Mercy bridges kindness and judgment

במדרש יעקב פדה את אברהם.

In the Midrash: "Yaakov redeemed Avraham." (cf. Yeshayahu 29:22)

The Midrash, on the verse "Yaakov who redeemed Avraham," teaches that Yaakov somehow "redeemed" his grandfather Avraham.

אעפ"כ שכל אחד כדאי לעצמו.

This, even though each one is worthy in his own right.

The question presses, since Avraham was certainly a complete tzaddik in his own merit and needed no one to redeem him.

רק הענין הוא כי מדתו של אאע"ה הי' מדת החסד.

Rather, the matter is that the attribute of Avraham Avinu was the trait of chesed (kindness).

Avraham's avodah ran entirely along the channel of chesed and love.

ויעקב פדה את אברהם במדת הדין.

And Yaakov redeemed Avraham within the attribute of din (strict judgment).

Yaakov's contribution was to draw out chesed even from within the realm of strict justice — extending Avraham's kindness into a place it could not reach on its own.

וז"ש במשל הנידון לפני השלטון כו'.

And this is the meaning of the parable of one who is judged before the ruler, etc.

The Midrash's mashal of a person standing trial before a king illustrates the workings of din, where mere kindness does not suffice to win acquittal.

והיינו לזכות לחסד במדת הדין הוא ע"י כחו של יעקב והוא מדת הרחמים.

That is, to merit chesed within the attribute of din comes about through the power of Yaakov, which is the attribute of rachamim (mercy).

Mercy is the bridge: Yaakov's middah of rachamim is precisely what allows kindness to be drawn down even where strict judgment reigns.

וז"ש יעקב אשר פדה את אברהם:

And this is the meaning of "Yaakov, who redeemed Avraham."

Yaakov "redeemed" Avraham by carrying his chesed into the domain of din through the power of rachamim, completing what chesed alone could not.

Summary: Avraham's avodah was pure chesed, while Yaakov embodied rachamim — mercy that can reach even into the realm of strict din. Yaakov "redeemed" Avraham by extending Avraham's kindness into the place of judgment, drawing chesed down where it could not otherwise reach, through the bridging power of mercy.