Midrash Aggadah Reader

"And the two angels came to Sodom" (Genesis 19:1). From here you learn that they did not go to Sodom until He had finished speaking with Abraham. And why in the evening? So that the men of Sodom should not see them. "And Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom" — so that if a person should pass by from there, he might receive him.

"In the third month." Everything was threefold. The Torah is threefold: Torah, Prophets, and Writings. The Mishnah is threefold: halakhot, midrash, and aggadot. The intermediary was threefold: Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. Three times one prays: evening, morning, and noon. Three times they say, "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Hosts." Israel, who received the Torah, are threefold: Kohanim, Levites, and Israelites. The patriarchs are threefold: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The days are threefold, as it is said, "Be ready for three days" (verse 15). The months are threefold, as it is said, "in the third month." Another interpretation: "In the third month." This is Sivan, which is the third of the months, and the Torah was given to Israel by means of a third one. "On this day they came to the wilderness of Sinai." Let the covenant be cut in your eyes as if on this very day you received the Torah. And this is what is said, "Not with our fathers did the LORD cut this covenant" (Deuteronomy 5:3).

"For they have indeed come under the shadow of my roof" (Genesis 19:8). This teaches that his wife said to him: The people of the city have refrained from receiving guests, and you bring them into the house? Do you wish that they kill you and kill me? And if you want to receive them, divide the house with me, and let the guests be in your portion. Therefore it is said, "under the shadow of my roof."

"And Moses brought back the words of the people." He answered them with words that settle their heart. Another interpretation: "And Moses brought back." It would have been fitting to say, "And Moses told the words of [the people]," etc., for we do not find that he told the people what the Holy One, blessed be He, had said to him. Israel said to him, "We do not want [this]." And Moses was afraid to tell the Holy One, blessed be He, that He would tell him to say it another time, and they would not believe me, lest he be smitten with leprosy as he was smitten at the bush. And this is what people say: "He whom a snake has bitten is frightened by a rope." The Holy One, blessed be He, answered him: I know what you wish to say, "so that the people may hear when I speak with you." Moses answered before the Holy One, blessed be He, and said: Master of the worlds, may Your praise and Your remembrance be blessed and exalted, for You search hearts and kidneys and know the hidden things; You knew what is in the heart of Your servant. At that hour he told Him the words of the people, as it is written: "And Moses told the words of the people to the LORD."

"And they said, 'Stand back'" (Genesis 19:9). When he [Lot] said to them a thing that was pleasing in their eyes, as it is said, "Behold now, I have two daughters" (Genesis 19:8), [and at the moment when he was saying to them words that were not pleasing to them], they said to him, "This one came to sojourn, and he would surely judge" (Genesis 19:9) — immediately they were struck with blindness. "And the men said to Lot, 'Whom else have you here?'" (Genesis 19:12). This teaches that they [the angels] were pleading advocacy the entire night, until they came to that matter.

"For we are destroying this place" (Genesis 19:13). And because they revealed the secret of the Holy One, blessed be He, they were banished from their enclosure until Jacob came. And concerning them it is said, "And behold, the angels of God ascending and descending on it" (Genesis 28:12) — those who had been banished from their enclosure.

"And the men seized his hand" (Genesis 19:16). They said to him: It is enough for you that you yourself are saved. Therefore they said: In the condemned city, the wealth of the righteous who are within it is lost. "the LORD being merciful unto him" (Genesis 19:16). Because the Holy One, blessed be He, had compassion upon Lot for the sake of Abraham; for when Abraham went down to Egypt, Lot did not reveal Abraham's secret — that he had said, "She is my sister." Therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, had compassion upon him and saved him. Concerning Abraham, washing is mentioned before lodging, and concerning Lot, lodging is mentioned before washing. Abraham, who was scrupulous about the filth of idolatry, placed washing before lodging; Lot, who was not scrupulous about the filth of idolatry, placed lodging before washing.

"And he said: Escape for your life" (Genesis 19:17). It does not say "and they said," but rather "and he said," for one angel does not perform two missions, nor do two angels [perform] a single mission. For those two angels who came, one [came] to save Lot and the second to overturn Sodom. The one to save Lot — who is he? This is Raphael. "Do not look behind you" — because the Shekhinah descends to Sodom, and one whose heart lusts for fornication does not see the face of the Shekhinah. "Escape to the mountain" — go to Abraham, and you shall be saved.

"And it is a little one" (Genesis 19:20). For its settlement was not equal to that of Sodom, since the settlement of Sodom was fifty-two years, and the settlement of Tzoar was fifty-one years, as it is said, "let me escape (na) there" (Genesis 19:20) — and "na" in gematria is fifty-one. Therefore it was called Tzoar, and it was younger [tze'irah] in its settlement and in its iniquities.

"And Lot came to Zoar (Tzo'arah)." So was Zoar lesser in the reckoning of 365, corresponding to the 365 days that make one year, for its settlement was less than Sodom's; and therefore Tzo'arah is written lacking a vav, corresponding to the six hours by which the solar year exceeds the lunar year, which is 365 and six hours, neither less nor more. "For I cannot do anything" (Genesis 19:22). Because the worshippers of the sun say to the worshippers of the moon: had it been at night, when our god rules, this would not have been done to us; and likewise the worshippers of the moon say: had it been our god, this would not have been done to us. And concerning the two of them it is said, "Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed" (Isaiah 24:23). And what did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He smote them on the sixteenth of Nisan, when the sun and the moon stand together in the firmament, and this is what is written, "The sun was risen upon the earth" (Genesis 19:23). "From the LORD." It should have said "from Me," but it means: from His court (beit din).

"And He overturned those cities" (Genesis 19:25). These cities were all sitting upon a single rock, and with one finger the angel overturned them, as it is said: "He puts forth his hand upon the flinty rock; he overturns the mountains by the roots" (Job 28:9). Do not read it "ba-challamish" ("upon the flinty rock"), but rather "ba-chamesh yad" ("with the five [fingers] of the hand").

"And his wife looked behind him" - After the angel said, "Do not look behind you" - Her soul was stirred regarding her daughters that remained in Sodom "And she became a piller of salt" - Due to her having sinner with salt. How? In that on that night on which the angels came to Lot's house, she went to her neighbors' places with pretext to ask for salt. Her neighbors said to her, "And why do you need salt? Didn't you know that you were short on salt to got and take salt while it was still daytime?" She said to them, "We didn't need salt until guests came to us." And therefore, the people of Sodom knew about the angel that came to Lot's house.

"And God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out" (Genesis 19:29). And what remembrance was there? Because Lot knew concerning Sarah that she was Abraham's wife, and he did not reveal it; therefore he was saved through that merit, for he had done kindness with Abraham.

"On that night" (Genesis 19:33). The Holy One, blessed be He, agreed with her. When she lay with her father he did not know, and when she arose he understood. Therefore it is written, "and when she arose" (Genesis 19:33), with a dot. And he should have stood and guarded himself not to drink wine on the second night, yet he did not guard himself. But concerning the arising of the younger daughter it is not dotted, because she guarded herself so that her father would not become aware of her.

"Ben-Ammi" [son of my people] — because she concealed her father and said that he was only "from my people." And because the elder daughter exposed her father [naming her son Moab, "from the father"] while the younger one concealed him, therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, "Distress not Moab, neither contend with them in battle" (Deuteronomy 2:9) — specifically war, no; but angaria [forced requisition] you may impose upon them. So Israel would go to the cities of Moab armed, and when the Moabites saw them armed, they would flee and leave behind everything that they had, and Israel would come and plunder them. But concerning the children of Ammon He warned them, and said, "do not contend with them in battle" at all.

"Lord, will You slay a nation, even though righteous?" (Genesis 20:4). You suppose concerning me that I am a [mere] nation, and so You say, "Behold, you are a dead man" (Genesis 20:3); but I am nothing other than righteous, and if You slay me, You would be slaying a righteous man. Another interpretation: "Will You slay a nation, even (gam) the righteous?" If You slay me, slay Abraham, for it was he who caused me to take her, as it is said, "Did he not himself say to me, 'She is my sister'?" (Genesis 20:5). And she too should be slain, for she said, "He is my brother." And what is the meaning of "even" (gam)? Even her maidservants — I asked them whether she was his sister, and they all said, "He is her brother."

"For in the simplicity of your heart you have done this" (Genesis 20:6) — that you thought she was his sister, because you asked everyone and they said, "She is his sister." But you did not act with the cleanness of your hands, for a guest who comes to a city — one questions him about matters of eating and drinking, or one questions him about matters of his wife. "And I also withheld you from sinning against Me" (Genesis 20:6). A parable: like a man riding upon a horse, with a child thrown down before it. They all began to say, "How great was the understanding in this horse, that it did not trample the child!" They all began to praise the horse. The man riding upon the horse said to them, "Do not praise the horse — were it not that I drew back the rein and did not let it go forward, it would have trampled him." And so the Holy One, blessed be He, said: Let no person praise Abimelech that he did not touch Sarah; rather, let all praise Me, who warned him. Therefore it is said, "And I also withheld" etc. Abimelech said to the Holy One, blessed be He, "And who will inform Abraham that I did not touch her?" The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, "For he is a prophet" (Genesis 20:7).

"You shall not take the name [of the LORD your God in vain]" (Exodus 20:7) — that you should not conduct yourself as though you were pious when you are not pious. And there was an incident concerning a certain man who entered a city on the eve of the Sabbath and did not know anyone, and he had a purse full of small coins. He saw a certain convert sitting in the synagogue, wrapping himself in tzitzit, with tefillin bound upon his head. That man saw him and supposed that he was a great man, because he saw these commandments, and he deposited his purse with him. After the Sabbath he asked him for it. He said to him, "There never were any such things." He began to grieve and said, "Master of the worlds, it is revealed and known before You that I did not hand over my money to him as a deposit except that I saw upon him these commandments." At night Elijah the prophet came to him in a dream and said to him, "Tomorrow go to his wife and say to her, 'Give me my purse,' and if she says to you, 'By what sign?' say to her, 'By the sign that she and her husband ate leaven on the first night of Passover, and on the night of the Day of Atonement, swine's flesh.'" In the morning this man rose early before the wife of the robber and conveyed to her these signs, and she gave him the purse. The robber came to his wife and asked her for the purse. She said to him, "The owner of the purse came and took the purse, and such-and-such signs he conveyed to me." He said to her, "Since the matter has become known, let us return to our evil deeds." And such is the punishment of those who do thus.

"Only there is no fear of God in this place" (Genesis 20:11) — and if they know that she is my wife, they will kill me on her account. And Abraham also said to him: Why do you blame me, that if I had said she is my wife and not my sister — for had you known she was my wife you would not have taken her; and even though I said to you "she is my sister," you should have considered regarding me that perhaps she is my wife — so why [did you take her]? And even were it true that she is my sister, I was able to marry her, since she is my sister on the father's side and not on the mother's side.

"And she became my wife" (Genesis 20:12). And since you did not ask me whether she is my sister, the daughter of my father or the daughter of my mother, [but rather] you yourself took her in marriage — from this you learn that she is not my wife. And as for what you said, that she is my sister, she too said so; do not place guilt upon her.

"Behold." The silver that I have given to Abraham — about whom you say, "He is my brother" — for this I gave it to him: that he should buy you with it a covering of the eyes, so that all will know that you are a noblewoman, and they will not ask thus. And therefore it is said, "and to all that are with thee, and with all, and she was reproved" (Genesis 20:16). And whoever asks about you, "Is she his wife?" — be careful that you no longer speak so, lest they cause you to stumble among people. Another interpretation: "Behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes." If you concealed from me, in that he said "She is my sister" and she said "He is my brother" — therefore you shall have a son who will be for you a covering of the eyes. And therefore the Sages, of blessed memory, said: Let not the curse of a common man be light in your eyes. And because Abimelech cursed Sarah, in that he said to her, "May you have a son who will be a covering of the eyes for you," therefore "And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, his eyes were dim" (Genesis 27:1).

"For the LORD had fast closed up ('atzor 'atzar, lit. 'closing, He had closed')." Why is the closing-up doubled? Because they could neither pass water, nor relieve themselves, nor emit any semen at all. "Because of Sarah" — when Sarah would say to the angels, "Strike Abimelech," they would strike him; and when she would say to them, "Let him be," they would let him be. And from where do you say that Abimelech was stricken with great plagues, just as Pharaoh was stricken? And likewise, from where do you say that Pharaoh was stricken with closing-up, just as Abimelech was stricken? "Because of" / "because of" — by a verbal analogy (gezerah shavah).

"You shall not make [gods] with Me." Not in the likeness of the sun, nor the form of the orb, nor the form of the moon. Another interpretation: "You shall not make with Me" any image whatsoever, as it is written, "And to whom will you liken Me" and so on (Isaiah 40:25), but rather "an altar of earth (adamah) you shall make for Me." Another interpretation: "an altar of earth," and so on. Do not read it "an altar of earth (adamah)," but rather "an altar of the blood (dam) of circumcision." For today Israel is in their exiles, and anyone to whom the Holy One, blessed be He, gives a son and who circumcises him on the eighth day, it is as if he built an altar to the Lord and offered up upon it a burnt offering. Therefore it is said, "an altar of earth." Another interpretation: "altar" (mizbe'ach): Mem stands for milah (circumcision); Zayin for "Remember Your servants, Abraham, Isaac (and Israel) [and Jacob]" (Deuteronomy 9:27); Bet for berakhah (blessing); Chet for chayyim (life). And the altar must be built so that one does not wield iron upon it, for the Holy One, blessed be He, said: Let not the sword that slays human beings be wielded upon the altar that atones for the iniquities of Israel.

"And you shall not go up by steps upon My altar." For the ramp resembles a kind of board. "That your nakedness be not uncovered upon it." For the priests would go up upon it heel beside big toe, for if they were to widen their steps, their nakedness would be seen. Another interpretation: "And you shall not go up by steps (ma'alot)." Do not read it "ma'alot" (steps) but "me'ilot" (acts of misappropriation), that is to say: if there is in your hand anything misappropriated, by which the priest committed trespass, he shall not go up. "Your nakedness shall not be uncovered upon it." And do not bring it near My altar to offer, for I will not accept it, and it will uncover your nakedness before all Israel who stand below and watch; for if the offering is not accepted, the smoke does not rise like a column. "You shall not go up." You shall not bring in, like "a thorn that goes up into the hand of a drunkard" (Proverbs 26:9). And is it possible that it "goes up"? Rather, when he is drunk he stretches out his hand toward the thorns, and the thorn enters his hand and pains him.

"And they wept for Aaron thirty days, all the House of Israel" (Numbers 20:29): What is stated about Aaron is greater than what is stated about Moses. As regarding Moses, only the men wept for him, but regarding Aaron, the men and the women wept for him - since he was one that pursued peace and loved peace, and restored peace between a man and his wife, and between a man and his fellow. This is [the meaning of] that which is written (Malachi 2:6), "He walked with Me in peace and justice, and brought many back from iniquity."

And what did Aaron do? When he heard that two men or a man and his wife were arguing, he would go to one of them and say to him, "Your fellow came to me and is distraught in his heart that he angered you; so he cajoled me that I should come to you [and get your forbearance], so that he [can] come to you and be forgiven by you." And Aaron would not leave from there until he would remove all the hatred in his heart and bring peace between them.

Then he would leave. And when he (the one with which Aaron had spoken) met his fellow, they would immediately love and embrace each other and kiss each other. And so was it during all the days of Aaron, peace be upon him; and such was his trait. When he heard that there was an argument between a man and his wife, he would not leave them until they made peace.

Hence the men and the women wept for Aaron, but only the males wept for our teacher Moses, peace be upon him. And also [because] Moses would say, "Let justice pierce the mountain," whereas Aaron would bring a compromise between two litigants.

"And the LORD remembered Sarah" (Genesis 21:1). At the hour when Sarah was given the tidings that she would have Isaac, Sarah was praying before the Place, blessed be He: "Since You have given me seed, why should there be so great a servitude as this?" The Holy One, blessed be He, said to her: "I will subtract from the count, corresponding to your years and corresponding to the years of Abraham, which are one hundred and ninety; and therefore Israel will not be enslaved in Egypt except for two hundred and ten years." This is what Scripture says: "And the LORD remembered Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as He had spoken" (Genesis 21:1).

"And Sarah said, 'God has made laughter for me,' etc." (Genesis 21:6) — for at the time that Sarah conceived, all the barren women in the land conceived, and just as she rejoiced, so all the barren women rejoiced. Another interpretation: "He has made laughter for me" — merit caused Isaac to be born. This teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, took from me a yod and raised up for me in place of the yod a heh, and that yod was given to Isaac.

"And she said, 'Who would have said to Abraham,'" etc. (Genesis 21:7). For everyone was saying, "Look at an old man and an old woman who took a child from the marketplace and claimed that he is their son." What did Abraham do? He invited all the people of the city, and Sarah our mother invited their wives. And in order to test her, they brought their little ones along with them among them, and they said to her that she should nurse their sons. Immediately Sarah nursed them among them. At that moment they believed that Isaac was indeed their son. And concerning this it is said, "Sarah would nurse children" (Genesis 21:7).

"Whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking" (Genesis 21:9). For he set up a brick and kissed it, as it is said, "And they rose up to make sport" (Exodus 32:6). And some say that he took a bow and arrows and was shooting the bow toward Isaac, for he sought to kill him, as it is said, "As a madman who casts firebrands, arrows, and death, so is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, 'Am I not but making sport?'" (Proverbs 26:18-19).

"Where he is" (Genesis 21:17). Because the ministering angels said before the Holy One, blessed be He: "Master of the universe, the descendants of this one are destined to kill Your children with thirst, and yet You perform a miracle for him, bringing him a well of water!" And from where do we know that the descendants of Ishmael killed Israel with thirst? As it is said, "To meet the thirsty bring water" (Isaiah 21:14). For when Israel went into exile, they went from them to Ishmael. They said to them: "Give us water and bread to eat and to drink, for you are our brethren." They said to them: "Eat first, and afterward you shall drink water." They brought them kinds of salty foods, and empty waterskins, inflated and dipped in water, and they would bring the waterskins near their mouths so that they would drink, but the air would enter their mouths, and they would die. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to the angels: "Now, what is he — righteous or wicked?" Therefore it is said, "for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is" (Genesis 21:17).

"The seven ewe-lambs of the flock" (Genesis 21:28). Our Rabbis said: Because Abraham gave Abimelech seven ewe-lambs, he was therefore punished, and the Ark of God stood in the field of the Philistines for seven months. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: "Abraham, you gave him seven ewe-lambs — by your life, his sons will make war with your sons and will be victorious." Another interpretation: He said to him, "You gave him seven ewe-lambs — by your life, his sons will slay among your sons seven righteous ones." And these are they: Samson, Hophni and Phinehas, and Saul and his three sons. Another interpretation: He said to him, "You gave him seven ewe-lambs — by your life, his sons will destroy seven sanctuaries." And these are they: the Tent of Meeting, Gilgal, Nob, Gibeon, Shiloh, and the Eternal House [the Temple] two times. Another interpretation: He said to him, "You gave him seven ewe-lambs — by your life, my Ark will be abandoned in the field of the Philistines for seven months," as it is said: "And the Ark of the LORD was in the field of the Philistines seven months" (I Samuel 6:1).

"And he planted an eshel in Beer-sheba" (Genesis 21:33). Eshel ( ") is an acronym for "eating" (akhilah), "drinking" (shtiyah), "escorting" (levayah). And some say it was an actual tree, and from it was made the middle bar, and our father Jacob brought it down to Egypt when he went down there. "And he called there in the name of the LORD" (Genesis 21:33). He made an inn, and all who passed and came would enter there, and our father Abraham would give them bread and meat and wine to eat and to drink. After they had eaten and drunk, Abraham would say to them: "Bless the God of the world, for you have eaten from what is His." They would say: "We will bless none but you." Abraham would say: "If so, give me the money for what you have eaten." Once each one saw his distress, he would bless the Holy One, blessed be He, the One who is God of the world.

"And it came to pass after these things" (Genesis 22:1). Everywhere that "after" is stated, it is set apart. What is "after"? That the angels said to the Holy One, blessed be He: This Abraham, You graced him with a son at one hundred years, and he made a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned, yet he did not have to offer before You a single turtledove or a young pigeon. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them: If I were to tell him to offer up his son before Me, he would offer him. Therefore it is written, "And God tested Abraham." Another interpretation: That Ishmael said to Isaac: I am greater than you, for I received circumcision when I was thirteen years old, and it was in my power to protest, yet I did not protest; but you, when you received the circumcision, were eight days old, and you had no strength to protest, and therefore you did not protest. Isaac said to him: With one limb you make me afraid? Were the Holy One, blessed be His name, to say to me that I should offer up myself, I would offer it and I would not refuse. Therefore it is said, "And God tested Abraham."

"And He said: Take now your son, your only one." Abraham said: I have two sons, and I do not know which son You are telling me to take. He said to him: "Your only one." Abraham said: this one is the only one of his mother, and this one is the only one of his mother. He said to him: "Whom you love." He said to Him: this one I love and this one I love. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: "Isaac." And why all this? In order to make him beloved in his eyes; and even so, Abraham received the words of the Holy One, blessed be He, with joy. "Moriah" — from there went forth instruction, as it is said, "For from Zion shall go forth Torah" (Isaiah 2:3). And Rabbi Yannai says: from there shall go forth fear of Heaven to the world. Another interpretation: that from there speech goes forth to the world. Another interpretation: that from there the commandments go forth to the world.

"And Abraham rose early in the morning" (Genesis 22:3) — for all the deeds of the righteous are in the morning; and from here we learn that the zealous hasten to perform the commandments. "And he saddled his donkey" — love disrupts the [proper] order. "His two young men" — these are Ishmael and Eliezer. From here the Torah taught proper conduct: that a person should not set out on a journey with fewer than three men, so that if one of them needs to relieve himself, two will remain.

"On the third day." Why did he tarry three days, seeing that the place was near? Rather, this teaches that Ha-Satan came and made himself like a river before him. Abraham said, "I will enter the river and see whether the water is deep," and Abraham was nearly drowned. He lifted his eyes to the Holy One, blessed be He, that He save him from the water, that he not drown in it. Immediately the Holy One, blessed be He, rebuked Ha-Satan, and Abraham was found standing on dry land. "And he saw the place from afar." Abraham said to Isaac, "Do you see anything?" He said to him, "I see a cloud bound upon the top of the mountain." And Abraham knew that the lad had consented to be a burnt offering. Abraham said to his lads, "Do you see anything?" They said to him, "No." He said to them, "Stay here with the donkey," for you are like the donkey: just as a donkey sees nothing, so too you see nothing.

"And we will worship and return to you" (Genesis 22:5). He prophesied that the two of them would return. Ten people prophesied and did not know what they prophesied, and these are they: One: Abraham prophesied and did not know, as it is said, "And we will worship and return" — he prophesied that he and his son were destined to return. Two: Jacob prophesied and did not know what he prophesied, as it is said, "And may He send back to you your other brother" (Genesis 43:14) — "your brother," this is Simeon; "the other," this is Joseph; "and Benjamin" (ibid.), as its plain meaning. Three: Laban prophesied and did not know what he prophesied, as it is said, "And they blessed Rebekah" (Genesis 24:60) — they were found to be cursing themselves and blessing Rebekah. Four: the tribes prophesied and did not know what they prophesied, as it is said, "and behold, the youngest is with our father this day" (Genesis 42:13) — they prophesied that Joseph was standing among them. Five: Joseph prophesied and did not know what he prophesied, as it is said, "and let not your eye spare your vessels" — he prophesied that they were destined to plunder Egypt. Six: Pharaoh prophesied and did not know what he prophesied, as it is said, "Come, let us deal wisely" (Exodus 1:10) — he prophesied that they would make war with him and go up from the land. Seven: Job prophesied and did not know what he prophesied, as it is said, "shall we also receive the good?" (Job 2:10) — he prophesied that the Holy One, blessed be He, was destined to restore to him all the good. Eight: our forefathers prophesied and did not know what they prophesied, as it is said, "You will bring them in and plant them" (Exodus 15:17) — they prophesied that their children were destined to enter the land while they themselves would not enter. Nine: Gehazi prophesied and did not know what he prophesied, as it is said, "As the Lord lives, I will run after him and take from him something [me'umah]" (2 Kings 5:20) — "a blemish [mumah]," that is, leprosy; he prophesied concerning himself. Ten: Hannah prophesied and did not know what she prophesied, as it is said, "and I also have lent him to the Lord all the days that he lives, he is lent to the Lord" (1 Samuel 1:28) — Hannah said, all the days that Samuel my son endures, the kingdom of Saul endures.

"And he took the knife" (Genesis 22:10). From here we learn that ritual slaughter must be done with a detached implement. And as they were walking, Ha-Satan came to Abraham and said to him: "Old man, where are your wits? A son whom the Holy One, blessed be He, graciously granted you at a hundred years old, and you are going to slaughter him? I am the one who led you astray and said to you, 'Take now your son, your only one.'" Abraham said to him: "Heaven forbid! It is God who spoke to me." When Ha-Satan saw that Abraham would not listen to him, he went at once to Isaac and said to him: "Isaac, where are you going?" He said: "My father is taking me to study Torah." Ha-Satan said to Isaac: "It is not to study Torah that you are going; rather, your father is taking you to slaughter you." Isaac said to him: "Even so, I rejoice in this, if the Holy One, blessed be He, desires me, and furthermore that I shall do my father's will." When he saw that Isaac would not accept it from him, he went to Sarah and said to her: "Where did your son go?" She said to him: "His father took him to study Torah with Eber." Ha-Satan said to her: "Alas, poor wretched woman, it is not to study Torah that he is taking him; rather, he is taking him to slaughter him." When she heard this, she cried out, groaning first and then wailing, and her soul departed from the abundance of grief. Therefore it is said: "And Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her" (Genesis 23:2).

"And he said: Do not stretch out your hand." Abraham said to him: Perhaps you are Ha-Satan, and you seek to deceive me. He said to him: No, rather I am an emissary of the Holy One, blessed be He, who does not desire a human sacrifice. And so Ha-Satan said to Abraham: Thus I heard from behind the curtain — "a lamb for the burnt offering," and not Isaac for the burnt offering. Abraham said to him: All the dealings of a liar are such that even when he speaks the truth, he is not heeded. Therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed Himself to him and said, "By Myself I have sworn," and so forth. "And do not do anything to him." Abraham said: Let me bring forth from him a drop of blood, and it will be reckoned as though I had slaughtered him. The angel said to him: But does the Holy One, blessed be He, not know that Abraham feared the Lord? Rather, "now I know" — I have made known to all the world that you have done My will, until they will say: It is just that He cut a covenant with Abraham and with his seed; and all will know that everything I do well for Abraham, I do in justice.

"And behold, a ram." This is the ram that was created at twilight on the very day that Adam the first man was created, and it was created for the need of Isaac. "Caught in the thicket by his horns." Because it tarried and was not running toward Abraham so that Abraham might offer it, it said: "I will go from here without an offering"; and Satan came and caught it in the thicket so that it could not go. Another interpretation of "in the thicket": At the time when Israel are caught in the thicket of the iniquities of all the days of the year, they are delivered by the blowing of the horn of a ram. Another interpretation: At the time when Israel are caught in the thicket of the kingdoms, He is destined to redeem them by the horns of a ram, as it is said, "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown" (Isaiah 27:13). The ram had two horns. With one of them He blew on the day that the Torah was given to Israel, as it is said, "And the voice of the shofar" (Exodus 19:19); and with the right horn the Holy One, blessed be He, is destined to blow at the ingathering of the exiles. Therefore he called it "great," because it is the one of the right. "And offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son." When he was offering it, Abraham said to the Holy One, blessed be He: "May it be Your will that this ram be reckoned before You as though I had slaughtered my son." Abraham said to the Holy One, blessed be He: "You said to me that I should slaughter Isaac my son, and now You say, 'Do nothing to him.' Is it not written, 'God is not a man, that He should lie' (Numbers 23:19)?" The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: "Did I say to you, 'Take now your son, your only one, and slaughter him before Me'? I said to you only, 'And offer him up there' — I brought him up, bring him down." And so it is written, "which I commanded not" — Abraham, that he should slaughter his son before Me.