Tests and Faith---Fall Kinnus Dvar---2005-11-18

Imagine the hardest that you have ever taken. Now imagine something ten times harder. Imagine a test that does not just take a period at school, or a few hours on a Sunday morning. Imagine a test that last for three days and that demands a lot more of you than your energy. Imagine being asked to sacrifice your child to G-d.

In this week’s Torah portion, Parashat Vayeira, Abraham is asked to do just that. G-d instructs Abraham to take his beloved son, Isaac, to a far away mountain in Moriah in order to sacrifice him. You are probably asking yourself why G-d would do such a thing. If you have been following what happens to Abraham in recent parshiot, you’ll notice that a lot of bad things have been happening. He has to hide underground from King Nimrod who wanted to kill him. Nimrod flung Abraham into a burning furnace. Then, he has to leave the home where he grew up to go to Israel, only to be sent to Egypt shortly after his arrival due to famine. His wife is abducted into Pharaoh’s palace for awhile, but he eventually gets her back. There is a big war between four kings, and Abraham is forced to come to the aid of his Nephew Lot, who is captured. Abraham has to take a concubine because his wife turns out to be barren, and then he is told to get rid of her once she gives birth. After all of those trials, at the ripe age of 99, Abraham is then instructed to circumcise himself.

And now, just when we think that everything is going to be OK for Abraham and his family, he is instructed to sacrifice his son. Lots of bad things happen to Abraham, but behind each hardship is a purpose. G-d’s original covenant with Abraham promised him recognition, success, children, and the Land of Israel. But each of these bad things that happened to Abraham seemed to contradict everything that G-d promised. Why would G-d do such a thing? To test Abraham and make sure that his faith was true and that he was serving G-d out of love and devotion, not for personal gain. In these trials, G-d sought to epitomize the concept of being determined to serve. Abraham had no way to rationalize being thrown into a furnace or being asked to sacrifice his son. But in offering to do so without an argument, Abraham establishes his merit as a true believer and lover of G-d.

Abraham’s deeds have achieved a sort of immortality, maintaining their merit until today. His actions were selfless in motive, allowing them to endure many generations. He was the example for future Jews, to have a “simple” faith and accept G-d despite discrimination and hardships. We are Jewish and serve G-d not to get something in return, like health or success, but because we love G-d.

Abraham’s trials teach us that if we continue in the footsteps of Abraham and follow G-d selflessly and with unfaltering dedication, we will become a nation. By not asking for anything in return, we will ultimately benefit and continue to be a united people, the Jewish people.