Our rabbis have taught that HaShem put Avraham Aveinu through ten tests. The ninth was the “binding of Yitzchak” (akeidat Yitzchak) and the tenth, the negotiations between Avraham and Efron the Hittite for the purchase of Ma’arat Ha’machpela as a burial site for Sarah.
Logic dictates that each succeeding test increases in difficulty. The question arises: what was the focus of the final test set before Avraham which caused it to be more difficult than the Akeida.
Have you ever experienced a flash flood in one of the Negev’s wadis (a deep gully in the desert)?
It is an awesome experience and often deadly.
The sky darkens and it begins to rain. One hears an approaching train travelling at 300 kilometers an hour; however, there are no trains in the area. Suddenly a gigantic wall of water comes racing through the wadi, uprooting everything in its path, from trees to cars to trucks. If you are standing in the middle of the wadi at the time, you will soon become part of the Dead Sea. In no time the channel is filled and the water leaps over the banks spreading out over the desert floor in every direction.
In the staccato noise and cadence of ongoing events in Lech Lecha, one might easily overlook a character who stealthily appears in the background, like a seemingly bit-role actor among the more recognized stars; while it later becomes apparent that he is the dominant character in all the events.
Until now the monarchy was in the hands of Shaul from the tribe of Binyamin, whose great righteousness and military skill protected the nation. But now the king is dead and the monarchy will be transferred to the tribe of Yehuda. So it is imperative that the sons of the tribe of Yehuda and all the other tribes who will constitute the monarchy of the House of David excel in the art of war, just as Yehuda was blessed by Ya’akov prior to his death.
Who or what is “Elokim”? What is His nature? Is he loving, caring, or is He angry, zealous, spiteful, vengeful? Is he demanding, never forgiving our iniquities? Are human beings valuable and necessary in His eyes?
There is an ongoing battle between Islam and Christianity, each of whom claims over one billion adherents, regarding the nature of God. They do not believe in the same God, to be sure; because their Gods differ in the extreme.
Reb Yisrael learned from his rabbi that one of the reasons for residing temporarily in a succah is in case one’s destiny was to be expulsion into galut on Rosh Hashana, then the departure from the comforts of home into the succah should be considered to be that galut.
