Parshas Lech Lecha ushers in a new era
of history as it marks the beginning of the Jewish People with our forefather,
Avraham. The Parsha begins with Hashem promising Avraham, or Avram at that
point, that He will always provide for him and make him into a great nation.
The stories told throughout the parsha all illustrate this point. An example of
one of these stories is Avram’s battle with the Four Kings.
In Perek 14, we are told about a war
that took place between the powerful Four Kings against the rebellious Five
Kings. After thirteen years of conflict, the Four Kings finally defeated the
Five Kings and their armies, and plundered their lands. Among the defeated
countries was Sodom, where Lot, Avram’s nephew, resided. Whether because of his
status as the nephew of the famous Avram, or simply because he was in the way,
Lot was taken captive by the pillaging armies.
Upon hearing of his nephew’s capture,
Avram didn’t hesitate. “וַיִּשְׁמַ֣ע אַבְרָ֔ם כִּ֥י
נִשְׁבָּ֖ה אָחִ֑יו וַיָּ֨רֶק אֶת־חֲנִיכָ֜יו יְלִידֵ֣י בֵית֗וֹ שְׁמֹנָ֤ה עָשָׂר֙
וּשְׁל֣שׁ מֵא֔וֹת וַיִּרְדֹּ֖ף עַד־דָּֽן” “And Avram heard that his brother was taken captive, and he
armed his initiates who had been born in his house- three hundred and eighteen-
and he gave them chase as far as Dan” (Bereishis 14:14). The simple
explanation of the pasuk is that Avram and his army of 318 men defeated four
mighty armies! A tremendous miracle! But the medrash makes it even more
spectacular. According to the medrash, the 318 mentioned in the pasuk refers to
Avram’s trusted manservant, Eliezer, whose Hebrew name has the numerical value
of 318. He and Avram together by themselves were able to defeat four armies and
save Lot.
According to either
explanation, this was an amazing miracle, but according to the explanation of
the medrash, it’s unbelievable. The Kli Yakar asks how this medrash fits into
the reading of the pasuk as we never see a pasuk use a number in reference to
an individual. Furthermore, later on Avram rescues the king of Sodom, who
offers him anything he wants as a reward. Avram refuses anything for himself,
but he asks that the men who came with him should receive something.
(See 14:24.) If he came only with Eliezer, who are these men that came with him
who deserve a reward for fighting?
He explains that even
according to the medrash, Avram had 318 men with him when he went to fight; because
even when you know you will receive a miracle, you are still obligated to make
at the very least some sort of physical effort. The question is how come he
took that specific amount? Because the corresponding
word to that value holds special significance.
Miracles come in all shapes and sizes. Some are
very obviously supernatural occurrences (like the Splitting of the Sea), some fade
into the background as seemingly typical events in everyday life (like the
miracle of Purim), and many fall somewhere in between where they appear to be
miracles but you can still come up with a natural explanation to more or less
of a degree. When Avram fought against the Four Kings with his small army, in
order for him to be successful, he needed a miracle a lot closer on the scale
to an obvious supernatural event. In order to show his trust in Hashem to keep
him safe, he brought with him 318 men, corresponding to the name Eliezer, which
literally translates into “אלי-עזר”, “God is my Help”. But ultimately, it didn’t matter how many
men he brought with him; even if he had just brought Eliezer, they would have
been successful together since no one and nothing could have helped him except
for Hashem.
You may wonder that if the Torah is a book
of laws or a book of ethics, why are we told all these stories in Sefer
Bereishis that seemingly teach us neither? The answer is that these stories of
our ancestors show us who we are and who we come from. We are a special
People to have descended from such incredible individuals. I look forward to
sharing these stories throughout Sefer Bereishis and the rest of the Torah with
you.
Shabbat Shalom!
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