Vayeira 18:17 · unit 1

Parashas Vayeira · Passuk 18:17

The Complete Passuk

וַֽיהֹוָ֖ה אָמָ֑ר הַֽמְכַסֶּ֤ה אֲנִי֙ מֵֽאַבְרָהָ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֖ר אֲנִ֥י עֹשֶֽׂה׃

And Hashem said, “Shall I hide from Avraham that which I am doing?”

Chabad / Judaica Press

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to Yoma 38b.

TT lemma: המכסה.

Sefaria — Yoma 38b

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text
הַמְכַסֶּה וגו'. אָמַר לֵיהּ רָבִינָא לְהַהוּא מֵרַבָּנַן, מְנָא הָא מִילְּתָא דַּאֲמוּר רַבָּנַן זֵכֶר צַדִּיק לִבְרָכָה? אָמַר לֵיהּ, דִּכְתִיב הַמְכַסֶּה אֲנִי מֵאַבְרָהָם וּכְתִיב בַּתְרֵיהּ וְאַבְרָהָם הָיוֹ יִהְיֶה לְגוֹי גָּדוֹל.

English: “Shall I hide…” Ravina said to a certain scholar: From where do the Sages derive the saying “The memory of a righteous person is for a blessing”? He replied: From the verse “Shall I hide from Avraham,” and immediately afterward it is written “And Avraham shall surely become a great nation.”

On the daf / in context: The juxtaposition of the decision to reveal the decree with the blessing of Avraham’s future is taken as the source for mentioning a tzaddik for blessing.

Type of Learning

Derash on the verse (Bavli sugya) — not a formal named middah of the 13. Adjacent verses supply the scriptural basis for the formula “zecher tzaddik livrachah.”

What Is Learned

The memory of a righteous person is for a blessing; the source is the immediate linkage of Hashem’s consultation with Avraham to the promise that he will become a great nation.