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The following is from RSRH's commentary on Bereishis 12: 10 - 13<br><br>
<font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=4><b>10
</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3><i>There was a famine in the
land, and Avram went down into Egypt to sojourn there, because the famine
was severe in the land.<br><br>
</i></font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=4>11
</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3><i>When he was close to
entering Egypt, he said to Sarai, his wife: Look, I do know that you are
a beautiful woman.<br><br>
</i></font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=4>12
</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3><i>So when the Egyptians see
you, they will say: She is his wife, and they will kill me, but you they
will keep alive.<br><br>
</i></font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=4>13
</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3><i>Please say that you are my
sister, so that they will deal well with me to get to you through me, and
so that, through you, I will remain<br>
alive.<br><br>
</i></b></font>After pointing out that the RAMBAN concludes
"<font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3>Our father Avraham
inadvertently committed a grave sin by placing his virtuous wife before a
stumbling block<br>
of iniquity because of his fear of being killed . . . His leaving the
Land, about which he had been commanded, because of the famine was
another<br>
sin he committed." Rav Hirsh writes:<br><br>
The Torah does not seek to portray our great men<br>
as perfectly ideal figures; it deifies no man. It says of no one: “Here
you<br>
have the ideal; in this man the Divine assumes human form!” It does<br>
not set before us the life of any one person as the model from which<br>
we might learn what is good and right, what we must do and what we<br>
must refrain from doing. When the Torah wishes to put before us a<br>
model to emulate, it does not present a man, who is born of dust.<br>
Rather, God presents Himself as the model, saying: “Look upon Me!<br>
Emulate Me! Walk in My ways!” We are never to say: “This must be<br>
good and right, because so-and-so did it.” The Torah is not an
“anthology<br>
of good deeds.” It relates events not because they are necessarily<br>
worthy of emulation, but
</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3><i>because they took
place</i></font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3>.<br><br>
The Torah does not hide from us the faults, errors, and weaknesses<br>
of our great men, and this is precisely what gives its stories
credibility.<br>
The knowledge given us of their faults and weaknesses does not
detract<br>
from the stature of our great men; on the contrary, it adds to their<br>
stature and makes their life stories even more instructive. Had they<br>
been portrayed to us as shining models of perfection, flawless and<br>
unblemished, we would have assumed that they had been endowed<br>
with a higher nature, not given to us to attain. Had they been
portrayed<br>
free of passions and inner conflicts, their virtues would have
seemed<br>
to us as merely the consequence of their loftier nature, not
acquired<br>
by personal merit, and certainly no model we could ever hope to<br>
emulate.<br><br>
Why is it that those who produce literature for frum readers do not
understand this? Far too many of these books paint the great people of
the past as having been perfect, never having a doubt, and never having
done anything wrong. In addition, they simply omit things that they feel
do not fit with their view of the world. <br><br>
Someone recently sent me something about Rav Pam and Halloween. He was at
Rav Pam's house one Halloween night and related that Mrs. Pam gave out
treats to those who rang their bell. Indeed, Rav Pam did not switch off
his outside light as many other "observant" Jews did who lived
near him. They wanted to avoid giving to the Trick or Treaters, but the
Pams felt it important to give them something when they rang their
bell.<br><br>
Someone to whom I sent this wrote, "You won't find this in the
official biography of Rav Pam." I replied, "You also won't find
the fact that he had a masters degree from City College and at one time
taught in the secular studies department of YTV there either."
<br><br>
If Torah is Emes, then why are so many who claim to be committed to Torah
so keen on hiding the Emes?<br><br>
<br>
<x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
Yitzchok Levine</font></body>
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