and bring him up him there for a burnt-sacrifice." And this statement can be logically understood to mean that he should slaughter him and offer him as a burnt-offering, and it can [also] be logically understood that he should bring him up there to offer a burnt-offering, in order that Issac be trained in the service of God, may He be blessed. And the Lord tested him, whether it would be difficult in his eyes to do anything that the Lord would command him about [Issac], to the point that it would become the cause for him to understand this statement other than what is understood from it upon immediate consideration - meaning to say that that which is understood from it is that he should offer up another burnt-offering, not that he should slaughter his son...

אחר הדברים. Wie oben Kap.15, 1 (siehe daselbst) leiten diese Worte einen Wendepunkt, eine Kehrseite zu dem Bisherigen ein. Abraham hatte Gott schon als א׳ עולם verkündet, Jizchak war ihm geboren, der älteste Sohn um seinetwillen entfernt, ביצחק in Jizchak sollte der Samen der Zukunft fortgetragen werden, und diese Zukunft ward bereits in der Gegenwart erkannt, es hatte bereits der Landesfürst nicht nur mit dem Knaben, hatte schon mit dessen fernen Nachkommen ein Bündnis geschlossen, so hatte die in Jizchak verheißene Zukunft bereits in die damalige Gegenwart Wurzel geschlagen — da kommt die Aufgabe, alles, was bisher geschehen, abzubrechen, den אשל, den Abraham gepflanzt, mit eigenen Händen wieder umzuhauen. הָאלקי׳, derselbe Gott, der bis dahin sich dem Abraham offenbart, und Abrahams ganzes Lebensziel in Jizchak hatte gipfeln lassen. — נִסָה, verwandt mit נשא ,נסח ,נסע, fortrücken, ganz fortschleudern, in die Höhe heben, alle drei somit: etwas auf einen weiteren oder höheren Standpunkt bringen. Ebenso נסה hinsichtlich physischer oder sittlicher Kräfte: versuchen, d. h. ja eben nichts anderes als: ihnen solche Auf- gaben zur Lösung geben, in deren Lösung sie sich bis jetzt noch nicht be- währt. Jeder Versuch ist daher ein Fortschritt, ist eine Kräftigung und Stärkung der bereits vorhandenen, aber in dieser weiteren oder höheren Aufgabe noch nicht erprobten Kräfte. Ein Seil, das bereits fünfzig Pfund getragen, wird versucht, sobald ihm das einundfünfzigste Pfund zu tragen gegeben wird, sittliche und geistige Kräfte werden aber also gestärkt und gehoben.

After these events: In which Avraham was made a minister and leader, and the kings made a pact with him.

ויהי אחר הדברים האלה, “it was after these events;” according to Rashi, the “events” refer to the banquet arranged on the occasion of Yitzchok’s being weaned; Satan accused Avraham of not having offered a single sacrifice to G-d on that occasion. G-d replied that he would have been willing to offer even his own son as such an offering if asked. and that year [when Avraham came back from the land of Plishtim and sat in Chevron] was 12 years before the Akeda of Yitzchok. A different interpretation of the words: הדברים האלה, “these words;” Yishmael had boasted to Yitzchok that he had voluntarily undergone circumcision at an age when it was most painful, to which Yitzchok had replied that he, Yishmael, had endured pain only on one organ, whereas he, Yitzchok, would be prepared to undergo such pain on his whole body, i.e. he would even give his life for G-d. The reason why Rashi chose the first interpretation is that the word אחר normally refers to an event that had immediately preceded the subject raised, whereas here the call for the binding of Yitzchok would then have occurred many years earlier. According to a statement by Rav Hunna in B’reshit Rabbah 44,6, the word for “after” that the Torah should have used should then have been “אחרי.”A third interpretation of the words: ויהי אחר הדברים האלה is that they refer to the treaty concluded between Avraham and Avimelech, when Avraham had voluntarily postponed the fulfillment of G-d’s promise to him without having first obtained G-d’s permission to do so. [It is a historical fact that sovereignty over the land of the Philistines was achieved by the Israelites only about 100 years prior to the destruction of the first Temple, (under King Yoshiyahu), over 800 years after Joshua conquered the rest of the Holy Land. This was part of the punishment for the Israelites not having carried out G-d’s command not to allow a single soul of the then residents to remain alive (if they did not emigrate). (Deuteronomy 20,16). [In other words, although Avraham was the first to cause of the fulfillment of G-d’s promise to be delayed, he was not the last Israelite to do so. Ed.] Another interpretation, one which places the emphasis on the words נסה את אברהם, “He tested Avraham.”Avraham was not tested in order for G-d to convince Himself of his willingness to offer up his beloved son, seeing that such matters are known to Him, Who is omniscient; he was tested by the attribute of Justice which had dared question the degree of loyalty he could summon when so tested. Passing this test successfully would convince the people around him of the absolute obedience to any command G-d would issue to him. There was no way the nations of the world could challenge his faith thereafter.

הנני HERE AM I — Such is the answer of the pious: it is an expression of meekness and readiness (Midrash Tanchuma, Vayera 22).

Avraham; and he said, "Here I am": The Holy One, blessed be He, did not say at once, "Avraham, please take [etc.]." Rather He waited for him, until Avraham's mind became settled and he understood that the Holy One, blessed be He, wanted to speak to him [about] a great thing; and he answered, "Here I am." And this was so that he would not be [too] confused to hear, and [then] answer something improper, God forbid. Hence the Holy One, blessed be He, waited until his mind became settled.

והאלוקים נסה את אברהם, G’d now subjected Avraham to a painful test, something which was bound to cause him grief. Whenever the root נסה occurs, such as in Job 4,2 or Exodus 17,7 or Psalms 26,2 the connotation is an unpleasant one for the one being subjected to it. In this instance, G’d, so to speak, indicated to Avraham that he had been foolish to think that he could guarantee’s Yitzchok’s and his descendants well being into the future, as he might have to terminate his life before he even had produced any offspring who would be called upon to honour his father’s deal with Avimelech. We find that the ark of the covenant spent seven months in Philistine captivity as a result of Avraham having made such an unauthorised pact with Avimelech (Samuel I 6,1). The seven months corresponded to the seven sheep Avraham had gratuitously given to Avimelech. G’d swore that as a result the Philistines would fight seven wars against the Israelites in which they would be victorious. These wars occurred during the time of Shimshon, Chofni, Pinchos, Sha-ul, and the three sons of Sha-ul who were killed. Another approach: as a result of Avraham’s high-handed act seven altars (public altars equivalent of temples) were destroyed by the enemies of the Jewish people after they entered the Holy Land Land, They were: Moses’ Tabernacle, Gilgal, Nov, Shiloh, Givon and the two Temples in Jesrusalem. (copied from Midrash Shemuel by the editor of Rash’bam) According to still another version G’d’s ark would repose in the land of the Philistines for 7 months.

ויאמר אליו אברהם, the vision took place at night, seeing that immediately afterwards the Torah reports Avraham as rising early in the morning.

והאלוקים נסה את אברהם. G'd tested Abraham. The Torah adds the conjunctive letter ו before the word אלוקים to remind us that this was not Abraham's only test, only the most recent and most difficult one.

Höchst bezeichnend steht hier auf אברהם eine טפחא und zeichnet die augenblickliche Bereitwilligkeit Abrahams: indem Gott ihn ruft, spricht er הנני.

God tested Avraham: He brought him to a test, such that the Accuser (Satan), the prosecutor and the litigator could not say about him, "Does Avraham fear for nothing; did He not protect him and protect everything he has; and even the kings make a pact with him" - in the way that he said [it] about Iyov (Job 1:9-10). So He requested something from him that was more beloved to him than his body and his money. And [it could not be challenged] because he did not prevent it and he did not [even] argue, saying, "Did You not say to me, 'For it is through Yitzchak that your seed will be called,' and now You say to slaughter him and to burn him; and would it not be enough if he would be slaughtered by others, such that I could grind my teeth at him, that You rather tell me to kill him with my hands?" And it is since he did not think any of this at all, but rather had confidence in the commandment of the Holy One.

ה' נסה, the words mean קונטריה, “G’d rebuked Avraham.”

ויאמר אליו אברהם. He said to him: "Abraham." This introductory call by G'd was to prepare Abraham that G'd would ask him to do something difficult. Abraham understood this; this is why he said "I am ready (for whatever You are going to tell me to do)."