The Toldos zt'l (Rebbe Yaakov Yosef of Palnoa) zt'l and Rebbe Nachman Horedenka zt'l were traveling to the Baal Shem Tov zt'l, and they wanted to arrive in Mezhibuzh well before Shabbos. However, the wagon in front of theirs belonged to the governor, who was traveling slowly. The law of the land forbade passing a governor on the road.
The Toldos became anxious and said, "We will never get to Mezhibuzh in time." Rebbe Nachman Horedenka replied, "I always strive to live with the emunah that what we think is a problem and a deterrent will actually help us achieve our goal. Somehow, this problem will help us to get to Mezhibuzh on time."
"Halevai, it should be so!" the Toldos replied.
To reach Mezhibuzh, they had to pass through a town which had an outdoor market that morning. Tables with food and goods were spread out all over the long street which passed through the town. Hundreds of people were on the road, making it nearly impossible to pass through. But the governor was in the wagon in front of them, and in honor of the governor, everyone moved their wares to the side of the road so that the governor could pass by. The Toldos and Rebbe Nachman Horedenka could pass through the town with ease. When they reached the other side of the road, the governor turned left, the Toldos and Rebbe Nachman Horedenka turned right, and they arrived in Mezhibuzh before noon.
As Rebbe Nachman Horedenka said, what they thought was a deterrent turned out to help them get to their destination on time.
I heard a marvelous story that happened with Reb Ovadyah Yosef zt'l. Just a week before his chasunah was scheduled, his kallah began talking about a lifestyle that Reb Ovadyah hadn't planned on living. She expressed her desire to go with him to theatres and the like. They didn't end up marrying. Reb Ovadyah married another woman, Rabbanit Margalit.
When Reb Ovadyah was ninety years old, just a few years before his petirah, a woman arrived at his house, shouting that she must speak with Reb Ovadyah. They brought her in, and she said, "Do you remember me?" Reb Ovadyah didn't. "We were supposed to get married many years ago, and a week before the chasunah, it was called off. You should know that Hashem loves you because now I am an almanah, and all the years I was married, I never had children. The doctors told me that I can't have children."
Reb Ovadyah went through a hard time when the shidduch had to be called off, but it was all for his benefit. Similarly, when something difficult happens to us, let us remember that it is for our good. Something very good will come from it.
The same is true with tests-nisyonos. When we go through tests, know that something very good will come from it. At first, it appeared that akeidas Yitzchak would end the future of Bnei Yisrael. How could a nation come from Avraham if Yitzchak is brought as a korban, but in the end, many brachos came from akeidas Yitzchak.
According to the teachings of the holy sefarim, Yitzchak Avinu had a female-type neshamah, and therefore, he couldn't beget children. At the akeidah, his neshamah left him, and he received a new neshamah, a male soul, and now he could bear children. Let this be a reminder that good comes from tests. Avraham thought that due to Akeidas Yitzchak, he wouldn't have descendants, but it was the opposite. He bore children because of Akeidas Yitzchak. Indeed, after the Akeidah, Hashem blessed Avraham that he would have many offspring. Hashem said (22:17) ככוכבי זרעך את ארבה והרבה הים שפת על אשר וכחול השמים, "I shall greatly increase your offspring like the stars of the heaven and like the sand on the sea shore." Now that Yitzchak received a male neshama, Klal Yisroel was able to be born.
Where did Yitzchak's previous neshamah go after it left Yitzchak by the Akeidah? The Midrash Talpiyos (יצחק) writes that when Yitzchak's soul left him, it went into the ram, the איל, that was snagged in the bush. This is why Avraham sacrificed the ram and said that it should be considered as though he sacrificed Yitzchak. The ram was in a sense, his son Yitzchak because Yitzchak's neshamah was in it.
It states (22:13) ויעלהו האיל את ויקח אברהם וילך בנו תחת לעולה, "Avraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a korban olah instead of his son." Rashi writes, "Why does the pasuk add בנו תחת, instead of his son? During each action of the korban, Avraham prayed, 'May it be Your will as if this was done to my son; as if he was slaughtered, his blood sprinkled, and skinned, and burned and became ashes." According to the Midrash Talpiyos, Avraham said these tefillos because Yitzchak's neshamah was in the ram, and sacrificing it was indeed a form of Akeidas Yitzchak.
Akeidas Yitzchak didn't jeopardize the future of Klal Yisrael. On the contrary, it caused it to materialize. It gave Yitzchak the neshamah he needed to have children. At the beginning of the parashah, it states לך לך, and Rashi says that this means the journey would be "for your good and your benefit: (ולטובתך להנאתך). When Hashem instructed Avraham to perform the akeidah, Hashem once again said לך לך. This means the akeidah will be for Avraham's benefit, and indeed it was. The continuation of Klal Yisrael came from the akeidah. Additionally, Bnei Yisrael every day in its merit.
