The binding and unbinding of Isaac

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The frightful story of the binding of Isaac, in Genesis 22, is read in the synagogue every Rosh Hashana.

I talked about it and showed other artistic portrayals of the almost-deed here and here.
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But the photos in today's post are of Sam Philipe's sculpture "Akedat Yitshak" (the Binding of Isaac), on exhibit at Jerusalem's Mamilla mall.

We can be glad that the angel was sent just in time to stop Abraham's hand.

In the story's happy end, the angel quotes God as saying to Abraham
". . . in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast hearkened to My voice."
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By the way, Christians are celebrating today too. It is the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels, also known as the Feast of the Archangels.
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More about Rosh Hashana in previous posts:

A stone sculpture of the Akeda

Fish heads

New calendar for a new year

Tashlich bread to the fish

Shofar, tashlich

The world's birthday

Pomegranate symbol
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Imagining the binding of Isaac

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Today is the second day of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year.
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The Torah portion that is read on this day is Genesis 22, God's testing of Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his son on Mount Moriah.
In Hebrew we call it the Akedah, the binding of Isaac.
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Below is a wide variation of artistic portrayals of the story, on display at the Jewish museum in Jerusalem's Hechal Shlomo.
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"Abraham's sacrifice," designed by W. Breathe, England, 1870, porcelain, manufactured by Wedgewood.
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On the other extreme is this simple brass tub drilled with holes, made in Israel in the 20th century.

The inscription is "Lay not thy hand upon the lad," the welcome words of God's messenger-angel.

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This is an illustration on a 1743 map of Eretz-Israel, painted in France.

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A painting by Moshe Castel, 1925.

We can see the ram, tangled in the branches by its horns, which will be offered instead of Isaac.

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"The way to the mountain," wool thread on cushion cover, embroidered in Ethiopia in the 1980s.

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The servant boys stay behind with the donkey, Isaac carries the wood for the fire, Abraham carries the knife. Vultures circling above?

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You have to admit, religion has a lot of drama at its core.

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More about Rosh Hashana in previous posts:

A stone sculpture of the Akeda

Fish heads

New calendar for a new year

Tashlich bread to the fish

Shofar, tashlich

The world's birthday

Pomegranate symbol

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The akeda, the binding of Isaac

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The Days of Awe, the Ten Days of Repentance between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, are upon us.
On the second day of Rosh Hashana the Torah portion read in the synagogue is from Genesis 22. The binding of Isaac!

The sculpture portrays Abraham's hand covering the mouth of Isaac while his other hand grips the knife with which he was commanded to slay his beloved son.

One face of the rock has the altar on which Isaac was bound. But mercifully, there also appears the ram with the curved horns, caught in the thicket, which God sent as a substitute sacrifice.

Engraved in Hebrew on the back is pahad Yitzhak, meaning Isaac's fear.

And above the words, a dove.

The rock stands in the Municipal Garden, between the Jerusalem City Hall and Jaffa Road.

The artist is the same man who did the giant mural in the Post Office.

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Like our patriarch whom God tested, the artist is also named Avraham. Avraham Ofek created this sculpture in 1987, after he had lost his own daughter, and just a few years before he died of a long and painful illness.

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