We know that the greatest Nisayon/test of Avraham Avinu was Akedat Yitzhak and what's interesting is that according to many opinions, the first nisayon was Lech Lecha, whereas the test of Or Kasdim (which means the fire of Kasdim) where Avraham Avinu was told to jump into a fiery furnace, is not mentioned on the list of the 10 nisyonot.
Furthermore, the nisayon of the Akeda is Avraham's nisayon, not Yitzhak’s. Why is that?
The answer is that Avraham Avinu jumping into a fiery furnace, or Yitzhak Avinu being willing to give up his life, Mesirut Nefesh- that's not, so to say, a big deal for a Jewish person. That's not what we're supposed to be. We're not, Lehavdil Elef Havdalot like the Arabs that just love to die and believe they're going to wherever they're going to.
It's not a big deal to become a momentary suicide bomber and think you're going to heaven.
But to live in this world with contradictions and accept them, that’s the greatest nisayon and that was the nisayon of Akedat Yitzhak.
On one hand, Avraham Avinu was told “Yitzhak is going to be your child.” On the other hand, he was told, “Bring him up there as an offering.” But Avraham Avinu did not get confused or fall into in a state of panic. He continued on and understood that, although I don't understand, it is what it is.
That is the greatness Avraham Avinu, and that's what all tests really are, to be able to live with a seeming contradiction and to believe that the contradiction is really not a contradiction.
As it says, “Two contradict each other, until the third pasuk comes and explains how it's not a contradiction.”
We live in a world where we still just have the two pesukim, and when you're at that point, there's nothing to do. We have to wait for the third pasuk to come and explain.
In the case of Akedat Yitzhak, there is a famous Or HaChaim HaKadosh that tells us that Yitzhak Avinu was not supposed to have a child. His soul was a soul that was not fit to have children. So if Avraham Avinu had said, “Hashem, I'm not offering Yitzhak,” what would've happened? Very nice. Don't offer him. He'll get married, but he'll never have children. The Akedah caused his soul to leave him, and a new soul entered him. And that new soul was the soul that was able to have children (it says that the first soul of Yitzhak went into the ram. That’s why when Avraham Avinu slaughtered the ram, it was considered as if Yitzhak Avinu was slaughtered, and that's why it says that God saw the ashes.)
So there are seeming contradictions, but God has it worked out and the Akeda and the willingness of Avraham to put the sword to Yitzhak Avinu’s neck and cause his soul to leave and come back is what made the Jewish people. That’s why Yitzhak was fit to have children, and that's why we're here today.
This is a fundamental that we have to believe, that there are sometimes seeming contradictions in the way God is acting, but we have to know that everything is exactly worked out and everything is there with a purpose and the ultimate purpose is to bring about what's good for us.
Additionally, we can't go by this week's perasha without mentioning the beautiful Chafetz Chaim who says that when the angels came to Sedom and they came to Lot's house and the people of Sedom surrounded them, Lot said, “Please leave them, because they came under my roof.”
The Chafetz Chaim says we learn from this that because they relied on him to protect them, it became his responsibility to save them. The Chafetz Chaim says, If that's the way Lot understood, and he told it to the people of Sedom as if they should understand as well, then surely when a person relies on Hashem, Who's the Source of all mercy and kindness, it's proper that Hashem should save him.
These are two important Emunah and Bitachon lessons from the parasha that we can apply to our day-to-day life and current situation.
Have a wonderful day.