(27:1) ויהי כי זקן יצחק ותכהין עיניו מראת, "And it was when Yitzchak became old, and his eyes dimmed from seeing." Why was Yitzchak visually impaired?
Rashi writes three explanations: (1) Eisav's wives would sacrifice incense for avodah zarah, and the smoke harmed Yitzchak's eyes. (2) "When Yitzchak was bound on the mizbeiach and his father wanted to shecht him, at that moment, the heavens opened, and the malachim saw and they cried. The tears fell on [Yitzchak's] eyes. This is how his eyes became dim." (3) It was destined that Yitzchak shouldn't see well, so Yaakov would be able to take the brachos.
The second reason is also written in Pirkei d'Reb Eliezer (ch.31). It states there that when Avraham Avinu was about to slaughter Yitzchak, the malachim shouted and cried. Why did the malachim cry?
Reb Yitzchak of Vorke zt'l says that the malachim cried that they didn't reach the level of mesirus nefesh that Yitzchak had attained. Yitzchak passed tests, and a tzaddik who passes tests reaches levels above those of the malachim!
It is impossible to describe the incredible joy Hashem has when a human being, made from clay, overcomes the yetzer hara for Hashem's honor! We also cannot fathom the immense reward that will be the portion of those who overcome struggles and their yetzer hara.
Chazal (end of Uktzin) say, "In the future, Hakadosh Baruch Hu will give each tzaddik 310 (י"ש) worlds, as it states (Mishlei 8:21) להנחיל אוהבי יש, "to bequeath to those who love Me ש"י (310 worlds)."
The Vilna Gaon (אדרת אליהו, Bereishis) teaches that the word ש"י stands for שמאל ימין, right and left, which represents the yetzer tov, which resides on the right side of the heart, and the yetzer hara, which is on the left side. We receive the 310 worlds from the yetzer tov, and also from the yetzer hara, when we overcome him.
Notice that 'י is gematriya 10, while 'ש is gematriya 300. This indicates that most worlds are attained from the 'ש, representing שמאל, the left side of the heart, the yetzer hara. For overcoming the yetzer hara, we receive three hundred worlds. For serving Hashem with the 'י, the ימין, the yetzer tov, there are ten worlds.
The Vilna Gaon teaches from this how much greatness and perfection a person attains from his struggles and hardships. It is from them that we achieve the most significant rewards and perfection.
A family in Bnei Brak received an electric bill for 1500 shekel for just one month! The head of the family gathered his wife and children and told them they could not go on like this. The price is enormous. They must cut down. He recommended not using the air conditioner. "Fifty years ago, no one had an air-conditioner, and they managed just fine. We will do the same." He told his family that his goal is that the electric bill should come down and be no more than five shekels per month.
The following month, the electric bill was several hundred shekels less because they didn't use the air-conditioner, but he had a goal. He told his family that they wouldn't use the fridge for the next month. "Not too long ago, most people didn't have a fridge in their homes, and they managed just fine."
The next bill was only 150 shekel, but he wasn't satisfied. He gathered his family again and said, "This month, we will cut down on lighting. We won't use any lights besides one, the small reddish light that is near the bathroom. We must get down to five shekel a month for the electric bill," he explained.
The following month, the electric bill was back at 1500 shekels! He called the electric company and said that there must be some mistake. He didn't use any electricity this month except a small red bulb. How can the bill be so high?
The electric company replied, "We don't make up the bill. It is according to the amount of electricity you use. If you want, we can send an electrician to your home to determine the problem."
Another month passed, the electrician hadn’t come yet, and the bill was the same, 1,500 shekels. He now owed the electric company three thousand shekel. When the electrician finally came, he said, "The little red bulb that you turned on and used these past two months is the switch to turn on the boiler to heat water for the entire house." This small, innocent bulb was far more critical than the family had realized. We can compare the little bulb to the mitzvos that we perform when we are at lower levels in our avodas Hashem. Those mitzvos are extremely significant.
The Chofetz Chaim zt'l said to those who were drafted to the Russian army, "When you perform even a small mitzvah, Hakadosh Baruch Hu's joy is endless, and it is precious before Him much more than the great mitzvos we do" (Chofetz Chaim, חייו ופעלו p.170).
