Topics in Genesis -8
Become Abraham’s Ally
Rabbi Zvi Aviner
The Torah describes a group called Abraham’s Allies.
Such were Aner Eshkol and Mamra (14, 13),
who accepted the seven Noahide commandments
and supported Abraham in his war against
the four kings of the north who kidnapped Lot.
The major tenants of Abraham’s faith
To become Abraham’s ally, one has to identify with Abraham’s faith.
Let’s recall that all the stories about Abraham
revolve around THEFT, Noah’s Forth Commandments.
We can paint all of them with the same color.
There are many sorts of THEFT.
One may steal property, money, land, people and
even intellectual property such as tenant of a religion,
claiming them to be your own. Today we’ll learn about such THEFTS.
Abraham is struggling against all these types of THEFT
He even introduced a new name for the CREATOR –
the OWNER of the Heavens and the Earth.
Hence staling is not just a social crime but
an act against God’s ownership. He also thought people
to give thanks to the Owner for using anything
good and beautiful in this world. He received the Eighth Commandment – Circumcision – as an emblem of the Owner in our flesh.
What does it take to become an ally?
The truth is that it is difficult to become Abraham’s ally
One need not only to accept his faith
but also share with him the same historical goal and fate
For instance – When the United States became an ally of Britain
in the struggle against Nazi Germany,
the USA helped Britain to achieve a victory the otherwise
wouldn’t be achieved at all.
So is with Abraham.
Realizing that his goal was to change Mankind’s faith and heart
to elevate Mankind from being good to very good,
He knew that the must have allies in his enormous task
But to be an ally of Abraham you need to share with him
his faith, and his goals, as well as his leadership.
And that is hard to find.
Eshkol, Aner and Mamreh for instance were faithful allies,
till the war against the Four Kings of the North
who came down to subject the Five Kings of the South
and establish an Empire, something that Abraham hated.
Abraham and his allies overcame the mighty northern kings,
wbut Aner, Eshkol and Mamreh took part of the loot
while Abraham rejected it. Henceforth they would not be qualified
anymore to be his allies
So was Malki Zedek the King of Salem
Greeting Abraham when he returned victorious from the war
he blessed Abraham in the name of the
Supreme El Who Owns the Heavens and the Earth
Here he used Abraham’s vocabulary, referring to G-d as the Owner,
yet he failed by calling G-d Supreme El,
Implying he also believed in inferior El,
Like G-d’s Wife, Son, Daughter,
something that can’t go together with Abraham believe
in G-d’s Oneness. He was unqualified to be Abraham’s ally
Anther character in the stories is Avimelech the King of the philistines
Would he become Abraham’s ally?
We met Avimelech last class as kidnapping Sarah.
The story ended well saying that Abimelech returned Sarah to Abraham
and also gave him many gifts.
The Torah would return to Avimelech, but only after telling us about
the Birth of Yishmael and Isaac,
and about the binding of Isaac on Mount Moriah.
Yishmael ended up living in the desert outside Canaan.
but Isaac stayed with Abraham in the Holly Land.
Now the Torah returns to Abimelech
Abraham Living with the Philistines
21: 22
And at that time Abimelech and Pichel the chief of his army
Told Abraham saying God is with you in everything you do
And now swear to me in God, if you lie to me and to
my great-grandchildren and grandchildren,
As the grace that I have done with you, you will do with me,
And with the land which you lived there
And Abraham said I’ll swear
The First oath
Rabienu Bahyee points out that this is the first oath in the Torah.
This is important, since as a rule, wherever an important concept
appears the first time in the text, there we will find what the Torah thinks of it –
So, what is the oath?
Rabbeinu Bahyei says that the oath puts the Almighty a party in the covenant.
This , on one hand, assure that HaSheM would scrutinize anyone who violate the treaty.
On the other hand, being a party, HaSheM would help to implement the covenant, making it a reality.
That scrutiny, says the Midrash, found Avimeltech not a true ally.
His secret goals were un pure, seeking a secondary gain.
He was therefore not yet qualified to become a true ally of Abraham
Joining Abraham in his historical journey
On the other hand, HaShem would ensure that the covenant
with Avimelech would be implemented
But that would take several steps
Seven Sheep
The Torah continues
And Abraham reproved Abimelech about
the well of water stolen by Abimelech’s slaves
The well had been dug by Abraham’s servants and stolen by the Philistines.
That could be enough for Abraham to depart,
like he had departed from Lot.
However, Abimelech takes responsibility –
And Abimelech said, I did not know who did this thing,
nor did you tell me, nor did I hear anything wrong today.
A similar answer to what he had said about Sarah, when he abducted her.
Abraham accepts the apology –
And Abraham took sheep and cattle and gave Abimelech
and made both covenants. And Abraham set the seven sheep alone
And Abimelech said to Abraham what are these
seven sheep that you have placed alone?
And he said: that you will take the seven sheep from my hands
for I will have a witness because I dug this well
So, he called that place Beersheba because
that’s where they both swore
And they made a covenant in Beersheba,
and Abimelech and the chief of his army arose,
and they returned to the land of the Philistines
The Midrash says that the water well presents Torah
and the seven sheep present Noah’s Seven Commandments.
Thus, Avimelech gets closer to be called Abraham’s ally.
That was important to Abraham, since he Torah tell us
what Abraham did next:
And he planted an Eshel (tree) in Beersheba
and called there in the name of HasheM the Master of the world
Rashi says: by that tree, Abraham called HaSheM’s Name over the whole world.
How?
He planted hotels and kitchen on crossroads to feed the poor for free, asking them to bless HaSheM who owns the world.
Without the permission and support of Avimelech,
Abraham wouldn’t be able to plant these hotels
Everywhere in the land.
Avimelech also accepted Abraham as the future owner of the Land
Including the Philistine’s Land. The verse says:
And Abraham dwelled in the land pf the philistines many years
According to Rashi, Avraham lived there for 26 years,
longer than anywhere else.
Now tte story of Avimelech continues with Isaac.
Isaac and Avimelech
25: 26
And there was a hunger in the land
In addition to the first hunger that had struck in the days of Abraham
And Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines to the city of Grar
And HaSheM appeared to him, and he said,
Do not go down to Egypt, dwell in this land
which I will tell you
Reside in this land I will be with you and I will bless you
For to you and to your seed I will give all these lands
and I have established the oath
Which I swore to Abraham your father
Let’s analyze these words.
Rashi explains that Isaac was forbidden to leave the Land of Canaan
because he was considered a sacred offering on the altar on Mt Moriah
and as such, he could not leave the borders of the Land of Israel.
Dwell in this land –
HaShem says to Isaac: dwell, schchon in this land,
bring the Shechinah to this land.
Shchon, says the midrash, also means establish neighborhood, with borders.
When the Shechinah enters our Six Days from Heavens – She dwell first in the Holy Land. There, Her holiness establishes discreet circles of holiness around Her, each with discrete border.
Thus, as She comes into the Holy Land
the Holly Land becomes elevated in holiness
compared to other lands, such as Egypt
And within the Holy Land,
Jerusalem becomes elevated in holiness
compared to the rest of the Holy Land
And withing Jerusalem,
Mt Moriah becomes holier than the rest of the holy city,
and within Mt Noriah, the site of the binding of Isaac
becomes holier than the rest of the Mountain,
now called the Holy of Holiness site.
Thus, as the Shechinah enters the Holy Land,
there is a restriction of Her Holiness compared to Abraham’s vision of Her.
For Abraham, HaSheM’s Holiness is as presented in Genesis Chapter One –
in the Heavenly Court residing all over Earth, therefore he could go down to Egypt at the time of hunger.
Her Grace, likewise, is unlimited and unconditional.
But for Isaac, as the Shechinah descends deeper into Earth
to Dwell on Mt MorIah, a set of holiness borders is created,
a set of neighborhoods with distinct borders,
in which Isaac is confined to live .
As the Shechinah gets closer to us,
She required us to respect Her Holiness
This was the new envision of the Shechinah by Isaac.
It was the new well, new water.
Would Avimelech accept it and support it?
HaSheM continues saying to Isaac –
And I’ll multiply your seed as the stars of heaven
and give to your seed all these lands (of G-d)
and I will fulfill the oath that I’ve sworn to Abraham your father
and all the nations of the Earth shall bless themselves by your offspring
because Abraham obeyed my voice,
and observed my safeguards,
My Commandments
My Decrees
And My Torah
Hence, we learn that the Seven Commandments of Noah have
many categories, Hashem’s Voice, Safeguards, Commandment, Decrees and Torah
It took Jacob, later, 16 years to study them all in the Torah Academy of Shem
Let’s note that HaShem says that the presence of the Shechinah
In the Holy Land would be beneficial to all Nations, all Mankind
Isaac in Gerar
,
At first, Avimelech almost stumbles over Rebecca
the same way he had stumbled over Sarah,
showing he had not progressed much.
yet he holds himself back from hurting Rebecca
and allows Isaac to dwell peacefully in Gerar
He overcomes Adultery and Bloodshed.
And Isaac sowed in that land,
and in that year, he found a hundred gates, and HaSheM blessed him
And the man grew and became bigger till he became very big
And he had sheep and livestock and a lot of work,
This prosperity was a blessing from G-d,
To show the Philistines that joining Isaac would be in their own favor.
Donation of the Tenth
As he became wealthier, the Midrah says ,
Isaac instituted a new practice of raising one tenth
Of your income to charity.
By this he “restricted Abraham’s unlimited grace”
And made it a law, a reality.
All that should have enkindled in the Philistines
a support to Isaac, but instead –
Jealousy and Rejection
And the Philistines envied him
And all the wells dug by his father’s servants in Abraham’s time
Were shut up by the Philistines and they fill them with dirt
That would happen again and again in all the diasporas of the Jewish people in history. They would become economically successful. I could enrich the local population yet the result was jealousy and rejection
The Philistines not only closed Abraham’s well
But filled then with dirt, to erase his memory OR OWNERSHIP.
Some say that they returned to idolatry
Other say they erased Abraham’s name, developing their own waters, their own brand of faith
And Abimelech said unto Isaac,
Go away from us, for you have become so powerful from us – “
They accused Isaac for stealing their wealth. How else could he become so wealthy in such a short time?
And Isaac went away from there
and graced in the stream of Gerer and sat there
And Isaac dug again the wells that were dug
in the days of Abraham his father and sealed by
the Philistines after Abraham’s death
And he called them names as his father called them
Isaac restored the memory of Abraham
But in addition, he dug also his own wells
And Isaac’s servants dug in the stream
and find found there a well of fresh water
What happened to Isaac’s fresh wells?
There were three of them.
But the shepherds of Gerar quarreled with the shepherds of Isaac
saying the water belong to us.
And he named the well Eshek quarrel, (robbery)
for they quarreled with him
And they dug another well and fought over it too
So he call it hate Sitnah
Those two wells occupy a large portion in the Midrash
One line of thoughts takes the notion that each well
Presents an attempt by Isaac to teach the local his new brand of faith.
The first well is called Eshek for they quarreled with him
Saying the waters are ours
Meaning – the faith you’re preaching is already ours.
We don’t need you.
It resembles the Arabs of Arabia in the seventh century,
where the local Jews (city of Yathrive) taught the local Arabs children
the Torah, especially the book of Genesis
and the seven commandments of Noah.
Including four prayers a day.
But then Mohammed came and declared that
he had learned the Torah from the angel Gabriel
and not from the Jews. In fact, he claimed to gave
the original, true faith – true waters – whereas
the Jews hold a corrupt version of the Torah.
In his so-called original version –
It was Yoshmael on the Altar, and Moses was a Muslim.
Thus, like the Philistines, the Arabs have performed
Eshek, stealing intellectual property.
The other well, called Sitnah, hatred,
hints to Christianity who also began by an
attempt to teach the nation
The Seven Commandments (plus Jesus)
And ended up rejecting Judaism
Claiming to have replaced Israel
The Third well, however, was different.
The philistines “did not quarrel about it”
And he called it Rehovot, wide streets,
To designate a new avenue of support.
Hence there is a hint that besides Islam and Christianity
No other similar movement of stealing Abraham’s faith
would appear. Let’s prey that this vision would become true,
On the contrary – the Torah hints here that the new Noahide Movement
would grow along Isaac’s vision, not claiming the waters to be theirs.
Three Temples
Another but similar explanation is that the wells refer to the Holy Temples
That stand on Mt Moriah where Isaac had be placed on the Altar
Each of the two Temples was destroyed by Nations
Who were not Abraham’s allies.
The First Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians by quarrel , Eshek,
The Second Temple was destroyed by Rome with hate , Sitnah
Now what about the third well, Rehovot, a Third Temple?
The Torah says
And he relocated from them and dug another well
And they did not quarrel over it
And he called it Rehovot, Wide Streets
And said:
For HaShem has granted us ample space
And we can be fruitful in the land
The third well represents a Third Temple,
that will be built by Isaac]s descendants,
, while the Philistines stands by not interrupting
They do not quarrel with him any more
Yet, even such a progress was important,
Since as its name implies, it will open a street for a wider world
A larger community of Mankind supporting peacefully a Third Temple.
The result will be that Mankind would be fruitful and multiply
with no more wars and bloodshed
But there isa hint for another step after the Third Temple –
the Torah continues:
And he went up from them to Beer Shevah
And he set up there his tent
And Isaac servants dug there a well
The new well did not have yet any water in it.
And Abimelech went to him from Gerar and his manor,
and Pichel, the minister of his army.
And Isaac said to them: why did you come to me
and you hated me and sent me away from you?
And they said to him, we saw that HaSehM is with you,
So we said: Let the oath between ourselves
Between you and us
and let us make a covenant with you: If you do evil with us!
Just as we have not harmed you and just as we’ve done only good to you
and sent you in peace
Now you, O blessed of HaSheM
They wished to renew the treaty
and become Abraham and Isaac’s allies
And he gave them a feast, and they ate and drank
and got up in the morning, and they swore as a man to his brother,
and Isaac sent them away
And they went from him in peace
From supporting peacefully and standing by,
Avimmelech stepped up and joined Isaac and Abraham
with happiness becoming their true allies
The result –
And on that day the servants of Isaac came
and told him about the well they had dug
And they told him we found water
And he called it shiva, therefore,
the name of the city of Beersheba to this day
Isaac’s water poured out freely from the new well
Watering the entire world
Henceforth Abraham, Isaac and Bnei Noah
would travel in history together
bringing the Shechinah into the world
reaching to goal of becoming Very Good
ready to enter the next stage – Eternal Sabbath