Avraham and Sarah in Provence - Hakirah

254 : Ḥakirah, the Flatbush Journal of Jewish Law and Thought
the tzurah is dominant over the chomer through his intervention. This,
of course, is only the beginning of what the gemara is trying to tell
us. 125 Would that we had a Rabbi Elazar ben Shimon or a Rambam to
help us understand more. Would that the wise men of Provence of
1300 had left a line of successors.
It is worth noting that Rashba wrote a sefer explaining Aggados
Chazal. Perhaps the controversy over how aggados should be interpreted
was the cause for Rashba’s writing of this sefer. Perhaps he
wrote in response to the allegorical explanations of the Torah being
proffered by the Catholic clergy. 126 And perhaps he saw little distinction
between the interpretations of the Christians and those coming
from Provence. In that work, those Aggados that speak of G-d are
interpreted in an entirely allegorical fashion. But in midrashim that deal
with people but that relate fantastic and supernatural events, Rashba
maintains the framework of the story, and merely minimizes the supernatural
element. For example, in the famous midrash of Og, where
his size makes him capable of uprooting a mountain, Rashba says the
size is an exaggeration that serves to emphasize what a formidable
opponent he was, because he had earned merit for helping Avraham.
What this interpretation lacks, and what will be found in Rambam
and in Provence, is “symbolism.” In the midrashic treatment of Og,
it is clear that he represents an ancient dangerous impulse within
man. 127 When the evil of the generation of the flood was destroyed,
Og was the survivor who carried it with him, and only Moshe, with
the Torah, was able to overcome it.
125 See also the interpretation of Hillel’s rejection of his brother’s offer in
Sotah 21a as explained in Hakirah 5 “Rambam and Zevulun: Boz Yavuzu
Lo.”
126 This is the claim made in the introduction of the Mossad HaRav Kook
edition.
127 Akin to, but not the same as the chomer—perhaps the urge for survival,
and thus a drive that aided Avraham in his work.