Abraham Davens Shacharis

I believe the Akeidah has an imbedded message about davening. Genesis 22:3 states, “And Abraham arose early in the morning, and he saddled his donkey, and he took his two young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for a burnt offering, and he arose and went to the place of which God had told him.”

Abraham arose early in the morning, alluding to the ideal time and attitude to have when davening.

Now the Hebrew word for “donkey” is chamor, which shares a root with the word chomer, meaning “material” or “base.” This can be seen as a reference to man’s body, his physical side, which sometimes gets in the way of spiritual pursuits. But Abraham saddled his donkey, he took control of his body, and got up and pursued his spiritual goal.

Then verse then says that “he took his two young men,” his toldos, or that which issued forth from him. This can be seen as a reference to his two yetzarim, for as it says in the Shema, “you shall love the Lord your God with all your hearts (levavcha) (Deuteronomy 6:5).” Many commentaries note that the dual usage of “your hearts” refers to both the yetzer hatov and the yetzer hara – Man’s ideal state is to serve God with his spiritual and physical components.

I haven’t exactly yet fit in what “he split wood for a burnt offering” could mean, but perhaps it can refer to the items that a Jewish man takes with him when he davens, such as his tallis and tefillin. Or perhaps it can refer to the internal preparation for davening, such that Man must “split” himself as a “burnt offering,” i.e., complete offer himself to his God.

Finally, “he arose and went to the place of which God had told him,” the place of davening, his shul.