Vayeira 22:10 · unit 2

Parashas Vayeira · Passuk 22:10

The Complete Passuk

וַיִּשְׁלַ֤ח אַבְרָהָם֙ אֶת־יָד֔וֹ וַיִּקַּ֖ח אֶת־הַֽמַּאֲכֶ֑לֶת לִשְׁחֹ֖ט אֶת־בְּנֽוֹ׃

And Avraham stretched forth his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.

Chabad / Judaica Press

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to Chullin 16a.

TT lemma: ויקח את המאכלת.

Sefaria — Chullin 16a

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text
ויקח את המאכלת. יתיב רבי וקאמר, מניין לשחיטה שהיא בתלוש, שנאמר ויקח את המאכלת לשחוט.

English: “And he took the knife.” Rabbi was sitting and said: From where do we know that slaughter must be with a detached [blade]? As it is said, “And he took the knife to slaughter.”

On the daf / in context: The act of “taking” the knife implies that the instrument was already detached, establishing that shechitah requires a free-standing blade.

Type of Learning

Derash on the verse (Bavli sugya) — not a formal named middah of the 13. The verb of taking supplies a technical requirement of the slaughtering instrument.

What Is Learned

Slaughter must be performed with a detached knife; Avraham “took” the ma’achelet, proving the instrument was not attached to the ground or to a larger object.