Every morning we rush through the akedah, the "binding of Isaac."
Every morning we miss the flavor of the relationship between Abraham and his grown son Isaac.
I used to miss the relationship as well.
And then I became a father of a boy (who now is sneaking up on 40 years old).
The words suddenly had meaning. They still have meaning, at least for me.
Different drummers I once asked a rabbi, who also had sons, if the akedah had a deeper meaning than before he became a father. "No," he replied, and I wondered to myself what type father he is to his children.
The stage is set The second sentence of the akedah
sets the stage. HaShem doesn't tell Abraham to "take your son" but asks Abraham by adding one word - נא - "please." We are given to understand that Isaac is your only son - את-יחידך, the son you love - אשר-אהבת - - and it that isn't sufficient, the son is specified by name - את-יצחק.
Now fast forward to the part where the two young men - one allegedly is Ishmael who Sara caused to be banished - are left behind when Abraham tells them he and Isaac will continue, make a sacrifice, and "we" - נשובה - will return to them.
Abraham packs the kindling on Isaac's back (it's OK, Isaac is in his 30s at this point) and he takes the fire and the knife and they start walking together. At one time I misread - something I often do - the word יחדו (together) as ידו (hand-in-hand). If you don't think two adult males ever walk "hand-in-hand," let me disabuse you of that idea, especially in father-son (and father-in-law/son-in-law) relationships.
Where's the sacrifice? This apparently is not the first time Isaac has been involved with sacrificial animals so he asks his father
"my father" - "MY father" not just "father" - and Abraham answers "Here I am, my son." Not just "Yeah" or "I'm listening" but "here I am, my son." You have my attention, you are special, you are my son.
Isaac notes that they have the fire and the wood but they lack have the sacrifice. (Interesting that Isaac fails to mention the המאכלת, the knife.) Abraham replies that HaShem will provide the sacrifice, and the Torah notes that וילכו שניהם יחדו (they walked both of them - שניהם - together).
Just a story? The akedah may be just a "סיפור םבתא" - tale to make several points. The haredim will argue that since it's in the Torah it is absolutely true. I am not a Torah scholar so I won't debate the issue.
To me the story - fact or fiction - tells of the love of a son for his father and, if one can set aside the fact that the father apparently was willing to sacrifice his son - and that is a big "fact" to set aside - the love of a father for his son.
Maybe Abraham had confidence that HaShem was testing him when he told Abraham "Go to the land of Moreah and offer up Isaac as an offering."
There was no question about HaShem's instructions.
Meanwhile, I'll focus on the relationship of a son and is father, a closeness and a trustfulness that still moves me when I can take the time to read - and think about - the story.
While looking for a suitable graphic I found a computer game called "The Binding of Isaac." The description tells me the game's author, or at least the person writing the marketing blurb, never read the original story. The promo reads: A Biblically-inspired dual-joystick shooter where players take control of Isaac, a young boy who is running from his deranged mother, whose delusions lead her to believe God wants her son dead. Isaac has to navigate multiple floors of his basement - fighting enemies; bosses; and eventually, his mother.
