5786/2025
In the beginning of this week’s Parashah, Parashat Chayei Sarah, the Ramban gives three reasons for including the interaction between Avraham and Efron. One reason is that the interaction highlights that Avraham never had to tell anyone who he was, because he was so important and famous. But another reason given is that this was one of the challenges that Avraham had to withstand. This answer is somewhat troubling, because why would this be the final test? He already passed the Akeidah, which is much harder than this. What did Avraham need to prove?
The answer may be that the ultimate test is not to simply to pass it, but to maintain belief in Hashem even when he seems contradictory to Himself.
The true challenge is the fact that the instructions don’t make sense. In this case Hashem had already given Avraham such a hard test, so why should he have to endure another? Even though this might be confusing, Avraham maintains belief. Similarly, Avraham went to Eretz Cana’an and was told that it would be a land of milk and honey, but when he got there, all he found was a famine. Famine is a difficult challenge by itself, but it’s much harder when you expect a fruitful land.
This contradiction is what makes the challenges so hard. At times it can be easy to accept something bad, but it's very hard to accept something bad when you expect something good. The chapter of Sarah's death is a similar case. right after having passed such a hard test of the Akeidah, Sarah dies.
Still, why is this needed here? There are two levels of passing a test, you can either react to a test with courage or you can look at a terrible test and find something positive in it. At the Akeida Avraham shows a sense of courage and Yirat Hashem. This last test of Efron showed that Avraham realized the Chessed Hashem did for him. The Chesed was that everyone knew who he was. Even though he has gone through so much suffering, Avraham managed to find the silver lining in the worst situation. We can apply this to our lives. Even when we pass a hard challenge and then are immediately confronted with another one, it’s so easy to Chas V’Shalom blame Hashem, as we think we deserve a break. However, with the help of Hashem, we can have the strength to find the silver lining in our challenges and grow from them. Good Shabbos.