Regarding Avraham Avinu it is said: "And he believed in Hashem, and He counted it to him as righteousness" (Genesis 15:6) In his holy words for Parshat Va'etchanan, our teacher, the esteemed Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, speaks about the high virtue of the attribute of emunah (faith)

Hashem says: It doesn't work like this, I don't just give gifts. I also want something from you. What do you give me?

The person says: What can I give you, Hashem, I have nothing to give you. I have nothing. I am poor and destitute. I am not wise. And I do not understand. You grant wisdom to man, you give everything, everything is with you, I have nothing.

But there is one thing that you can give me, and this Hashem cannot give, in any way He cannot give. Only you can. This Hashem does not have. This is missing from Him and this is what He wants from you - emunah (faith).

That you believe in Hashem and you await Him and you connect to Him and you bond with Him, this is the part you give, and then you create the vessel that He can give you.

And this is what the forefathers did. They saw nothing, nothing, nothing, they only believed and believed and gave their lives and stood in trials. They made this great vessel, this wonderful vessel, they only prepared vessels, vessels, vessels.

The forefathers suffered, they had severe hardships. What did Yaakov Avinu say at the end of his days? "Few and bad have been the days of the years of my life!"

The people of Israel are leaving Egypt, soon they will have it good. They will have manna, they will have quail, they will have a well, clouds will accompany them, afterwards they will arrive in Eretz Yisrael, they will have wonderful things, but what did the forefathers have? They had nothing! They only invested and invested and invested, they made the vessel, and they did this for generations, until the coming of our righteous Mashiach. Because the Holy One, blessed be He, does not give for free. He says I want you to give me the vessel.