No regrets

Last night I was surprised to find a woman seated not far from me on a plane.

"I  thought you were supposed to leave last night. What are you doing on this plane?" I asked her.

She explained that her plane had been canceled after her spending three hours at the gate, waiting to depart. She told me that she had specifically chosen that flight because she had wanted to honor her mother and see her off at the airport as she was departing on a different flight the same evening. Her mother's flight had no problems while hers encountered technical difficulties.

I thought to myself why this had happened to her. Had she not done the mitzva of kibbud av vaem, she would have booked a flight from a different airport and wouldn't have encountered the difficulties of having to find her suitcase, and leaving the airport, only to return the next day

But, I for one, am grateful, as she offered me a lift home from the airport.

Rabbi Eli Mansour discusses encountering challenges after performing mitzvot in his latest Torah thought on the parsha.

Parashat Hayeh Sara begins by telling of the death of Sara Imenu at the age of 127. Our Rabbis explain that there is a direct, causal link between this event and the preceding section, which tells of Akedat Yishak (the binding of Yishak upon the altar). When Sara heard that Abraham had placed her son upon the altar as a sacrifice, she was so startled and horror-stricken that she died.

This consequence of Akedat Yishak was orchestrated by Satan for the purpose of posing yet another religious challenge to Abraham Abinu. Even after passing the test of Akedat Yishak by showing his preparedness to sacrifice his beloved son to obey G-d, he was tested again to see if he would regret this act when faced with its adverse consequences. Even after a person performs a difficult Misva, he can forfeit its rewards and benefits if he regrets it afterward. If a person struggles to wake up early to attend the Minyan, but attending the Minyan causes him to miss a lucrative business opportunity, if he then regrets going to the synagogue he forfeits all the benefits of that Misva. The challenge of Misvot continues even after we perform a Misva. We are challenged to feel gratified over having fulfilled a Misva knowing that it is inherently and inestimably valuable regardless of any minor negative consequences that we might then have to endure. And thus Satan, after his unsuccessful attempts to prevent Abraham Abinu from going through with the Akeda, made another attempt to bring Abraham down by making it seem like a mistake, as though it caused his beloved wife’s death. But Abraham passed this test, as well, never questioning G-d or his decision to obey the command of the Akeda. He recognized that Hashem’s decree that Sara should die had nothing at all to do with his compliance with G-d’s command, and did not regret his decision for a moment.
Conntinue reading: http://www.dailyhalacha.com/WeeklyParasha.asp


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