Surprising Facts About the “Sacrifice” of Isaac

I remember reading the story of Abvraham’s near “sacrifice” of his son, Yitzchak (Isaac) as a child and feeling a small sense of confusion at such a story. Why would G-d ask Avraham to sacrifice his only son? After all, isn’t this the same G-d that commands us that we are to feed our pets before sitting down to eat ourselves, to have compassion even on an enemy’s donkey? Isn’t this the same Torah that ensures the slaughter of animals is as painless as possible and will make exceptions even in the stringent laws of the Sabbath to save a human life?
If G-d and the Torah are so compassionate, why would G-d even suggest that Avraham kill his son?
The reading of this story fell on the week’s parasha just a week ago, and when I learned the commentary over Shabbos, I rediscovered the pleasure, as I do every year, of finding the answer the first time.
According to Rashi, the great commentator on the Torah, G-d never asked Avraham to kill or slaughter Yitzchak. He said bring him up, from the Hebrew word “oleh,” which interestingly enough, is related to the word meaning an immigrant to the Land of Israel. Offerings are brought up to the altar, just as Yitzchak was, but in the case of Avraham’s son, he was not slaughtered by sanctified.
Because of this action and Yitzchak’s willingness to take part, he became a living sacrifice and was sanctified his entire life. The place where he was brought up is the site of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. Once he was sanctified, his future wife, Rivkah (Rebecca) was born. Our husbands and wives are the other half of our souls, and since his entire being was elevated to a higher plane, he merited that his true wife, Rivkah, would be born and someday married to him.