Sari - a Princess - Avram Not So Cool!

Gen 12: Review of the Overall Story with Rabbi Sarah Wolf

Details and Generalizations about Avram and Sari and their venture into Egypt were explored this week.

Sari = Princess – word play in Torah. Whose Princess was she?

The Morality of Avram Question:
Per Leon Kass – Avram was just clueless.
God intervenes and makes the situation right without the knowledge of Avram.
God intervenes often when it comes to situations with women.
Avram needs to learn how to treat a wife.

Per Mark Brett – Avram needs to learn about dealing with foreigners.
It is a lesson in understanding and not fearing foreigners.

Per Robert Altar – this is one of the ‘conventions’ in Torah – repeating themes
- a literary style that repeats itself throughout Torah:
meeting the wife at the well, baren wife later has a son, mistaken identity, opportunity for God to save the people from disaster...

Another theme: Women to the rescue – but the men get the applause!

Does Avram pass his wife as his sister to “save his skin”?

OR

Per Randi – was the whole adventure Sari’s idea?

Per Samson R. Hirsch – No human is the model for proper behavior – God is the model we should follow.
The Patriarchs are ‘not whitewashed’

Irony – The first time Avram speaks in Torah is not very ‘flattering’.
He is not trusting, he doesn’t treat his wife well and he seems very selfish. We question again why he was chosen.

This was one of the ‘tests of Abraham’ - So, did he pass?
This depends on who you ask!
To better understand the message you need to better understand the ancient audience for words of Torah.

“the story keeps our attention but the commercial is the important message here”

This is the predecessor to the Lot story where the women also are ‘expendable’.