Why do we give Abraham the credit for passing the test of the binding of Isaac? Isaac was the one who was ready to give his life for the will of G-d. For lofty souls such as Abraham and Isaac, giving their lives to fulfill G‑d’s command was no great test. The great test was for Abraham to refrain from weighing the ways of G‑d.
Abraham, for many years of his life, built a ladder of reason. He was a skeptic, a man driven by what made sense to him. With his keen, independent intellect, he concluded that there is a single G‑d who is beyond intellect. And so he fearlessly proclaimed to all the world. And then G‑d took this rationalism out from him. The same G‑d who had promised him that Isaac, his son, would be his heir, that same G‑d commanded him, “Take your son, your only son, the one you love, Isaac, and raise him for an offering on one of the mountains that I will show you.”
Reason and understanding had no place here. If you had asked Abraham at this point, “How does this make sense? How can it be resolved?” he would have no answer. Because there was no answer. No logic or reason. That is why, when Abraham finally arrived at the test of sacrificing Isaac all this challenge vanished into thin air.
The Jewish people and the entire world are now experiencing a big test. Kingdoms are teasing one another. The Zohar says that close to the redemption there will be a test. As with Abraham, when standing firm when nothing seems right, when nothing makes sense, and yet we do what we have to do according to the Torah we fulfill the will of G-d who gave the land of Israel to the Jewish people and standing firm without hesitation and without giving any piece of land from the holy land which belongs only to the Jewish people. The Torah promises that finally, we will see the victory that only G-d can give. The test will vanish! Everything that is happening is part of the progress towards Moshiach and redemption.
*This is from a series of articles by Rabbi Bernstein Moshe.
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