Mind of a Monotheist | 3 | Lekh Lekha | Egyptian Beauty Bias

Mind of a Monotheist | 3 | Lekh Lekha | Egyptian Beauty Bias by Rav David Debow

What does Sarai's beauty in Egypt teach about racism? Rabbi David Debow reads Lekh Lekha.

Rabbi David Debow argues that "Lekh lekha" calls Avraham to leave his land, his kin and his culture, rejecting every kind of determinism, because monotheism begins in freedom. In Sarai's abduction in Egypt, he finds the Torah openly acknowledging, and criticizing, a bias that favors fair skin. The lesson is that a minority can ally with a dominant society without being absorbed, as long as it stays faithful to its own families and people.