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Tuesday, October 20, 2026

Lech-Lecha 3

Bereshis 14 tells of the first world war in history: four kings led by Kedorlaomer, with Nimrod among them, against the five rebel kings of the Sodom region. It goes through Lot's capture, Avram's rescue with 318 men, his meeting with Malki Tzedek and his refusal to take anything from the king of Sodom. One idea keeps coming back: the whole war was really about Avram. Nimrod wanted to draw him out and kill the "eye of judgment," and Shem set events in motion so that Avram would win and become known. The second idea is what happens to a person who chooses to live among the wicked, as Lot did. A timeline at the end fits the war into Avram's life.

The pesukim

Bereshis 14:1–2

וַיְהִ֗י בִּימֵי֙ אַמְרָפֶ֣ל מֶֽלֶךְ־שִׁנְעָ֔ר אַרְי֖וֹךְ מֶ֣לֶךְ אֶלָּסָ֑ר כְּדׇרְלָעֹ֙מֶר֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ עֵילָ֔ם וְתִדְעָ֖ל מֶ֥לֶךְ גּוֹיִֽם׃

It was around this time that Amraphel king of Shinar, Ariokh king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam," and Tidal king of Goyim

עָשׂ֣וּ מִלְחָמָ֗ה אֶת־בֶּ֙רַע֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ סְדֹ֔ם וְאֶת־בִּרְשַׁ֖ע מֶ֣לֶךְ עֲמֹרָ֑ה שִׁנְאָ֣ב ׀ מֶ֣לֶךְ אַדְמָ֗ה וְשֶׁמְאֵ֙בֶר֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ (צביים) [צְבוֹיִ֔ם] וּמֶ֥לֶךְ בֶּ֖לַע הִיא־צֹֽעַר׃

waged war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinav king of Admah, Shemever king of Tzevoyim, and the king of Bela (now Tzoar).

Four kings, Amraphel of Shinar, Aryoch of Elassar, Kedorlaomer of Elam and Tidal of Goyim, go to war against the five kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Tzevoyim and Bela (Tzoar). The first king named, Amraphel, is Nimrod, the man who tried to burn Avram in the furnace. So from its first line this war is tied to Avram. The Torah tells it to teach two things: what becomes of Lot for settling among the wicked, and how strong Avram was, since he could defeat many kings.
Bereshis 14:3–4

כׇּל־אֵ֙לֶּה֙ חָֽבְר֔וּ אֶל־עֵ֖מֶק הַשִּׂדִּ֑ים ה֖וּא יָ֥ם הַמֶּֽלַח׃

All of these had come together in Sid dim Valley (now the Dead Sea).

שְׁתֵּ֤ים עֶשְׂרֵה֙ שָׁנָ֔ה עָבְד֖וּ אֶת־כְּדׇרְלָעֹ֑מֶר וּשְׁלֹשׁ־עֶשְׂרֵ֥ה שָׁנָ֖ה מָרָֽדוּ׃

They had served Chedorlaomer for twelve years, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

The five kings had joined together in the Valley of Siddim, which is now the Dead Sea. They served Kedorlaomer for twelve years and rebelled in the thirteenth. Serving him meant paying him tribute every year. When they stopped paying, they set off the chain of events that leads to the war.
Bereshis 14:5–6

וּבְאַרְבַּע֩ עֶשְׂרֵ֨ה שָׁנָ֜ה בָּ֣א כְדׇרְלָעֹ֗מֶר וְהַמְּלָכִים֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר אִתּ֔וֹ וַיַּכּ֤וּ אֶת־רְפָאִים֙ בְּעַשְׁתְּרֹ֣ת קַרְנַ֔יִם וְאֶת־הַזּוּזִ֖ים בְּהָ֑ם וְאֵת֙ הָֽאֵימִ֔ים בְּשָׁוֵ֖ה קִרְיָתָֽיִם׃

In the fourteenth year, Chedorlaomer and his allied kings came. They defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh Kiryathaim,

וְאֶת־הַחֹרִ֖י בְּהַרְרָ֣ם שֵׂעִ֑יר עַ֚ד אֵ֣יל פָּארָ֔ן אֲשֶׁ֖ר עַל־הַמִּדְבָּֽר׃

and the Horites in the hill country of Seir, as far as Eyl Paran, which borders the desert.

In the fourteenth year Kedorlaomer and the kings with him wiped out the Refaim, the Zuzim, the Eimim, the Chorites of Mount Seir and the people as far as Eil Paran. In the first verse Amraphel was listed first, because Nimrod used to be on top. Now Kedorlaomer comes first, "and the kings who were with him," which shows that by this point he was the one in charge.
Bereshis 14:7

וַ֠יָּשֻׁ֠בוּ וַיָּבֹ֜אוּ אֶל־עֵ֤ין מִשְׁפָּט֙ הִ֣וא קָדֵ֔שׁ וַיַּכּ֕וּ אֶֽת־כׇּל־שְׂדֵ֖ה הָעֲמָלֵקִ֑י וְגַם֙ אֶת־הָ֣אֱמֹרִ֔י הַיֹּשֵׁ֖ב בְּחַֽצְצֹ֥ן תָּמָֽר׃

They then turned back and came to Eyn Mishpat (now Kadesh), and they conquered the entire field of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who lived in Chatzatzon Tamar.

The four kings turned back to Ein Mishpat, which is Kadesh, and conquered the land of the Amalekites and the Amorites. The name "Ein Mishpat," the eye of judgment, hints at their real target: Avram, who brought judgment and values into the world. Nimrod's goal in this whole campaign was to draw Avram into battle and kill him once and for all.
Bereshis 14:8–9

וַיֵּצֵ֨א מֶֽלֶךְ־סְדֹ֜ם וּמֶ֣לֶךְ עֲמֹרָ֗ה וּמֶ֤לֶךְ אַדְמָה֙ וּמֶ֣לֶךְ (צביים) [צְבוֹיִ֔ם] וּמֶ֥לֶךְ בֶּ֖לַע הִוא־צֹ֑עַר וַיַּֽעַרְכ֤וּ אִתָּם֙ מִלְחָמָ֔ה בְּעֵ֖מֶק הַשִּׂדִּֽים׃

The kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Tzevoyim and Bela (Tzoar) marched forth. They set up battle lines in Siddim Valley,

אֵ֣ת כְּדׇרְלָעֹ֜מֶר מֶ֣לֶךְ עֵילָ֗ם וְתִדְעָל֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ גּוֹיִ֔ם וְאַמְרָפֶל֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ שִׁנְעָ֔ר וְאַרְי֖וֹךְ מֶ֣לֶךְ אֶלָּסָ֑ר אַרְבָּעָ֥ה מְלָכִ֖ים אֶת־הַחֲמִשָּֽׁה׃

against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goyim, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar. There were four kings against the five.

The five kings marched out and lined up for battle in the Valley of Siddim against the four. They armed themselves and thought that five kings could beat four. The Torah again calls Nimrod "Amraphel, king of Shinar."
Bereshis 14:10

וְעֵ֣מֶק הַשִּׂדִּ֗ים בֶּֽאֱרֹ֤ת בֶּאֱרֹת֙ חֵמָ֔ר וַיָּנֻ֛סוּ מֶֽלֶךְ־סְדֹ֥ם וַעֲמֹרָ֖ה וַיִּפְּלוּ־שָׁ֑מָּה וְהַנִּשְׁאָרִ֖ים הֶ֥רָה נָּֽסוּ׃

Siddim Valley was full of tar pits, and when the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah tried to flee, they fell into them. The others fled to the mountains.

The valley was full of tar pits. When the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell into them, and the rest fled to the mountains. These were deep, sticky pits that a person could not climb out of, and the king of Gomorrah died in one. The king of Sodom also fell in but was saved by a miracle, even though he did not deserve it. That miracle was really about Avram.
Bereshis 14:11–12

וַ֠יִּקְח֠וּ אֶת־כׇּל־רְכֻ֨שׁ סְדֹ֧ם וַעֲמֹרָ֛ה וְאֶת־כׇּל־אׇכְלָ֖ם וַיֵּלֵֽכוּ׃

[The victors] seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all the food, and they departed.

וַיִּקְח֨וּ אֶת־ל֧וֹט וְאֶת־רְכֻשׁ֛וֹ בֶּן־אֲחִ֥י אַבְרָ֖ם וַיֵּלֵ֑כוּ וְה֥וּא יֹשֵׁ֖ב בִּסְדֹֽם׃

When they left, they [also] took Abram's nephew Lot and his possessions, since he had been living in Sodom.

The winners took all the goods and food of Sodom and Gomorrah, and they also took Lot, Avram's nephew, with his possessions, "since he was living in Sodom." Those last words give the lesson. Lot was not wicked himself, but he chose to live among the wicked, so he was taken along with them.
Bereshis 14:13

וַיָּבֹא֙ הַפָּלִ֔יט וַיַּגֵּ֖ד לְאַבְרָ֣ם הָעִבְרִ֑י וְהוּא֩ שֹׁכֵ֨ן בְּאֵֽלֹנֵ֜י מַמְרֵ֣א הָאֱמֹרִ֗י אֲחִ֤י אֶשְׁכֹּל֙ וַאֲחִ֣י עָנֵ֔ר וְהֵ֖ם בַּעֲלֵ֥י בְרִית־אַבְרָֽם׃

Those who escaped came and brought the news to Abram the Hebrew, who was living undisturbed in the plains of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshkol and Aner. They were Abram's allies.

"The one who escaped" came and told Avram the Ivri, who was living in the plains of Mamre, whose brothers Eshkol and Aner were Avram's allies. That survivor was Og, the last of the Refaim. He did not bring the news out of kindness. He hoped Avram would go to war, be killed, and leave Sarai free for him to marry.
Bereshis 14:14

וַיִּשְׁמַ֣ע אַבְרָ֔ם כִּ֥י נִשְׁבָּ֖ה אָחִ֑יו וַיָּ֨רֶק אֶת־חֲנִיכָ֜יו יְלִידֵ֣י בֵית֗וֹ שְׁמֹנָ֤ה עָשָׂר֙ וּשְׁלֹ֣שׁ מֵא֔וֹת וַיִּרְדֹּ֖ף עַד־דָּֽן׃

When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he called out all his 318 fighting men who had been born in his house. He hurried after [the invaders], catching up with them in Dan.

When Avram heard that "his brother" had been captured, he armed his 318 trained men, born in his house, and chased the invaders as far as Dan. The Torah calls Lot his brother, not his nephew, because the two looked alike and people were saying that Avram himself had been captured. That was a desecration of Hashem's name. What finally moved Avram to act was the honor of Hashem, not the danger to himself.
Bereshis 14:15

וַיֵּחָלֵ֨ק עֲלֵיהֶ֧ם ׀ לַ֛יְלָה ה֥וּא וַעֲבָדָ֖יו וַיַּכֵּ֑ם וַֽיִּרְדְּפֵם֙ עַד־חוֹבָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר מִשְּׂמֹ֖אל לְדַמָּֽשֶׂק׃

He divided [his forces] against them [and attacked] that night—he and his servants. He attacked, and pursued [the invaders] as far as Chovah, which is to the left of Damascus.

Avram split his forces against them at night, struck them, and chased them as far as Chovah, north of Damascus. He had few men, so he divided them to seek the fleeing armies from different directions, and he drove them all the way to Damascus. The Me'am Loez says that there they killed three of the four kings and only Nimrod escaped; the Sefer HaYashar says the four kings themselves fled while their armies fell. Either way, Nimrod was not killed here; he dies later, in Parshas Toldos.
Bereshis 14:16

וַיָּ֕שֶׁב אֵ֖ת כׇּל־הָרְכֻ֑שׁ וְגַם֩ אֶת־ל֨וֹט אָחִ֤יו וּרְכֻשׁוֹ֙ הֵשִׁ֔יב וְגַ֥ם אֶת־הַנָּשִׁ֖ים וְאֶת־הָעָֽם׃

[Abram] brought back all the property. He also brought back his kinsman Lot and all his goods, along with the women and the [other] people.

Avram brought back all the property, Lot and his goods, and the women and the other captives. He took the children of Sodom to his house to teach them Hashem's ways, and the adults came too. He did not want the king of Sodom to take them back straight away and teach them to live immoral lives. This shows that he was not only saving Lot; he wanted to save people and teach them who runs the world.
Bereshis 14:17

וַיֵּצֵ֣א מֶֽלֶךְ־סְדֹם֮ לִקְרָאתוֹ֒ אַחֲרֵ֣י שׁוּב֗וֹ מֵֽהַכּוֹת֙ אֶת־כְּדׇרְלָעֹ֔מֶר וְאֶת־הַמְּלָכִ֖ים אֲשֶׁ֣ר אִתּ֑וֹ אֶל־עֵ֣מֶק שָׁוֵ֔ה ה֖וּא עֵ֥מֶק הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃

After he returned from his victory over Chedorlaomer and his allied kings, the king of Sodom came out to greet him in Level Valley (now King's Valley.)

After Avram's victory, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh. He came half boasting: just as you were saved from the furnace of Ur Kasdim, I was saved from the tar pit. In his eyes, the two of them were now somewhat equal.
Bereshis 14:18–20

וּמַלְכִּי־צֶ֙דֶק֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ שָׁלֵ֔ם הוֹצִ֖יא לֶ֣חֶם וָיָ֑יִן וְה֥וּא כֹהֵ֖ן לְאֵ֥ל עֶלְיֽוֹן׃

Malkhi-tzedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine. He was a priest to God, the Most High.

וַֽיְבָרְכֵ֖הוּ וַיֹּאמַ֑ר בָּר֤וּךְ אַבְרָם֙ לְאֵ֣ל עֶלְי֔וֹן קֹנֵ֖ה שָׁמַ֥יִם וָאָֽרֶץ׃

He blessed [Abram], and said, "Blessed be Abram to God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth.

וּבָרוּךְ֙ אֵ֣ל עֶלְי֔וֹן אֲשֶׁר־מִגֵּ֥ן צָרֶ֖יךָ בְּיָדֶ֑ךָ וַיִּתֶּן־ל֥וֹ מַעֲשֵׂ֖ר מִכֹּֽל׃

And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand." [Abram then] gave him a tenth of everything.

Malki Tzedek, king of Shalem and a priest to God Most High, brought out bread and wine and blessed Avram and Hashem, who had delivered his enemies into his hand. Avram gave him a tenth of everything. Malki Tzedek is Shem, son of Noach, king of Yerushalayim and the Kohen Gadol (high priest) of his time. He greeted Avram warmly even though Avram had just killed many of Shem's own descendants, because those people were wicked.
Bereshis 14:21

וַיֹּ֥אמֶר מֶֽלֶךְ־סְדֹ֖ם אֶל־אַבְרָ֑ם תֶּן־לִ֣י הַנֶּ֔פֶשׁ וְהָרְכֻ֖שׁ קַֽח־לָֽךְ׃

The king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the people. You can keep the goods."

The king of Sodom said to Avram, "Give me the people, and keep the goods for yourself." Until then he had not dared to ask for anything. Only after he saw how generous Avram was with Shem did he ask to have his people back.
Bereshis 14:22–24

וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אַבְרָ֖ם אֶל־מֶ֣לֶךְ סְדֹ֑ם הֲרִמֹ֨תִי יָדִ֤י אֶל־יְהֹוָה֙ אֵ֣ל עֶלְי֔וֹן קֹנֵ֖ה שָׁמַ֥יִם וָאָֽרֶץ׃

Abram replied to the king of Sodom, "I have lifted my hand [in an oath] to God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth!

אִם־מִחוּט֙ וְעַ֣ד שְׂרֽוֹךְ־נַ֔עַל וְאִם־אֶקַּ֖ח מִכׇּל־אֲשֶׁר־לָ֑ךְ וְלֹ֣א תֹאמַ֔ר אֲנִ֖י הֶעֱשַׁ֥רְתִּי אֶת־אַבְרָֽם׃

Not a thread nor a shoelace! I will not take anything that is yours! You should not be able to say, 'It was I who made Abram rich.'

בִּלְעָדַ֗י רַ֚ק אֲשֶׁ֣ר אָֽכְל֣וּ הַנְּעָרִ֔ים וְחֵ֙לֶק֙ הָֽאֲנָשִׁ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר הָלְכ֖וּ אִתִּ֑י עָנֵר֙ אֶשְׁכֹּ֣ל וּמַמְרֵ֔א הֵ֖ם יִקְח֥וּ חֶלְקָֽם׃

The only exception is what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me, Aner, Eshkol and Mamre. Let them take their share."

Avram swore to Hashem that he would take nothing of the king of Sodom's, "not a thread nor a shoelace," so that the king could never say, "I made Avram rich." Hashem had promised Avram wealth, and he would not let a wicked man claim credit for it. The only exceptions were what his young men had already eaten and the share of Aner, Eshkol and Mamre. Those three had stayed behind to guard the camp, and from this we learn that those who guard the base get the same share of the spoils as those who go out to fight.

English from The Living Torah by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, used with the permission of the Kaplan family. Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC BY-SA).

Takeaways

  • The company you keep decides your fate: Lot was not wicked, but he was taken because he lived among the wicked.
  • Every good deed creates an angel that speaks up for you in Heaven; that is how charity saves from death.
  • Give a tenth of everything, and Hashem blesses you in everything.
  • Avram refused even a shoelace from the king of Sodom, so that no wicked man could ever claim credit for what Hashem had promised him.
  • Avram ignored the threat to himself, but he went to war as soon as Hashem's name was being desecrated.
Going deeper— the stories, Kabbalah and the reasons behind the reasons

Avram left Charan twice

  • Nimrod tried to throw Avram into the furnace in Ur Kasdim. Avram's servant Eliezer later warned him that Nimrod would try again, so Avram fled and convinced his father Terach, who was Nimrod's second in command, to leave as well.
  • Terach, Avram, Lot and their wives set out for Canaan but stopped in Charan. Avram's wife was Sarai, who is also called Yiskah.
  • Avram left Charan for Canaan once, then went back at age 70 for five years when Hashem told him to return to his father. Some say this was to honor his father; others say it was not the right decision.
  • At 75 Hashem told him to leave again: Lech Lecha. Things happened on each of the two journeys, and the war of the kings stretches across both.

Amraphel is Nimrod, and what "Vayehi" signals

  • Amraphel is Nimrod. The name reads as "amar pol," "he said: fall," because he ordered Avram to fall into the fiery furnace.
  • Nimrod wanted the world to see him as a god and even had idols of himself. Avram was his great enemy because he told everyone that Hashem, the Creator, runs the world.
  • The Gemara (Megillah 10b) teaches that when a verse opens with "Vayehi" ("and it was"), it points to a tragedy, because "vay" is a cry of woe. Here the woe is for the man who came to kill Avram, the father of many nations; according to many opinions he ends up dead.

How the war began: Kedorlaomer and Nimrod

  • Kedorlaomer was one of the leaders of Nimrod's kingdom. After the Tower of Bavel and the dispersion of the nations, he rebelled against Nimrod, set up his own kingdom in Elam, and conquered the five kings of the Sodom region.
  • When those five kings stopped paying tribute, Nimrod saw a chance to bring Kedorlaomer back under his rule. He allied with Aryoch and Tidal. Tidal is called king of "Goyim," nations, because he was elected by representatives of the seventy nations.
  • Nimrod's 7,000 troops fought Kedorlaomer's 5,000 in a valley between Elam and Shinar. Nimrod lost 600 men, including his son Mardon, and went home in disgrace as Kedorlaomer's subject.
  • Kedorlaomer then made peace with all three, and the four kings allied to crush the five rebels. That is how the war became four against five.

Ein Mishpat: the eye of judgment, and "He is holy"

  • "Ein" can also mean a spring. One explanation is that this is the spring at Kadesh where Moshe would later strike the rock, and where he and Aharon would be judged for it.
  • Targum Onkelos calls it the plain where judgment was decided, because the people of the district gathered there for every case and punishment.
  • The third explanation refers to Avram. Nimrod had twice set out to kill him and twice forgotten about him. Now he joined this war to kill two birds with one stone: draw Avram into battle and finish him.
  • Before Avram, people did whatever they wanted. Avram brought judgment into the world, which made people feel they must live by standards. Nimrod wanted to blind that "eye of judgment" so the world could go back to having no values.
  • A diyuk (close reading): the verse says "hi Kadesh," "she is Kadesh," in the feminine, because a place is feminine. But the word is spelled hei-vav-aleph, which also reads "hu," "he." Read that way it says "he is holy," which points to Avram as the holy one the whole campaign was aimed at.

Why the wicked king of Sodom was saved from the tar pit

  • The question: most of the world thought Avram's escape from the furnace was a trick. So why would Hashem do a miracle for a wicked king? Wouldn't that only strengthen their false beliefs?
  • One answer: Avram was passing by and pulled the king of Sodom out. He was saved in Avram's merit, and everyone saw that Avram deserved miracles.
  • A second answer: people then believed their idols could save them only through natural means. One miracle beyond nature could be written off as a trick. When a person was saved a second time, the world had to admit that Hashem really has power and runs things.

The second answer in full: Yisro and Pharaoh

  • In those days no one had ever heard of a person saved from fire, or from any catastrophe, in a supernatural way. When people sought help from their idols, they expected it to come through natural means.
  • So when Yisro heard about the splitting of the sea, a plainly supernatural miracle, he said, "Now I know that Hashem is greater than all the gods" (Shemos 18:11).
  • Pharaoh, too, believed only after plagues that had no natural explanation. The first plague did not convince him, because his magicians did the same with their arts.
  • When the king of Sodom escaped from the tar pit by a miracle, people saw that miracles beyond the power of idolatry are possible, and that the power had to be Hashem's. Then they believed that Avram's rescue from the furnace was real too.

Why Lot was taken and tortured

  • Lot was one of the five councilmen of Sodom. The kings tied him up and tormented him partly because he was a leader of the city.
  • They also did it because he was Avram's nephew, and they hated Avram. That is why the verse adds that he was "the son of Avram's brother."
  • The deeper reason is in the words "he was living in Sodom." Someone who keeps company with bad people, even if he is not bad himself, ends up being taken along with them.

Og, the fugitive with a hidden motive

  • Og, later king of Bashan, was then living in Ashteros Karnayim and was the only one of the Refaim to survive these kings. Devarim 3:11 says Og alone was left of the Refaim.
  • He is called "the one who escaped" because he had escaped twice: from this war, and before that from the Flood. Either he walked beside the ark in the cool waters, or he sat on top of it while Noach passed him food through the window.
  • He told Avram about Lot because he expected Avram, who always helps others, to go to war against four powerful kings and be killed. Then Og could marry Sarai, the most beautiful woman in the world. This happened on the eve of Pesach, the same night on which Pharaoh had taken Sarai.
  • He was both rewarded and punished. Because his news led to Avram's victory and fame, he lived more than 800 years, from before the Flood until the Jewish people approached the land. Because he wanted Avram dead, he was killed by Avram's descendants.

Why Avram risked his life for Lot

  • A person should not put himself in danger and rely on a miracle. According to the Zohar, Avram never planned to fight; he only meant to pay a ransom for his nephew. Once he set out, he saw a troop of angels with him and it gave him the confidence to fight.
  • He also relied on Hashem's promise, "I will make you a great nation," so he knew he would not die in this war.
  • Lot was innocent: he was neutral, on neither side, and taken for no reason. Rescuing the innocent is a trait of great leaders, like Moshe striking the Egyptian, Moshe defending Yisro's daughters, and Dovid facing Golyas.
  • Avram did love Lot as a nephew. But one does not risk one's life to save a wicked person. What finally pushed Avram was the chillul Hashem (desecration of Hashem's name) in the rumor that he himself had been captured. When he was warned that the armies were heading for his district too, Avram was not moved, because he trusted Hashem's promise. Only when Hashem's honor was at stake did he act.
  • His wider aim was also to save people and teach them about Hashem, as he showed afterward by taking the captives of Sodom into his home.

The 318: who stayed to fight

  • Avram's 318 men were afraid of the four kings who had just crushed five. He rebuked them for their lack of faith, told them they were fighting to sanctify Hashem's name, and paid them well in money and precious stones, but they still had no heart for it.
  • So he did what the Torah later commands in Devarim: whoever is afraid and faint-hearted should go home. One soldier running away can break everyone's morale and endanger the whole army.
  • Many of them went home. The Me'am Loez, from Rabbeinu Bachya, says only a few stayed with Avram, and one of them was his servant Eliezer. Rashi, from the Gemara (Nedarim 32a), says it was Eliezer alone, since the numerical value of his name is 318.

A ten-day chase in one day, and angels made from good deeds

  • The kings were already in the north, ten days' journey from Chevron, yet Avram reached them in one day. The Ramban says it was as easy for him as walking out of his house into the street.
  • Bereshis Rabbah teaches that Avram's star was Jupiter, and it was rising at that time, giving him added power to succeed.
  • The Yefeh To'ar says that when the battle began, Charity cried out to Hashem: if Avram were not in the world, who would truly give charity? Charity cannot speak. The meaning is that every good deed creates an angel, and the angels made by Avram's charity pleaded for him.
  • The lesson for us: our good deeds become our advocates in Heaven. When danger comes, like a car on the road or a breaking axle, those angels stand up for the person. That is how "tzedakah tatzil mimaves," charity saves from death, works.

The dust and straw that became arrows

  • Bereshis Rabbah says Hashem gave Avram extraordinary powers in this battle. His men had no need for swords; they threw a powder mixed with straw at the enemy and it cut them down, while the enemy's arrows and spears turned to dust when they reached Avram.
  • The Gemara (Taanis 21a) tells the same about Nachum Ish Gamzu, who was sent to the emperor with a chest of jewels. Innkeepers stole them overnight and filled the chest with earth. When the emperor opened it and wanted to kill the Jews, Eliyahu appeared as one of his men and said it might be the dust of their father Avraham, which turned into swords when he threw it. They tried it in battle and it won, and Nachum was sent home with honor; the innkeepers brought their own earth to the emperor, it did nothing, and they were put to death.
  • One way to understand it, as we saw in Parshas Noach: Hashem can bring one thing into the world that harms the wicked and helps the righteous, the way rain is a blessing for some and a curse for others. The enemy's weapons were as harmless as dust to the righteous Avram, while a little dust from him hit the wicked like a flood of arrows.
  • Another way is psychological warfare. Four full armies saw one man come against them with a harmless-looking powder and straw, like someone claiming to hold an atomic warhead. Hashem made them panic, and they fled and most of them died.

The Rambam and the chief physician: the two potions

  • The Rambam was the royal physician in Egypt, and the chief physician, jealous of a Jew's standing at court, challenged him to a contest: each would drink a poison prepared by the other, and whoever was whole after forty days was the greater doctor. The sultan agreed, and the terms were written so neither side's heirs could make a claim.
  • The other physician brewed a potion from nearly every known poison. The Rambam prepared an antidote in advance and told his students exactly what to do. He drank the poison before the sultan, his face turned black and his tongue dried like wood, but his students rushed him home, gave him the antidote, and he recovered completely.
  • For his own "poison" the Rambam took pure sugar with the essential oils of flowers, sealed it in a flask inside a chest wrapped in many layers, and brought a prisoner condemned to death. He covered his nose and told everyone to stand back from the fumes. The prisoner opened the flask, smelled it, and dropped dead.
  • The Rambam then offered the sultan a cup of it. When the sultan recoiled, the Rambam explained that it was only sugar water: the prisoner was killed by his own imagination, not by the drink. The sultan drank it, and everyone saw that the chief physician had been beaten by fear alone.
  • The same happened to Nimrod and his allies. Nothing they did against Avram had any effect, so when they saw him throwing his powder they took it for a poison whose fumes alone could kill. In the panic Hashem put in their hearts, they fled and perished.

Shem set the whole war in motion

  • Malki Tzedek means "righteous king," and Shalem is Yerushalayim. A later king of Jerusalem was called Adoni Tzedek, so "tzedek" is connected with the city itself.
  • It was the custom to welcome soldiers passing through Jerusalem after a war with a meal of bread and wine.
  • Shem was a prophet and foresaw everything. The five kings had been paying tribute to Nimrod and Kedorlaomer, and it was Shem who convinced them to rebel. He knew this would bring the four kings together, lead them to capture Lot, draw Avram into the war, and end with Avram defeating them.
  • All of this was arranged behind the scenes so that Avram would conquer these wicked men and the world would see that Hashem had chosen him.

A tenth of everything brings blessing in everything

  • This is the first time the Torah mentions giving a tenth, here given to the priest of the time.
  • The word "mikol," "of everything," appears by Avraham, by Yitzchak and by Yaakov, and we echo it in bentching (Grace After Meals): "bakol, mikol, kol," in everything, from everything, everything.
  • Bereshis Rabbah explains that they were blessed with everything because they gave a tenth of everything. A person who wants to become rich should give a tenth.

Not even a shoelace, and why Avram took Pharaoh's gifts

  • How could a thread or a shoelace make anyone rich? Some people's possessions carry blessing for others: the Gemara says that whoever took even a small coin from Iyov was blessed and became wealthy. So even a thread from the king of Sodom might have carried a blessing, and he could later say that the thing Avram took from him made him rich. Avram would not give him that opening.
  • If so, why did Avram accept gifts from Pharaoh, who could also say he made Avram rich? First answer: Avram had said Sarai was his sister, and it was the custom to give gifts to a brother when taking his sister. Refusing would have exposed the story.
  • Second answer: Avram arrived in Egypt poor. When money comes to a poor person through others so that he can learn Torah and live in peace, that is Hashem sending it, and he should accept. Now that Avram was rich, he had no need for Sodom's money.
  • Third answer: by accepting Pharaoh's wealth and honor, Avram showed the Egyptians that he was honored by the king. Otherwise they might have killed him on the way out and taken Sarai.

Timeline of the war in Avram's life (Sefer HaYashar)

  • These ages are approximate and come from the Sefer HaYashar, not the Me'am Loez.
  • Age 49: after the dispersion at Bavel, Kedorlaomer makes himself king, rebels against Nimrod and conquers the five kings, who serve him for about twelve years. Age 55: Avram leaves Charan for Canaan on his first journey. Age 58: Noach dies, in Avram's third year in Canaan.
  • Age 60, his fifth year in Canaan: the five kings rebel. Age 65: Nimrod fights Kedorlaomer, loses his son and submits, and the four kings form their alliance.
  • Age 70: Avram goes back to Charan for five years. Age 75: Lech Lecha. He goes to Canaan and Egypt, Lot separates and moves to Sodom, and Avram settles in Chevron.
  • Ages 75 to 78: the four kings, with about 800,000 men, crush the five, take Lot captive, and Avram chases them at night with his 318 and brings back Lot and the captives.
Review questions
  1. Why is Nimrod called Amraphel, and why does the Torah list him first in verse 1 but Kedorlaomer first in verse 5?
  2. What does the name Ein Mishpat hint at, and what does the spelling of "hi Kadesh" with a vav add?
  3. Why did Hashem do a miracle and save the wicked king of Sodom from the tar pit?
  4. Why does the Torah call Lot Avram's "brother" in verse 14, and what does that tell us about why Avram went to war?
  5. Who was Malki Tzedek, and what part did he play behind the scenes in starting the war?
  6. Avram refused even a shoelace from the king of Sodom. Why, then, did he accept gifts from Pharaoh?
Sources
  • Me'am Loez — the running commentary on the whole chapter
  • Megillah 10b — "Vayehi" signals a tragedy
  • Targum Onkelos — Ein Mishpat as the plain where judgment was decided
  • Devarim 3:11 — Og was the last of the Refaim
  • Zohar; Sanhedrin 96a — Avram set out only to ransom Lot and fought after seeing angels with him
  • Rabbeinu Bachya — a few of the 318 stayed, Eliezer among them
  • Rashi; Nedarim 32a — Eliezer alone: the numerical value of his name is 318
  • Devarim 20:8 — whoever is afraid and faint-hearted goes home
  • Ramban — the ten-day chase was as easy as stepping out of the house
  • Bereshis Rabbah — Avram's star Jupiter; the powder and straw; blessed "mikol" for tithing everything
  • Yefeh To'ar — Charity cried out before Hashem for Avram
  • Taanis 21a — Nachum Ish Gamzu and the chest of earth
  • Pesachim 112a — whoever took a coin from Iyov became wealthy
  • Sefer HaYashar — the timeline of the war against Avram's ages