Going The Extra Mile
During the days when the English Mandate ruled in Eretz Yisrael, Reb Aryeh Levine zt'l was the rav of the prison in Yerushalayim. He had a government permit to go to the prison whenever he wanted, to visit the prisoners. These visits were essential for the inmates, as they gave the prisoners a lot of chizuk. Once, Reb Aryeh came to the prison on Shabbos, and two soldiers were standing at the door. One was a non-Jewish English policeman, and the other was l'havdil a Yid. The goy didn't permit Reb Aryeh Levine to enter the prison. The Jewish soldier said, "But this is Reb Aryeh Levine. He has permission from the government to enter whenever he wants. He is the rabbi of the prison!"
The goy replied, "His permit is for regular times, but now there is a curfew, and he isn't even permitted to leave his house. So, he also doesn't have permission to come to the prison."
(It was indeed mesirus nefesh for Reb Aryeh Levine to go out at that time. But he came anyway, to give chizuk to the prisoners.)
The Jewish soldier said, "Why do you care if this old man comes here? He came on his own goodwill to help the prisoners. Let him go inside."
The goy said, "Don't tell me stories. He isn't here to do a good deed. He gets paid for this job. (The guard saw that Reb Aryeh Levine came very often to the prison, and couldn't imagine that he did it for free.) And now that there is a curfew, I won't let him in."
Reb Aryeh Levine wouldn't give up so easily. He wanted to help the prisoners. He left the front gate and looked for another opening. With Hashem's help, he found a wall that wasn’t all that high. He knew that what he was doing was dangerous, because if he was caught, he could be punished, perhaps imprisoned, but he climbed up the wall and jumped into the prison. The non-Jewish guard saw what he did, but then he changed his mind. He wouldn't punish Reb Aryeh Levine, and he let him stay and speak with the prisoners. He said to his partner, the Jewish guard, "Now I agree with you. This Rav isn't getting paid for this job. If he were paid for this job, he would return to his boss and say that he was at the gate, and they didn't let him in. But now that I see that he isn't seeking excuses, and he won't allow anything to prevent him from performing this good deed, it must be coming from his pure heart. He must be a volunteer."
Reb Yehudah Tzadkah zt'l used this story to explain the parashah of the Akeidah. Avraham was ready to sacrifice Yitzchak, and at the last moment, a malach came and stopped him. The malach stopped him, but at this time, the malach didn't bless Avraham. After Avraham brought the ram as a korban, that is when the malach blessed Avraham. Why wasn't Avraham blessed before, when he was prepared to sacrifice his son for Hashem?
The answer is that the Akeidah itself wasn't the central part of the test. Avraham and Yitzchak knew that if Hashem wanted to take their lives, Hashem could do so, even without the Akeidah. The test was to see if Avraham wanted to perform Hashem's will. This was seen when Hashem prevented him from carrying out the Akeidah, and even so, Avraham sought a way to perform some good deed. He didn't just leave when the malach told him to stop. Avraham didn't say, "I did what Hashem said. I don't have to do more." Instead, Avraham pleaded with Hashem that he wanted to do something, perhaps just to make a scratch on Yitzchak, as Rashi writes. He only calmed down when he found the ram, caught in the branches. He toiled to untangle the ram, and he sacrificed the ram instead of Yitzchak. These deeds proved that his intention was l'shem shamayim, and he wasn't doing Hashem's will because he had no other choice. Therefore, at this point, the malach came down from heaven to give him brachos. This is the meaning of the words (Bereishis 22:16) ָּחָשׂ ַכְת וְלֹא ה ַזֶּה ה ַדָּבָר אֶת עָשִׂיתָ ֶׁראֲש יַעַן כִּי ָיְח ִידֶך אֶת ָבִּנְך אֶת, "Since you did this thing, and you did not withhold your son, your only one, ָזַרְעֲך אֶת א ַרְבֶּה וְה ַרְבָּה ָאֲבָר ֶכְך בָרֵ ךְ כִּי, That I will surely bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed..." The brachos came because of ה ַזֶּה ה ַדָּבָר, the final acts of Avraham, with the ram, which revealed how much he wanted to serve Hashem.
The lesson is that a person shouldn’t look for excuses and reasons why he doesn't have to do Hashem's service. He should know that his main reward will come specifically from such times. Yes, you can find a way to be exempt from certain mitzvos, but if you will show that you genuinely want to serve Hashem, this will reveal your special desire, and this is very precious in Hashem's eyes. Examples of this principle are the gedarim (boundaries) that a person makes for himself, or לך במותר עצמך קדש, to sanctify oneself with that which is permitted. These matters show the devotion the person has to Hashem. He isn't obligated, but he wants to do so, because he knows that Hashem will have nachas ruach. For these matters, he will receive reward also in this world.
