The Midrash notes that Yitzchak’s name is not mentioned in the description of Avraham’s return. Chazal explain that Avraham dispatched Yitzchak to the Yeshivah of Shem and Ever to study Torah. He said, “All I have accomplished, all of the wonderful things that have occurred, are only the result of my endeavors in the area of Torah and mitzvos. I, therefore, want my son to devote his life to Torah, so that Torah will remain with my descendants.” The Midrash compares this to a woman who became wealthy as a result of a certain spindle she owned which made very fine yarn. She declared, “Since I became wealthy due to this spindle, it will never leave my home.”
We must endeavor to understand Avraham Avinu’s behavior. He had just undergone the greatest test of his life. Everything in which he had professed belief was challenged. Yet, he withstood the test, and his son came out unscathed. One would think he would immediately return home with his son. He should have brought their only child to his mother, so that she could see him. This would have been the natural thing to do — or at least what the average person would have done. Not so Avraham Avinu!
As Horav Meir Rubman, z.l., notes, nothing that the Patriarchs did conformed to the laws of “average.” Their actions were not consistent with the way the average person responds to a given situation. They lived “above the laws of nature.” If Avraham’s devotion to Torah had given him the strength to overcome this trial, then his son must be immediately dispatched to a yeshivah to study Torah.
We must address the Midrash and the comparison to the woman who became wealthy as a result of her spindle. Did Avraham become successful as a result of his conviction? Did his Torah study ennoble him in the eyes of the world? Or, conversely, was his faith the reason that he experienced tremendous suffering and hardships? How can Torah study be compared to the spindle which was the direct source of the woman’s material gain?
Horav Rubman explains that Avraham was so spiritually elevated that he was cogently aware that his suffering in this world paled in significance to the remarkable reward he might merit in Olam Haba. He understood that fulfillment of Hashem’s mitzvos — despite affliction and sacrifice — directly produces unparalleled spiritual ecstasy. Thus, Avraham did not allow the heightened spirituality of the Akeidah to lose momentum. He did the “natural” thing; he sent Yitzchak to study Torah!
