The unexpected test

The fifth chapter of Avot (at 5:4) recites that Abraham was tested by God with ten tests (all of which the Patriarch passed) in order to make a show of how dearly Abraham regarded Him. Much has inevitably been written on this topic. Questions such as (i) which are the ten tests, (ii) why any number from one to nine wouldn't have done just as well and (iii) which was the greatest test continue to be debated.

This post focuses on one small issue: the consideration that a person being tested may know perfectly well that he is being tested, but might still not know what the test actually is. The following episode, drawn from the lower strata of the world of finance, illustrates the point well.

Back in the 1980s a friend of mine was a trainee bank manager with the National Westminster Bank in London. Part of the way through the training programme, all the trainees were given a test. They were ushered into a room full of desks, on each of which was a test paper that was several pages in length, together with an answer book. The test paper opened with the following rubric: “Please read this paper carefully. Do not attempt to answer any of the questions before you have finished reading this paper”.

My friend obediently read through the questions without writing anything, even though he knew most of the answers and didn't need to think too deeply about them. He could so easily have completed those questions as he went along. At the very end of the test paper, he was surprised to read the following rubric: “Do not write any of the answers to the questions on this paper”.

It transpired that the real purpose of the test was not to see what the trainee bank managers knew but to reveal whether they were capable of carrying out the simple instruction of not writing anything until they had finished reading the test paper. My friend was the only person who passed that test.

The salutary lesson of this exercise—we may know that we are being tested but still not recognize what we are being tested on—is even more applicable when it is God and not a bank that sets the tests. We do not know how greatly aware Abraham was that he was being tested, but we do see from the Torah how his willingness and determination to carry out God's instructions as closely as possible meant that he could pass his tests whether or not he was aware of how he was being tested.

Trial and error

Here's the text of a piece I wrote on the trials of Abraham which was hosted on Rabbi Shmuel Phillips's Judaism Reclaimed Facebook group (declaration of interest: Rabbi Phillips is my son). Since it's relevant to this week's Torah reading, I thought I'd post it here too:

Trial and Error 

Parashat Vayera includes two of the most vividly memorable events in Avraham’s life: his argument with God over the fate of the inhabitants of Sodom and the narrative of the Akedah, God’s instruction that Avraham bind his son Yitzchak and sacrifice him as a burnt offering. The Akedah is the only test of Avraham’s that the Torah mentions explicitly. The statement that Abraham was set 10 tests and passed them all is Mishnaic (Avot 5:4). We can ask three questions here: (i) why did God test Avraham; (ii) why does the Torah account for one test when the Mishnah mentions ten and (iii) is Avraham’s negotiation with God over the fate of Sodom not also a test?  

Why should God need to test Avraham at all? The normal function of any test is to obtain a result or outcome that would otherwise be unknown. Its circumstances and methodology should reflect the objective to be achieved: for example the person being tested should be known to have the capacity to pass it and should not know that he is being tested. However, an omniscient God who exists beyond time and who has already selected Abraham for his destined role does not need to test him in order to ascertain information and is in any event already in possession of it. The fact that Abraham was prepared to sacrifice his son was not something Abraham needed to be told either, since the Torah records his unswerving obedience to God’s commands. 

The inference we can draw is therefore that the function of the Akedah was to show us, being Avraham’s physical or metaphorical descendants through Yitzchak, something of the quality, the steadfastness under stress and the deep love for God which the Patriarchs possessed. This demonstration of Abraham’s mettle would also act as a lesson for all subsequent generations as to how we should serve God, with love, fear and complete trust. Rambam appears to take this approach (Moreh Nevuchim 3:24). Significantly, the Hebrew word nisayon (“test”) is related to nes (“banner”), a word that conveys the need to wave a flag, as it were, to make a prominent display of Abraham’s exceptional qualities. 

Why does the Mishnah mention 10 tests when the Torah identifies only one as being such? The answer here lies in the different functions served by the Torah and by the mishnayot of Avot. Avot 5:4 is a short mishnah because, though it mentions Avraham’s successful negotiation of 10 tests, it does not list them. Nor is there any rabbinical consensus as to what they are. If one reads the Torah narrative of Avraham’s life and the midrashic literature that is based upon it (on which many rabbis rely when compiling their lists of 10), it is easy to put together a list approaching 30 events that could fairly be construed as such.  

It is plain that, by not listing the tests, the author of this mishnah was teaching something other than what those tests were. The important part of the mishnah is the statement that Avraham passed them. By concealing their identity the mishnah alludes to the fact that their identity was concealed from Avraham too—and that is where his greatness lies. Where a person knows he or she is being tested, that is no real test.  

Of all the many commentators on the mishnah, Rambam is unique: he is the only one to choose 10 tests from the Torah alone, rather than opting for a blend of Torah and often more exciting tests drawn from midrashic sources. However, neither he nor any other major commentator includes as a test Avraham’s argument with God over the ethical consideration of destroying the righteous together with the wicked in the sinful cities of Sodom and Gemorrah. There is not even any discussion of why it should be omitted. Why should this be so? 

Another mishnah in Avot may provide a hint that leads to a possible answer.  In Avot 5:6 the mishnah repeats a verse from the Torah in which God, with justifiable anger, states that our ancestors tested Him ten times during their sojourn in the desert. This statement admits of the possibility not just of God testing man but of man testing God. When God tests us, it is to teach us a lesson about ourselves, but when we test Him we must be careful to do so leshem shamayim, for the right reasons. Here it is not God testing Avraham but Avraham who is testing God: if He is really the Judge of all the Earth, will He not do justice? God who is on trial, is being tested by the one mortal who has recognised Him in all His glory. God passes the test. 

Testing God: a national pastime?

Two mishnayot in Avot (5:4 and 5:6) deal with tests. In 5:4, we learn about God testing Abraham; in 5:6 it is we who test God.  But why did we keep on testing God in the desert -- and why do we test God at all? The following may be a partial explanation, though it cannot claim to be a complete answer.

The generation of the wilderness was far from unique in testing God, complaining both to Him and about Him. The practice is indeed so deeply ingrained in Jewish culture even today and, from our words and our conduct, it is clear that many of us now assume that He is no longer bothered about being tested. We should however bear in mind that not just every complaint we make but every request we lodge in our prayers has the capacity to be taken as a criticism of the lot which God has apportioned to us and it is best practice to make sure that, whatever one asks for, one always takes care to be grateful for that which one already has.

Why exactly do we test God? Since this is something we have always done and continue to do, the reason may be connected to our psychological and emotional make-up and may even have a positive side to it.  Testing God and trying His patience is not something that anyone would trouble to do unless they believe in God in the first place, since it makes no sense for an atheist to test or provoke an entity which, he holds, does not exist.  Therefore we can see that testing God is, at base, an affirmation of our faith in Him.

Drawing on our own human experiences (we have all been children and many of us will also be parents), we should be able to recall without difficulty those occasions on which a small child, despite every warning, has defied a teacher’s or parent’s threat. Even the most normally obedient child will probably have crossed, on one or more occasion, a red line such as “If you poke your little sister with that stick once more, you’ll have to sit on the naughty step” or “The next person to call out in class without putting their hand up will be sent straight to the Head Teacher”.  Sometimes, as often happens at school, the transgression is the product of unrestrained enthusiasm. Sometimes, as frequently transpires in the home scenario, it is simply because the child craves a reaction—any reaction—because it is a source of personal attention.

We are created in the image of God, possessing feeble and finite versions of His qualities. What God does in capital letters, as it were, we do in small print.  God tests us because He wants our response. We test Him because we desire His.  

In Search of Abraham's Ten Tests

Let's return to Avot 5:4 (see earlier blogposts here and here), which teaches that Abraham was set ten tests by God and passed them all, to demonstrate the strength of Abraham's love of God. 

Since the Mishnah does not spell out which are Abraham's ten tests, I have been trying to compile a list of them. The table below features 28 "possibles", of which no fewer than 19 are counted as one of the ten tests by at least one reputable Torah scholar.

Number	Test	Source (Torah or Midrash	Endorsement
1	Exile from family and homeland	Torah	Rambam, Rashi, Rabbenu Yonah, Bartenura, Me’am Lo’ez, Abarbanel
2	Famine in Canaan	Torah	Rambam, Rashi, Bartenura, Me’am Lo’ez, Abarbanel
3	Abduction of Sarah in Egypt	Torah	Rambam, Rashi, Rabbenu Yonah, Bartenura, Me’am Lo’ez, Abarbanel
4	War of the Four Kings against the Five Kings	Torah	Rambam, Rabbenu Yonah, Bartenura, Me’am Lo’ez, Abarbanel
5	Marriage to Hagar since Sarah was barren	Torah	Rambam, Abarbanel
6	Circumcision	Torah	Rambam, Rashi, Rabbenu Yonah, Bartenura, Me’am Lo’ez, Abarbanel
7	Abduction of Sarah by Abimelech	Torah	Rambam, Rabbenu Yonah, Bartenura, Me’am Lo’ez, Abarbanel
8	Expulsion of Hagar after birth of Yishmael	Torah	Rambam, Rashi, Rabbenu Yonah, Bartenura, Abarbanel
9	Expulsion of Yishmael	Torah	Rambam, Rashi, Rabbenu Yonah, Me’am Lo’ez, Abarbanel
10	The binding of Isaac	Torah	Rambam, Rashi, Rabbenu Yonah, Bartenura, Me’am Lo’ez, Abarbanel
11	Hiding underground for 13 years to avoid Nimrod	Midrash	Rashi
12	Being thrown into a fiery furnace by Nimrod	Midrash	Rashi, Rabbenu Yonah, Bartenura, Me’am Lo’ez
13	Capture of his nephew Lot	Torah	Rashi
14	Being told that his offspring would suffer under four alien regimes (Persia, Medea, Greece, Rome)	Midrash	Rashi
15	Being told that his offspring would be “strangers in a strange land”	Torah	Bartenura
16	Angering his father by destroying his stock of idols	Midrash	---
17	Having to argue with God in order to try to save the inhabitants of Sodom and Gemorrah	Torah	---
18	Being made to choose whether his descendants went into exile or to Gehinnom	Midrash	---
19	Having to pay an extortionate price for a burial-place for Sarah even though all the land had been promised to him by God	Torah	Rabbenu Yonah
20	Being told that his offspring would suffer both exile and purgatory	Torah/midrash	Me’am Lo’ez
21	Having to seek out visitors after circumcision so as to perform the mitzvah of welcoming travelers	Midrash	---
22	Being prepared to turn his back on the Shechinah in order to attend to his visitors	Midrash	---
23	Sending away his sons by Keturah	Torah	---
24	Having to seek out the exiled Yishmael in order to make peace with him	Midrash	---
25	Promising Abraham a son to inherit from him but then withholding one	Torah	---
26	Taking away from Abraham the mitzvah of sacrificing Isaac	Torah	Netivot Shalom
27	Whether to accept the spoils of war following the War  of the Five Kings against the Four.	Torah	---
28	Complying with God’s request to sacrifice Isaac even though it was not actually a commandment	Torah	Rabbenu Nissim

Can anyone add to this list, either by supplying more possible tests drawn from the Torah or midrash, or by supplying the names of rabbis who have endorsed any of the tests in the table above which have not (yet) to my knowledge been counted among the ten?

More on tests

On Tuesday I posted this piece on being tested by God, in the context of Avot 5:4 which teaches about God setting Abraham ten tests, all of which he successfully negotiated. Since then I have been musing about a quotation that has floated past my line of vision many times in recent years. It runs along the lines of "God only sends a person a test He knows he can handle". This quote comes in various forms, but is never accompanied by any source.

Does anyone know who first expressed this sentiment? If so, please get in touch! It would be good to know. It would be even better to know if its originator had any empirical evidence on which to base it.

Does the person who is being tested know what he is being tested on?

In the fifth chapter of Avot (5:4) a mishnah mentions that Abraham was tested by God with ten tests (all of which the Patriarch passed) in order to make a show of how dearly Abraham regarded Him. Much has inevitably been written on this topic. Questions such as (i) which are the ten tests, (ii) why any number from one to nine wouldn't have done just as well and (iii) which was the greatest test continue to be debated. This blogpost focuses on one small issue: the fact that the person being tested may not at the time know what the test actually is.  This little episode, drawn from the lower strata of the world of finance, illustrates the point well.

Back in the 1980s a friend of mine was a trainee bank manager with the then National Westminster Bank in London. Part of the way through the training program the trainees were given a test. They were ushered into a room full of desks, on each of which was a test paper that was several pages in length and which opened with the following rubric: “Please read this test paper carefully. Do not attempt to answer any of the questions before you have finished reading this test paper”.

 My friend obediently read through the questions without writing anything, even though he knew some of the answers without the need to consider the questions deeply. He could so easily have completed those questions as he went along. At the very end of the test paper he read the following rubric: “Do not write any of the answers to the questions on this paper”.

It transpired that the real purpose of the test was not to see what the trainee bank managers knew but to see whether they could carry out the simple instruction of not writing anything until they had finished reading the test paper. My friend was the only person who passed that test. The salutary lesson of this exercise—we may know that we are being tested but we may not recognize what we are being tested on—is even more applicable when it is God and not a bank that sets the tests.