Parshas Vayeira 5787
Updated: 37 minutes ago
לך לך אל ארץ המוריה ... (כב-ב)
According to many opinions this was the last of the עשרה נסיונות with which Avraham Avinu was tested. The Medrash Tanchuma says that both, here and in last week’s parsha the phrase לך לך is used. This teaches us that נסיון אחרון כנסיון ראשון. The last נסיון was like the first. That is difficult to understand; for was not the נסיון of the Akeida far greater than all the others? How can the midrash equate them?! R' Gedalia Schorr zt"l clarifies the medrash by explaining how it rated the tests. It wasn’t level of the test per se; but rather how Avraham triumphed and succeeded in meeting the challenges head-on, passing the first and last tests with flying colors; and by displaying the same levels of love and commitment to Hashem.
Perhaps we can suggest another 2 machshavos. Later in the parsha the Malach appeared to Avraham, "congratulating" him on his triumphs, and said, עתה ידעתי כי ירא אלקים אתה. The tenses here seemingly do not match; עתה means now, while ידעתי is in the past; I knew. It should've rather said עתה יודע or יודע אני . R' Gedalia answers that his passing the tenth and final nisayon was testimony that throughout all of them he was a ירא אלקים. Hence, the now – the present, retroactively mirrored the past. Maybe that’s what the medrash means as well; noting Avraham’s level of yiras shamayim.
Another idea is a fundamental principle in the general concept of נסיונות that Hashem gives us. The medrashim ask: Why was it necessary to test Avraham ten times? If he passes the hardest one, then he’d surely pass the easier ones? Let's use a mashal to explain their answer. When a person begins a physical work out regimen, he may start with a 10 lb weight and eventually graduate to 50 lbs. At the outset he wasn't able to lift the 50 lb weight. But after building himself up, the 50 lb weight is as easy as the 10 lb one he began with. Here too, each nisayon strengthened Avraham until he was able to handle the final one with ease. Thus, says the medrash: נסיון אחרון כראשון. May הקב"ה give us the might and siyata dishmaya to overcome our personal nisyonos, thereby bringing Him much nachas!