The core proof-text is Avraham's response to the command of the Akeidah: when God calls him he answers immediately with 'hineni' and rises early the next morning to act (Bereishit 22:1-3). The Gemara in Pesachim 4a and Yoma 28b derive the principle that 'the vigilant are early in the performance of mitzvot' directly from Avraham's early rising for the Akeidah, making him the paradigm case for zerizut in halakhic literature.
Rashi reads Avraham's early rising as more than diligence — he saddled the donkey himself rather than delegating to a servant, because, as Rashi (Bereishit 22:3) puts it, love overrides the dignity that would otherwise call for using a servant. Orchot Tzadikim 15:2 develops this same episode, noting that despite the difficulty of what he was being asked to do, Avraham performed the Creator's will with zerizut, and that such alacrity in action is itself proof of love for one's Master, like a servant eager to fulfill his master's will.
Mesillat Yesharim treats Avraham as the model for zerizut throughout the trait, first defining it through the baraita of 'the vigilant are early in mitzvot' (Mesillat Yesharim 6:2), and then, in discussing zeal once an action has begun, citing Avraham's haste in running to Sarah's tent to prepare for the guests as the model of hurrying to complete a mitzva once begun rather than easing off (Mesillat Yesharim 7:11). The same running-to-greet-guests episode appears independently as an instance of Avraham's zerizut toward hachnasat orchim (Bereishit 18:2-3, Rav Eliezer Melamed (Peninei Halakhah, The Nation and the Land 7:10)).
The word 'hineni' itself is read by the Midrash as an expression of meekness and piety characteristic of the righteous when summoned by God (Midrash Tanchuma, Vayera 22:1), and Rashi applies the same reading elsewhere, calling 'hineni' a term of humility and alacrity when Yosef answers his father's call despite knowing his brothers hated him (Rashi on Bereishit 37:13).
Beyond the Akeidah, Avraham's zerizut is traced to other junctures: his immediate departure from his homeland upon God's command (Bereishit 12:1-4), the hurried kindness of his servant's agent at the well as an extension of the household's character (Bereishit 24:1-20), and his fixing a set place of prayer by rising early to the place where he had stood before God (Berakhot 6b:8-10).
Chazal also locate Akeidah-related zerizut in Yitzchak's willingness, noting that a man of his age could only be bound with his own consent, reflecting the same alacrity to fulfill the divine will even at great personal cost (Bereshit Rabbah 56:8), and the Or HaChaim frames the trial itself as uniquely difficult precisely because it came after many prior tests and promises, heightening the significance of Avraham's immediate compliance (Or HaChaim on Bereishit 22:1).
Later mussar and chassidic literature generalizes the trait: the Netivot Olam explains that zerizut is the capacity needed for service of God because it overcomes the heaviness of physical nature that dulls the soul (Netivot Olam, Netiv Hazrizut 2:1), and the Tanya teaches that overcoming the yetzer specifically requires alacrity born of joy rather than the heaviness and sadness that cause defeat (Tanya, Part I; Likkutei Amarim 26:1).
Several sources develop the spiritual symbolism of Avraham's zerizut at the Akeidah: Valle on Bereishis reads the saddling of the donkey as Avraham subduing his material nature and inclination to do God's will (Valle on Bereishis 22:3), and Valle on Bereishis 22 likewise describes Avraham as exceptionally zealous in mitzvot and in chesed, sustaining him against the yetzer. Beit Yaakov, Yitro 93 adds that Avraham's early rising shows he did not rely even on God's own prior promise but acted immediately, and Beit Yaakov, Vayakhel 2 cites Avraham as the model of one who acts with desire and alacrity without delay. the Rebbe Rashab (Hemshech Samech Vov, Maamar 47) frames Avraham's trials as the path by which he reached the root of his soul through steadfast effort, and Likkutei Sichos 5 Vayera uses the timing of Avraham's circumcision-recovery visit to show that mitzva-performance, including its preparations, must occur through natural means.
Other sources tie Avraham's zerizut to the mitzva of circumcision specifically: Nedarim 32a:5 teaches that Avraham was called 'tamim' only once he fulfilled circumcision, and Kiddushin 29a:11-12 derives the father's obligation to circumcise his son from Avraham's circumcising Yitzchak.
The theme of zerizut and 'hineni' as readiness to serve recurs with Moshe as well, where the double call 'Moshe, Moshe' is read as an expression of love and urging, and Moshe's hineni as the prelude to his mission (Shemot Rabbah 2:6), and Rashi on Bereishit 22:1 records the midrashic background of the Satan's and Yishmael's provocations that set the stage for the trial. Sforno adds that Avraham's running itself signals the importance of the act, and Rav Kook (Ein Aya, Berakhot 4:2) sees Avraham's fixed standing-in-prayer as reflecting the firm moral stance he achieved through withstanding his ten trials.
Modern mussar thought develops the inner mechanism of zerizut using Avraham as proof: Daas Torah (Rav Yerucham Levovitz) teaches that speed in performing a mitzva is not a mere preliminary but part of the perfection of the act itself, generating inner fervor through outer motion, while Michtav MeEliyahu (Rav Dessler) brings the midrash that Avraham ran three times despite his pain from the circumcision, teaching that the yearning which produces alacrity is what draws down Divine assistance to close great spiritual distances.
