12 Nov PARASHAT VAYERA: NOT LETTING IT GET TO OUR HEADS

The Torah in
Parashat Vayera
tells the famous
story of “Akedat
Yishak,” when G-d
tested Abraham by commanding him to
slaughter his only son, which was born
when he was 100 years old, as a sacrifice.
Abraham took Yishak and traveled
together with his other son, Yishmael,
and his servant, Eliezer. When Abraham
saw the site of Mount Moriah from afar,
he told Yishmael and Eliezer to wait
for him while he and Yishak proceed.
Abraham prepared the altar, and after he
lifted the knife in preparation to sacrifice
his son, an angel came and instructed
him to withdraw the knife. The angel
informed Abraham that he would be
receiving great reward for his devotion
to G-d, for being willing to go so far as
to sacrifice his only son in fulfillment of
the divine command.
The story of Akedat Yishak ends with
the verse, “Abraham returned to his
lads [Yishmael and Eliezer], and they

arose and went together to Be’er Sheba,
and Abraham resided in Be’er Sheba”
(22:19). The significant word in this
verse is “Yahdav” – “together.” This
word implies not only that Avraham and
Yishak traveled together with Yishmael
and Eliezer, but also that there was some
level of parity between them, that they
all resembled each other as they traveled.
“Yahdav” suggests a kind of similarity,
that all four men journeyed in the same
manner and with the same mindset. It has
been explained that just as Yishmael and
Eliezer returned to Be’er Sheba without
feeling special or important, Abraham
and Yishak likewise traveled home with
a feeling of ordinariness. Although they
had both just done something spectacular,
displaying their devotion to G-d in a way
that can hardly be matched, showing that
they were prepared to make the ultimate
sacrifice to G-d, for which they were
promised great reward for themselves
and for their descendants, nevertheless,
they traveled “together” with Yishmael
and Eliezer. They did not sense any
feeling of importance or special stature.

They humbly conducted
themselves as ordinary
people, traveling together
with Yishmael and Eliezer
as though they were
regular, simple men.
The lesson for us, of
course, is that we must
not let the good deeds we
perform get to our heads.
Thank G-d, we all have
many achievements to our
credit, and a lot to be proud
of. But we learn from
Abraham and Yishak that
even after one achieves
the greatest level of all, he
must remain humble and
unassuming. If Abraham
and Yishak were able to
travel “together” with Yishmael and
Eliezer after an experience such as the
Akeda, then certainly, we must remain
“normal” and unassuming after our far
more modest achievements. We must
not boast or expect special treatment

just because we acted nobly. Instead, we
should quietly feel pride, and proceed
onward with life ready to embrace the
next challenge that comes our way and
committed to continue working to do the
very best we can and achieve to the very
best of our ability.