Parshas Vayeira
1. In connection with the test of the Akeidah, which was the tenth[1] of the "ten tests with which Avraham our father was tested,"[2] the Gemara[3] says that when the A-lmighty said to Avraham, "Take, please, your son…,"[4] an expression of request, it means to say: "I have tested you with several tests and you withstood them all. Now withstand this test for Me, so that they should not say there was no substance in the first ones."
We need to understand: What is the reason that, had Avraham not withstood the test of the Akeidah, people would have said "there was no substance in the first ones"?[5] That would only have meant that his self-sacrifice did not reach as far as the test of the Akeidah demanded; but it would be no proof that in all the earlier tests, which Avraham had withstood, "there was no substance"! Especially since the test of the Akeidah was an exceedingly difficult test.[6]
2. Regarding the Akeidah passage as a whole, which is "the entire strength of Israel and their merit before their Father in Heaven, and therefore it is constantly on our lips in our prayers all day,"[7] the question is well known:
Why do we mention "constantly the binding of Yitzchak by Avraham, more than the binding of all the pious and holy ones who gave themselves over for the sanctification of the Name, such as Rabbi Akiva and his colleagues and all the holy ones in every generation"?[8] Especially since in Avraham's case "G‑d spoke to him, 'Take, please,'"[9] whereas "the holy ones gave their lives for the sanctification of G‑d even though G‑d did not speak to them."[10]
And the answer is not sufficient that giving up one's own child for the sanctification of G‑d's Name is much harder and deeper than giving up oneself for the sanctification of G‑d's Name[11]—for in a much later generation, too, there was the well-known test of "Chanah and her seven sons,"[12] as she herself said:[13] "You (Avraham) bound one altar, and I bound seven altars."[14] And similarly, afterwards, in the times of persecution, may G‑d spare us, there were cases in which Jews gave up for the sanctification of G‑d's Name not only themselves but also their children, etc., as is known.[15]
3. The Sefer HaIkkarim[16] explains that the novelty of the binding of Yitzchak lay in the fact that "no element of compulsion whatsoever was involved in the act of the Akeidah, for even the command of G‑d, blessed be He, did not compel him. And this matter our Sages, of blessed memory, explained[17] on the verse[18] 'G‑d will see…': Avraham said before the Holy One, blessed be He, 'Master of the world, it is revealed and known before You that when You said to me, "Take, please, your son, your only one, whom you love, Yitzchak, and offer him up to Me as a burnt offering," I could have said, "But did You not already tell me, 'For through Yitzchak shall offspring be called yours'?"[19] And I did not say so, but I suppressed my compassion and did not question Your ways.' From this it appears explicitly that even on account of G‑d's command Avraham was not compelled, since he could have excused himself from it with a true argument had he wished" [with this the Ran[20] explains why it says here "Take, please…"—an expression of request—because it was a request, not a compulsion];
whereas the holy ones who gave their lives for the sanctification of G‑d's Name in the generations that followed did so because of the command, "And I shall be sanctified among the children of Israel."[21]
But this is not a sufficient explanation, because [in addition to the fact that it is forced to say that because "I could have said, etc.," and because it was a request, it was not a compulsion: when the A-lmighty Himself asks something (even in a way in which one could argue against it), it is a "compulsion," especially for Avraham our father—]
among the holy ones mentioned above, too, there were those whose self-sacrifice for the sanctification of G‑d's Name was not bound up with an obligation and command of the Torah. On the contrary, they had to seek a permission for it according to halachah, as is known from the discussion on this[22] whether one may give up one's life in a case where by law the ruling is "let him transgress and not be killed."
4. The explanation of this is well known, as brought in Chassidus:[23]
The achievement of Avraham our father lay in this, that he was the first to withstand the test of self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh), and the beginning of anything is the most difficult, as in the well-known expression,[24] "all beginnings are difficult." But after Avraham "opened"—opened the channel of self-sacrifice—the power of self-sacrifice was drawn down into the world,[25] and therefore it is afterwards much easier, since one only needs to bring it out from potential to actual.[26]
But this is not understood:
Actual self-sacrifice had already been drawn down by Avraham our father even before the test of the Akeidah—in the test of Ur Kasdim,[27] when Avraham put himself forward with self-sacrifice to destroy all kinds of idolatry and to publicize G‑dliness in the world,[28] to the point—as the Rambam also brings it in his book of halachos (the Yad)[29]—that "the king sought to kill him, and a miracle was done for him."
Moreover: the test of Ur Kasdim seemingly has an additional advantage over the test of the Akeidah, for the test of the Akeidah was by the word of the A-lmighty ("G‑d spoke to him"), which is not so with the test of Ur Kasdim.
And since the Akeidah was not the first case of self-sacrifice (not even for Avraham himself), the question returns to its place: In what does the unique quality of the test of the Akeidah consist?
5. This will be understood by first explaining the novelty in self-sacrifice in general:
From the explanation[30] that Avraham opened the channel (a thing that brings water and the like from one place to another place) of self-sacrifice in the world, it is understood that without this there is no existence of self-sacrifice in the world.
The explanation of this: Self-sacrifice means the nullification of one's being and existence. A created being means that the Creator created a being and an existence. It is therefore understood that a created being cannot (by its own power) come to what is higher than its own existence,[31] similar to "a prisoner cannot free himself from prison."[32] Therefore one must have a power "from another place" to be able to come to self-sacrifice.
Seemingly this is puzzling: We find self-sacrifice also among the nations of the world [in addition to the fact that there is a view[33] that a descendant of Noach, too, is commanded regarding the sanctification of G‑d's Name]. There have been a number of cases (to draw a distinction) in which they let themselves be killed for the sake of their beliefs[34] and opinions, etc.[35]
The explanation of this:[36]
The mere fact that a person is ready to give his life for the sake of the A-lmighty does not yet make it certain that this is the true meaning of (self-sacrifice and) the nullification of existence. It may be that he gives his life because, according to his reason and calculation, it comes out that this is more worthwhile for him than remaining alive—he will gain something greater.
And self-sacrifice that is founded entirely on "calculation," as above, can exist (to draw a distinction) also among the nations of the world—that is, he thinks that by "giving his life" he will gain, something will accrue to his existence; or on the negative side: if he will not attain a certain thing, then "why should he live?"—as in "a man set his heart on a woman,"[37] the drive to win, and especially in the case of a king,[38] and the like.
The true meaning of self-sacrifice is that one gives over the nefesh, the "I"—one gives oneself over entirely to the A-lmighty, a giving over and surrender that is higher than every kind of calculation of reason or feeling and the like; one is entirely nullified to the A-lmighty, in such a way that one's own existence occupies no place at all.
6. It can be said that this, in a revealed way (without any doubt) in the world, was the achievement and superiority of the test of the Akeidah over the test of Ur Kasdim:
The self-sacrifice in Ur Kasdim consisted in this—that Avraham gave his life for the publicizing of faith in G‑d in the world. Therefore "the world" could think that the self-sacrifice was based on a holy calculation: his conviction of the necessity "to illuminate the world, which had been in darkness,"[39] was so strong that he took no obstacle into account, and he gave his life for it;[39*]
whereas the Akeidah (in itself) contained nothing else at all except that "you are G‑d-fearing," and for this Avraham gave his life.
[It did not even involve publicizing in the world how deeply one must be devoted to the A-lmighty, for (as the Ibn Ezra says[40]) "when he bound his son, not even his young men were there."[41] On the contrary, as discussed elsewhere,[42] it was seemingly in contradiction to publicizing His G‑dliness, blessed be He, in the world: by offering up Yitzchak as a burnt offering, "the root that Avraham planted"[43] would have been "uprooted," and the publicizing of G‑dliness in the world would have had no continuation, G‑d forbid.]
The entire self-sacrifice of the Akeidah was only because the A-lmighty wanted it and asked for it,[44] and therefore Avraham did it.
And in this lay the achievement of the test of the Akeidah that Avraham our father withstood: the self-sacrifice of the Akeidah was in such a way that it had no grounding at all in reason; it was nothing but the will of the Holy One, blessed be He, and consequently—the ultimate nullification of existence.[45]
7. According to all the above, it is also understood why the Gemara says, "so that they should not say there was no substance in the first ones":
Had Avraham, G‑d forbid, not withstood the test of the Akeidah, one could have thought—and "they would say"—that he withstood the earlier tests because they were in keeping with his holy reason, but true self-sacrifice, giving over the essence and very substance of the soul—that (at least) "I do not know."[46]
By withstanding the test of the Akeidah, he showed retroactively that the "first" tests, too, he had withstood with true self-sacrifice, with complete devotion and the ultimate nullification.[47]
8. This is also the explanation of why the "opening of the channel in the world" for self-sacrifice is attributed to the test of the Akeidah, and not to the test of Ur Kasdim:
The "opening of the channel" for self-sacrifice means that Avraham our father bequeathed to the Jewish people the power of true self-sacrifice—genuine self-sacrifice, to the point that this is the true will of every Jew, truly "of your own will."[48] Therefore, when a Jew gives his life for the A-lmighty, even in a way that outwardly one might think is with a calculation, it is in truth (not self-sacrifice based on calculation, but) true self-sacrifice: a Jew gives over his whole being[49] to the A-lmighty, beyond all calculation, like the test of the Akeidah.
So much so, that the Alter Rebbe brings in the Shulchan Aruch[50] that "it is good to say the passage of the Akeidah every day… and also in order to subdue one's inclination to serve G‑d, blessed be He, just as Yitzchak gave over his soul." Seemingly, how can the service of every Jew "to subdue his inclination to serve G‑d, blessed be He" be compared to "Yitzchak gave over his soul," which was self-sacrifice in its ultimate perfection, as explained above?
But it is because Avraham opened the channel for true self-sacrifice, so every service of a Jew—who is, after all, the seed of Avraham, a son and heir of Avraham, "the inheritance of the congregation of Yaakov"—"to subdue his inclination to serve G‑d, blessed be He, just as Yitzchak gave over his soul," is exactly as if Avraham were leading him to the Akeidah, because this is the true will of every Jew: to give himself over truly to the A-lmighty.
(From talks of Shabbos Parshas Vayeishev, 5731, and Shabbos Parshas Matos-Masei, 5735)
Key Lesson
Avraham's self-sacrifice at the Akeidah was greater than at Ur Kasdim because it served no purpose that reason could see; it was only because G‑d asked. This showed that all his earlier self-sacrifice, too, came from true devotion and not from calculation. Avraham passed this power on to every Jew, so that even the daily effort to overcome one's inclination for the sake of serving G‑d is a true giving over of oneself. When we do what G‑d wants simply because He wants it, we draw on the strength of the Akeidah.