chayei sarah - the last nisayon

Kayadua, there is a machlokes about what exactly the ten nisyonos of avraham were.  The Rambam ends the list in parshas vayera with the climactic akeidas yitzchak.

But the rabbeinu yonah ends the list with the beginning of this week's parsha - he thinks the tenth nisayon was avraham's burial of sarah: העשירי קבורת שרה. שנאמר לו קום התהלך בארץ לארכה ולרחבה כי לך אתננה. וכשמתה אשתו לא מצא מקום לקברה עד שקנאו ולא הרהר.

At first glance, this seems ridiculous - avraham was willing to sacrifice his son - what does the sacrifice of 400 coins mean in relation to that - its nothing?

(What we say below isnt meant to explain how the tenth nisayon was greater than that of the akeidah - that I do not say.  but it will explain how the 2 nisyonos were different  - how the nisayon of kevuras sarah is not automatically subsumed under that of the akeidah)

By akeidas yitzchak, hashem commanded avraham to slaughter his son.  obviously thats an incredible nisayon - but at the end of the day, if hashem commands you to do something, you do it.

By kevuras sarah we have exactly the opposite - hashem told avraham that the land is his.  Efron is even (seemingly) offering the land for free - its so tempting - just take efron up on his bluff and take the land for free - after all - it really belongs to avraham anyways as per hashem's havtacha.

The nisayon wasn't to obey hashem, no matter how hard that might be.  hashem didn't say anything here.  the nisayon wasn't even to do what's right in the absence of a command- mitzad hadin, its entirely possible that avraham had every right to take the land without paying (leaving the discussion by the shepherds aside for now).  the nisayon was that even if hashem didn't say anything, and even if you're totally justified/in the right, and even if the guy you're dealing with is a dishonest jerk (as efron was), still you should give in to him and pay for the field - even though he offered it for free!

The gemara somewhere in Bava metzia recounts how when one amora hired workers who instead of doing the job for him, accidentally broke his stuff, he wanted to take payment from them.  This amora's rebbe stepped in, however, and forced him to not only not take payment for the damage the workers did, but to pay them for their time as if they had done their job - obviously this is far above and beyond what the letter, and perhaps even the spirit of the law requires - but thats the lesson of the tenh nisayon.  we have to go so far to be nice to others, and put aside our pain / frustration at the lack of justice that doing so entails - that is non-trivial.

Good shabbos!