The Torah tells us that after the birth of Yitzchak, “the child grew and was weaned, and Avraham made a great banquet on the day that Yitzchak was weaned” [Genesis 21:8]. Rashi explains that what made the banquet “great” was the presence of the great men of the generation: Shem, Ever, and Avimelech.
Shem was Noach’s son, and Ever was Shem’s great-grandson. According to the Medrash, Shem and Ever made the Beis Medrash, the House of Study, in which Yaakov later studied. So they were truly great leaders.
But Avimelech? This is the same Avimelech who, prior to Yitzchak’s birth, had taken Sarah unwillingly to be his own wife. Avraham was convinced that, as had happened with Pharoah earlier (12:9-20), Avimelech would gladly kill Avraham to be able to marry Sarah. Avimelech and his court did not fear G-d, so there was nothing to stop him (see 20:11). So Avraham claimed once again that she was his sister. Avimelech took her, and he would have assaulted her had an angel not intervened (see Rashi to 20:4).
Regardless of how great and powerful he was, what was Avimelech doing at Avraham’s feast? Why was he invited?
Rabbi Akiva Males of the Young Israel of Memphis shared the following thought: it seems that Avraham and Sarah are providing a lesson in pragmatic relations with world leaders. Avimelech may have been a corrupt person, but he was, first and foremost, a powerful king. He had also given Avraham and Sarah gifts to compensate for what had happened (20:14-16). So they metaphorically “held their noses,” and invited him in order to maintain the peace between them.
Rabbi Males pointed out how applicable this lesson is for us today. During the recent election, each party and its supporters accentuated, exaggerated, and even falsified the worst attributes of the other party’s candidate. It seems clear that a great deal of the electorate did not vote for a candidate as much as cast their vote to oppose the other.
Avraham and Sarah provide us with a model for how to move on today, even for those who, like nearly half of the country, ended up with the person they didn’t vote for. We can be honest and acknowledge that, like most world leaders, neither candidate demonstrated the higher standards of conduct that the Torah calls upon us to pursue. Now, the election is over, and we must cultivate the best possible relationship with powerful leaders if they are willing to sit down with us together—just as those of the other party had to do four years ago.
