Trials of the Avos as the source of Israel's miracles

עתה ידעתי כי ירא אלקים אתה.

"Now I know that you are one who fears God" (Bereishis 22:12).

After the Akeidah, Hashem tells Avraham, "Now I know" he fears Him. The Sefas Emes notes that the simple meaning is puzzling — does Hashem not know all along?

אין מובן הפשוט.

The plain meaning is not understood.

Since Hashem knows everything in advance, the phrase "now I know" cannot mean He only now gained information. A deeper reading is needed.

ונראה בעזהשי"ת דכתיב נפלאותיך ומחשבותיך אלינו כי כל המעשים והסיבות הכל עושה הקב"ה בעבור בנ"י ובמדרש נתת ליראיך נס להתנוסס כו' ודרשו על הנסיונות.

And it appears, with the help of Hashem, that it is written "Your wonders and Your thoughts are toward us" (Tehillim 40:6) — for all the deeds and causes, the Holy One, blessed be He, does everything for the sake of Bnei Yisrael; and in the Midrash on "You have given those who fear You a banner to be raised" (Tehillim 60:6), they expounded it as referring to the nisyonos (trials).

Everything Hashem orchestrates in the world is ultimately for the sake of Bnei Yisrael. The Midrash reads "a banner (nes) to be raised" as alluding to the nisyonos — the tests given to the righteous, which are a kind of uplifting and exaltation.

והאמת כי הניסים שנעשו לבנ"י הוא ע"י הנסיונות של האבות כי הקב"ה עושה הכל במדה וע"י שנמצא בבנ"י מס"נ לצאת מן הטבע לקיים מצותיו כי כל נסיון הוא למעלה מהטבע.

And the truth is that the miracles (nissim) performed for Bnei Yisrael come about through the trials (nisyonos) of the Avos, for the Holy One, blessed be He, does everything by measure (b'middah); and because there is found in Bnei Yisrael a readiness for mesirus nefesh (self-sacrifice) to step beyond nature to fulfill His mitzvos — for every trial is above nature.

There is a "measure-for-measure" exchange: the Avos withstood trials that demanded rising above the natural order, and that mesirus nefesh planted in their descendants the capacity to transcend nature. Because Bnei Yisrael carry this supernatural devotion, Hashem responds in kind. Note the wordplay: nisayon (trial) and nes (miracle) share a root.

ועי"ז.

And through this —

The Sefas Emes pauses to draw the consequence of this measure-for-measure principle.

המשפט לעשות להם ניסים.

— it is fitting (mishpat) to perform miracles for them.

Because Bnei Yisrael rise above nature in their avodah, it becomes "just," part of the Divine order, for Hashem to act above nature on their behalf with open miracles.

ולהתנהג עמהם שלא בדרך הטבע.

And to conduct Himself with them not according to the way of nature.

The whole relationship with Bnei Yisrael runs on a supernatural plane, beyond the ordinary rules of nature.

ובני ישראל אין יכולין להתקיים בלי נסים.

And Bnei Yisrael cannot endure without miracles.

Israel's very survival is not natural; it depends on constant Divine intervention beyond nature.

וראי' לזה כי אין הקב"ה עושה נס בחנם רק ע"י שאין יכולים להתקיים בלי נסים ונפלאות כי כל הטבע והשרים מתנגדים לנו.

And the proof of this is that the Holy One, blessed be He, does not perform a miracle for nothing, only because (Bnei Yisrael) cannot endure without miracles and wonders — for all of nature and the heavenly princes (sarim) oppose us.

The fact that Hashem does perform open miracles for Israel proves they genuinely need them, since Hashem does not work miracles needlessly. Nature itself, and the angelic "ministers" of the nations, stand opposed to Israel, so only supernatural help allows them to survive.

ולכן הקדים השי"ת לנסות אבותינו.

Therefore Hashem first tested our forefathers.

To establish in advance the merit and the supernatural capacity that would sustain their descendants, Hashem placed the Avos through trials beforehand.

וגם במשנה סמכו עשרה נסיונות לעשרה נסים כו'.

And also in the Mishnah they juxtaposed the ten trials (to which Avraham was subjected) with the ten miracles, etc. (Avos 5:3-4).

The Mishnah's placement of "ten nisyonos" beside "ten nissim" hints at exactly this link: the ten trials of Avraham generated the ten miracles done for Israel.

והנה ידיעת הקב"ה הוא מראשית הדבר עד תכליתו כדכתיב כי ידעתיו למען כו' יצוה בניו כו'.

Now, the "knowledge" of the Holy One, blessed be He, extends from the beginning of a thing until its ultimate purpose, as it is written: "For I have known him, so that he will command his children" (Bereishis 18:19).

Divine "knowing" embraces a thing's entire span — from its origin through to its final outcome. When Hashem "knows" Avraham, it includes everything Avraham's righteousness will produce in his descendants forever.

הרי שע"י שישאר צדקת אברהם אע"ה לדורותיו לכן ידע אותו המקום.

Thus, because the righteousness of Avraham our father, peace be upon him, would remain for his generations, therefore the Omnipresent "knew" him.

Hashem's "knowing" of Avraham is bound up with the enduring effect of his tzidkus — a righteousness that would live on through all his descendants.

ודבר שאינו מתקיים עד עולם לא שייך בו לשון ידיעת המקום ב"ה כדכתיב יודע ה' דרך צדיקים כו' ודרך רשעים תאבד שאינו דבר המתקיים כנ"ל.

And a thing that does not endure forever, the language of "the Omnipresent's knowing," blessed be He, does not apply to it, as it is written: "Hashem knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked shall perish" (Tehillim 1:6) — for it is not something that endures, as above.

This "knowing" attaches only to what is eternal. The way of the righteous endures, so Hashem "knows" it; the way of the wicked perishes, so it is not an object of Divine "knowing." Permanence is what makes something "known" by Hashem in this sense.

וז"ש עתה ידעתי כי ירא אלקים אתה פי' כנ"ל על ידי הנסיונות שעמד בכולם ונעשה הכנה לנסים ונפלאות כמ"ש רז"ל מאכלת שבני ישראל אוכלין מתן שכרה כו'.

And this is the meaning of "Now I know that you fear God" — as explained above, through the trials in which he stood firm in all of them, and a preparation was made for miracles and wonders, as Chazal said: "the knife (ma'acheles) — that Bnei Yisrael eat (its reward); the giving of its reward," etc.

"Now I know" means: through Avraham's withstanding all the nisyonos, an enduring foundation was laid for all the future nissim of Israel. Chazal's teaching about the ma'acheles of the Akeidah — that Bnei Yisrael "eat" of its reward — reflects how that one act of mesirus nefesh yields ongoing benefit for the generations.

לכן שייך הלשון ידיעה עתה.

Therefore the language of "knowing" applies "now."

Only once the Akeidah established this eternal, enduring merit could the word "I know" — which attaches to what lasts forever — be used at this moment.

כי יתקיים יראתו ית' בבנ"י לדורות עולם שזה נעשה עתה כנ"ל:

For His fear (yiras Shomayim) would now endure in Bnei Yisrael for all generations forever — and this is what came about "now," as above.

"Now I know" means: through the Akeidah, the yiras Shomayim of Avraham was implanted permanently in Bnei Yisrael for all time. Because that enduring reality was established at this moment, the eternal language of Divine "knowing" was now fitting.

Summary: "Now I know that you fear God" cannot mean Hashem only now learned of Avraham's yirah. Rather, Divine "knowing" attaches to what endures forever. Through the Akeidah and the ten nisyonos, Avraham's mesirus nefesh to rise above nature was implanted permanently in Bnei Yisrael, generating the supernatural nissim by which Israel survives against a hostile nature and the heavenly ministers of the nations. Because the Akeidah established Avraham's yiras Shomayim as an eternal inheritance for all generations, the language of "now I know" — reserved for what lasts forever — became fitting at that moment.