Nisyonos beyond comprehension—the Akeidah

Chazal tell us that before Akeidas Yitzchak, Hashem told Avraham Avinu, “I have tested you on numerous occasions and you have successfully passed them all. Now be strong for My sake in this test as well, so that it should not be said, ‘There was no reality in the earlier tests’.” (Sanhedrin 89b)

Hashem pleaded with Avraham Avinu to pass this most difficult test, the test of sacrificing Yitzchak, “so that it should not be said there was no reality in the earlier tests.” The Penini HaGeulah asks: “Would failure in this test nullify nine past successes? Wasn’t this nisayon the most difficult?”

The answer is that the other nisyonos were understandable. It appeared to the world that Avraham was doing what he understood to be correct. While everyone agreed that it was noble of Avraham to allow himself to be thrown into the fiery furnace, it made sense, as did all of the other tests.

But the Akeidah went beyond human comprehension. It challenged Avraham Avinu’s very being. It threatened to uproot his lifetime of chesed, and the anti-human-sacrifice morals he taught to the world. Passing this test would require unprecedented mesiras nefesh—a new level of self-sacrifice. Moreover, this test would prove that all of the other tests were done not on the basis of intellectual comprehension, but strictly because Avraham Avinu wished to do Hashem’s will. This test proved the validity of all the others.

When a Jew passes a test that goes beyond human comprehension, it proves his greatness in all of the challenges he has overcome. Our emunah shleimah propels us to go against our nature and meet the toughest nisyonos. And we are equipped for the battle.

A people equipped for the challenge

Klal Yisrael is called an am k’shei oref (Shemos 34:9). The tzaddik Rebbe Arye Levine asks: How could Moshe Rabbeinu, who defended the Jewish people through so many trials, call Bnei Yisroel a stiff-necked people? How can he refer to Klal Yisrael in such a derogatory manner?

R’ Levine answers that the name is not derogatory. Rather, Moshe Rabbeinu meant to say that we are stiff-necked in our avodas Hashem. We are stubborn, but we direct our stubbornness to the fight for spirituality. We are fiercely determined to win Hashem’s battles, whether or not we understand them. We are an am k’shei oref—a stiff-necked people. That is one of the secrets of our success.

Emunah and nisyonos

There are times when the challenges we face are clear as day. During those times, we can comprehend our challenges, and confidently overcome them, guided by our steadfast faith. Those are the times during the day. Those are the times we refer to in the kriyas shema of shacharis, the morning prayer, when, after declaring our faith we say emes v’yatziv—“true and firm.” We can positively confirm that what we have said is true, for we have seen it.