27 Oct VAYERA: YES, IT’S WORTH IT!

Toward the end of
Parashat Vayera, we
read the famous story
of Akedat Yitzchak –
where Avraham Avinu
was commanded to offer his beloved son,
Yitzchak, as a sacrifice upon the altar. At
the last moment, as Avraham held the knife
over Yitzchak, prepared to slaughter him
in fulfillment of G-d’s command, an angel
called out to Avraham and told him to desist,
explaining that the command was merely a
test of Avraham’s devotion to Hashem.
The Zohar, in a fascinating passage, adds a
remarkable component to this story – one
which sheds light on one of the critical lessons
that it teaches us.
When Yitzchak saw the knife about to descend
upon his neck, the Zohar tells, he, in a sense,
died. His soul departed. He was then given a
new soul, and came back to life. Yitzchak was
the first to recite the Beracha of “Mechayeh
Ha’metim” – praising Hashem who restores
life to the dead, and for this reason the
second blessing of the Amida prayer, which
corresponds to Yitzchak – the second of
patriarchs – concludes with this Beracha.
This replacement of Yitzchak’s soul laid
the foundations of the emergence of the

Jewish Nation. Yitzchak’s original soul was
incapable of begetting children, but this new
soul was. It turns out, then, that it was only
because of Akedat Yitzchak that Yitzchak was
able to produce offspring.
This gives us an entirely new perspective on
the story of the Akeda, and its relevance to
our lives.
When Avraham received the command to
slaughter to Yitzchak, he did not understand
how G-d could instruct him to do such a
thing. After all, G-d had earlier told him, “Ki
Be’Yitzchak Yikareh Lecha Zara” – that his
line would continue through Yitzchak, and not
through his first son, Yishmael (21:12). How,
Avraham wondered, could G-d assure him
that Yitzchak would be heir to his covenant
with G-d, and the father of the nation destined
to emerge from him, and then command
offering him as a sacrifice before he had a
child? Avraham did not understand. It seemed
that offering Yitzchak on the altar marked the
end of G-d’s promise, as it would prevent the
birth of Am Yisrael.
In truth, however, fulfilling this command
is precisely what enabled Yitzchak to have
children. Had Avraham refused to obey, in the
interest of assuring that Yitzchak would father
the great nation that Hashem had promised – it

would not have happened. It was specifically
by fulfilling G-d’s command, which entailed
doing something that appeared to sabotage
the process of Am Yisrael’s emergence, that
Am Yisrael in fact emerged.
The Midrash teaches that G-d implores us,
“Obey Me, because nobody obeys Me and
loses.” We never lose by following Hashem’s
will, by observing the Mitzvot.
We often find ourselves tested the way
Avraham was, as a Mitzva appears detrimental
to us. Many times, we face a situation where
doing the right thing seems to work against
us and our best interests. Staying in bed
instead of getting up for Minyan is more
comfortable and convenient. Avoiding places
where we know we should not be might cost
us social points. Dressing, speaking and
acting the way we know we should might
invite ridicule. Adhering to the Torah’s strict
ethical standards could cost us profitable
opportunities. So often, the right thing to do
seems to hurt us.
But even when this is true in the short-term,
it is never true in the long-term. Whatever
sacrifice we need to make here in the present
to remain faithful to our Torah values is more
than worth it, because Hashem guarantees
us that in the long run, we only benefit from

obeying His commands.
Rav Nachman of Breslav (1772-1810) taught
that when a person feels himself becoming
angry, he should imagine that Hashem is
about to give him an enormous fortune – but
he must earn it by restraining his anger. The
person thinks that shouting and insulting
is the right response to the situation – but
by doing so, he will forfeit the inestimable
future rewards that are promised to those who
control their anger.
This can be applied to all the many religious
challenges that we face on a day-to-day
basis. When we feel tempted to compromise
our principles, we should remember the

lesson of Akedat Yishak – that the short-
term benefits we sacrifice to obey Hashem

are far surpassed by the long-term benefits of
obedience.