Nowhere else do we find God deliberating whether or not He should relay information to a prophet. Why specifically with regard to Avraham does God give an explanation for why He is informing him of future events?
We read in Parashat Vayera the story of the destruction of Sedom, prior to which God informed Avraham of His decision to annihilate the corrupt city. But before conveying the news to Avraham, God first explains the reason why He found it necessary to give the patriarch advanced notice of this decision:
The Lord said: Will I conceal from Avraham that which I am going to do? After all, Avraham will assuredly become a great, powerful nation, through which all families on earth will be blessed. For I know of him that he will instruct his children and household to follow him, to observe the way of the Lord, to perform charity and justice, such that the Lord will bring upon Avraham all that He spoke of him.
(18:19)
Syntactically and structurally, this verse is difficult to interpret, but even before addressing the particular words and phrases, a more general question arises: why must God give an explanation in the first place? Nowhere else do we find God deliberating whether or not He should relay information to a prophet. Prophecies are given throughout Tanach, and it is assumed by the reader that God had His reasons, which we may or may not understand, for delivering them. Why specifically with regard to Avraham does God give an explanation for why He is informing him of future events?
The Chatam Sofer raises and discusses this question in a remarkable passage which he wrote as an introduction to theYoreh Dei’a section of his responsa. He boldly asserts that Avraham did not reach the prophetic level of later prophets such as Yeshayahu and Yirmiyahu. Avraham, as the Midrashim describe, was actively involved in teaching, preaching and working with people on far lower intellectual and spiritual levels than his. His dedicated efforts to help people learn and grow had the effect of hampering his own progress, and limiting his personal achievements in understanding and connecting with God. God therefore explained that He must relay the information to Avraham despite his “mediocre” prophetic status (as compared with other prophets), because “he will instruct his children and household…to observe the way of the Lord.” Avraham’s personal achievements fell short of his potential only because of the time and effort he invested in working with people on lower levels, and he should therefore not be “penalized” on this account by being denied information that would be conveyed to other prophets.
The Chatam Sofer proceeds to admonish scholars to avail themselves to the masses and not hesitate to take time out from their own studies to teach and help others. Noting the example of Avraham, the Chatam Sofer insists that God would never “penalize” a scholar for sacrificing time on behalf of other people, and will instead ensure his ability to achieve greatness despite these sacrifices. We are not only responsible for ourselves; our obligation is to learn, study and grow, but also to share what we have gained with others and concern ourselves with the wellbeing of all people.