OCTOBER 28 • 2021 | 35

A

bout 2,000 years ago, our
sages recorded that God
subjected Abraham to 10
tests over the course of his lifetime
(Pirkei Avot 5:3). However, they
don’t record what these tests were.
To say that Abraham’s life was
eventful is an understatement;
and so, as one might expect, there
are nearly as many different lists
of what these 10 tests are as there
are commentators compiling
these lists.
One thing is unanimous,
though, and that’s that the final
test that Abraham was subject-
ed to was the binding of Isaac.
Actually, it’s not quite unanimous.
You can always find an outlier and
this case is no different. Rabbeinu
Yonah Gerondi (13th century
Spain) believes that the binding
of Isaac was Abraham’s ninth
test. The final test that Abraham

faced was purchasing a plot of
land from Ephron the Hittite for
the purpose of burying his wife,
Sarah, the episode that opens
this week’s Torah portion
(Genesis 23).
Rabbeinu Yonah’s
unique position is shock-
ing. Abraham’s ultimate
test doesn’t take place
when God asks him to
sacrifice his son. It isn’t
even the death of his wife.
It’s a simple exchange of
money for land that takes
place after these other two
events.
What Rabbeinu Yonah is
telling us is that sometimes
when someone experi-
ences a trauma, having to return
to “normal” is in itself a major
test. Purchasing land is nothing
more than a business deal; but

for Abraham to have to engage
in such an activity after what he’
d
been through feels like it’s just too
much to ask. This is truly a major
test.
For more than 18 months,
we’ve all faced challenges that,
prior to the pandemic, we
would never have thought
we’
d ever face. Eighteen
months of masking and
physical distancing. But of
course, the challenge of a
year and a half of a loss of
some of our normal routines
pales in comparison to so
many other losses we’ve
faced during this time. Our
relationships with family,
friends and community
changed in an instant. So
many of us know people, or
are even caring for people,
who are dealing with the effects
of COVID. We’ve lost loved ones,
often without the opportunity to
say goodbye or to properly grieve.

As our rhetoric slowly shifts
toward discussing our “return to
normal” or even coming to terms
with a “new normal,
” it’s import-
ant for us to recognize that after
the trauma we’ve all experienced,
and certainly for some more than
others, “normal” doesn’t come
so easily. Like Abraham after the
trauma of being tasked with kill-
ing his son and the death of his
life partner, even going about the
business of his daily life becomes
a test.
After trauma, even the most
mundane tasks take on a new
layer of challenge. Remember this
when you reengage relationships
seemingly lost to time over the
past year and a half. Handle those
around you with care because not
everyone can jump back into nor-
mal, whatever normal will come
to mean, with such ease.

Rabbi Michael Langer teaches Jewish

Studies at the Frankel Jewish Academy.

SPIRIT

After the Trauma

TORAH PORTION

Rabbi
Michael
Langer

Parshat

Chaye Sara:

Genesis

23:1-25:18;

I Kings

1:1-31.

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