Just Desserts - Lech Lecha 5786

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In the middle of recounting the history of the world and of the Jewish people, the Torah seems to digress.  Suddenly we are in the middle of a very interesting story about four kings and five kings and their people.  These were nations in the Middle East, and the four powerful kings controlled the whole area.  After 12 years of subjugation, five kings rebelled and went to war against the four, but they were no match for the power of the four.  “In the days when King Amrafel of Shin’ar, King Aryoch of Elasar, King Kedorla’omer of Eilam, and King Tid’al of Goyim waged war against King Bera of Sodom, King Birsha of Gomorrah, King Shin’av of Admah, King Shem’ever of Tzevoyim, and the king of Bela, which is Tzo’ar, and subdued them...” (Bereshit 14:1,2.)


On their way to the battle with the five kings, the four kings devastated and captured many nations along the way.  Then the main battle happened: “They made war with King Kedorla’omer of Eilam, King Tid’al of Goyim, King Amrafel of Shin’ar, and King Aryoch of Elasar—four kings against the five. The Valley of Sidim was full of clay pits. When the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell into the quagmire of clay. The other survivors fled to the mountains. The four kings seized all the belongings of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and they departed. When they left, they also took Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since he had been living in Sodom.” (Bereshit 14:9-12.)


So at the end of the story we see the relevance.  Avraham’s nephew was taken hostage, and Avraham took it upon himself to free him.  Regardless of the incredible power of these four kings, who had beaten five nations plus a whole lot of others, including giants, Avraham stepped forward and beat them and freed his nephew.  The Torah also tells us that Avraham returned all the loot and the other captives that the kings had taken from Sodom, but he refused to keep any of it and gave it all back to the king of Sodom.


Along the way, we see how Hashem miraculously helped Avraham.  Verse 14 tells us that “when Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he armed his 318 attendants who had been born in his household and set out in pursuit...  An army of 318!  It gets better.  The Midrash says that the army was actually his servant Eliezer, since the numerical value of the Hebrew letters of his name adds up to 318.


This is a great story that shows us the greatness of Avraham, his willingness to sacrifice for his relative, and the miraculous victory that Hashem gave him.  This is, of course, a lesson to us.  When we need to go to war against our enemies, we have the miraculous support of Hashem who blesses our troops even though we are far outnumbered.  But there is another substory here, discussed in the book “Shai Lamore,” a comprehensive explanation of Rashi.


He notes that the names of the four kings are initially listed in a different order than later when describing the war.  The Parsha opens with:  “In the days when King Amrafel of Shin’ar, King Aryoch of Elasar, King Kedorla’omer of Eilam, and King Tid’al of Goyim waged war.”  Amrafel comes first.  Later, we read: “They made war with King Kedorla’omer of Eilam, King Tid’al of Goyim, King Amrafel of Shin’ar, and King Aryoch of Elasar.”  Amrafel is third.  


The names of the kings were  not their real names, but rather descriptions of their behaviors.  For example the king of Sedom was called “Bera” which can be translated as beit (numerical value 2) Ra - meaning double evil, bad to Hashem and bad to people.  And Rashi tells us similar translations for the other kings.  The word Amrafel can be parsed into two words: Amar Pul, meaning he said “go!” Amarafel was actually Nimrod, and was called Amrafel here to tell us that he sent Avraham into a fiery kiln when he refused to bow to his idols.  


The leader of the four kings was Kedarla’omer, but when the whole story is introduced, Amrafel is mentioned first.  The Torah is telling us that while it may take time, Hashem ultimately avenges those who persecute the Jews.  The mighty Nimrod tried to force Avraham to give up his faith, and tried to destroy him by throwing him into the fire.  Avraham was saved miraculously, but Nimrod would not escape punishment.  


Many years later, the mighty Nimrod and his partners were punished at the hand of Avraham.  This is why the Parsha opens with Amrafel, to emphasize the fact that all the events with all the kings were leading to Amrafel getting his punishment for what he did to Avraham.  The parallel to today’s situation is obvious.

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