莱赫·莱查·佐哈尔 12

1AND ABRAM WENT DOWN TO EGYPT TO SOJOURN THERE. Why to Egypt? Because it is compared to the Garden of the Lord, as it is written, “Like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt”. For there a certain stream (from the Garden) which is on the right descends and flows, as it is written, “The name of the one was Pishon, that it is which compasseth the whole land of Havilah where there is gold” (Gen. 2, 11).

2When Abram knew God and became perfect in faith, he sought to acquaint himself with all those grades (of wisdom) which are attached to the lower world, and since Egypt derived from the Right, he went down to Egypt. (We remark here that famine comes only when mercy ceases to temper justice.)

3NOW IT CAME TO PASS THAT WHEN HE WAS COME NEAR TO ENTER INTO EGYPT. The word hikrib (came near) literally means “brought near”; as much as to say that he brought himself fittingly near to God. TO ENTER INTO EGYPT: i.e. to examine those other (worldly) grades so as to know how to avoid them and to shun the ways of the Egyptians.

4R. Judah said : ‘Consider this. Because Abram went down to Egypt without first obtaining God’s consent (for nowhere is it written that God told Abram to go down to Egypt), therefore his descendants were enslaved to the Egyptians four hundred years.’ All that night he was filled with anxiety concerning Sarai,

5AND HE SAID TO SARAI HIS WIFE, BEHOLD NOW I KNOW THAT THOU ART A FAIR WOMAN TO LOOK UPON. Did he then not know it before? This confirms what we have learnt, that up to that time Abram had never looked closely at the features of Sarai on account of the excessive modesty which ruled their intercourse, but when he approached Egypt they were disclosed, and he saw how fair she was.

6According to another explanation, he knew it through the fact that, contrary to the usual experience, she looked as beautiful as ever after the fatigues of the journey. Another explanation is that Abram said so because he saw with her the Shekinah. It was on this account that Abram made bold to say subsequently, “she is my sister”,

7with a double meaning: one the literal, the other figurative, as in the words “say to Wisdom, thou art my sister” (Prov. 7, 4). SAY NOW THOU ART MY SISTER.

8SAY NOW THOU ART MY SISTER. R. Yesa said: ‘Abram knew that all the Egyptians were full of lewdness. It may therefore seem surprising that he was not apprehensive for his wife and that he did not turn back without entering the country. But the truth is that he saw with her the Shekinah and was therefore confident.