Near the end of Slihot every night, the evocative piyut “Mi She’Ana” (“He Who Answered”) is recited. It recounts Biblical personalities whom God answered and helped in their times of crisis or distress, and turns to God to answer us as well.
The first lines of Mi She’Ana read: “He who answered Avraham on Mount Moriah—He will answer us” and “He who answered Yitzhak his son as he was bound on the altar- He will answer us.”
The piyut mentions that God answered both Avraham and Yitzhak at Mount Moriah during Akeidat Yitzhak (The Binding of Yitzhak).
Avraham was commanded to bring Yitzhak to Mount Moriah as an offering, but the Divine Messenger ordered him to stop at the last moment. Avraham found a ram in the thicket, which became the burnt offering instead of Yitzhak. Avraham was in a moment of terrible crisis- caught between the need to obey God’s command - and the natural need to protect his son.
The episode of the Binding of Yitzhak is often presented as a major test of Avraham- what could be more horrifying for a parent than the threat of losing a child, and how much worse must be the command to sacrifice that child. God sending the message at the critical moment that Yitzhak was not to die was an intense moment answering Avraham’s silent, wordless cry.
God “answered Yitzhak”—Yitzhak had the terrifying “privilege” of helping his father fulfill a Divine command. One can only imagine the terror after the mounting suspense and tension, as Avraham carried the wood without an animal and finally began to bind Yitzhak. Avraham began to raise his hand for the slaughter- but God ordered him to stop. Yitzhak, who had been confronted with imminent death, was suddenly answered from above and able to continue his life.