Shalom Everybody!
I have a very quick and short dvar Torah that I would like to share, and I'll jump right into it.
We learn in this week's parasha that after Avraham Avinu has already entered the land of Israel, he left and went down to Egypt. After staying in Egypty for a while, traveled back up to Israel. When he was going from Israel to Egypt (the first time), he stopped by many different people along the way to sleep for the night. When he left Egypt, on his way back to Israel, he stayed by the same exact people. He didn't try out different families, different inns, or different hotels. He stayed by the same exact places.
Why is it that Avraham made such a huge effort to go back to these specific peopls houses? What's the big deal if he tried someone else on the way back?
Well, there is a very simple explanation to this. Avraham Avinu want to show his hosts how much he appreciated them. Imagine being a host to Avraham Avinu. He is the only man who is standing for Hashem in the entire world today. He comes to YOUR house. A little later, he comes to YOUR neighborhood again, but this time, he doesn't stay by you. What would you think? You would think you did something wrong. "Why doesn't he want to come back? Was the food not good? Did I not offer him enough? Perhaps my house is not a place that is appropriate for a man of G-d?" However, if he returns to your house, you know that he loved being there the first time. This is why Avraham made sure to return to the same hosts.
But that's not where it ends. Avraham Avinu thought about everything he does thoroughly and knew that he must return to the same hosts who put him up for a night on his way back for a second and more important reason. This reason can be explain by a story:
Rav Moshe Feinstein was once sitting at some sort of a gathering, a place where there were of people present. He wanted to pour some milk into his cup of coffee. It just so happened that there were two cartons of milk in front of him, and these carton's of milk were two different companies (we'll call the companies Company A and Company B). Rav Moshe reached for Company A's milk, picked it up, and put it down. He, then, picked up Company B's milk and poured it into his coffee. Everyone saw this. They were going crazy! Maybe there is something wrong with Company A's kashrut! Maybe they can't rely on it! Why didn't he want to drink it? Why didn't he pour it into his coffee? And surely enough, a lot of people stopped drinking Company A's milk. They just stopped buying it. After a while, managers for Company A heard about this and were very confused. They eventually got in touch with Rav Moshe and asked him, "What is wrong with our milk?" Rav Moshe was confused. "There's nothing wrong with your milk. I never said there was something wrong with it." So they asked, "Then, why did you put it down on that day during the gathering?" Rav Moshe replied, "The carton was empty."
When there is a figure that a lot of people follow, people will very often mimic and imitate their every actions, and make a lot of assumptions on the way. Avraham Avinu was on a mission to preach about Hashem and monotheism to the world. He knew that his followers will follow him in everything that he does. If on his way back home (to Israel), Avraham Avinu wouldn't go back to his previous hosts whom he stayed by when he first traveled to Egypt, people would never go to these people's house. They will think that there was a problem in this person's house, just as everyone thought there was a problem with Company A's milk. These people will be banished from society! Not only was Avraham Avinu sensitive to his host's feelings, but he was also looking out for their livelihoods as well.
We should all learn a lesson from our father. We have to spend a lot of time thinking and trying to be as senstive as possible to each other. Avraham could have said, "I was already at their house. It's not nice! I can't eat there again! I need to go somewhere else." But if he would say that, he would indirectly ruin their lives. We should all work at caring about one another and being as considerate as possible for each other's needs. Don't forget, we are all his children. Let us learn from our father. After all, we're learning his stories for a reason.
Shabbat Shalom!
Sincerely,
Adam Sabzevari
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