An exploration on the Binding of Isaac
I really, really enjoyed the article (link) entitled “The Binding of Isaac and Historical Contextuality” by Dr. Chayuta Deutsh on the Akedah. This is a nice review of the diversity of traditional Jewish approaches to the ethical issues raised by the Akedah, and particularly great for me, and I think many traditional Jewish readers out…
Bereshit 22:12 states: וַיֹּ֗אמֶר אַל־תִּשְׁלַ֤ח יָֽדְךָ֙ אֶל־הַנַּ֔עַר וְאַל־תַּ֥עַשׂ ל֖וֹ מְא֑וּמָּה כִּ֣י ׀ עַתָּ֣ה יָדַ֗עְתִּי כִּֽי־יְרֵ֤א אֱלֹהִים֙ אַ֔תָּה וְלֹ֥א חָשַׂ֛כְתָּ אֶת־בִּנְךָ֥ אֶת־יְחִידְךָ֖ מִמֶּֽנִּי׃ And he said, “Do not raise your hand against the boy, or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear Gd, since you have not withheld your son, your favored…
Most Rabbinic commentators of the Chumash (midrashic, medieval, and later periods) are of the opinion that Isaac during the Akedah is a fully grown adult who, once he figured out that he was going to be the sacrifice, became a willing participant in the ordeal. (For a summary of the various opinions regarding Isaac’s age,…
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Rabbi Dr. Kenichi (Elitzur) Hartman is a rabbi-without-porfolio and ex-Neuroscientist working as a US Patent Agent. He has lived in the San Francisco Bay area, Tokyo, Boston, and New York, and currently resides in Israel. He received semicha (rabbinic ordination) from Yeshivat Pirchei Shoshanim in 2008. He also has a Ph.D. in Neurobiology from Harvard University.
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Akedat Yitzhak Takes