“אַל תִּירָא אַבְרָם אָנֹכִי מָגֵן לָך”
Do not fear Abraham, I (HaShem) am protecting you.
Bereshit, 15:1-
Abraham arrives in the land of Canaan, identifying and obeying the Divine Voice. And thus, taking upon himself by his own will, the commitment to follow God. He passes the first trial! The second test begins. The Divine Voice had promised him many rewards in the land of Canaan; prosperity, descendants, fame, etc… But when Abraham arrives in the promised land, the promises are far from fulfilled. In the very land where he was guaranteed plenty and riches, a famine takes over! And yet, our forefather does not take back his commitment. He does not flee back to the North, to his native land. Rather, he takes refuge in Egypt until the famine is over, and he can return to the land that God had sent him to. Abraham passes the second test. He learns to be loyal to HaShem,unconditionally.
THE THIRD TRIAL
However, his chalenges or “nisiyonot” are not yet over. If the lack of rain and food was not enough, Abraham’s wife is taken from him. Sara Imenu is kidnapped in Egypt and taken to Pharaoh’s harem. Abraham had actually anticipated that the Egyptians would be very interested in his wife’s beauty, and so he told her to present herself as his sister, but he did not imagine that Pharaoh himself would take Sara! He is completely powerless and can do nothing to rescue his beloved wife. Pharaoh gives Abraham a generous dowry for Sara: cattle and servants. Abraham is rich. But what use is his wealth without his beloved Sara? Throughout this ordeal, God does not reveal himself to Abraham. Did Abraham feel that he did something wrong and that God’s promise to give him offspring, perhaps, will not be fulfilled?
SURPRISE
And then, the unexpected happens. Abraham is summoned to Pharaoh’s palace. He is angry with Abraham: “How did you not tell me that Sara is your wife?! Why did you cheat me and tell me she was your sister? “. From Abraham’s perspective, Pharaoh’s reproach amounts to a death sentence. Pharaoh could punish Abraham with death and stay with his widow. But unexpectedly, the Egyptian monarch returns Sara, healthy and untouched, to her husband and Abraham is free to leave, with his wife, and with the generous dowry he had received from Pharaoh (Remember HaShem’s promise? Prosperity? Check!)
However, Abraham is oblivious to what we readers are told: that God intervened by punishing Pharaoh, and in so, warning Pharaoh that Sara is a married woman whom he must stay away from.
Abraham never actually discovered what really had happened. And despite his sufferings that seem undeserved and illogical, Abraham learns an invaluable lesson; God acts in ways that human beings will never fully understand or perceive. Sometimes in our benefit, as in this case, and sometimes in what seems to be against our interests, like in the binding of Isaac. Abraham learns that human logic cannot anticipate Divine wisdom, and God intervenes in ways we cannot imagine, or even dare to pray for.
This level of unsolicited Divine intervention, not necessarily perceived by us, is called “Magen,” a shield, an ‘unnoticed Divine protection’. HaShem protects us without us realizing it, He is constantly saving us from dangers we are not even aware of, and even before something bad happens.
To recognize this type of Divine protection, we praise HaShem every dayfor being “Magen Abraham,” the Protector of Abraham and his privileged descendants.
Rabbi Yosef Bitton
