Abraham during the Akeidah is often brought as the prime example of a man with unshakeable faith. Abraham, according both scholarly and popular imaginations, is viewed as being enthusiastic and unhesitating in rising to fulfill of G-d’s divine command to sacrifice his son Isaac despite the command giving rise to a deep moral quandary and causing immeasurable personal loss.
However, a close reading of Rashi’s commentary on the Akedah appears to reveal an Abraham being at times reluctant and questioning, even defiant, in the face of G-d’s command.
A number of commentators have picked up on this as well. One such commentator is Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz in his work Shnei Luchot Habrit (R’ Horowitz was born in Prague around 1565, served as Rabbi in many prominent pulpits in Europe before making Aliyah in 1621.)
R’ Horowitz points out that, according to Rashi’s commentary in Ber. 22:5 and 22:8, Abraham appears to wish for Isaac’s death to not take place, and even criticize G-d for requesting such a thing. As we will see below, R’ Horowitz is deeply troubled by such a reading.
In this Sefaria sourcesheet, I propose an alternative solution to his questions on Rashi, and suggest a general approach on how Rashi uses midrash to bring froward emotional subtext lying beneath the surface of the text.
Akedat Yitzhak Takes 