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allowed to test God by conditioning our behavior on His actions or
vice versa – promising to act in a certain way, if He does something for
us, or demanding that He act in a certain way, if we do something for
Him – this rule interestingly does not apply when it comes to tithing.
The prophet Malachi (3:10) explicitly promised in God’s name that
those who give of their wealth to the poor and the downtrodden,
would have God’s treasure house of wealth opened for their benefit.
Commenting on this verse, the Sages taught that Malachi’s promise
on this matter could be tested.
In the Talmud (Ta’anit 9b), it is related that Choni Hama’agel
drew a circle around himself during a great drought and seemingly
tested God by declaring that he would not leave this circle until rain
fell. While God answered Choni’s prayers, the Sages were furious that
Choni tested God, seemingly forcing Him to provide rain. However,
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ultimately they realized that a particularly righteous man like Choni
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could test God in this way because he was like a son in the chamber of
a king. His father, the king, would wish to grant his every request.
Just as God wanted to awaken Abraham’s sense of responsibility
for the world when he prayed for Sodom, God wanted to awaken
Abraham’s compassion for his descendants by having him undergo
Akeidat Yitzchak. By compelling Abraham to confront and validate
his faith in God’s ultimate goodness and compassion for His children,
Abraham was forced to realize the importance of God continuing to
act this way in the future toward his descendants. This gave him the
courage to, as it were, force God to promise to deal with the Jews
compassionately. Abraham’s silence was his strength and his deep
wisdom, a result of the definitive flowering of his devotion and love
of God.
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“A three-fold cord is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:12). This
verse refers to the three patriarchs – Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
When Abraham took Isaac to be sacrificed, the Torah relates: “On
the third day; and Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place
from afar” (Genesis 22:4). The Zohar (Parashat Va’eira 495) teaches
that the “third day” refers to Jacob, the third of the patriarchs, and
“from afar” alludes to a state of prophecy: Abraham foresaw that
Jacob would also visit this place. Abraham’s prophetic vision further
strengthened the paradoxical nature of his last test. The command
to sacrifice Isaac inherently contradicted God’s promise that the
covenantal promise would be fulfilled through Isaac (Genesis 17:19).
But, envisioning Jacob, Isaac’s son, visiting this spot was completely
surreal. Abraham could only overcome this state of paradox and
confusion through an enormous leap of faith.
According to tradition, Rebecca was born at the very moment
Isaac was bound. From the union of Isaac and Rebecca would come
Jacob, who would guarantee that the three-fold cord of Israel would
never be broken. Just as Abraham’s first test ultimately provided
the merit necessary for Isaac’s birth, the last test provided the merit
necessary for Jacob’s birth, thus ensuring the eternal existence of the
people of Israel.
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