“As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are.” (Bereishis 12:11)

“…Abraham did not even look at his own wife, as it is written: “Now I know that you are a beautiful woman” (Genesis 12:11). One may learn by inference that initially he did not know how beautiful she was because he had not gazed at her. (Bava Basra 16a:15)

Chazal tell us (above) that only when Avraham went down to Egypt did he notice that his wife Sarah was pretty. There is a great deal of discussion about this amongst the commentators. One approach which seems to explain this well is that where an item is in great demand, but with little supply, it becomes a highly coveted object. In Egypt, which was a corrupt and immoral country, beautiful women were in short supply and in high demand. Therefore, it was only then that Avraham noticed his wife’s beauty.

But, as we see in numerous places in the Torah, beauty is considered a positive attribute. Therefore, why didn’t Avraham find out if his wife was pretty before he married her?

There are many things in life which are taken for granted without appreciating their real value. Perhaps one’s neighbor is an upstanding and noble person, and also happens to be a big Talmid chacham. If someone were to ask him about his neighbor, he might have lots of wonderful things to say, but the fact that he is a Talmid chacham might slip his mind. Whereas if he was asked about this neighbor while in the beis medrash, he would immediately say he is a great Talmid chacham and describe all the different accomplishments in his learning but would probably neglect to mention that he is a fine Jew and an upstanding neighbor. We see from this that even when one has sterling qualities, they may be overlooked when viewed in different contexts.

We understand that chein and yofi are great attributes, but are only secondary to being a G-d-fearing woman (Mishlei 31:30). Therefore, Avraham may have understood that his wife was pretty, but he didn’t see this as her outstanding attribute. It was only when he moved to the more decadent environment of Egypt that this attribute become more prominent, which caused him to be take note of it.

The Vilna Gaon said that beauty is a zero. But if you have a 1 before it, it makes you into a 10.

It says in Pirkei Avos (2:1): “Which is the proper path that a man should choose for himself? Whatever is a credit to himself and earns the esteem of his fellow man.” It is our job in the world that we live in to have two frames of reference; One according to the Torah, and the other reflecting the world in which we live. It is always best if we can be exemplary in both. But if we must choose, then we must prioritize the Torah by which we run our lives.

Avraham and Sarah, who excelled in both Torah and in all other aspects, lived in the sea of Torah, and therefore the non-Torah attributes seemed insignificant. But when Avraham went into an environment where they were important, he then took note of his wife’s beauty.

We should merit to live like Avraham Avinu, with the Torah viewpoint being predominant in our lives. But if we find ourselves in situations in which we must prioritize other aspects, we should do our best to achieve “high marks” there too and have the siyata dishmaya to be viewed in a good light.