“And it came to pass after these words that G-d tested Avraham”: What words were spoken? Yishmael would say to Yitzchak, “I am superior to you, for I underwent circumcision at the age of thirteen years old, and underwent the extreme pain (that accompanied it), while you were merely eight days old at the time of your circumcision and were not aware of the pain. Even if your father had slaughtered you, you would not have known the difference. If you had been thirteen years old, you could not have tolerated the anguish.”
Yitzchak said to him, “That is not so! If HKB”H should command my father, ‘Slaughter your son Yitzchak,’ I would not resist. Immediately thereafter, it came to pass, as it states: “And it came to pass after these words that G-d tested Avraham.”
Let us propose an explanation in keeping with our current discussion. Yishmael boasted that he was superior to Yitzchak for having been circumcised at the age of thirteen. As such, he already had an intellect, felt and tolerated pain, and could have refused but did not. Yitzchak, on the other hand, was circumcised when he was only eight days old; he lacked awareness and could not refuse. To which Yitzchak responded that that was precisely HKB”H’s reason for commanding Avraham to circumcise him on the eighth day of life, when he had lacked cognizance. It was to inculcate in him while he was still a very young infant that a Jew must sacrifice himself for the sake of Kedushas Hashem.
Yitzchak proved his point by arguing: If HKB”H should command my father, “Slaughter your son Yitzchak,” I would not resist. Why? Because my father, Avraham, inculcated the value and power of self-sacrifice in me as an infant. Hence, the attribute of self-sacrifice remained imprinted upon my neshamah. You, Yishmael, on the other hand, who were not circumcised until you possessed an intellect, are not capable of sacrificing yourself for the sake of Hashem. To prove that Yitzchak was correct and spoke the truth, Avraham Avinu was commanded to bind Yitzchak atop the mizbeiach, so that Yitzchak could demonstrate his willingness to sacrifice himself for Kedushas Hashem. Thus, the incredible benefit and advantage of having performed the “Bris milah” specifically when he was an infant became evident. The quality of self-sacrifice for the sake of Hashem that was ingrained in him was demonstrated in dramatic fashion.
