על דבר שרי BECAUSE OF SARAI (literally, by the word of Sarai) — at her orders: she said to the angel “Smite” and he smote (Midrash Tanchuma, Lech Lecha 5).
I believe that the message to Abraham was that henceforth G'd's presence would rest on him on a permanent basis. In kabbalistic terms, Abraham had now become a "carrier of the שכינה." Bereshit Rabbah 47,6 describes all the patriarchs in those terms. The present form of address indicates that G'd's presence became felt by Abraham. Had the Torah used the usual wording we could not have become aware that G'd distinguishes between revelation itself, and the One who reveals Himself. It is because of this that Abraham's future visions are never again introduced by the word וירא. We find only: "G'd spoke to Abraham." This is a reminder he already wore the "crown" indicating that G'd's presence was upon him.
לא תקרא את שמה שרי THOU SHALT NOT CALL HER NAME SARAI which means “my princess”— a princess to me and not to others — BUT SARAH, in a more general sense, SHALL BE HER NAME: she shall be princess over all (Berakhot 13a).
ויהי רעב בארץ הנה אברהם ירד למצרים מפני הרעב לגור שם להחיות נפשו בימי הבצורת והמצרים עשקו אותו חנם לקחת את אשתו והקב"ה....ודע כי אברהם אבינו חטא חטא גדול בשגגה שהביא אשתו הצדקת במכשול עון מפני פחדו פן יהרגוהו והיה לו לבטוח בשם שיציל אותו ואת אשתו ואת כל אשר לו כי יש באלהים כח לעזור ולהציל גם יציאתו מן הארץ שנצטווה עליה בתחילה מפני הרעב עון אשר חטא כי האלהים ברעב יפדנו ממות ועל המעשה הזה נגזר על זרעו הגלות בארץ מצרים ביד פרעה במקום המשפט שמה הרשע והחטא:
AND THERE WAS A FAMINE IN THE LAND. Now Abraham went down to Egypt on account of the famine to dwell there in order to keep himself alive in the days of the drought, but the Egyptians oppressed him for no reason to take his wife.
Know that Abraham our father unintentionally committed a great sin by bringing his righteous wife to a stumbling-block of sin on account of his fear for his life. He should have trusted that G-d would save him and his wife and all his belongings for G-d surely has the power to help and to save. His leaving the Land, concerning which he had been commanded from the beginning, on account of the famine, was also a sin he committed, for in famine G-d would redeem him from death. It was because of this deed that the exile in the land of Egypt at the hand of Pharaoh was decreed for his children. In the place of justice, there is wickedness and sin.
(יג) וַיִּתְפַּלֵּל אַבְרָהָם אֶל הָאֱלֹהִים (ב..., כָּל אוֹתָהּ הַלַּיְלָה הָיְתָה שָׂרָה שְׁטוּחָה עַל פָּנֶיהָ וְאוֹמֶרֶת רִבּוֹן הָעוֹלָמִים אַבְרָהָם יָצָא בְּהַבְטָחָה וַאֲנִי יָצָאתִי בַּאֲמָנָה, אַבְרָהָם חוּץ לַסִּירָה וַאֲנִי נְתוּנָה בַּסִּירָה, אָמַר לָהּ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא כָּל מַה שֶּׁאֲנִי עוֹשֶׂה בִּשְׁבִילֵךְ אֲנִי עוֹשֶׂה, וְהַכֹּל אוֹמְרִים עַל דְּבַר שָׂרָה אֵשֶׁת אַבְרָהָם, אָמַר רַבִּי לֵוִי כָּל אוֹתָהּ הַלַּיְלָה הָיָה מַלְאָךְ עוֹמֵד וּמַגְלֵב בְּיָדוֹ וְהָיָה מִתְיָעֵץ בְּשָׂרָה, אִם אָמְרָה לֵיהּ מְחֵי מָחֵי, וְאִם אָמְרָה לֵיהּ שְׁבוֹק הֲוָה שָׁבֵיק, כָּל כָּךְ לָמָּה שֶׁהָיְתָה אוֹמֶרֶת לוֹ אֵשֶׁת אִישׁ אֲנִי וְלֹא הָיָה פּוֹרֵשׁ. רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר תָּנֵי לָהּ מִשּׁוּם רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר, שָׁמַעְנוּ בְּפַרְעֹה שֶׁלָּקָה בְּצָרַעַת וַאֲבִימֶלֶךְ שֶׁלָּקָה בְּעִצּוּר, מִנַּיִן שֶׁהַכֹּל לָקוּ בָּזֶה וּבָזֶה, תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר (בראשית יב, יז): עַל דְּבַר שָׂרַי אֵשֶׁת אַבְרָם, גְּזֵרָה שָׁוָה.
(13) “Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Avimelekh and his wife and his maidservants, and they bore children” (Genesis 20:17).
“For the Lord had obstructed all wombs of the house of Avimelekh over the matter of Sarah, Abraham’s wife” (Genesis 20:18).
“.....
Throughout that night Sarah was prostrated on her face and saying: ‘Master of the universe, Abraham departed [from our home country] with a promise,53Abraham was told by God that He would protect him. and I departed only on faith. Abraham departed outside the cage, but I am in the cage.’54I am here in the cage with all these [beasts] – Avimelekh and his servants. The Holy One blessed be He said to her: ‘Everything I do, I do on your behalf.’ And all of them were saying: [It is] “over the matter of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.”
Rabbi Levi said: Throughout that night, an angel was standing with a rod in his hand. He was consulting with Sarah. If she said to him: ‘Strike,’ he would strike; if she said to him: ‘Cease,’ he would cease. Why [was Avimelekh punished] to such an extent? It is because she kept telling him: ‘I am a married woman,’ but he would not keep away from her.55“Over the matter of [al devar] Sarah, Abraham’s wife” is expounded to mean: “by the words of Sarah, who said that she was Abraham’s wife.”
Genesis 14:2 - Names of the Kings of S'dom
Even though Avram is allied with S'dom in last week's parashah, there are hints that these are bad guys, and their opponents are good.
(יז) וַֽיהֹוָ֖ה אָמָ֑ר הַֽמְכַסֶּ֤ה אֲנִי֙ מֵֽאַבְרָהָ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֖ר אֲנִ֥י עֹשֶֽׂה׃ (יח) וְאַ֨בְרָהָ֔ם הָי֧וֹ יִֽהְיֶ֛ה לְג֥וֹי גָּד֖וֹל וְעָצ֑וּם וְנִ֨בְרְכוּ־ב֔וֹ כֹּ֖ל גּוֹיֵ֥י הָאָֽרֶץ׃
(17) Now יהוה had said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, (18) since Abraham is to become a great and populous nation and all the nations of the earth are to bless themselves by him?
וה' אמר המכסה וגו'. טעם אומרו לשון זה המכסה. .... ורז"ל אמרו (תנחומא) שהי' בלב אברהם על מי המבול למה לא תלה ה' להם בזכות הצדיקים שהיו בהם, ולפי דבריהם יכוין לומר אשר אני עושה פי' אשר אני רגיל לעשות כי אין אני מאבד אומה אלא אם אין בה צדיקים:
והשם אמר המכסה אני מאברהם את אשר אני עשה G'd had said: "Should I conceal from Abraham what I am about to do?" G'd chose the word המכסה deliberately. ... Our sages (Tanchuma ) state that the reason G'd decided to take Abraham into His confidence was because Abraham entertained doubts about the justice of G'd having brought on the deluge. He found it impossible to believe that there had not been at least ten or twenty righteous people at that time. In his opinion G'd should have suspended judgment on their account. The words אשר אני עושה then mean: "as I am used to do," i.e. I do not destroy a nation unless there are no righteous people left.
(1) יהוה appeared* to him by the terebinths of Mamre; he was sitting at the entrance of the tent as the day grew hot. (2) Looking up, he saw three figures* standing near him. Perceiving this, he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them and, bowing to the ground,
Let your house be open to all. How so? This teaches that a person’s house should be open to all sides: the south, the east, the west, and the north. This is like Job, who made four doors to his house. And why did Job make four doors to his house? So that the poor would not have to trouble themselves to go around the whole house. Someone who came in from the north would enter from that direction, and someone who came in from the south would enter from that direction, and so with every direction. That is why Job made four doors to his house.
Let the poor be members of your household. Not that they will be actual members of your household, but they will speak of what they ate and drank in your house, in the way that they speak of what they ate and drank in the house of Job. For when they would meet, one would say to another: Where are you coming from? (And the other would reply:) From the house of Job; and where are you going? (And the first one would say:) To the house of Job.
So when all the great tragedies came upon him, Job said before the Holy Blessed One: Did I not feed the hungry and give drink to the thirsty? as it says (Job 31:17), “Did I ever eat my food alone, and not let orphan eat from it?” And did I not clothe the naked? as it says (Job 31:20), “He warmed himself from the shearings of my sheep.” And even so, these tragedies came upon me. The Holy Blessed One said to Job: Job, you still have not gotten to [even half] the level of Abraham. You sit and wait in your house, and guests come in to you. And if it is someone’s custom is to eat wheat bread, you feed him wheat bread. And if someone’s custom is to eat meat, you feed him meat. And if someone’s custom is to drink wine, you pour him wine. But Abraham did not do this. Rather, he sat and looked out at the world, and when he would see potential guests, he would go bring them into his house. And if someone was not accustomed to eating wheat bread, he would feed him wheat bread. And if someone was not accustomed to eating meat, he would feed him meat. And if someone was not accustomed to drinking wine, he would pour him wine. Not only that, but he built large booths out on the roads, where he would leave food and drink, and anyone who came by and entered would eat and drink and bless the heavens, and he would feel content. Anything that one could ask for was available in the house of Abraham, as it says (Genesis 21:33), “And he planted an Eshel tree in Beer Sheba.”