Sefat Emet | Vayera | Request, Not Command: Two Readings of the Akeida

Sefat Emet | Vayera | Request, Not Command: Two Readings of the Akeida, by Rav Eli Weber

God asked, but didn't command. Why did Avraham go to the Akeida anyway? The Sefat Emet explains.

Rav Eli presents two Sefat Emet teachings on the Akeida. In the first, God only requested Yitzchak's sacrifice ("kach na"), and Avraham chose to go anyway, joyfully. In the second, Avraham sensed that God didn't truly want it, so he acted out of yir'a, obedient fear, rather than intuitive love. Together they reveal two sides of Avraham's greatest test.