Lech Lecha

Parshas Lech Lecha starts off with Hashem telling Avraham, “Go away from your land…and I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great.” Rashi writes: Hashem tells Avraham you will be granted children and money, and I will make your name great. The lashon used is, “לך לך, you go.” Rashi writes: all that I am commanding you – to go to another place – is for your benefit. Here you are not able to merit these brachos, but there you will.

Asks Rav Moshe Feinstein: how can we understand this nisayon of lech lecha? Hashem commands Avraham to go away and at the same time promise’s all these different brachos. This is something that for sure anyone would indeed listen to and fulfill immediately with no doubt! Also, it is normal for one to travel to another place for parnasa; if one doesn’t have success in one place then he goes elsewhere to search for a better setting. If so, what then is the challenge of Avraham with lech lecha?

Rav Moshe explains that the nisayon was not because it was hard to do, but was rather it was to see whether Avraham would think into the command, that Hashem could give me the brachos here, so why is it necessary to go there? The nisayon was that although Hashem can give bracha wherever He wants, since Hashem told him to go, he needed to listen without any question. Also, the people of Charan were better than Anshei Canaan, still since Hashem told Avraham to go, there were not supposed to be any doubts. This is as Chazal write: one should not think into and question the middos of Hashem.

Similarly, explains Rav Moshe, was the nisayon by the akeida. First Hashem states that in Yitzchak’s lineage will be called Avraham’s seed, and then Hashem commands Avraham, “take Yitzchak and bring him for a sacrifice on the Mizbeiach.” Here too, the nisayon for Avraham was not to question or doubt Hashem, despite the seemingly big contradiction.

May Hashem help us be firm in our emunah and withstand all nisyonos given to us!