And he proceeded by stages from the Negev as far as Bethel (13:3)

Rashi: Another interpretation: on his return, he paid the debts he had previously incurred (Genesis Rabbah 41:3).

In the past, we have discussed the question, “Why would someone lend money to a poor traveler?” What are the chances that the loan will be repaid?! (see Chida). I would like to offer an alternative explanation. We often judge people through externalities, and no matter how convincing their argument may be, if they do not carry the proper credentials, we negate that which they say. The impression of externals is so great that it works the other way, too: If someone has expert credentials, we follow him blindly. For example, the tailor in the tale “The Emperor’s New Clothes” presented himself as an expert tailor. As such, no matter what his clothes looked like – or didn’t look like – the people considered them to be superb. Today you might see this in the stock market: When an expert predicts that a stock will rise in value, it already begins to rise just because of the prediction.

Avraham was a well-known expert in the field of theology. His showdown with Nimrod was known throughout the land, and wherever Avraham travelled, people would flock to him to discuss their questions about G-d, Creation, and the world around them. Yet, because of his lack of financial clout, his words were not always accepted for their true value. The gemora in Gittin tells us that Moshe Rabbeinu was the richest man and the greatest Talmud chacham. Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi and Rav Ashi were also men who possessed incredible wealth. The reason for this is explained that being that they were the bottom line of Torah: Moshe, who received and transmitted the Torah; Rebbi, who authored the Mishneh; and Rav Ashi, who authored the Gemora. As such they all needed the authority that came with great wealth.

King Shlomo wrote Shir Hashirim and Kohelles, two of our megillas. In Shir Hashirim, he states who he is, “These are the songs of Shlomo” without giving himself a title, because a title and stature are unnecessary to sing the praises of G-d. Whereas in Kohelles, where he tells us about the darker side of the world in which we live, there are those who may have claimed that King Shlomo had a negative attitude because the good of this world was not available for him to attain (money, power and food). Therefore, one would think he wrote this megillah with a “sour grapes” attitude. To disprove this, Shlomo wrote “I am Kohelles, the son of a king and a king myself, in the powerful city of Jerusalem.” This was written in order to show that he had everything the world had to offer, yet all of these coveted items were worthless.

Returning to Avraham; after he returned from Egypt, the world was already aware that miracles happened to this man, as those who started up with him were punished immediately. Even the powerful Pharaoh, the ruler of all of Egypt, was punished and as a result made Avraham rich. But it was not only the money, but the prestige that he received in Egypt, which made those arguments that he said on the way down more convincing to the listeners. Therefore, on the way back home, Avraham was able to use his newly obtained clout to fully convince everyone of his arguments.

I think it is important for us to learn – and relearn – the Mishna in Pirkei Avos that says you should learn from everyone, even from those who seem to be smaller than you. My Rosh Yeshiva repeated many times – even in the sphere of learning: “Do not pay so much attention initially as to who said something. Instead, judge it at its objective value, for great things can be said even by people who appear to be very simple.”

May we merit to evaluate things by their true value only.