Parshat Lech Lecha  13 Cheshvan 5763, 19 October 2002

Shabbat Shalom: Parshat Lekh Lekha Genesis 12:1-17:27

By Shlomo Riskin

Efrat, Israel - Many individuals maintain that if they would only experience a miracle, they would certainly believe in G-d. But, they wistfully conclude as an explanation for their agnosticism, they have been anxiously awaiting that mystical, magical miraculous moment - and it has not yet transpired. Nevertheless the daily Amidah prayer which was composed by the Men of the Great Assembly more than 2,000 years ago, includes the following statement of gratitude: "We give thanks to You, who are the Lord our G-d and the G-d of our fathers forever, &. For your miracles which are with us every day and for your wondrous acts and for Your goodnesses which happen constantly, evening, morning and afternoon." Are miracles a rare phenomenon, or are miracles a constant companion? And if miracles are truly such a usual occurrence, then why are there so many agnostics?

I believe the answer to this seeming paradox is elusively simple: an individual must be a believer in order for him/her to recognize the miracle. In the final analysis, a miracle - similar to beauty - is in the eyes of the beholder. Hence, just as it may be said that for the believer there are no questions and for the heretic there are no answers, so may it be said that for the skeptic there are no miracles and for the religious personality every 'natural' phenomenon is miracle. Indeed, one of the most meaningful blessings the observant Jew recites is the one that he invokes several times each day after washing his hands upon his having performed a natural function: "The Source of blessings are You O G-d, Sovereign of the Universe, who has formed the human being with wisdom, having created him/her with apertures and openings that - if one which should be open is closed or if one which should be closed is open - it would be impossible to exist and stand before You. The source of all blessings are You, the healer of all flesh, who performs wondrous acts." Such is the religious response for an act of urination, which, for the observant Jews, is a veritable miracle!

The fundamental truth that miracle is in the eyes of the beholder can be extracted from what superficially appears to be a textual irregularity in this weeks Torah portion. The Torah has informed us that there were four terrorist monarchs who had exercised a stranglehold of fear over the five other nations inhabitating the 'fertile crescent.' And then the despotic marauders made the tragic mistake of forcing innocent residents of Sodom into captivity - including Lot, Abraham's orphaned nephew and adopted son. The patriarch springs into military action - and wins a decisive victory over the terrorist nations. "And the King of Sodom came out to meet (Abraham) after he returned from routing Kedarleomer and the King who were with him&. And the King of Sodom said to Abraham: Give me the captives (you freed), and the bounty of the wealth you may take for yourself." (Genesis 14: 17,21). And Abraham demurs from keeping anything, not even a thread or a shoelace, for he never wants it to be said that any human being made Abraham rich!

Now although the two verses I cited describing the encounter between Abraham and the King of Sodom seem to follow each other in logical sequence, anyone looking back to the Biblical text will find that there are three verses which interrupt the natural flow of the King of Sodom's meeting with Abraham and his offer to divide the spoils - these verses which enter the scene apropos of nothing and 'in media res.' Verse seventeen tells us "And the King of Sodom came out to meet (Abraham)."

Then verse eighteen, instead of continuing to describe the encounter between these two leaders, introduces us to an entirely new personality whom we did not meet before and whom we will not meet subsequently. And Malki - Zedek the King of Salem took out bread and wine, and he is a Kohen-Priest to the Lord on High. And be blessed (Abraham), and he said, 'Blessed is the Lord on High who owns the heavens and the earth. And blessed is the Lord on High who has given over your enemies into your hands; and (Abraham) gave (Malki Zedek) tithes from everything' (Genesis 14:18-20). And then the text concludes: "And the King of Sodom said to Abram"

What is Malki Zedek doing in the midst of a meeting between Abraham and the King of Sodom? And who is Malki Zedek? Salem is Jerusalem, (lit. City of Peace), the name Malki Zedek literally meaning the King of Righteousness; Jerusalem is known by our prophets as the City of Righteousness (Isaiah 1:26), and Malki Zedek is identified by the Sages of the Midrash as Shem, the son of Noah. The Ramban suggests that Jerusalem, capital of Israel from time immemorial, was the one place in the world which never forgot the message of ethical monotheism, the lesson of an inviolate humanity created in the Divine image which G-d taught Adam and Eve, Cain and Seth.

One of my revered teachers, Rav Moshe Besdin, suggests that the Bible is here demonstrating how two different individuals can view the very same historical phenomenon - and give it two totally different interpretations. Abraham has saved innocent captives, as well as the entire fertile crescent, from four terrorist, despotic nations. For the King of Sodom, it's the lack of military strategy and business goes on as usual: you take the booty, I'll take the freed captives. For Malki Zedek King of Salem it's a miraculous act of G-d, who is to be praised for effectuating this wondrous victory. Indeed, miracle is in the eyes of the beholder.

Shabbat Shalom.

A Hassidic Post-Script

A bit later on in the text, after the Almighty promises Abraham progeny, 'He takes him outside, saying "look please at the heavens and count the stars, if you can count them. So shall be your seed."(Genesis 15:5).

Most commentaries maintain that this prophecy guarantees that Abraham's descendants will be as innumerable as the stars. But we all know that, at least up to this point, we certainly can be counted; we are hardly as numerous as the other major religion. The Sefat Emet has another interpretation. Just as counting the stars is a mission impossible, so will the future history of Israel be a mission impossible. From every perspective of history, sociology and anthropology, we should have ceased to exist as a nation shortly after the destruction of the Holy Temple. Every subsequent moment of our very being as a people can only be explained as miracle -to this very day!

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