The Parshah in a Nutshell
Rosh Hashanah Torah Readings

Day 1:

G‑d remembers Sarah, and gives her and Abraham a son, who is named Isaac (Yitzchak), meaning “will laugh”; Abraham is then one hundred years old, and Sarah ninety. Isaac is circumcised at the age of eight days.

Hagar and Ishmael are banished from Abraham’s home, and wander in the desert; G‑d hears the cry of the dying lad, and saves his life by showing his mother a well. The Philistine king Abimelech makes a treaty with Abraham at Be’er Sheba.

Day 2:

G‑d commands Abraham to sacrifice his son on Mount Moriah (the Temple Mount) in Jerusalem. Isaac is bound and placed on the altar, and Abraham raises the knife to slaughter his son. A voice from heaven calls to stop him, saying that it was a test; a ram, caught in the undergrowth by its horns, is offered in Isaac’s place.