Parshat Vayeira - Choices
by Rabbi Lobel

“Please take your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac. Go to the land of Moriah, and bring him up there as an offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell you.” (Genesis 22:1) This was Abraham's final and ultimate test.

As Isaac and Abraham approached Mount Moriah, Isaac asked: “Behold, I see the fire and wood, but where is the sheep for the offering?” Abraham answers, “G-d will provide the sheep for the offering.” Many commentaries explain (See Rashi 1040 – 1105; Genesis 22:8) that Isaac understood he was the one to be offered. Yet, Isaac did not protest, as the Torah says “and the two of them went together.” (Genesis 22: 7 – 8)

Rabbeinu Bechaya (13 th Century; Genesis 22:7) inquires, Who had the more difficult test? Was it Abraham who had to slaughter his son? Or Isaac, who allowed himself to be slaughtered?

Rabbeinu Bechaya concludes, Abraham had the more difficult task; it is easier for one to sacrifice his life than to live with the uncertainty and terrible consequences of the choices he made.

Though Abraham knew for certain it was G-d's will, the Medrah Rabba (400 CE – 600 CE; Bereishis Rabba 56:4) records an actual conversation between Abraham and Satan, which portrays the true difficulty of Abraham's choice:

Samoel (Satan) approached Abraham and said, “Old man, old man, have you lost your mind? The son that was given to you at one hundred years of age you are going to slaughter?”

Abraham answers, “In spite of this, I will slaughter Isaac.”

Satan retorts, “Tomorrow, G-d will test you harshly again. Do you think you will be able to pass?”

Abraham stands firm and says, “Let the tests keep coming.”

Satan argues, “Tomorrow, G-d will say you are liable for murder, you killed Isaac.”

Abraham responds, “In spite of this, I will slaughter Isaac.”

Despite knowing he was following G-d's will, could Abraham ever be absolutely certain he was doing the right thing and would never regret having not done something differently? Simply put, Abraham would have to “live with his choice.”

We have all made life-altering decisions that impact ourselves and the people around us. We have all later pondered if we did the right thing, never truly knowing whether we made the right choice. As we learn from Abraham, the uncertainty is normal. We also learn that, so long as we endeavor to do what's best and not only what's best for us, we'll be okay.