“The angel of the Lord called to him from the heavens, and said: Abraham, Abraham. He said: Here I am” (Genesis 22:11). “The angel of the Lord called to him from the heavens, and said: Abraham, Abraham” –Rabbi Ḥiyya taught: This32Repeating a person’s name twice. is an expression of affection, [and] an expression of exhortation.33In this case, an exhortation not to harm Isaac. Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov said: [It also denotes that it is] for him and for future generations.34The actions of the person referred to in this manner are reflected in the future as well, as the Midrash goes on to explain.
There is no generation in which there is not someone like Abraham; there is no generation in which there is not someone like Jacob; there is no generation in which there is not someone like Moses; there is no generation in which there is not someone like Samuel.35These are the four people whose names are doubled in Tanakh. “He said: Do not extend your hand against the lad, and do not do anything to him, for now I know that you are God-fearing, and you did not withhold your son, your only one, from Me” (Genesis 22:12).
“He said: Do not extend your hand [against the lad]” – and where was the knife?36It would have been more expected for God to have said: ‘Do not wield that knife against your son,’ since it was with the knife that Abraham had planned to kill Isaac. Three tears fell from the ministering angels and destroyed the knife. He [Abraham] then said to Him: ‘[Since I no longer have the knife], I will strangle him.’
He [God] then said to him: “Do not extend your hand against the lad.” He [Abraham] said to Him: ‘I will extract from him a drop of blood.’ He said to him: “Do not do anything [me’uma] to him” – do not inflict any blemish [muma] on him. “For now I know” – I have made it known to everyone that you love Me.
“You did not withhold [your son, your only one [yeḥidekha]]…” – so that one should not say that any ills that are external to one’s body are not really ills;37Let it not be said that Abraham’s readiness to sacrifice his son was not the ultimate act of submission because it did not affect Abraham’s own body. rather, I ascribe credit to you as if I had said to you: ‘Sacrifice yourself,’ and you did not refuse.38Yaḥid is sometimes used as a reference to the soul. When God said that Abraham did not withhold yeḥidekha, he was referring to his own life.