Yeshiva
Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Bereshit
- Lech Lecha
- Sections
- Chemdat Yamim
- Parashat Hashavua
We will try to chart a course between the extreme positions above. We have explained that the patriarchs were not just heads of a family but were "political" heads of a large constituency of many thousands. Avraham’s followers converted to belief in monotheism. He negotiated and interacted on high levels with local kings and superpowers and led his followers to victory in battle over major armies.
Throughout Tanach, the following assumption appears in the background of stories. Marriage between monarchal families was used to forge ties between kingdoms. The more powerful side often took the daughter of the weaker king. This is behind Shlomo’s marrying of Paroh’s daughter and the midrash that Avraham’s servant/concubine, Hagar, was Paroh’s daughter. (See also Daniel 11:6.)
Avraham referred to Sarah as achoti, which usually means a biological sister. However, we find that an achot can refer to a more intimate male-female relationship (see Shir Hashirim 4:10). Some scholars have claimed that Sarah’s transition from Avraham’s wife to his achot indicates a divorce of sorts. (The Mishneh Halachot (VI, 263) independently cites from the Gaon of Ostravska that Avraham had indeed formally divorced Sarah so as not to cause her and Paroh to violate adultery.)
Avraham was forced by famine to bring his group to Egypt and to capitulate to Paroh regarding the terms of their stay. Paroh demanded to be able to take one of the women in his entourage as a wife, and as Avraham feared that he might take Sarah, he formally divorced her and made her an achot. That is why the difficult midrash (Tanchuma, Bechukotai 3) said that she was elevated in status when she was taken by Paroh to be a wife. At the end, miracles forced Paroh to admit that Avraham was the more prominent leader, as the teacher of monotheism, and gave over his daughter to be a servant in his household (Bereishit Rabba 45).
Let us pray that the world will understand that the real dominion is Hashem’s and all will want to attach themselves to His Kingdom.
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
fast navigation
Hosha'ana Rabba FLYDUBAI & HOSHANA RABBA- ANI VAHU HOSHIA NA- I & HIM SAVE US
"Ani vaHu Hoshia Na", "I and Him, Save Us". We don't just pray to Him, but we also pray to and for ourselves that we should emulate and educate our children to have that instinctive altruism with which He created the world. President Trump seemed amused about Yaniv Hayon, our PLUMBER who confidently worked with G-d like Superman (he learned from a pilot on a TV show!) to save 174 lives on the Dubai hijacking, but we in Israel are totally accustomed already 78 years to our plumbers, teachers, garbage-men, rabbis, farmers & doctors being Hashem's shlichim! This is what Zionism is about.
