04 Nov PARSHA IN PRACTICE: SKILLS FOR BETTER LIVING VAYEIRA – A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP

Avraham’s nisayon
was even more
impressive than
you remember!
Parshas Vayeira contains one of
the most challenging episodes in
Jewish history: Akeidas Yitzchak.
While even the thought of facing
such a test would make any regular
person tremble, Avraham was able
to pass with flying colors. However,
Avraham’s successful completion of
his nisayon is only half of the story,
just one element of his righteousness.
Undoubtedly, Avraham struggled
internally with this command. In
addition to the shocking cruelty
involved in slaughtering one’s own
son, Avraham was perplexed by how
Hashem could instruct him to kill the
child that G-d Himself had promised

would later produce a fruitful nation
(Rashi, Bereishis 22:13). And yet, not
only was Avraham faithfully willing
to fulfill this troubling mitzvah; he
was even eager to do so. Indeed,
Chazal derive the general concept
of zerizus, displaying alacrity for

mitzvos, from Avraham’s early-
morning rise to perform the akeidah

(Pesachim 4a; see Tosfos ad loc.).
Remarkably, Avraham was excited
to follow the directive he found so
morally troubling – because it was
the word of Hashem.
The Brisker Rav zt”l (quoted in Ta’am
VaDa’as) pointed out yet another
dimension of Avraham’s greatness
embedded in this narrative. The fact
that “Avraham awoke early in the
morning” (Bereishis 22:3) not only
highlights his readiness to carry out

the task, but also implies that he was
able to sleep the night before! It is
one thing to be willing to sacrifice
his precious son, it’s another to do so
with zerizus, and it’s another caliber
entirely to feel so at-peace with his
commitment to Hashem that he did
not lose any sleep over the impending
mitzvah. As unpleasant as the
thought of losing his dear Yitzchak
certainly was, Avraham prioritized
his undying love for Hashem. This
deep trust and tight bond with his
Creator allowed Avraham to remain
dedicated, and even well-rested.
Thankfully, Hashem has never
challenged us with such a difficult
nisayon as the Akeidah. However,
we can learn from Avraham to relish
the opportunity to perform mitzvos,
even when they seem demanding.

For example, many aspects of a Torah
lifestyle require a significant sacrifice
of time and/or money; some might
take a serious emotional toll on our
wellbeing; and others can sometimes
be hard to reconcile with modern
values. Nevertheless, by developing
a genuine, personal connection with
Hashem, we can become excited
at the chance to engage in Avodas
Hashem – even when it is challenging
– and certainly never view a mitzvah
as a reason to lose any sleep!