97 — Knife to Meet You: The Akeidah’s Cutting Insight

Our Gemara on Amud Beis quotes a proof text that a knife must be used to slaughter the Olah sacrifice:

“Slaughtering may be performed only with a knife and not with a sharp stone or reed. The Gemara asks: And with regard to a burnt offering itself, from where do we derive that it must be slaughtered with a knife? This is learned from that which is written: ‘And Abraham stretched forth his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son’ (Bereishis 22:10); and there Abraham was offering a burnt offering, as it is written: ‘And offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son’ (22:13).”

The Gemara considers Yitschok to be an Olah sacrifice, and therefore whatever verse was used to describe his process of offering can also apply to the ram that was brought in his place.

The verse, “Offered it up for a burnt offering in place of his son,” has a redundancy. Given the storyline, it is obvious that the ram was being brought as an offering in place of Yitschok. Why does the Torah emphasize “in place of his son”? Rashi (ibid.) notes this and quotes the Midrash Rabbah (56:9):

“Since it is written, ‘He offered it up for a burnt offering,’ surely nothing is missing in the text; what then is the force of ‘in the stead of his son’? At every sacrificial act he performed on it he prayed saying, ‘May it be Thy will that this act be regarded as having been done to my son—as though my son is being slain; as though his blood is being sprinkled; as though his skin were being flayed; as though he is being burnt and reduced to ashes.’”

It seems that according to........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)