Parashat Vayerah 5770
The Profound Word
Howard S. Joseph
http://TheProfoundWord.com
The Last Trial
Gen 22:1. And it came to pass after these things, that God tested Abraham….
When is a test not a test? Abraham is near the end of his career as the focus of the Biblical story. What could be the purpose of ‘testing’ him?
The Hebrew word is ‘nisa’ which has multiple meanings. It can suggest ‘nisayon’ -? a trial or test. Or it can suggest ‘to lift’, to raise as a banner or flag or sign – a ‘nes’. [Also used for miracle - a sign.]
The question is what does it mean here.
The context of Neziv’s? discussion is a Mishnah teaching in Pirkei Avot – the Ethics of the Fathers, ch. 5:3
With ten tests our father Abraham was tested and he withstood them all–in order to make known how great was our father Abraham’s love [for God].
So we see first of all that this was not a test to find out if Abraham was worthy but a test to give the opportunity to demonstrate Abraham’s worthiness to the world.
Secondly, we see that this test is the only one mentioned of the ten tests. None of the other events in Abraham’s life are preceded by this notation – God tested Abraham.
Neziv learns from this that we are, therefore, supposed to understand this event according to both meanings of ‘nes’: a test as well as an event that raises Abraham into a special figure, someone who has great love for God.
So, his focus in this verse is on three questions:
1. What is the meaning of testing? What kind of test is this?
2. How does this test provide the result that God wishes – to make known to the world something about Abraham?
3. What is the impact on Abraham? What is the information about Abraham that will be made known? In what way is this event both a test and a raising of Abraham on a banner to symbolize a major issue?
The multiple meanings of ‘nes’ is already commented upon in Genesis Rabbah [77] which links the word to a verse in Psalms [60:4]:? But for those who fear you, you have raised a banner….
Neziv comments:
“thus the Sages explained that through this event He lifted the power of Father Abraham and raised him to the pinnacle of the spiritual greatness of the Israelite nation as will be explained.”
Neziv again goes to Gen. Rabbah [32] where the different possible kinds of tests are mentioned:
“Our Sages modeled the issue and meaning of testing in three ways.
1. As in when the purchaser of a pot hits it to find out its strength.
2.When one has good flax when beats it often and the more you beat it the more it improves. But it has to start off as good flax otherwise the beating has no effect.
3. One? increases the burden on a good donkey? to determine exactly how much he can carry….
A righteous [tzaddik] person may be tested in one of these three manners….
“From this Midrash we learn that the the test here is not like that of the pot for this would have no impact on elevating Abraham at all. Rather it is like the good flax example, for just as the beating of it actualizes it’s good potential so to the tzadik whose whose righteousness is in potential, still it requires some act to help actualize that inner potential. Then it becomes easy for he himself to bring out the potential in the future.
So the Blessed Holy One [HKBH] elevated Abraham to prepare for the Akedah to slaughter his beloved son so that? Abraham and his descendants would be prepared to lovingly martyr themselves to sanctify the name of Hashem. This act of Abraham was for the purpose [of setting an example] for his descendants, the Israelite nation….”
Neziv continues the discussion on verse 17 – ‘I will bless you…”
“Abraham’s descendants are blessed here with the commandment of Kiddush Hashem -martyrdom -? as found in Sanhedrin [74b]: ‘Israel is commanded on Kiddush Hashem and the nations of the world are not.’ It is understood that this is an honor to Israel for it shows our closeness as children of God…. So, God? commands His children which are his lot in the world and the bearers of his kingship to give themselves for His Name and Glory…. Thus, Abraham merited through this event that his descendants would achieve the spiritual greatness required to willingly give themselves for Kiddush Hashem….”
There are lots of issues to think about in this discussion, some of them very painful and difficult. Neziv is locating the history of Jewish martyrdom right here in the Akedah story. It is the principal locus of the spiritual power to give oneself totally and ultimately, something that Jews had to do too often.
But how did the lesson get transmitted? After all, only Isaac was present?
The internal lesson for Israel is thus transmitted through Isaac and his descendants. But going back to the Pirkei Avot teaching of ‘in order to make known how great was our father Abraham’s love [for God]‘,? was Isaac the only intended recipient of this knowledge? If others were also intended to know about it how did it become diffused? Certainly Abraham was not going to brag about this event.
To answer this question we have to refer to another classic commentator from the Middle Ages, Rabbi David Kimhi known as Radak [1160 ? 1235.]
Radak asks this very question – how would the world know about this event: “for even if Abraham told people they would not believe it?”
Radak follows a line of reasoning similar to Neziv concerning the ‘nes’ question. Then he makes a remarkable declaration:
“The truth is that this trial was to show the world Abraham’s total love for God and was not just for those generations but for the generations to come who believe in the Torah written by Moses our teacher, a’h, from the mouth of God, and all its stories, so that they will see the extent of his love for God and learn from him to love God with all their hearts and all their souls….
In truth, before the Torah and its stories were written this great event was passed on internally from Isaac to Jacob and his children. After the Torah was written for Jacob’s family this matter became famous in the world. Some believed it and some did not.
Today, many years after the abolishing? of idol worship [i. e., through the advent of Christianity and Islam -hsj] most of the world believes in Moses’ Torah and its stories except that they disagree with us about the commandments which they understand symbolically. So now that most of the world believes in this great story, it is a tremendous testimony to our Father Abraham who loved God totally and completely. And it is proper for people to learn from his way of loving God.”
For Radak, the advent of major new faiths that learn from Abraham the proper love of God – and many other things from our Torah – is a major providential consequence intended from the beginning.
More profound words for this week.
Shabbat Shalom