We continue with yesterday’s theme of learning lessons from Bereshit, the beginning of time. The Mishnah, in Pirkei Avot tells us that Avraham Avinu was tested with 10 tests, וְעָמַד בְּכֻלָּם and he withstood them all. This tells us how dear Avraham Avinu is. The first of the lessons we can learn, comes from these words וְעָמַד בְּכֻלָּם and he withstood them all-
What does it mean that he “withstood” the tests? Why doesn’t it say he passed the tests?
The Midrash Shemuel says that Avraham Avinu didn’t look at his tests as tragedy or as a falling- he looked at them as raising him up; he was happy with his tests.
So that’s our first lesson- Tests don’t mean that Hashem doesn’t like us. Tests are an opportunity to lift ourselves up.
Avraham Avinu וְעָמַד בְּכֻלָּם withstood them all.
Lesson two is from Rabbi Shemuel Ibn Sid, a Rabbi who lived a few hundred years ago. He asks why G-d tests people. He says it’s not to know what’s going on, because G-d always knows that. Rather, that tests are there to let the person know how great he is. Avraham Avinu’s tests were to let him know how great he was, and our tests are there to let us know how great we are, when we pass them.
The next important lesson, from the Midrash Shemuel and Rav Ruach Hayim, is that the term Avinu, our forefather, is used because Avraham Avinu passed down, to his children, all of those qualities that he gained through his tests. That’s why Jewish people have a natural ability to reach greatness with a little bit of work. It doesn’t happen automatically, but with a little bit of work we can get there, because we inherited those good genes. A person with good genes for physical strength still has to go to the gym to work out. He doesn’t automatically grow muscle, but he has a strong tendency. He just has to work a little bit.
He gives many examples of Jewish people who gave up their lives, al Kiddush Hashem. We got that from Avraham Avinu, who was willing to jump into a fiery furnace.
Furthermore, Jewish people will pick up and move to Eretz Yisrael at any moment- we get that from Avraham Avinu’s Lech Lecha.
The fact that a Jewish person naturally says that everything Hashem does is for the good is because Avraham went through all those tests and didn’t question G-d. That was Avraham Avinu’s greatness. Rashi, in Pirkei Avot, says that after all the tests,
ולא הרהר אחר מדותיו ית':
He didn’t question G-d.
That was his greatness.
The Hasid Yavetz says that this is why Jewish people go through Galut, because Hashem wants to give us tremendous merit. He wants us to merit tremendous blessing. But, He says, it’s on one condition: that we accept it
בסבר פנים ופות with a smile
The Hovot HaLevavot, in Shaar Heshbon HaNefesh, chapter 3, says
You should know, my brother, that (regarding) the ten tests that Avraham Avinu was tested, the only reason we praise him is because he accepted it ובטוב לבב, with a glad heart. Like it says,
ומצאת את לבבו נאמן לפניך
His heart was found loyal.
The reason that the Jewish people, in the desert, were held responsible for their ten attempts to test G-d, so to say, was because they complained when things didn’t go well. That’s the difference.
These are tremendous lessons. We have to learn from this. Every one of Avraham Avinu’s tests, are things that we can do.
A few more tidbits from Avraham Avinu’s tests, that we can gain from:
According to Rebbenu Yonah, regarding the war of the four kings, the test was that Avraham Avinu went to war with 318 people, (Rashi says that it’s possible that it was only Eliezer) But he went, וחזק ובטח בה׳
He held on, relied on Hashem, and G-d made a miracle for him. That’s in the Jewish DNA. We all have challenges that seem unsurpassable, that seem to need superhuman strength to overcome, but we rely on Hashem and He makes miracles.
These are the lessons of Avraham Avinu, and these lessons are for us.
When we learn about Avraham Avinu, we are learning about ourselves. Furthermore, in connection to Rosh Hashanah, the Me’am Loez says that Avraham Avinu’s passing of these ten tests gave us the Aseret Yeme Teshuva! Avraham Avinu created the Ten Days of Teshuva! (Thank you Mr. David Chabbot for sharing this)
We know that those ten days of Teshuva can fix all the sins of a lifetime Avraham Avinu was the one that gave us the abilities to overcome challenges, to pass tests, to reach greatness that we didn’t know we had inside of us.
May we all merit to pass all of our tests, and all of our challenges, and bring out from within us, all of those traits of Avraham Avinu that are inside of us.
Like we’ve said many times, “Magen Avraham- G-d protects Avraham.” This means G-d protects the Avraham inside every one of us. Inside of us all, there’s a little pure bit of Avraham Avinu. And all of the things that Avraham did, we too can bring out- his bitachon, his emunah, his steadfastness, all of those things...Imagine what he went though!? His wife was kidnapped, his money was lost, he had to go to war... etc.. He overcame all of these challenges, and came out even greater. That’s us, and Bezrat Hashem, we will reap all the benefits of Avraham Avinu.