Offering Up Your Firstborn

Akeidas Yitzchok

Davening is a time of war! We are engaged in a spiritual battle to fight past the impediments that try to distract us as we travel from one spiritual world to the next. We need to fight our feeling that we control the world through our behaviors and character traits, until we recognize that really it is Hashem who controls the world with His ‘behaviors’ and His ‘character traits’ (middos). 

Battle requires sacrifice, and we want to demonstrate to Hashem that we are ready to sanctify our physical bodies and all of our limbs for His sake. This is called “mesiras nefesh”, the willingness to give over our nefesh for Hashem’s sake. Nefesh can also be understood in this context as ratzon, our desire. Are we willing to give up our desires for the sake of Hashem? If we can even give up some of our desires, this sacrifice is considered like it was a sacrifice of our very bodies (in Talmudic terms: מה לי קטלא כולה מה לי קטלא פלגא). When a Yid is willing to nullify his personal desire for the desire of Hashem, that is viewed as a genuine act of mesiras nefesh!

This ability to be moser nefesh is an inheritance that we received from Avraham Aveinu, who was ready to sacrifice his beloved son Yitzchok. When we read the story of the akeida in the morning, we remind ourselves that were Hashem to put us into a scenario where we would need to give up our lives for the sanctification of His name, even if it was in a difficult and painful manner, we would certainly jump into the ‘pillar of fire’ (כבשן האש) because of this ability to be moser nefesh that we inherited from our grandfather, Avraham Avinu. 

Moment of Mindfulness: What is your favorite personal desire, “your firstborn, the one that you love,” that gets in the way of your avodas Hashem? As you say the words of “akeidas Yitzchok”, try to envision yourself going on a journey to sacrifice this desire for the sake of Hashem. Follow in the footsteps of your grandfather Avraham! Picture yourself going through the same motions as he did, and substitute his son Yitzchok, who he was ready to give up for the sake of Hashem, for your personal desire, that you are ready to give up for the sake of Hashem. With this scene in mind, read through the parsha of the akeida.