20 Oct LECH LECHA: THE ETERNAL LESSON OF AVRAHAM’S VICTORY

The Midrash (Bereshit
Rabba 42) tells the story
of how Rabbi Eliezer
ben Hyrcanus first
began learning Torah. He
had worked with his
brothers in the farmlands owned by their
father, Hyrcanus, until Eliezer ran away in
order to learn Torah under the great Rabbinic
leader of that generation, Rabbi Yochanan
Ben Zakai.
Sometime later, his father came to inform
Eliezer that he was disowning him, and
removing him from his will. But when his
father arrived, he saw that Rabbi Yochanan
was hosting a major feast for the Rabbis,
with the wealthiest men of the generation
in attendance. Of all the people assembled,
Rabbi Yochanan selected Eliezer – now
Rabbi Eliezer – to deliver a speech. Rabbi
Eliezer’s words dazzled everyone in the
room – including his father, Hyrcanus, who
approached him afterward.
“I had come here to disown you and exclude
you from my fortune,” he said, “but I am
instead giving you everything I own.”
What was this speech that so impressed
Hyrcanus?
The Midrash says that Rabbi Eliezer spoke
about an event told by the Torah in Parashat

Lech-Lecha – the war waged by the four
kings against the five kings. During this war,
the four kings captured the city of Sedom,
and took its entire population as captives,
including Lot, the nephew of Avraham
Avinu. When Avraham heard that his nephew
was taken, he immediately mobilized a small
army and boldly launched an attack against
the four kings. Miraculously, Avraham’s little
army triumphed, and rescued all the captives,
including Lot.
Rabbi Eliezer, in this first speech that he ever
delivered, said that this war is alluded to in a
verse in Tehillim (37:14): “The wicked have
drawn the sword and bent their bow, to bring
down the poor and needy, to slay those who
walk uprightly.” These “wicked” people,
Rabbi Eliezer explained, were the four kings,
who were led by Amrafel, whom Rashi
(Bereshit 14:1) identifies as Nimrod, the evil
king who had thrown Avraham into a furnace
to kill him for denying paganism. These kings
came with their armies to wage war against
“the poor and the needy” – referring to Lot,
and to “slay those who walk uprightly” –
referring to Avraham. However, their plan
backfired, as the next verse says, “Their sword
shall enter their heart” – they were defeated
and killed by Avraham.
What was so profound about this
lecture? What great insight did Rabbi Eliezer

here reveal, thus earning him his father’s
newfound admiration and praise?
Rabbi Eliezer here taught that when other
nations wage wars, they are invariably,
in some way, targeting us, the Jewish
People. When we read the Torah’s account of
this war, we get the impression that Avraham’s
involvement was purely incidental, the result
of Lot happening to be living in Sedom,
which fell to the four kings. In truth, however,
as Rabbi Eliezer taught, the four kings were
actually coming after Avraham and Lot. They
targeted Avraham because of the monotheistic
belief that he disseminated, and they targeted
Lot because he was the ancestor of Rut – the
great-grandmother of Dovid – and Na’ama
– the wife of King Shlomo, from whom the
Davidic dynasty descended, culminating in
Mashiach. This conflict outwardly seemed
like a struggle between different kingdoms
who had strategic alliances, but in truth, it was
aimed at Avraham and Lot, seeking to destroy
Am Yisrael even before its emergence, and to
prevent the possibility of Mashiach’s arrival
to redeem the Jewish People.
In the next passage, the Midrash comments
that these four kings represent the four
empires that would later persecute the Jewish
Nation – Babylonia, Persia, Greece, and Edom
(associated with Rome and the Christian
world). The Midrash here teaches us that

just as the war waged by the four kings was
driven by hostility toward Avraham Avinu
and toward the nation he was creating, the
subsequent wars will similarly be motivated
by this ancient hatred.
We are thus assured that just as G-d
miraculously assisted Avraham Avinu in
overcoming his enemies, we, too, will prevail
over our hostile adversaries. We need to
confidently place our trust in the Almighty, in
the “Magen Avraham” (“Shield of Avraham”),
and ask Him to protect us and deliver us from
our enemies just as He helped our ancestors
throughout history.