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Hadrash Ve-Haiyun
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Hadrash Ve-Haiyun
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Lech Lecha
5766
To Dedicate Please Contact: Hadrash Ve-Haiyun
Please say that you are my sister, that it may go well with me for your sake, and that I may live on account of you (Bereishis 12:13).
As Avram approached Egypt he feared that the wicked and immoral people of the land might kill him in an attempt to seize Sarai his wife. Indeed, Rashi tells us that Avram hid Sarai in a box. To spare himself from harm, he asked Sarai to say that he was his brother. Although Avram later explained in a similar incident with Avimelech that this was not a lie because she was his niece, and a niece is also called a sister (Bereishis Rashi 20:12), this is not the way the average person interprets these words.
Later in the parsha we learn about the birth of Yishmael. The first insight that we learn about the relationship between Yishmael and Yitzchak is found later in parshas Vayeira. The posuk says, “Sarah saw the son of Hagar, the Egyptian who she had borne to Avraham, mocking” (Bereishis 21:9). The Sforno explains that the mocking of Yishmael occurred on the day Avraham made a party in honor of the weaning of Yitzchak. Yishmael was disturbed and claimed that Yitzchak was not truly the son of Avraham but of Avimelech. In response, Sarah demanded that Yishmael be expelled from the home of Avraham. From this incident we learn about the nature of Yishmael in relation to Yitzchak. Yishmael perpetrated an outrageous lie. He claimed Yitzchak was an illegitimate child, not the son of Avraham. As ridiculous as it may seem, many people were receptive to his claim. Chazal tell us that what happened to our forefathers is a sign for us. The hallmark of the descendents of Yishmael to this very day is their outrageous lies. They claim that the Jewish people are illegitimate and have no claim to Eretz Yisrael. As ridiculous as this may seem, hundreds of millions of people are sympathetic to their false claims.
We must stop and ask, how is it possible that our forefather Avraham raised such a child. Did he not educate him in the ways of truth and honesty? What went wrong?
In our parsha, we learn how Avraham asked Sarai to say that she was his sister. Rashi adds that by doing so he would receive gifts in her honor. Indeed, Chazal tell us that Pharaoh himself gave Hagar as a gift to Sarah.
We see that Yishmael came into this world only because of the lie that Avraham asked Sarai to say. The sequence of events leading to Yishmael birth began with Avraham asking Sarai to lie that he was her brother. As a consequence, she was taken to pharaoh who was smitten with a plague. After Avraham intervened, Sarai was returned along with the gift of Hagar. Later Avraham married Hagar and begot Yishmael. It should not surprise us that the nature of Yishmael is to lie. His very existence was the product of a lie. Certainly Avraham had noble intentions when he instructed Sarai to say that he was her brother. His life was in danger and his conduct was fully within Torah law. Furthermore, far be it from us to fault or questions in any way our holy patriarch Avraham. Nevertheless, Avraham did ask Sarai to lie.
We may learn from this incident the severity of lying. Even if the law permits us to lie in extenuating circumstances, we must realize that any profit seemingly gained will ultimately bring us no benefit. Until this very day, we suffer greatly because Sarai said that Avraham was her brother and not her husband.
