Chazal tell us that at the event of Matan Torah Hashem uprooted Har Hamoriyaand placed it on top of Har Sinai. What message was Hashem sending to Am Yisrael by this action? Let us first examine in depth the test of the Akeidah. The Peri Haaretz says about the Akeidah that the test of Avraham was not the point on whether he would refuse to sacrifice Yitzchak or not. Rather the question was להרהר אחר מדותיו would he experience a passing thought lacking complete emunah and second guess Hashem, or erroneously think that Hashem was changing His mind regretting what he said earlier which in itself would have been deemed heresy. Anyone of the Avos who Hashem appeared to him and commanded him to bring a sacrifice either himself or his son, would not hesitate to do so. Rather this tenth ordeal was to test Avraham in his unwavering emunah to the utmost by not letting even a 1% of doubt or question to even pass through his mind and heart. As Rashi brings (Bereishis 22,12) that only after Avraham completed the test successfully it dawned upon Avraham the inherent contradiction of Hashem’s words to him, Yesterday You told me כי ביצחק יקרא לך זרע and now You told me to take my son and sacrifice him to You.
The gemarah in Sanhedrin 89b brings a similar thought that the Satan came before Avraham and said to him “Is it right for Hashem to test you with something that will leave you debilitated? Satan argued that someone who loved Avraham would surely not subject him to a test that would enfeeble him and destroy his progeny. Avraham’s sole ambition and occupation in this world was to teach others that Hashem was the creator of the universe in order to bring them closer to Him. If Avraham was to sacrifice his son as Hashem commanded, then all of his work would have been in vain. They will say that the very person who preached against human sacrifice went and sacrificed his own son. It behooved Avraham to refrain from fulfilling the command of sacrificing Yitzchak”.
Of course, Avraham was not going to listen to the Satan and succumb to refrain from sacrificing Yitzchak. Even the Satan understood this. However, the Satan wanted that Avraham should feel even a slight remorse and הרהור, a fleeting passing thought over the sacrifice which would then make the korbanof Yitzchak blemished. Nevertheless, Avraham did not falter an iota and answered ואני בתומי אלך I will continue to go forwards with my complete belief in Hashem.
The present Slonimer Rebbei shlitah writes that there are two levels of emunah. One level is that a person believes that everything that Hashem does is for the good כל מה דעביד רחמנא לטב עביד. Even though one does not yet see the good outcome he still believes it. The higher level isואני בתומי אלך . It is not that I believe that it will eventually be good for me but rather because it is Hashem’s will so whatever the outcome will be it is good for me. As the Medrash says (Vayikrah Rabba 27,1) נמשכים אחריך כבהמה An animal doesn’t think that he follows his master’s will because it will be good for him but rather because he is the master. This is the high level of emunah of ואני בתומי אלךwhere one makes himself הפקר ownerless and to Hashem devoid of any self interest.
Continuing with the same thought we find that the gematriah of הפקר is שכינה. One is able to make himself הפקר when he realizes that he is a מרכבה a chariot for the Shechinah. This is what the passuk in Nechemya 9,8 means when it writes on Avraham ומצאת את לבבו נאמן לפניך parallel to the Sifri which writes on the passuk ימצאהו בארץ מדבר זה אברהם אבינו Avraham is found in the desert a place that is ownerless. So too, Avraham’s heart belonged to Hashem for Avraham surrendered all rights and ownership over it to Hashem. A person who attains such a level never considers whether it is good for him or not but rather if it is good for Hashem then it is good for him. An allusion to this is the gematriah ומצאת לבבו adds up to ואני בתומי אלך .
Now we can understand why Hashem gave a double beracha after the Akaidah,one for the father and one for son (Bereishis 22,27 Rashi). In a deeper level the reference to אב and בן refers to the two levels of emunah. The lower level of emunah is the understanding that everything isלטב for my good. This is symbolized in the word בן from the lashon of binah understanding. The higher level of emunah is calledאב which means רצון desire and will (Shmos 10,27). It is one’s complete faith that if this is what Hashem wants then he will fulfill Hashem’s desire irrelevant of his personal consideration at all. At the test of the Akeidah Avraham attained not only the first level of emunah but even the second level of אני בתומי אלך.
בהר ה’ יראה Rashi learns that Hashem will show and let known this place of the future Beis Hamikdash in which He will rest His Shechina. The Beis Hamikdashwas the place where one could attain this level of אני בתומי אלך because the שכינה dwelled there which is the same gematriah as הפקר. This is hinted in the word הר which is two times the gematriah of אמונה symbolizing the two levels of emunah which Avraham attained at the Tenth Test. To this segulah of the Beis Hamikdash the passuk testifies when it says עדותיך נאמנו מאד לביתך נאוה קודש Am Yisrael who are known as עדותיך, those who give testimony everyday concerning Your oneness אתם עדי) Yeshaya 43,10, as also hinted in the enlarged two letters of עד in the first passuk of Shmah Yisrael), נאמנו מאד are infused with very deep emunah when they come לביתך to Your Beis Hamikdash.
This is why Hashem accessed to Avraham Avinu the availability at hand to sacrifice a ram תחת בנו””. On the simple level this means the ram was instead of Yitzchak his son. On the deeper level it could mean that Avraham at the Akeidah reached the higher of emunah of אב which replaced his lower level ofבן which he possessed until now. In truth that ram symbolized Avraham’s sacrifice of himself in the way that he fulfilled the words of the Navi נמשכים אחריך כבהמה that his will was hefker to Hashem just like an animal.
Now we can also understand why Hashem did not “command” Avraham to sacrifice his son but rather asked him in the lashon ofקח נא please take, a term which is unique and exclusive to the tenth test of Avraham. With the terminology of “please” one is given the window and option of refusing the request, especially if the request warrants no response since it is replete with many illogical reasons to refrain from fulfilling it. Yet Avraham accepted this test solely because he was driven by the level ofאני בתומי אלך , I am hefker to the will of Hashem and will do whatever pleases him without any הרהור.
At Matan Torah there was a vision of אתה הראית לדעת כי ה’ הוא האלקים אין עוד מלבדו . With such a revelation there was little room for emunah. What will be in the time of galus when this vision weakens and becomes pale. It is then that we will need the koach of emunah. Hashem wants to ensure that the emunahthat we will possess will be the level of ואני בתומי אלך where there is no place for הרהור concerning Hashem. Like Avraham Avinu we can access the level that declares that what is good for Hashem is sufficient motivation for me to fulfill His will, whether I will benefit from it or not. This is the message of the two mountains one on top of the other. Two times the word הר forms the wordהרהר . Just as Avraham Avinu did not מהרהר after Hashem with the command of sacrificing his son, so too his emunah which was completely void of הרהור, was transmitted to Avraham’s descendants.
– Rav Brazil
Gut Shabbos
