Lech Lecha – Faith is the Key

Author’s note: Hebrew text and translations, unless otherwise stated, come from Sefaria.org.

Our sages have told us many times that מעשה אבות סימן לבנים, “that which happened with our forefathers is a portend for their children.” In this week’s Parsha (Torah portion), we learn of the story of the four kings who rebelled against the five. As the Torah tells us (Gen 14:1):

We now come back to the question we should be asking about all these stories: Why do we need to know this? Why does the Torah, which is not a storybook, tell us this?

The great 13th-century scholar, Nachmanides, also known as RamBaN, addresses this:

וַיְהִי בִּימֵי אַמְרָפֶל מֶלֶךְ שִׁנְעָר הַמַּעֲשֶׂה הַזֶּה אֵרַע לְאַבְרָהָם לְהוֹרוֹת כִּי אַרְבַּע מַלְכֻיּוֹת תַּעֲמֹדְנָה לִמְשֹׁל בָּעוֹלָם, וּבַסּוֹף יִתְגַּבְּרוּ בָּנָיו עֲלֵיהֶם וְיִפְּלוּ כֻּלָּם בְּיָדָם, וְיָשִׁיבוּ כָּל שְׁבוּתָם וּרְכוּשָׁם

AND IT CAME TO PASS IN THE DAYS OF AMRAPHEL KING OF SHINAR. This event happened to Abraham in order to teach us that four kingdoms will arise to rule the world. In the end, his [Abraham’s] children will prevail over them, and they will all fall into their hands. Then they will return all their captives and their wealth.

From the first verse in this week’s Torah portion, the pattern of the “Wandering Jew” was set as Abram is commanded to leave his ancestral homeland and travel to a new land without knowing the ultimate destination. When he finally gets to the land of Canaan, he is forced to go to war to protect his family. This is a pattern that has followed us for centuries. The story’s purpose is to tell us that this is the way will be for us over the centuries. In the end, however, we are reminded that Hashem (Gd) ultimately fights for the Jewish people and victory is in his hands.

There is a story told in the Talmud (Taanit 21:a):

וְאַמַּאי קָרוּ לֵיהּ נַחוּם אִישׁ גַּם זוֹ — דְּכׇל מִילְּתָא דַּהֲוָה סָלְקָא לֵיהּ, אֲמַר: גַּם זוֹ לְטוֹבָה. זִימְנָא חֲדָא בְּעוֹ לְשַׁדּוֹרֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל דּוֹרוֹן לְבֵי קֵיסָר, אָמְרוּ: מַאן יֵיזִיל — יֵיזִיל נַחוּם אִישׁ גַּם זוֹ, דִּמְלוּמָּד בְּנִיסִּין הוּא. שַׁדַּרוּ בִּידֵיהּ מְלֵא סִיפְטָא דַּאֲבָנִים טוֹבוֹת וּמַרְגָּלִיּוֹת. אֲזַל, בָּת בְּהָהוּא דִּירָא. בְּלֵילְיָא קָמוּ הָנָךְ דָּיוֹרָאֵי וְשַׁקְלִינְהוּ לְסִיפְטֵיהּ וּמְלוֹנְהוּ עַפְרָא.

The Gemara inquires: And why did they call him Naḥum of Gam Zu? The reason is that with regard to any matter that occurred to him, he would say: This too is for the good [gam zu letova]. Once, the Jews wished to send a gift [doron] to the house of the emperor. They said: Who should go and present this gift? Let Naḥum of Gam Zu go, as he is accustomed to miracles. They sent with him a chest [sifta] full of jewels and pearls, and he went and spent the night in a certain inn. During the night, these residents of the inn arose and took all of the precious jewels and pearls from the chest, and filled it with earth. The next day, when he saw what had happened, Naḥum of Gam Zu said: This too is for the good.

כִּי מְטָא הָתָם, שְׁרִינְהוּ לְסִיפְטֵי, חֲזָנְהוּ דִּמְלוּ עַפְרָא. בְּעָא מַלְכָּא לְמִקְטְלִינְהוּ לְכוּלְּהוּ, אֲמַר: קָא מְחַיְּיכוּ בִּי יְהוּדָאֵי. אֲמַר: גַּם זוֹ לְטוֹבָה. אֲתָא אֵלִיָּהוּ אִדְּמִי לֵיהּ כְּחַד מִינַּיְיהוּ, אֲמַר לֵיהּ: דִּלְמָא הָא עַפְרָא מֵעַפְרָא דְּאַבְרָהָם אֲבוּהוֹן הוּא, דְּכִי הֲוָה שָׁדֵי עַפְרָא — הָווּ סַיְיפֵי, גִּילֵי — הָווּ גִּירֵי, דִּכְתִיב: ״יִתֵּן כֶּעָפָר חַרְבּוֹ כְּקַשׁ נִדָּף קַשְׁתּוֹ״.

When he arrived there, at the ruler’s palace, they opened the chest and saw that it was filled with earth. The king wished to put all the Jewish emissaries to death. He said: The Jews are mocking me. Naḥum of Gam Zu said: This too is for the good. Elijah the Prophet came and appeared before the ruler as one of his ministers. He said to the ruler: Perhaps this earth is from the earth of their father Abraham. As when he threw earth, it turned into swords, and when he threw stubble, it turned into arrows, as it is written in a prophecy that the Sages interpreted this verse as a reference to Abraham: “His sword makes them as the dust, his bow as the driven stubble” (Isaiah 41:2).

הַוְיָא חֲדָא מְדִינְתָּא דְּלָא מָצוּ לְמִיכְבְּשַׁהּ, בְּדַקוּ מִינֵּיהּ וְכַבְשׁוּהָ. עֲיַילוּ לְבֵי גִנְזֵיה וּמְלוֹהוּ לְסִיפְטֵיהּ אֲבָנִים טוֹבוֹת וּמַרְגָּלִיּוֹת, וְשַׁדְּרוּהוּ בִּיקָרָא רַבָּה.

There was one province that the Romans were unable to conquer. They took some of this earth, tested it by throwing it at their enemies, and conquered that province. When the ruler saw that this earth indeed had miraculous powers, his servants entered his treasury and filled Naḥum of Gam Zu’s chest with precious jewels and pearls and sent him off with great honor.

There is too much to unpack from this story. For example, the story details how the faith of Nachum Ish GamZu was rewarded with a miracle. But the point of the story in this context is the point about Abram fighting with the five kings to rescue his nephew Lot with miraculous earth that turned into weapons. In other words, Abram provided the army but Hashem provided the ammunition for victory. 

This is the story of Jewish history for the last several millennia. 

If you do not believe me, perhaps modern history will convince you. The State of Israel is now at war on seven fronts. Hamas has been sending rockets into Israel for almost 20 years. Hezbollah, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Iran have all been firing at Israel with incredibly little success. As an American-Israeli friend of mine recently put it, “We live in an age of open miracles.” 

Meanwhile, as Hashem’s protection is clearly safeguarding the Jewish State, Israel has accomplished incredible battlefield wins. Operation Grim Beeper is a great example. Yes, it was a brilliant operation fantastically carried out but there were a million things that could have blown that op that never happened. (Also, the fact that Mossad actually may have turned a profit on that op is just hilarious.) Hezbollah was the big boogeyman in the North and Israel, over the course of a few short weeks, took a huge bite out of them. Iran shot hundreds of missiles with almost no effect. 

It is all too easy to get caught up in the events of the day and forget that Hashem runs the world and is the final arbiter of what will and will not be. October 7th was a horrific day in Jewish history and must never be forgotten. But, as Nachum Ish Gamzu’s student, Rabbi Akiva, said (Talmud Bavli, Berachot 60b):

אָמַר רַב הוּנָא אָמַר רַב מִשּׁוּם רַבִּי מֵאִיר, וְכֵן תָּנָא מִשְּׁמֵיהּ דְּרַבִּי עֲקִיבָא: לְעוֹלָם יְהֵא אָדָם רָגִיל לוֹמַר: ״כׇּל דְּעָבֵיד רַחֲמָנָא לְטָב עָבֵיד״

Rav Huna said that Rav said that Rabbi Meir said; and so it was taught in a baraita in the name of Rabbi Akiva: One must always accustom oneself to say: Everything that God does, He does for the best.

That is a hard concept to accept, especially when we are speaking of events like October 7. Still, that should be an article of faith for us. Hashem is inherently good and all that He does is good. When we have faith, like Nachum Ish Gamzu, that faith can be rewarded. 

I never like to say what Hashem is thinking. I have no more idea than you do. But I like to look at events and see if I can discern patterns and maybe find meaning. In this case, I wonder if October 7 was necessary to get Israeli society to understand the need to finally eliminate the existential threats on their borders. Also, perhaps it was a wake-up call that Israel has to be more self-reliant militarily. This is exactly what they are doing. Rather than rely on a mercurial United States for arms production, Israel is building factories to produce missiles for the Iron Dome and other critical items. Rather than be afraid of the opinion of the world, Israel is forging ahead and doing what they need to do regardless of the opinions spouted by the United Nations. 

It is never appropriate to only rely on Gd. We have to do our own part. As the Midrash says, אין סומכין על הנסת, “do not rely on miracles”. But we cannot forget that, without Gd, there can be no victory.

Hashem’s ways are hard to understand. Sometimes, through his decrees, we are forced to wander. We are cast out and it may seem like we are alone. It may seem like Israel is alone and excommunicated from the community of nations. We have to do what we have to do. Our people must be protected and Israel is doing just that. The lies from the Iranian-backed, pro-terrorist supporters must be fought and those who condemn Israel and give in the terrorist evil must be ignored. 

The lesson of this week’s parsha is simple and everlasting. עם ישראל חי, The Jewish People Live. We are an eternal people backed by the Eternal One Himself. 

(Proverbs 3:25-26)

אַל־תִּירָא מִפַּחַד פִּתְאֹם וּמִשֹּׁאַת רְשָׁעִים כִּי תָבֹא׃

Do not fear sudden terror
Or the disaster that comes upon the wicked,

כִּי־יְהֹוָה יִהְיֶה בְכִסְלֶךָ וְשָׁמַר רַגְלְךָ מִלָּכֶד׃

For the LORD will be your trust;
He will keep your feet from being caught.