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How could Sarah being taken by Pharaoh and Avimelech constitute two separate tests for Avrohom? The Maharal's challenge reveals that Pharaoh acted from lust while Avimelech acted from power and control. This distinction explains why rebellion against authority is spiritually worse than inability to control desires.
This shiur examines a fundamental question raised by the Maharal regarding the Rambam (רמב"ם)'s enumeration of Avrohom's ten tests (Aseres Hanisyonos). The Maharal questions how the Rambam can count Sarah being taken by Pharaoh and later by Avimelech as two separate tests, arguing that identical situations cannot constitute separate trials. The speaker demonstrates that these were actually fundamentally different tests by analyzing the textual differences between the two narratives. The incident with Pharaoh was motivated by lust - the Torah (תורה) emphasizes Sarah's beauty, Pharaoh's officers praised her appearance, and Pharaoh willingly paid Avrohom gifts before taking her. Egypt represented a culture of licentiousness where people were happy to pay for their pleasures. When Pharaoh discovered his error, he simply returned Sarah and sent them away.
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Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer - Aseres Hanisyonos
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