BS’D
This week’s Parsha Vayeira speaks of Avraham Avinu’s unwavering and steadfast Emuna in Hashem. “v’he’meen b’Hashem v’yechashveha lo l’tzedaka” Rashi suggests that Avraham’s emuna was ‘as if’ an act of giving charity to Hashem. When a person gives charity they are in essence handing out Hashem’s justice by means of distributing that which was given to them on condition to share with others. Giving charity attests to one’s trust that everything is from Hashem and He is the Only Authority that runs the world.
Nothing belongs to us in this world. Our possessions or talents and even our children are not ‘ours’; we are merely guardians over them. Avraham Avinu didn’t see any contradiction between the promise that he would become a great nation and being asked to sacrifice Yitzchak. In his mind, Hashem runs the world and His promise will come through, even if he is being told to do something that appears to ‘hinder’ the plan.
The commentators teach that Avraham’s emuna in Hashem was so great that he saw the birth of Yitzchak as an act of great kindness, of tzedakah, from Hashem; an undeserved gift. Avraham Avinu went above human logic and reasoning by accepting the instruction to sacrifice Yitzchak without delving into the ‘why’ and ‘how’ since in his mind, what he has isn’t really his.
In current times, it is challenging to cast away our rationale and trust in the all-encompassing goodness of Hashem. Hashem promised that we would come out of this exile; never again to experience exile. He promised that Ahm Yisrael Chai and would never be wiped away.
Every time we recall this vow in spite of what we see going on around us, we testify to Hashem’s tzedek, to His truthful word, and are ‘as though’ giving charity to Him.
