Parshas Lech Lecha

We arrive, this week at one of the most dramatic events in all of the Torah � Akeidas

Yitzchak/the binding of Yitzchak. After about a whole century of not having a child with Sarah, unsure of who will take up the mantle of the Jewish People after Avraham, Hashem gives him and Sarah the child they have been waiting for with a promise. Hashem promises them that their son, Yitzchak, will be numerous like the stars in the night sky. A promise so

amazing yet seemingly ended so abruptly with the amazing request in Bereishes: “And He

said, ‘Take, please ( ), your son, your only one, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the

land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt-offering on one of the mountains, which I will Women’s Class – “In the footsteps of our

tell you'”. A request so ostensibly confusing on so many levels libraries of books can be

written on this verse alone. Yet one word stands out among the others. A word that can’t be freely found in the other commands Hashem gave to Moshe and the Jews throughout the Torah: � please.

Rashi explains: “Take, please (): [The word] ‘na’ is nothing other than a language of request. [God] said to him: ‘I request of you, stand by Me in this test, so that they [people] will not say, “There was no substance in the first tests.”‘” A great explanation but we are still left with more questions. Why would people say, “there was no substance in the first tests”

and why would sacrificing his son change their minds?

The answer lies precisely in the paradoxical nature of this final test. When people see the other tests that spanned Avraham leaving his idol-ridden home and birthplace to jumping in

the fiery furnace to give up his life to sanctify Hashem’s Name, they see Avraham listening to Sweet Saturday Night Cakepop Hashem because it makes sense. To leave a bad influence makes sense and even to give up his Workshop

life rather than betray the Creator of the world is logical. But to sacrifice his son, especially Cakepop Workshop led by Melissa Allen

when he was promised by Hashem that his son would be the father of a great nation? To

listen here would be to show Avraham listened to Hashem even when it didn’t make sense to 7:45 PM (Shabbos ends at 6:29 PM)

him. When all he had to rely on is trust. And it was that trust that would show everyone that Location: Sarasota Jewish Center, 6981 all of the other tests were not because it was logical but because it was the Divine will of his Curtiss Ave Suite 1, Sarasota, FL 34231

Creator.

In life we are sometimes confronted with big questions both philosophically and emotionally. BBQ at

They knock at the foundation, the very bedrock of who we are. But if we stand strong, not only will we grow from trusting in our loving Creator that he has our best interests at heart, but we will solidify our foundation, enabling us to grow and reach eve higher heights.