Should the news of the birth of Nachor’s children be seen as part of the test of Akeidat Yitzchak?
Toward the end of Parashat Vayera we read the famous story of akeidat Yitzchak, where Avraham was tested by God with the command to sacrifice his beloved son, Yitzchak. The story ends with God instructing Avraham to withdraw his knife just as he prepared to commit the act of slaughter, and then promising great rewards for his descendants. Immediately following this episode, the Torah briefly tells of Avraham’s receiving word of the birth of his brother’s children and grandchildren. Nachor’s (Avraham’s brother) wife, Milka, gave birth to eight sons, and Re’uma, his brother’s concubine, had another four.
The standard explanation for why this is mentioned, as discussed by Rashi, Seforno, Rav Hirsch and others, is that it sets the stage for the story told later, in Parashat Chayei-Sara, of Yitzchak’s marriage to Rivka. One of Nachor’s twelve children was Betuel, the father of Rivka, who would be chosen as a wife for Yitzchak, and it thus appears that the verses serve as an introduction of sorts to the narrative of the search of a wife for Yitzchak. Rashi, citing the Midrash, adds that in the wake of Akeidat Yitzchak Avraham recognized the urgent need to find Yitzchak a wife.
This explanation, however, fails to account for the list of Nachor’s twelve children, as it would have seemingly sufficed to mention only Rivka. Furthermore, if this brief section introduced the story of the search of a wife for Yitzchak, then it should have appeared immediately preceding that account, rather than separated by the story of Sara’s death and burial (which, according to Rashi, occurred immediately following akeidat Yitzchak).
Others have suggested that the news of the birth of Nachor’s children should be seen as part of the test of akeidat Yitzchak. After waiting decades for a child from Sara, Avraham was finally blessed with a single son, which caused tensions with his maidservant’s son, and then he was nearly forced to offer Yitzchak as a sacrifice. Immediately thereafter, he hears of the rapid growth and success of the family of his brother, Nachor, whom he had left behind Mesopotamia when he was called by God to settle in Canaan. Avraham’s challenge entailed not only the difficult test of the akeida per se, but also its aftermath, when he learned of the ease with which his brother’s family has grown and prospered. While Nachor was begetting twelve children and a granddaughter, Avraham managed to father two children, one of whom was banished and the other nearly slaughtered. Avraham heeded God’s call to relocate in Canaan where he would produce a great nation, but then heard of how his brother’s family in Mesopotamia rapidly reproduced while his family endured one setback after another. And thus the news of Nachor’s family’s growth constituted an integral part of the test of akeidat Yitzchak.
It often happens that the proper decision is one which leads to difficulty and hardship. David frequently describes in Tehillim his angst upon seeing his vicious foes succeed and prosper while he suffered and lived in fear. Faith requires rising to life’s challenges without questioning why others live without those same challenges. The success and blessings enjoyed by others should not diminish from our resolve to live in accordance with God’s will despite the challenges that this entails.