Withstanding the Test
...strength? How did he dare to stand against a voice from Heaven?
Rabbeinu Nissim Gaon (Berachot 19a) writes that Rabbi Yehoshua understood he was undergoing a trial—the fifth type of trial mentioned in the Torah (see further below).
He stood up to the uprooted carob tree, the reversed waters, the tilting pillars, with the all-powerful heavenly voice still echoing and ringing in his ears.
Yet the more the signs and wonders increased, the stronger Rabbi Yehoshua’s resolve grew to defy them. He stood tall and declared:
If the halacha follows the majority, then all these miracles are nothing more than a test, and Rabbi Yehoshua faced the trial with courage and unshakable strength.
To explain…
Withstanding the Test
In Lehavin Chassidut (p. 923), Rabbi Menachem Brod describes the divine service of trials and tribulations:
At times a person is required to face trials—situations in which his resolve and faith are put to the test. There are small, day-to-day trials, and there are difficult, fateful trials in which a person’s entire system of values and faith is put to the test. Chassidic teaching regards this as a most special form of service entrusted to a person—“the service of trials.”
The Gemara (Sanhedrin 107a) relates that King David wanted to face a trial and requested: “Bechaneni G-d v’nasseni—Examine me, G-d, and test me” (Psalms 26:2), but tragically, the outcome of that trial was dismal.
From this Gemara it is concluded that a person should never bring himself into a test: “A person should never bring himself into a trial, for David, king of Israel, brought himself into a trial and failed.” Therefore Jews pray every day: “Do not bring us to a trial.”
Our Sages (Avot 2:4) likewise advise: “Do not believe in yourself until the day of your death.” All this reflects an awareness of the power of a trial and the intense turmoil it can cause to even the most perfect person. Yet sometimes trials come upon a person, and he is required to withstand them.
When we examine the holy Torah, we find that there are five types of trials. As the Tzemach Tzedek of Lubavitch classifies them (Derech Mitzvotecha, p. 186a):
- A trial of self-sacrifice—to surrender one’s life for G-d’s command, such as the trial of the Binding of Isaac when “G-d tested Abraham” (Genesis 22:1).
- A trial of accepting suffering with love—this was the kind of trial that occurred at Marah, to see whether they would refrain from complaining about the lack of water: “There He tested them” (Exodus 15:25); similarly, Job’s ordeal belongs to this category.
- A trial of closeness—to see if a person will strengthen his service even after receiving kindness. As was said at the Giving of the Torah: “For in order to test you G-d has come near to you” (Exodus 20:17).
- A trial of breaking one’s desires—such as with King David: “Examine me, G-d, and test me” (Psalms 26:2).
- A trial of faith—to increase one’s faith in G-d and His Torah and not be swayed by signs and wonders. As it is written: “For the L-rd your G-d is testing you, to know whether you indeed love the L-rd your G-d with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deuteronomy 13:4)…
As noted above, Rabbi Yehoshua recognized the trial that he was meant to contend with and succeeded in withstanding it.
However, one important point still requires careful consideration: As is well-known, the holiness, purity, and sublime levels of Rabbi Yehoshua and his colleagues were immeasurable and beyond comprehension. If so, why was it only now—only after Rabbi Yehoshua withstood the trial—that the Holy One, blessed be He, smiled and said: “My children have defeated Me, My children have defeated Me”?
Why was this not said in the wake of their many lofty prayers and deep Torah study? Why was it said only after they had stood up to this trial posed by Rabbi Eliezer?
Before we answer this matter, we will preface with another subject…
Wellsprings of Wisdom
7. Our Sages taught (Avot 5:3) that Abraham was tested with ten trials, and Rabbeinu Ovadia of Bartenura lists them: being cast into the furnace in Ur Kasdim, leaving his homeland, the famine in the land, Sarah taken to Pharaoh, the war of the kings, the Covenant of the Parts, circumcision, Sarah taken by Avimelech, the expulsion of Hagar and Yishmael, and finally, the Binding of Isaac.
In none of the first nine does the Torah explicitly call them a “trial.” Only in the last one does it say, “G-d tested Abraham.”
The Baal Shem Tov explained: in the earlier trials, difficult as they were, Abraham still had some faint sense of illumination and inner clarity. But in the Akedah, the Holy One removed every level of insight and spiritual perception from him. His inner light was darkened completely; he felt no vitality or understanding at all.
This is why the Torah says, “Elohim tested Abraham.” The Name Elohim signifies constriction and judgment—mochin dekatnut, a state of contracted consciousness. Abraham was tested precisely in that state.
And because he withstood all ten trials—including this final, absolute darkness—he rose to become a chariot of the Shechinah. For it is only by enduring trials that one reaches such a level.
To quote the Baal Shem Tov’s holy words (Baal Shem Tov on Parashat Vayera, §13):
“‘And Elohim tested Abraham’—The Baal Shem Tov, of blessed memory, said that at the time of a trial a person is in a state of withdrawal of intellect. He explained the verse accordingly: ‘And Elohim tested Abraham’—Elohim indicates mochin dekatnut (constricted consciousness), as is known, and [G-d] tested Abraham when he was in a state of constricted consciousness.”
Since our father Abraham merited to withstand all the trials, he was elevated to become a chariot of the Shechinah—for only by withstanding trials can one attain that.
My father, Rabbi Yoram Michael Abargel, of blessed memory, once explained (Betzur Yarum, vol. 9, p. 185):
Our holy Patriarchs are called the “chariot” of G-d (Bereishit Rabbah 47:6). Just as a vehicle has no will of its own but follows the rider completely, so too the Patriarchs nullified their will before the will of G-d. They never questioned, but fulfilled His command with utter simplicity and wholeheartedness.
The first Patriarch, Avraham, demonstrated this from the opening of Lech-Lecha: “Go forth from your land…” (Genesis 12:1). He was told to leave everything familiar and go into the unknown—yet he asked nothing and obeyed instantly. Even when he reached the promised land and found famine, which forced him to Egypt (ibid., v. 10)—a famine created solely to test him, as Rashi teaches—he did not question.
When the Egyptians seized his wife and took her to Pharaoh, he still uttered no complaint. His greatest test, the Akeidah, he met with absolute surrender, rising early to fulfill the Divine command despite the unimaginable pain.
The second Patriarch, Yitzchak, was thirty-seven years old at the Akeidah—fully capable of resisting—yet he allowed himself to be bound upon the altar as an offering to G-d. Later, although G-d promised him blessing in the land (ibid. 26:3), he faced constant strife over wells and livelihood, yet never questioned the Divine ways.
The third Patriarch, Yaakov, endured suffering his entire life: Esav’s pursuit, Lavan’s deceit, Rachel’s barrenness, Dinah’s tragedy, the loss of Rachel, Reuven’s incident, and above all the disappearance of Yosef for twenty-two years, during which he lost all joy and even his ruach hakodesh. Yet he still did not question G-d, but accepted everything with deep love.
Many people fail because they do not follow the example of the Patriarchs. They complain over the smallest discomfort, and if they grumble over trivialities, how much more over serious challenges.
Such a person cannot become a “chariot” to G-d. From time to time, G-d places a person under pressure to test whether he will accept it with love or break into complaints.
Every Jew must strive for the level of the Patriarchs. As Elijah the Prophet teaches (Tanna Devei Eliyahu Rabbah 25): “Each person must say: When will my deeds reach those of my fathers—Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov?”
We must learn self-nullification before the Creator, fulfilling: “Nullify your will before His will” (Avot 2:4). We must keep His Torah without hesitation and accept all that comes with simple faith, fulfilling: “Be wholehearted with the L-rd your G-d” (Deuteronomy 18:13). Rashi explains: Walk with Him in simplicity, trust in Him, accept whatever comes, and then you will be with Him and His portion.
The Jewish people are called the “hosts of the L-rd” (Exodus 12:41). Like soldiers who obey their commander even when orders are difficult or incomprehensible, we too must obey the supreme Commander without complaint.
If G-d wants us in the synagogue at five in the morning, then when the hour comes, we must rise immediately and run. We must not grow lax. Yesterday’s achievements do not suffice—we must always push ourselves higher.
