Avraham Avinu was sitting in the heat of the day, and he was going to turn it into the most memorable moment of chesed in the history of the world. He was not just going to sit there and complain and talk about uncertainty. Instead, he was going to welcome guests and show future generations how to bring people into their homes. In that uncertain moment, he created the ultimate example of chesed and kindness.
In the moment, in number 2, when the city of Sodom was going to be destroyed, Avraham Avinu invented Tefillat Shacharit (morning prayer). He got up and made one of the most famous tefillot (prayers) in the Torah: “Hashem, if there are 50 righteous people, if there are 45, if there are 40...” That tefillah (prayer), that desperation in that tefillah, became the example of how we pray. Avraham Avinu, in his second moment in this week’s Parashah of Uncertainty, invented tefillah. No one had a tefillah that would last forever before Avraham Avinu did. It happened during an uncertain moment.
In the third uncertain moment, when Sarah was taken, you know what happens? Sarah is taken. Avimelech does not harm Sarah in any way. And what happens is that Avraham Avinu blesses Avimelech. And as the teaching goes, when you bless someone else, you get blessed first. Right after he blessed Avimelech, Sarah conceived. And Sarah had her first child at 90 years old.
The uncertainty, the lemons, turned into lemonade. The challenge turned into a blessing. And the most famous moment of them all: walking to Akedat Yitzchak (Binding of Isaac). Yes, it was three very difficult days. Three days when he thinks in his mind, “I might need to slaughter my son.” Those three very difficult days turned into a zechut and a merit that we would use for over 3,000 years. Every Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year), we pray and say, “Hashem, remember those days. Remember Akedat Yitzchak.” Three tough days ended up as an eternity of merits, an eternity of zechuyot, an eternity of credits. He took the challenge and turned it into something great.
Don’t survive when difficult times come; turn it into something. You’re not married yet. Maybe there’s a moment to find a better kind of husband and a better person. If some business doesn’t work out, you’re going to build a better business. You’re going to learn lessons from the fact that your business failed, and because of that, you’re going to build something even more incredible. Someone else has something you don’t have, and it’s bothering you. Get the jealousy out of your heart, and now turn it to motivation. Let that inspire you. Let that put fight inside of you to do something great.
Everyone has lemons thrown at them daily. You got to grow up. You have to stand up. You have to strengthen up. You have to have the courage to say, “You know what? What do I do with this to make this something incredible?” I know that if I asked and interviewed any person here, you could tell me about some uncertainty that’s going on in your life. I’m sure of it. Don’t be scared of it. Embrace it and turn it into something great.