Three Times Hineni
A Shabbat-table page for Parashat Vayeira: one word, said three times, to three different listeners.
The Akeidah (Bereishit 22) is the hardest chapter in the parashah to read aloud at a table with children. One small word makes it easier to enter: הִנֵּנִי, "here I am." Avraham says it three times in the chapter. Each time someone different is calling him.
1. When G-d calls (22:1)
וְהָאֱלֹקִים נִסָּה אֶת אַבְרָהָם וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו אַבְרָהָם וַיֹּאמֶר הִנֵּנִי
"G-d tested Avraham. He said to him, 'Avraham,' and he answered, 'Here I am.'"
Rashi: כָּךְ הִיא עֲנִיָּתָם שֶׁל חֲסִידִים, לְשׁוֹן עֲנָוָה הוּא וּלְשׁוֹן זִמּוּן. This is how the devout answer: a word of humility and a word of readiness (Rashi, citing Midrash Tanchuma).
Avraham does not yet know what will be asked. He says "here I am" before he hears the request.
2. When his son calls (22:7)
וַיֹּאמֶר אָבִי וַיֹּאמֶר הִנֶּנִּי בְנִי
"Yitzchak said, 'Father,' and he answered, 'Here I am, my son.'"
This time the word gets a second word attached: בְנִי, "my son." In the middle of the hardest walk of his life, Avraham stops to answer a child's question. Yitzchak asks where the lamb is. Avraham answers that G-d will see to the lamb. Rashi on 22:8 reads the end of the verse, וַיֵּלְכוּ שְׁנֵיהֶם יַחְדָּו, as בְּלֵב שָׁוֶה: they walked on together "with one heart."
3. When the angel calls (22:11)
וַיִּקְרָא אֵלָיו מַלְאַךְ ה' מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם וַיֹּאמֶר אַבְרָהָם אַבְרָהָם וַיֹּאמֶר הִנֵּנִי
"An angel of ה' called to him from heaven: 'Avraham, Avraham!' He answered, 'Here I am.'"
Rashi: לְשׁוֹן חִבָּה הוּא, שֶׁכּוֹפֵל אֶת שְׁמוֹ. Saying the name twice is an expression of love (Rashi, citing Bereishit Rabbah 56:7).
The same readiness that agreed to go up the mountain is now ready to stop. "Here I am" also means "I am listening for the next word."
Around the table
- Who is calling each time? G-d, a son, an angel. Does Avraham answer any of them differently?
- In 22:7 Avraham adds "my son." What does one extra word do?
- Rashi says the doubled name in 22:11 is love. When does someone say your name twice?
- Is it harder to say "here I am" before you know the question, or after?
- Who in your life needs you to say "here I am" this week?
For younger children
Play "Hineni." One person calls a name from across the room. The person called answers "Hineni!" and comes over. Then ask: how did it feel to be called? How did it feel to be answered?
One line to take into the week
Three times Avraham was called and three times he was present: for G-d, for his child, and for the voice that told him to stop.
All glory to the Ribono shel Olam · Errors are mine.
Prepared in deep partnership and cooperation with Grok and xAI