Zechut Avot - The Merit of Our Fathers
By Hillel ben David (Greg Killian)
VI. The Akeida – A Completed Event
VIII. For Converts – Jews By Choice
IX. The Akeida and Mashiach ben Yoseph
c) Execution at the Divine Appointed Place
d) “HaShem Will Stare At This Place”
Against “Mutilating the Shoots of Faith” & 2 Luqas 15
Question:
What do you call a religion that maintains that salvation depends upon the
sacrifice of a beloved son centuries ago? What do you call a religion whose
adherents believe that their sins are expiated because
someone long ago offered himself up to be sacrificed?
Answer: “Judaism”.
Judaism is a religion that maintains that salvation depends upon the sacrifice of a beloved son centuries ago. The Midrash teaches us that when Avraham put the knife to Yitzchak’s throat, his soul departed. Judaism is a religion whose adherents believe that their sins are expiated because someone long ago offered himself up to be sacrificed. Though this may be hard to believe, it is absolutely true.
The sacrifice of which I speak is not the crucifixion of Yeshua, but rather it is the binding of Yitzchak from the book of Bereshit (Genesis). Because Avraham willingly offered his beloved son to HaShem as a sacrifice, HaShem blessed Avraham, and, just as important, HaShem blessed Avraham's descendants. This is straight from the Torah. According to our Sages, because Yitzchak offered himself freely to HaShem as a sacrifice, HaShem blessed Yitzchak, and, just as important, HaShem blessed Yitzchak's descendants. Therefore, our generation, a generation of descendants, benefits from the righteousness of Avraham and Yitzchak. We are blessed because of their willingness to sacrifice.
One aspect of this blessing is that HaShem is merciful toward us. Because our ancestors so dutifully obeyed HaShem's command, HaShem is more willing to look past our sins. Indeed, our Sages teach that HaShem is more willing to forgive our sins because of our righteous heritage. If our sins are thereby forgiven, then we will secure our place in the world to come. Simply stated: Because Avraham and Yitzchak obeyed HaShem, HaShem blessed their descendants. This blessing includes HaShem's mercy, and HaShem's forgiveness of our sins. Our sins having been forgiven, we will enjoy eternal life in the world to come. Through this progression, we can draw a causal connection between the attempted sacrifice of a beloved son and the forgiveness and salvation of a later generation. Believe it or not, this is Jewish.
Zechut avot is the doctrine by which we benefit from the good deeds of those who came before us. In addition to our patriarchs, we also benefit from the righteous deeds of the matriarchs. For instance, our Sages teach in the Midrash that HaShem will return the exiles to Israel because of the merits of the matriarch Rachel.
Though we may be unfamiliar with zechut avot, it is actually a central tenet of Judaism. Though it may seem foreign to us, we can actually find it in three familiar sources. Zechut avot plays a prominent role in the Torah, in our daily worship, and in our High Holiday liturgy. Let us begin with our Torah portion. We read in:
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 12:1 "These are the statutes and the
ordinances which you shall observe to do in the land which HaShem, the HaShem
of your fathers, has given you to possess."
There are many names for HaShem, so when a text specifies a particular name for HaShem there is often a special significance. In this passage, the Torah introduces a series of commandments which the Israelites must fulfill in order to possess the land that HaShem has promised. What is significant here is the nature of that promise. The Israelites' sole claim to the land is that HaShem had promised it to their forefathers, Avraham, Yitzchak and Jacob. The Israelites will receive the land because of zechut avot, the merit of their ancestors. That is why we find in this verse the particular name for HaShem as "Lord, HaShem of your fathers."
The theme zechut avot is reiterated time and again in the Torah:
Bereshit (Genesis) 22:16-18 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the
HaShem, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son,
thine only [son]: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will
multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which [is] upon the sea shore;
and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all
the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
Shemot
(Exodus) 32:11-14 And Moshe besought the HaShem his HaShem, and
said, HaShem, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast
brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great
power, and with a mighty hand? Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say,
For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to
consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent
of this evil against thy people. Remember Avraham, Yitzchak, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own
self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven,
and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they
shall inherit [it] for ever. And the HaShem repented
of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.
* * *
Yeshiyahu (Isaiah) 41:8 But thou,
Another place we find zechut avot is in our daily prayers. The most important aspect of the Jewish worship service is the Amidah, also known as the Shemoneh Esrei or Eighteen Blessings. This is the climactic moment in the center of the service in which we make our requests of HaShem. It begins when we rise as a congregation and recite: “Blessed are You, HaShem our HaShem, and HaShem of our fathers, HaShem of Avraham, HaShem of Yitzchak, and HaShem of Jacob." Doesn't it seem peculiar that at the height of our liturgy, the very climax of our worship service, that we would take the time to mention each of our patriarchs by name? Yet, there is a reason for this, a calculated reason. When our Sages authored this prayer over a thousand years ago, they questioned what right they had to make a request before HaShem. Who are we that we should bother HaShem with our needs? And why should HaShem listen to us? With these concerns in mind, the Hakhamim preceded their petitions with this clever and calculated mention of the patriarchs. In essence they are saying, "Dear HaShem, we are not so righteous; we are not worthy of your attention. But Avraham, he was righteous. Yitzchak was righteous. Jacob was righteous. We are their descendants, O HaShem, and for their sake hear our prayers." That is why we mention the patriarchs. That is another example of zechut avot.
Only the horn of a ram, a shofar, can summon HaShem on our behalf, because only the horn of a ram will remind HaShem of when Avraham offered his son to HaShem and instead sacrificed a ram, a ram whose horns were caught in a nearby thicket. The shofar is inextricably linked to the akeida, the binding of Yitzchak. When we blast the shofar next Rosh HaShanah, we will be reminding HaShem of the righteousness of Avraham.
The Mussaf service on the 2nd day of Yom Teruah, Rosh HaShanah, contains the following prayer:
"Remember unto us, Adonai our G-d, the covenant,
the loving-kindness and the oath which you swore to Avraham our father on
On the day of judgment, Yom Teruah, we will ask HaShem to remember Avraham, and thereby forgive our sins. The High Holidays are all about zechut avot.
We also find the notion of zechut avot in the Torah She Baal Peh, the Oral Torah. Here we find that the ashes of the akeida are to remind us of the merit of Avraham:
Midrash Rabbah - Genesis XLIX:11 AND
ABRAHAM ANSWERED AND SAID: BEHOLD NOW, I HAVE TAKEN UPON ME TO SPEAK UNTO THE LORD,
WHO AM BUT DUST AND ASHES (XVIII, 27). He said: Had Nimrod slain me, would I
not have been dust, and had he burnt me, would I not have been ashes? Said the
Holy One, blessed be He, to him: ‘Thou didst say, I AM BUT DUST AND ASHES; by
thy life, I will give thy children atonement
therewith,’ as it says, And for the unclean they shall take of the ashes
(‘afar) of the burning of the purification from sin (Num. XIX, 17); also, And a man that is clean
shall gather up the ashes of the heifer (ib. 9). We
learnt’: What was the ritual of a fast? The
Midrash Rabbah
- Genesis LXX:8 … in the Messianic era the merit of the Patriarchs
will avail.
* * *
The Gemara[1] states that Zechut Avot, the merit of the Patriarchs which protects us, has been exhausted:
Shabbath 55a
And since when has the merit of the Patriarchs been exhausted? — Rab said,
Since the days of Hosea the son of Beeri, for it is written, [And now] will I
discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her
out of mine hand.( Hosea 2:12. ‘and none’, i.e., their merit) Samuel said. Since
the days of Hazael, for it is said, And Hazael king of
Nevertheless, Tosafot writes in Brit Avot (HaShem's covenant with the forefathers), the merit has not been exhausted:
Vayikra
(Leviticus) 26:40-45 If they shall confess their iniquity, and the
iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against
me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me; And [that] I also have
walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their
enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of
the punishment of their iniquity: Then will I remember my covenant with
Jacob, and also my covenant with Yitzchak, and also my covenant with Avraham
will I remember; and I will remember the land. The land also shall be left
of them, and shall enjoy her Sabbaths, while she
lieth desolate without them: and they shall accept of the punishment of their
iniquity: because, even because they despised my judgments, and because their
soul abhorred my statutes. And yet for all that, when they be in the land of
their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy
them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I [am] HaShem their G-d.
But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I
brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight
of the heathen, that I might be their God: I [am] the Lord.
The Gemara also mentions the merit of the Matriarchs as well as the merit of the Patriarchs:
Rosh HaShana
11a R. Eliezer said: Whence do we know that the Patriarchs were born
in Tishri? Because it says, And all the men of
The notion of zechut avot is not just a Christian notion, but a deeply rooted Jewish tenet. We find it in our Torah portion; we find it in our daily worship, we find it in our High Holiday liturgy, and we find it in the Torah She Baal Peh, the Oral Torah.
While the Christian Church still prays to HaShem for pardon and blessing through Yeshua HaMashiach, the Jewish people beseech HaShem to have compassion upon them for the sake of the binding of Yitzchak.
The notion of zechut avot, the merit of our ancestors, is also spoken about in the Nazarean Codicil:
I Luqas (Luke) 1:67-75 And his father Zacharias was filled with
the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, Blessed [be] the Lord G-d of Israel;
for he hath visited and redeemed his people, And
hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the
house of his servant David; As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets,
which have been since the world began: That we should be saved from our
enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; To perform the mercy [promised]
to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; The oath which he sware to
our father Avraham, That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of
the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, In holiness and
righteousness before him, all the days of our life.
Bereans (Hebrews) 11.17-19 By faith Avraham, when G-d tested him,
offered Yitzchak as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to
sacrifice his one and only son, even though HaShem had said to him, "It is
through Yitzchak that your offspring will be reckoned." Avraham reasoned
that HaShem could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive
Yitzchak back from death.
Matityahu (Matthew) 3:9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Avraham to [our] father: for I say unto you, that HaShem is able of these stones to raise up children unto Avraham.
Romans 9:3-10 For I could wish that myself were set apart(like a sacrifice) from Mashiach for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the
flesh: Who are Israelites; to whom [pertained] the
adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the
giving of the law, and the [worship] service [of G-d],
and the promises; Whose [are] the fathers
(Patriarchs), and of whom as concerning the flesh [they are] Mashiach, who is
over all, G-d blessed for ever. Amen. Not as though the word of G-d hath taken
none effect. For they [are] not all Israel, which
are of
Galatians 4:28 Now we, brethren, as Yitzchak was, are the children of promise.
Bereans (Hebrews) 11:17-19 By faithful obedience, Avraham offered up
Yitzchak. He was tested, having accepted the promises, offered up his only
begotten son, Of whom it was said, That in Yitzchak shall thy seed call:
Reckoning that even from the dead, HaShem was able to raise Him up; from whence
also he received a parable.
From the akeida we obtain a
parable, as did Avraham. (that Yitzchak died and Yitzchak=
As Mashiach ben Yoseph was the salvation of
the Gentiles, so too was Yitzack the salvation of
Zohar, Bereshith,
Section 1, Page 119b David prayed, “Command the salvation of Jacob”, as
much as to say: “When messengers are sent into the world, order such as are of
the side of mercy.” ‘ R. Abba said: ‘The words “command the salvation of Jacob”
allude to those in exile, for whose redemption David prayed.
Further, Jacob was the crown of the patriarchs, but if not for Isaac he would not have appeared in the world; hence the
request “command the salvation of Jacob” refers primarily to Isaac, since
the saving of his life was the salvation of Jacob.’
Another interesting correlation between Mashiach and Yitzchak is that they were both the “image” of their father. Of Mashiach it is said:
Colossians 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every
creature:
Of Yitzchak it is said:
“HaShem therefore performed another miracle
and made Isaac look exactly like Abraham. The miracle was even greater than it
seems; when Isaac was born, he did not look at all like Abraham. When people
began to talk, his face changed and resembled that of
his father, stopping all gossip.' Since Isaac looked exactly like Abraham,
without any difference at all, everyone admitted that he was Abraham's
son."[2]
Baba Metzia
87a And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah
should have given children suck? How many children then did Sarah suckle? — R.
Levi said: On the day that Abraham weaned his son Isaac, he made a great
banquet, and all the peoples of the world derided him, saying, ‘Have you seen
that old man and woman, who brought a foundling from the street, and now claim
him as their son! And what is more, they make a great banquet to establish
their claim!’ What did our father Abraham do? — He went and invited all the
great men of the age, and our mother Sarah invited their wives. Each one
brought her child with her, but not the wet nurse, and a miracle happened unto
our mother Sarah, her breasts opened like two fountains, and she suckled them
all. Yet they still scoffed, saying, ‘Granted that Sarah could give birth at
the age of ninety, could Abraham beget [child] at the age of a hundred?’
Immediately the lineaments of Isaac's visage changed and became like Abraham's,
whereupon they all cried out, Abraham begat Isaac.
One of the most intriguing
commentaries on the Akedah sees the sacrifice as actually having been
consummated, and as effecting atonement for
“There was a remarkable tradition
that insisted that Avraham completed the sacrifice and that afterward Yitzchak
was miraculously revived. According to this Aggadah, Avraham slew his son,
burnt his victim, and the ashes remain as a stored-up merit and atonement for
The Baal HaTurim quotes a Pirkei d'Rebi Eliezer that at the time of the Akeida, Yitzchak actually died and was immediately brought back to life.
Leviticus Rabbah. 29:9 R. Judah says:
When the sword touched Yitzchak's throat his soul flew clean out of him. And
when He let his voice be heard from between the two
cherubim, 'Lay not thy hand upon the lad, 'the lad's soul returned to his body. Then his father unbound him, and Yitzchak rose, knowing that in this way the dead would come back to
life in the future; whereupon he began to recite, Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who
quickens the dead. Pirkei de-Rav Eliezer 31
The Torah also alludes to the death of Yitzchak in Bereshit chapter 22. In this chapter of the Torah, there is no reference to Yitzchak returning home with his father.
Through the akeida, Yitzchak had attained the status of a korban and was forbidden to leave Eretz Canaan[4]. Yitzchak was 37 years old at the time of the akeida.[5]
In Bereshit 22:9, the word “binding”. Va Ya’akod, is found nowhere else in Tanakh in conjugative form. This “binding” was something truly unique!
Yitzchak’s death was NOT caused by Avraham, the Torah is clear on this point. It appears that Yitzchak gave up his own soul. This matches well with Mashiach Who was not killed by the Romans, but instead laid down His own life.
There appears to be some support for the Binding of Yitzchak taking place on Pesach. Rashi tells us that the Akieda was on Pesach.[6] The Zohar also makes this point.[7] Finally, the Talmud gives us a hint that the Akeida took place on Pesach:
Rosh HaShana 11a …on New Year the
bondage of our ancestors in Egypt ceased; in Nisan they were redeemed and in
Nisan they will be redeemed in the time to come. R. Joshua says: In Nisan the
world was created; in Nisan the Patriarchs were born; in Nisan the Patriarchs
died.
There is also some relationship between Rosh HaShanah and the Binding of Yitzchak:
The Maharil, Rav Ya'akov HaLevi Segal Moelin, compiled a detailed and authoritative compendium of the customs of his native Ashkenaz. In Chapter 9 of the section on Rosh HaShana, he explains:
"On Rosh HaShana, after the meal, we have the custom of going to the lakes and rivers to cast into the depths of the sea all of our sins. This commemorates the Akeida, in accordance with the Midrash[8] which says that [on the way to the intended sacrifice of Yitzchak] Avraham Avinu passed through a river until the water reached up to his neck, and said, 'Rescue me, HaShem, for the waters have reached until the soul'.[9] And it was actually Satan, who made himself into a river in order to prevent Avraham from performing the Akeida."
The Maharil emphasizes that tashlik (when we cast crumbs into the water on Yom Teruah) is a commemoration of the Akeida. By going to the river, we demonstrate to HaShem that we recall Avraham's determination to fulfill His command. Not only was Avraham willing to sacrifice his only son, but he was willing to endure great hardship in order to do so. We imply that we too are willing to overcome obstacles to carry out HaShem's will.
By emphasizing our continuing connection to Avraham Avinu, showing that we are his spiritual as well as his genetic heirs, we show that we are fully worthy of sharing in the blessing which HaShem swore to Avraham's descendants as a result of the akeida.[10]
According to our tradition, when
we sound the shofar on the morning of Rosh Hashanah,
HaShem hears the sound and remembers the ram that Avraham Avinu, Father Avraham,
offered as a sacrifice (instead of his son Yitzchak) atop
You don’t get the zechut unless you make the connection. Unless you sound the shofar, invoke the symbolic link (whatever it may be) that affirms your bond, their merit is of no value.
But what of those among us who have no ancestors from whom to derive such zechut? What of the orphans who do not know upon whom to connect? Or the Jews by choice, the convert, who have no Jewish ancestry at all? This is the good part. It’s not hereditary! It’s not in our chromosomes or our cell structure. It’s in our history. The collective memory of our people. It’s open to anyone who chooses to remember:
Galatians 3:6-9 Even as Avraham believed HaShem, and it was
accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of
faith, the same are the children of Avraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that
HaShem would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Avraham, [saying], In thee shall all
nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful
Avraham.
Do we really believe that we’re genetically related to Avraham and Sarah? Do we actually think that if we could trace back our ancestry as far as we wanted we would find Jacob, Moshe, and Ruth? Does it matter? We’re related to them when we choose to relate to them. You see, the act of connecting to them, to the deeds they performed, to the choices they made is, for us, a choice as well. What makes the zechut happen is just as dependant upon our conscious decisions as it was upon theirs. It’s a two-way street. Their merit is credited to us by our merit. And in both instances, the merit is the simple product of making a choice.
Yitzchak Avinu was an atonement for the Jews just as Yeshua was an atonement for the Gentiles. How do we know this?
To understand this answer requires a bit of background. Please bear with me as we gain this background.
The Jews are separate from the world. We see this in:
Shemot (Exodus) 19:5-6 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice
indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a
peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth [is] mine: And ye
shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy
(or separate) nation. These [are] the words which thou shalt speak unto the
children of
Shemot (Exodus) 33:16 For wherein shall it be known here that I
and thy people have found grace in thy sight? [is it]
not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people,
from all the people that [are] upon the face of the earth.
Vayikra (Leviticus) 20:24 But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit
their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that flowed with
milk and honey: I [am] the HaShem your G-d, which have separated you from [other]
people.
Bamidbar (Numbers) 23:9 For from the top of the rocks I see him,
and from the hills I behold him: lo, the people shall dwell
alone, and shall not be reckoned among the Goyim.
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 33:28
Melachim (1 Kings 8:53) For thou didst separate them from among all
the people of the earth, [to be] thine inheritance,
as thou spakest by the hand of Moshe thy servant, when thou broughtest our
fathers out of
So, when ever we see “world” or “nation”, we should see the Goyim, the Gentiles:
Bereshit (Genesis) 10:5 By these were the isles of the Gentiles
divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in
their nations.
In the above verse, both the word “Gentile” and the word “nation” come from the Hebrew word “Goyim”.
Now, consider the following verses:
1 Yochanon (John) 2:1-2 My little children, these things write I
unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have
an advocate with the Father, Yeshua Mashiach the righteous: And he is the kippurim, [the atonement,]
for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for [the sins of] the all the
Goyim.
Matityahu (Matthew) 24:14 And this gospel
of the kingdom shall be preached in all the Goyim for a witness unto all
nations; and then shall the time of the end come.
Matityahu (Matthew) 28:19-20 Go ye therefore, and talmudize all the
Goyim, immersing them into the authority of the
Father [obeying the Torah], and of the Son,[accepting the yoke of the kingdom]
and of the Shechinah: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have
commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, [even] unto the end of the world.
Amen.
We will need to unpack this next verse because this verse contains the essence of zechut avot, the merit of our ancestors:
Yochanon (John) 3:16 For HaShem so
loved the Goyim, that he gave his only begotten Son [Mashiach (Psalm 2:7) /
I have added some information within the brackets that needs to be unpacked a bit. First, lets look at:
Tehilim (Psalm) 2:7 I will declare the decree: HaShem hath said
unto me, Thou [art] my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
In this verse, HaShem is declaring that He has a Son. This Son is Yeshua HaMashiach.
Now lets look at another “Son”:
Shemot (Exodus) 4:22 And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith
the HaShem,
In this verse,
Yochanon (John) 3:16 For HaShem so loved the Goyim, that he gave
his only begotten Son [Mashiach], that whosoever believeth in Mashiach should
not perish, but have everlasting life.
This tells us that the Goyim will gain everlasting life because of Mashiach. But since this verse allows us to use both “Sons”, we need to look at this perspective:
Yochanon (John) 3:16 For HaShem so loved the Goyim, that he gave
his only begotten Son [
Now, hopefully, we can see that there is more to this verse than meets the eye. This verse clearly indicates that the Jews are the key, along with Mashiach, to the everlasting life of the Goyim.
Lets examine one more verse in the Nazarean Codicil:
Yochanon (John) 4:40-42 So when the Samaritans were come unto him,
they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days. And many more believed because of his own word;
And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have
heard [him] ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Mashiach, the Saviour
of the Goyim.
Notice the similarity between the akeida and the binding of Yeshua in the following verses:
Bereshit (Genesis) 22:2 And He said, "Take now your son, your
only begotten son, whom you love, Yitzchak, and go to
the
Yochanon (John) 3:16 For HaShem so
loved the Goyim, that he gave his only begotten Son [Mashiach
(Psalm 2) / Israel (Shemot 4:22-23)], that whosoever
believeth in him (in HaShem) should
not perish, but have everlasting life.