Akeidat Yitzchak (the Binding of Isaac) is among the most profound stories in the Torah. The symbolism and the archetypal nature of this incident have awed commentators and readers for millennium. Not only Jews but Christians and Moslems as well have incorporated the lessons and the imagery of this account of faith and sacrifice into their philosophies and worldviews.
Yet along with the awe-inspiring tension and pathos of the narrative there remains a profoundly disturbing question that has bothered and intrigued commentators throughout the ages: how could it be that Abraham who pleaded with God to spare the wicked people of Sodom does not plead for his own beloved son’s life? Further compounding this question is the fact that God Himself has told Abraham that Isaac would carry on the covenantal message (Genesis 17:19), so why does Abraham not question God when He seems to have changed His mind?
One possible answer may be supplied by a Midrash that recounts that after Abraham passed the test by showing his willingness to offer up his son, he finally did address God. He began by reminding God that until this point he had not said a word, he had been willing to follow God’s original instructions to the bitter end. Then he goes on to say that this show of faith on his part should provide the Jewish people with an eternal merit to rely upon any time in the future when they require God’s compassion (Bereishit Rabbah 56:15).
Once we understand the import of this Midrash, we can understand Abraham’s silence in a completely different manner. Although Abraham and Isaac were willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of God, Abraham intuited that God could not possibly want him to sacrifice his son; this must merely be a test. However, he realized that to demonstrate his great faith in God’s compassion he must not question God’s actions outright, this would in a sense be failing the test. Instead, he must remain silent. Paradoxically, God actually wanted Abraham to plead for Sodom in order to teach him that he was responsible for the entire world, yet when it came to Isaac’s life, he wished Abraham to remain silent to demonstrate his faith that God would not ultimately ask for Isaac’s sacrifice. Such a show of faith in God’s compassion would, Abraham believed, “corner” God, as it were, into always showing compassion for the Jewish people.
The notion that God allows, and even rejoices when, the Jewish people somehow bend Him to their will is reflected in a profound story in the Talmud (Bava Metzia 59b). When Rabbi Eliezer and the Sages disputed the ritual purity of a certain oven, Rabbi Eliezer invoked a number of miracles to prove his correctness. The Sages were unimpressed. Even when Rabbi Eliezer invoked a heavenly voice declaring him correct, they objected by quoting the verse stating that the Torah “is not in heaven” (Deuteronomy 30:12). Citing Scripture to refute God, they audaciously argued that once God had given the Torah to the Jewish people, He had relinquished His right to determine Jewish law, which is now to be decided by a majority vote of the Sages and not by miracles or even by a Divine voice descending from heaven. Later one of the Sages met Elijah the prophet and asked him how God had reacted to this argument. He replied that God had laughed and stated: “My sons have defeated me. My sons have defeated me.”
Above we learned how each test Abraham passed gave God strength, as it were, to forgive Israel for testing him ten times during their sojourn in the desert. Indeed, we saw that Abraham’s merit even provided God with ammunition to justify the creation of humankind (“The Ten Tests of Abraham – The Ten Tests of God”). However, in this section Abraham’s ability to remain silent and pass the test takes on even greater dimensions as it actually enables him to test God and “force” Him, as it were, to commit to showing the Jewish people compassion in the future. Perhaps, this is why only this dual test is explicitly labeled a test by the Torah.
This notwithstanding, the notion that Abraham tested God and, so to speak, forced Him into acting in a certain way, is still difficult to comprehend. Indeed, it runs counter to the fundamental principle taught by the Sages that we are not allowed to test God. Yet every rule has its exception. Tradition teaches that although we are not allowed to test God by conditioning our behavior on His actions or vice versa – promising to act in a certain way, if He does something for us, or demanding that He act in a certain way, if we do something for Him – this rule interestingly does not apply when it comes to tithing. The prophet Malachi (3:10) explicitly promised in God’s name that those who give of their wealth to the poor and the downtrodden, would have God’s treasure house of wealth opened for their benefit. Commenting on this verse, the Sages taught that Malachi’s promise on this matter could be tested.
In the Talmud (Ta’anit 9b), it is related that Choni Hama’agel drew a circle around himself during a great drought and seemingly tested God by declaring that he would not leave this circle until rain fell. While God answered Choni’s prayers, the Sages were furious that Choni tested God, seemingly forcing Him to provide rain. However, ultimately they realized that a particularly righteous man like Choni could test God in this way because he was like a son in the chamber of a king. His father, the king, would wish to grant his every request. Just as God wanted to awaken Abraham’s sense of responsibility for the world when he prayed for Sodom, God wanted to awaken Abraham’s compassion for his descendants by having him undergo Akeidat Yitzchak. By compelling Abraham to confront and validate his faith in God’s ultimate goodness and compassion for His children, Abraham was forced to realize the importance of God continuing to act this way in the future toward his descendants. This gave him the courage to, as it were, force God to promise to deal with the Jews compassionately. Abraham’s silence was his strength and his deep wisdom, a result of the definitive flowering of his devotion and love of God.
