Vayera - Why did Yitzchak carry the wood but not the knife?
The passuk in this week’s sedrah says: וַיִּקַּח אַבְרָהָם אֶת-עֲצֵי הָעֹלָה וַיָּשֶׂם עַל-יִצְחָק בְּנוֹ וַיִּקַּח בְּיָדוֹ אֶת-הָאֵשׁ וְאֶת-הַמַּאֲכֶלֶת “And Avraham took the wood for the olah and he placed it on his son Yitzchak and he took in his hand the flint and the knife.” The Tzaphnas Paneach asks, why did Avraham put the wood on Yitzchak but not the flint and the knife? He answers that as Yitzchak was a korban , it would have been assur for Avraham to ask him to carry the knife. The Tzaphnas Paneach proves that this is the halacha from a gemara in Pesachim ( דף ס״ו עמוד א ') that relates that erev Pesach once fell on Shabbat and the nesiim in Yerushalayim did not know if it was mutar to bring the korban pesach on Shabbos. Hillel proved from a passuk that they could bring the korban. The nesiim then asked Hillel what the halacha is concerning someone who forgot to bring the shechita knife for the korban to the beis hamikdash before Shabbat, as they coul...