Parashat Lech Lecha opens with the first test through which God puts Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation. He is commanded to leave his home, his surroundings, and his homeland, and to journey to an unknown land, as the verse states (Genesis 12:1): “To the land that I will show you.” The Mishnah in Pirkei Avot (5:3) states accordingly: “Abraham our forefather, may he rest in peace, was tested with 10 trials.”
These trials are among the defining foundations of the Jewish nation. They are not merely historical events in the life of the nation’s founding father, but chapters in the shaping of the believing individual, whose influence remains evident to this day. Each trial presented Abraham with a new challenge, requiring him to discover additional inner strength, deepen his faith, and elevate his life to a higher level.
His struggles belong not only to the past; they also laid the foundations for the ability of future generations to face their own challenges.
What is a 'test'?
To understand the deeper meaning of these trials, we must examine the very concept of a “test.” Our sages, in the Midrash, explore the connection between a test and elevation, between facing a challenge and the ability to grow through it.
The Midrash states: “It is written: ‘You have given those who fear You a banner to raise, because of the truth, forever’ (Psalms 60:6). One trial after another, and one stage of growth after another, in order to test them in the world and to elevate them in the world, like the mast of a ship” (Bereishit Rabbah, Vayera 55:1).
According to this understanding, a trial is not merely an examination intended to test a person, but also a means of helping that person grow and rise to a higher level. Just as a ship’s mast rises high and can be seen from afar, so too can a person rise through the trials he experiences and discover strengths within himself that he never knew he possessed.
Precisely when he feels confronted by a difficulty that exceeds his abilities, an opportunity may be presented to him, so that he can reach a level he could never have attained by any other means.
To understand why Abraham was given these trials and what their purpose was, it is worth examining Nachmanides’s commentary on the verse describing the trial of the Binding of Isaac (Genesis 22:1): “And God tested Abraham.”
According to the Ramban, God does not need a test to know what lies in a person’s heart; the test is intended for the person himself. There is a difference between a capacity that exists within someone as a potential that has not yet been realized, and a capacity that has already been revealed through an actual deed.
A person may believe himself to be courageous, loyal, or deeply faithful, but only when called upon to act with courage do these qualities become a tangible part of his character.
Trials are not just for personal growth, there's more at play
THIS IDEA takes on an even broader significance in the words of Rabbi Yaakov, author of the Ba’al Haturim, who draws a connection between Abraham’s 10 trials and the 10 utterances through which the world was created. The trials are not merely a personal journey of spiritual growth, but part of a broader process of repairing the world and bringing it toward its ultimate purpose.
According to this interpretation, the first trial, “Lech Lecha” (“Go forth”), corresponds to the first divine utterance in Creation: “Let there be light.” This parallel offers an important key to understanding how a person should face life’s challenges.
When a person encounters a trial, he may feel as though darkness has enveloped him and the light has disappeared from his world. The familiar path is no longer clear. The answers he once had no longer suffice, and he struggles to see how he can move forward.
It is precisely in these moments that he must remember that just as Creation began with light, so too a trial may mark the beginning of a new revelation. This does not mean that every difficulty quickly disappears, or that we can always understand why events unfolded as they did.
However, we can believe that even amid uncertainty, a path exists, and that facing a challenge may open up possibilities within a person and his world that would otherwise never have emerged.
Abraham, our forefather, is commanded to journey to an unknown land, and God tells him, “that I will show you.” God’s light will illuminate the way for him, provided he believes that God watches over and guides everything, for He is the master of the universe.
A person is not always given a complete map of the future. To move forward, he must take one step at a time, seeking clarity along the way, and trusting that what he does not yet understand may become clear later.
Sometimes, life’s trials are the light that a person must follow, for hidden within them is a great light that he is called upon to discover. ■
The writer is the rabbi of the Western Wall and holy sites.