Parashat Haye Sara- Life’s “Little” Tests
**Shabbat Candle lighting Time in NYC, Friday Nov. 21st 2008: 4:15 PM
**Minha, Seudat Shelishit, Derasha, and Arbit on Shabbat Nov. 22nd starts at 3:45 PM
The first section of Parashat Hayeh Sara tells of Sara’s death and Abraham Abinu’s efforts to secure a burial plot for his wife’s remains. Rabbenu Yona of Gerona (Spain, 1210-1268), in his commentary to Pirkeh Abot (5:3), lists this event as one of the ten "Nisyonot," or trials, with which God tested Abraham Abinu. (The Mishna there in Abot mentions the fact that Abraham withstood ten trials, but does not enumerate them.) God had promised Abraham all of the Land of Israel, and yet, when his wife passed on, he had to struggle to secure a burial site. Even though the land was promised to him, he had to negotiate with the Hittite people and pay an exorbitant price. This ordeal thus marked one of the trials with which God tested Abraham.
Rabbenu Yona’s position is contrast with the view of the Rambam (Rabbi Moshe Maimonides, Spain-Egypt, 1135-1204), who held that the event of "Akedat Yishak," when God commanded Abraham to slaughter his son, as related in the previous Parasha, marked the tenth and final of Abraham’s trials.
It stands to reason that we should view the ten trials as a progression, with each test bringing Abraham to higher levels of spiritual greatness. This is certainly the impression that we have when we consider the notion of Abraham’s ten tests. We must therefore ask, according to Rabbenu Yona’s position, was there any room for Abraham to grow after the test of the Akeda? Once he demonstrated his willingness to kill his own son in fulfillment of God’s command, in direct contradistinction to everything he had thought and preached for so many years, what else remained for him to prove? After Abraham passed the test of the Akeda, was there any question that he would pass the relatively minor test of purchasing a burial plot?
Some Rabbis explained that this tenth trial was unique in that it was not outwardly recognizable as a test. In all the other trials, Abraham was undoubtedly aware that God was testing him. Thus, for example, when the king Nimrod threatened to cast Abraham into a furnace if he refused to worship idols, Abraham realized that his faith was being tested. The same can be said when God commanded him to settle in Canaan, and soon after his arrival the region was struck by famine, forcing Abraham to relocate in Egypt, where his wife was abducted. There could not have been any doubt in his mind that God was deliberately testing his devotion.
Here, however, when Abraham negotiated with the Hittites, he encountered a far more "ordinary" situation of hardship. This test lacked the drama of the previous tests; it was the kind of everyday nuisance that people often confront. In this sense, this marked a more difficult trial. When a person is told he is being tested, his adrenaline flows and he prepares himself mentally and emotionally for the test. He musters extra resolve and determination in an effort to succeed. But when the test comes upon a person more subtly, as part of his normal, daily routine, such that he does not recognize it as a test, he is vulnerable to failure. In this incident, Abraham demonstrates that he can withstand not only the "dramatic" tests of life, but even the day-to-day, "little" tests that he confronts. Abraham’s unwavering faith in God had become so natural and in-grained that it guided him automatically, without him having to muster extra mental resolve to retain his faith in the face of adversity.
The test of Sara’s burial was unique in another sense, as well. Abraham had just withstood the test of the Akeda, which ended, of course, with God’s instruction that he withdraw the sword, and with a promise of great reward for his devotion. It would be difficult to imagine Abraham’s elation and euphoria as he made his way home from Jerusalem after such an experience. Yet, all this immense joy was shattered when he arrived and learned that his beloved wife had died. We cannot possibly describe the aggravation and pain he sensed, as the emotional charge of the Akeda was now replaced by grief and sorrow.
But despite this emotional upheaval, Abraham made no compromises in his moral and ethical standards. Throughout his exchange with the Hittites, we see his impeccable integrity and courteousness. He remained in full control of emotions; he did not allow his sorrow to get in the way of doing the right thing.
Today, people have an easy excuse any time they act or speak improperly: "I’ve had a bad day." It seems that we’ve come to accept traffic jams and flat tires as valid excuses for improper behavior. Sadikim, however, are consistent; they are not prepared to compromise their standards when things don’t go their way. This was the great test of Abraham Abinu after Sara’s death. Even in sorrow and grief, and even though he had been promised all of Eretz Yisrael, he never lost his composure. He retained full control over his feelings, and conducted himself with perfect honesty and uprightness despite it all. We are to learn from his example of consistency and never allow the problems and difficulties of life get us down and lower our standards. Come what may, we bear full responsibility for our conduct, under any and all circumstances.
