October 27, 2023 /12 Cheshvan 5784
Peter Paul Rubens ‘The Meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek’ c. 1626. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
At the geographic center of parashat Lekh L’kha, Avram goes to war. The war – the very first described in the Torah – features a confederacy of four eastern monarchs who travel west to put down a rebellion of five vassal states. And in this battle of ‘the four’ against ‘the five,’ Avram’s nephew, Lot – who lives in S’dom, one of the vassal cities – is taken captive.
[When] Avram heard that his brother had been taken prisoner, he drew out his retainers, his house born slaves, eighteen and three hundred, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. He split up [his men] against them in the night, he and his servants, and struck them and pursued them as far as Hova, which is to the north of Damascus. But he returned all the property, and he also returned his brother Lot and his property, and also the women and the [other] people. [Genesis 14:14-16]
In a famous essay, my beloved teacher Yohanan Muffs calls Avram “the most noble of warriors.” “Avram refuses to take a share in the booty – neither property nor slaves, neither ‘string nor sandal-lace’ – his only concern being the rations of his troops and a legitimate share for his allies.” Avram, in short, is “decisive in battle and wholly magnanimous in victory.”
Indeed, Avram defends his kin – the Torah calls his nephew Lot ahikha, ‘your brother’; he stands by his allies whom the Torah titles ba’alei b’rit – ‘covenant-allies’; he redeems captives, an act that the later tradition will call ‘the greatest of mitzvot’; and he succeeds on the battlefield.
After the cessation of hostilities, the Torah records these words: After these events YHWH’S word [came] to Avram in a vision, saying: Be not afraid, Avram, I am a delivering-shield to you; your reward is exceedingly great! [Genesis 15:1]
What does this victorious warrior fear? Says Rabbi Levi: our forefather Abraham was fearful, saying: ‘Perhaps those people whom I killed, there was among them one righteous man, or one God-fearing man.’ [Midrash Bereshit Rabbah 44:4] I hope and pray, in other words, that I haven’t killed any innocents in this righteous and justified battle.
One recent essay* on Jewish war ethics describes ‘this Abrahamic precedent:’ “…even when military action seems to have a just cause, one should be extremely aware of the new injustices that a war might produce. And even if one can honestly anticipate that a war will save more lives than it will destroy, such that the war can be justified, one should still join Abraham in ‘being afraid’ for every innocent life destroyed.”
In this moment of war between Israel and Hamas, we turn to the Torah and our tradition for guidance. At this time of crisis and struggle, Abraham the Noble Warrior – decisive in battle, magnanimous in victory, fearful for every innocent life destroyed – is the perfectly timed model for us and for Israel.
Shalom ‘al Yisrael – Praying for Peace
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi David
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