King Goofus and Gallant, and the MIGGEN Avraham

In parashat Lech Lecha, Avraham hears that his relative Lot has been taken captive, joins a war, and saves the day.

Bereishit 14:16-24 states:

וַיָּשֶׁב, אֵת כָּל-הָרְכֻשׁ; וְגַם אֶת-לוֹט אָחִיו וּרְכֻשׁוֹ הֵשִׁיב, וְגַם אֶת-הַנָּשִׁים וְאֶת-הָעָם.
וַיֵּצֵא מֶלֶךְ-סְדֹם, לִקְרָאתוֹ, אַחֲרֵי שׁוּבוֹ מֵהַכּוֹת אֶת-כְּדָרְלָעֹמֶר, וְאֶת-הַמְּלָכִים אֲשֶׁר אִתּוֹ--אֶל-עֵמֶק שָׁוֵה, הוּא עֵמֶק הַמֶּלֶךְ.
וּמַלְכִּי-צֶדֶק מֶלֶךְ שָׁלֵם, הוֹצִיא לֶחֶם וָיָיִן; וְהוּא כֹהֵן, לְאֵל עֶלְיוֹן.
וַיְבָרְכֵהוּ, וַיֹּאמַר: בָּרוּךְ אַבְרָם לְאֵל עֶלְיוֹן, קֹנֵה שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ.
וּבָרוּךְ אֵל עֶלְיוֹן, אֲשֶׁר-מִגֵּן צָרֶיךָ בְּיָדֶךָ; וַיִּתֶּן-לוֹ מַעֲשֵׂר, מִכֹּל.
וַיֹּאמֶר מֶלֶךְ-סְדֹם, אֶל-אַבְרָם: תֶּן-לִי הַנֶּפֶשׁ, וְהָרְכֻשׁ קַח-לָךְ.
וַיֹּאמֶר אַבְרָם, אֶל-מֶלֶךְ סְדֹם: הֲרִמֹתִי יָדִי אֶל-ה' אֵל עֶלְיוֹן, קֹנֵה שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ.
אִם-מִחוּט וְעַד שְׂרוֹךְ-נַעַל, וְאִם-אֶקַּח מִכָּל-אֲשֶׁר-לָךְ; וְלֹא תֹאמַר, אֲנִי הֶעֱשַׁרְתִּי אֶת-אַבְרָם.
בִּלְעָדַי, רַק אֲשֶׁר אָכְלוּ הַנְּעָרִים, וְחֵלֶק הָאֲנָשִׁים, אֲשֶׁר הָלְכוּ אִתִּי: עָנֵר אֶשְׁכֹּל וּמַמְרֵא, הֵם יִקְחוּ חֶלְקָם

"And he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.

And the king of Sodom went out to meet him, after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, at the vale of Shaveh--the same is the King's Vale.

And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine; and he was priest of God the Most High.

And he blessed him, and said: 'Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Maker of heaven and earth;

and blessed be God the Most High, who hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand.' And he gave him a tenth of all.

And the king of Sodom said unto Abram: 'Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.'

And Abram said to the king of Sodom: 'I have lifted up my hand unto the LORD, God Most High, Maker of heaven and earth,

that I will not take a thread nor a shoe-latchet nor aught that is thine, lest thou shouldest say: I have made Abram rich;

save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, let them take their portion.'"

Firstly, when the pasuk states וְהוּא כֹהֵן, לְאֵל עֶלְיוֹן, who is "he" that is the priest to kEl Elyon? Is is Avraham or Malkitzedek? Malkitzedek praises Avraham and kEl Elyon, who is the name of Hashem, as we see later when Avraham swears to the king of Sodom in the name of Hashem kEl Elyon. Thus, Malkitzedek who invokes kel Elyon might be the priest of kel Elyon.

On the other hand, since Avraham swears later by kEl Elyon, and Avraham is known to serve Hashem, the statement that "he was a kohen to kEl Elyon" might be a parenthetic remark so that the reader will know that kEl Elyon is not an idol, but is the name of Hashem by which Avraham was a priest.

On the third hand, Avraham is not known to us specifically as assuming the function of priest, so it is more likely a reference to Malkitzedek, explaining why he invokes Kel Elyon in the next statement.

So, we can fairly confidently assume that "he" is Malkitzedek, who besides being a king, was a priest of kEl Elyon = Hashem, and as such invoked that name when praising Avraham and then Hashem.

Pasuk #20, after Malkitzedek's blessing, states, וַיִּתֶּן-לוֹ מַעֲשֵׂר מִכֹּל. Who gave and who received? The traditional explanation, given by Midrashim, Rashi, Ibn Ezra, etcetera, is that *Avraham* gave *Malkitzedek* a tenth of the spoils. Since Malkitzedek was a kohen, and kohanim are entitled to maaser, Avraham gave him that.

On the other hand, the immediate context is that of awarding Avraham a share of the spoils. The king of Sodom tries to do this but fails. So it stands to reason that *Malkitzedek*, another king, invokes Kel Elyon, praises Avraham, and gives *Avraham* a tenth of the spoils he obtained for his role in the war.

Further, I would claim that the king of Sodom tried to give him a similar share. I guess people who join a war and assist in winning it are entitled to a maaser, a tenth.

For, pasuk 22, when Avraham refuses the king of Sodom's gift, he states:

אִם-מִחוּט וְעַד שְׂרוֹךְ-נַעַל, וְאִם-אֶקַּח מִכָּל-אֲשֶׁר-לָךְ; וְלֹא תֹאמַר, אֲנִי הֶעֱשַׁרְתִּי אֶת-אַבְרָם.
"that I will not take a thread nor a shoe-latchet nor aught that is thine, lest thou shouldest say: I have made Abram rich;"

The word הֶעֱשַׁרְתִּי means "made rich," but if you take the dot from the right side of the letter Sin and put it on the left side, the letter becomes Shin, and the word means "caused to have maaser," a tenth. In fact, there is a midrash elsewhere that transforms a word maasar to mean riches to convey that those who keep maaser become rich. So I would suggest it as an "Al Tikra."

This leads to the question. Why in the world would Avraham accept a gift from one king only to refuse a similar gift in the next breath from another king? Both want to give him maaser.

The answer, I think, is that we have a Goofus and Gallant situation. Two kings try to give Avraham a gift of his rightful share in winning the war. But, they try different approaches. Malkitzedek is Gallant, and has the correct approach, and so Avraham accepts, but the king of Sodom is Goofus, and Avraham does not accept.

What does Malkitzedek say that makes Avraham accept his gift? Malkitzedek said:
וַיְבָרְכֵהוּ, וַיֹּאמַר: בָּרוּךְ אַבְרָם לְאֵל עֶלְיוֹן, קֹנֵה שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ.
וּבָרוּךְ אֵל עֶלְיוֹן אֲשֶׁר-מִגֵּן צָרֶיךָ בְּיָדֶךָ; וַיִּתֶּן-לוֹ מַעֲשֵׂר מִכֹּל

Thus, Malkitzedek acknowledged that Hashem created (koneh) or owns (koneh) heaven and earth, so it is not really man's to give, but rather Hashem. Further, he acknowledges that Hashem helped Avraham win and gathered (migen, Ibn Ezra says = hisgir, closed up) his enemies in his hand. One could say that Hashem granted the spoils, and put it in his hand. Thus, Malkitzedek is giving Avraham his share which Hashem intended for him.

Goofus... er, I mean the king of Sodom, said no such thing. He thought that Avraham had deserved spoils for his role, and was concerned with negotiating who gets what:
וַיֹּאמֶר מֶלֶךְ-סְדֹם, אֶל-אַבְרָם: תֶּן-לִי הַנֶּפֶשׁ, וְהָרְכֻשׁ קַח-לָךְ.
"And the king of Sodom said unto Abram: 'Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.'"

It was a regular post-battle business deal, and the king of Sodom was trying to grant Avraham a generous portion - all of the physical spoils.

At this point, Avraham lifts his hand up to Hashem, and swears,
וַיֹּאמֶר אַבְרָם, אֶל-מֶלֶךְ סְדֹם: הֲרִמֹתִי יָדִי אֶל-ה אֵל עֶלְיוֹן, קֹנֵה שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ.

He uses the same lashon as Malkitzedek, saying he is swearing to Hem kel Elyon, who is the creator and owner of all material items.
אִם-מִחוּט וְעַד שְׂרוֹךְ-נַעַל, וְאִם-אֶקַּח מִכָּל-אֲשֶׁר-לָךְ; וְלֹא תֹאמַר, אֲנִי הֶעֱשַׁרְתִּי אֶת-אַבְרָם.

The king of Sodom should not say to others or think to himself that he is giving maasar to Avraham, or enriching Avraham (either way, the close wording is meant to resonate), but rather he should know that all that comes to Avraham is from Hashem, not from man. So, Avraham refuses any gain from the king of Sodom, though he lets others who fought with him take their portion. He did take from Malkitzedek, who had the right attitude.

The first pasuk of perek 15 begins with Hashem's reassurance to Avraham.
אַחַר הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה, הָיָה דְבַר-ה אֶל-אַבְרָם, בַּמַּחֲזֶה, לֵאמֹר: אַל-תִּירָא אַבְרָם, אָנֹכִי מָגֵן לָךְ--שְׂכָרְךָ, הַרְבֵּה מְאֹד.
After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying: 'Fear not, Abram, I am thy shield, thy reward shall be exceeding great.'

After these things connects the previous narrative to this one, which is how Avraham says material wealth is no good if he has no heir, Hashem promises him descendants, and the brit ben habetarim takes place.

I claim that this pasuk is more connected to the preceding narrative than first appears.

The midrash explains that Avraham was afraid that when Hashem saved him in war, it was at the expense of the reward of the good deeds he had done, and that he had exhausted his spiritual bank account, and so Hashem would not protect him in future encounters. Thus, Hashem tells Avraham that He is his shield, his מָגֵן, and that Avraham's reward for good deeds is exceedingly great, and do he need not worry that he exhausted his merit.

The next pasuk is:
וַיֹּאמֶר אַבְרָם, אֲדֹנָי ה מַה-תִּתֶּן-לִי, וְאָנֹכִי, הוֹלֵךְ עֲרִירִי; וּבֶן-מֶשֶׁק בֵּיתִי, הוּא דַּמֶּשֶׂק אֱלִיעֶזֶר.
"And Abram said: 'O Lord GOD, what wilt Thou give me, seeing I go hence childless, and he that shall be possessor of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?'"

This clearly implies that the reward of the previous pasuk was material in nature - it is something to pass on, but Eliezer is the only inheritor.

But if so, why say the Hashem is Avraham's magen, shield?

I think that the answer is that this is a continuation. Avraham foreswore the king of Sodom's offer of maaser, saying that Hashem would give him riches, and not the king of Sodom. Hashem tells him that his "sechar," recompense, or material wealth, which Hashem will grant him and not man, will indeed be great.

What about magen? I have a *great* pshat. Magen does not mean shield, but rather means to gather wealth for someone. Remember what Malkitzedek said:
וּבָרוּךְ אֵל עֶלְיוֹן, אֲשֶׁר-מִגֵּן צָרֶיךָ בְּיָדֶךָ; וַיִּתֶּן-לוֹ מַעֲשֵׂר, מִכֹּל.

There is the word MGN, though with different nikud. There, it meant Hasher gathered the spoils into Avraham's hand. Here as well, Hashem is not saying:
אַחַר הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה, הָיָה דְבַר-ה אֶל-אַבְרָם, בַּמַּחֲזֶה, לֵאמֹר: אַל-תִּירָא אַבְרָם, אָנֹכִי מָגֵן לָךְ--שְׂכָרְךָ, הַרְבֵּה מְאֹד.

the Avraham should not fear for his physical safety for Hashem will be a shield, for he still has credits for his merits. Rather, after rejecting the king of Sodom's offer and throwing his material well-being in the hands of Hashem, Hashem tells him:

"Fear not Avram, I will gather the spoils for you; your reward shall be very great."