[Avodah] Question on Avraham's Behavior

[T613K at aol.com]

From: Cantor Wolberg  <cantorwolberg at cox.net>
>>....when his wife was being  threatened to be violated by Pharoah and his 
men,  
Avraham did  virtually nothing except act meekly. Suddenly when it came  
to Lot he  found his boldness....Anyone have a good reasonable  explanation?<<

>>>>>
I have two tentative  explanations, one natural and one "cosmic."

 


Natural:  an army strategist knows that you have to play the hand  you're 
dealt.  In the case of Lot, an army of 318 men -- perhaps allied  with the 
remnants of the defeated five kings' armies -- could reasonably expect  to be able 
to get into the enemy camp and rescue hostages.  Avraham  was also in his own 
country, on his own turf.   In the case of Egypt,  there was no way Avraham 
could have defeated the entire might of the Egyptian  army, so he had to use 
subterfuge and wiles instead of brute force.  One  consideration that he had was 
that if he died, then Sarah would have /no one/ to  protect her, so it was 
definitely in her interest for him to remain alive long  enough to figure out a 
way to save her and get them both out of Egypt.
 
Cosmic:  ma'asei avos siman labanim.  Consciously or  unconsciously, 
Avraham's actions prophetically foreshadowed events that would  occur later in Jewish 
history.  His victory in the war of the four kings vs  the five kings 
foreshadowed Jewish conquest of Eretz Yisrael.  His need to  go "underground" in Egypt 
foreshadowed Yosef in Egypt and his leaving Egypt at  the urging of Pharoah, 
laden with riches, foreshadowed Yetzias Mitzraim.   Sarah's being at the mercy 
of the Egyptians and yet remaining untouched  foreshadowed the purity of the 
women in Egypt who all (except for one sole  exception, Shlomis bas Divri) 
maintained their purity and their family lineage  throughout all the years of 
slavery.  She was also a captive --  foreshadowing Jewish slavery -- and she was 
also in the king's palace --  foreshadowing Moshe being raised in the palace.  
(All the above is  admittedly somewhat speculative, based loosely on  Rashi.)





--Toby  Katz
=============



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