Avraham paving the path of teshuvah

בפסוק ויהי כי הקריב כו' בזוה"ק כמ"ש ופרעה הקריב לבן של ישראל בתשובה כו'.

On the verse "And it came to pass, when he drew near…": in the Zohar HaKadosh, as it says, "and Pharaoh brought near" — that he brought the heart of Yisrael close in teshuvah.

The Zohar reads "Pharaoh drew near" not as a threat but as a catalyst: the pressure of Pharaoh aroused Bnei Yisrael to draw their hearts close to Hashem through teshuvah.

כי אאע"ה הכניס עצמו למצרים בעבור בנ"י שידע שיצטרכו להיות במצרים.

For Avraham Avinu (alav hashalom) brought himself into Mitzrayim for the sake of Bnei Yisrael, since he knew that they would need to be in Mitzrayim.

Avraham's own descent to Egypt was not incidental; foreseeing that his children would one day endure galus Mitzrayim, he entered it first to pave their way.

דאיתא במדרש ע"פ אשרי תבחר ותקרב יש שבחרו ולא קרבו היינו אברהם אבל הוא קירב א"ע.

As it is taught in the Midrash on the verse "Fortunate is the one You choose and bring near": there are those whom He chose but did not bring near — namely Avraham — yet he brought himself near.

The Midrash distinguishes being "chosen" from being "brought near." Avraham was chosen by Hashem, but the drawing-near he accomplished by his own effort.

היינו שהי' צדיק גמור ותקרב קאי על בעלי תשובה אעפ"כ הכניס אברהם עצמו גם במדריגת בעלי תשובה להיות כיבוש הדרך לבניו:

That is, he was a tzaddik gamur (a wholly righteous person), while "and bring near" refers to ba'alei teshuvah; nevertheless Avraham brought himself also into the level of ba'alei teshuvah, so as to be a "kibbush haderech" (a conquering of the path) for his children.

Though Avraham was a complete tzaddik who never needed to "return," he deliberately lowered himself into the madreigah of the ba'al teshuvah — blazing the trail of teshuvah so that his descendants, who would one day need it in Mitzrayim and beyond, could follow.

Summary: Avraham Avinu was a complete tzaddik, "chosen" by Hashem, yet he willingly entered the level of the ba'al teshuvah and descended into Mitzrayim for the sake of his children — foreseeing their future galus and "conquering the path" of teshuvah in advance, so that Bnei Yisrael would always be able to draw their hearts close to Hashem and return.