We read in last week’s parsha (Noach) about a generation that stole amounts too small for any court to recover, and the whole world was destroyed because of it. This week the Torah introduces us to the man who would not take even a thread.
After Avram defeats the four kings and rescues Lot, the king of Sedom offers him all the spoils. Avram answers:
אִם מִחוּט וְעַד שְׂרוֹךְ נַעַל וְאִם אֶקַּח מִכָּל אֲשֶׁר לָךְ וְלֹא תֹאמַר אֲנִי הֶעֱשַׁרְתִּי אֶת אַבְרָם׃
“Not a thread and not a shoelace – I will take nothing that is yours, so that you will not say, ‘I made Avram rich.’” (Bereishit 14:23)
Two questions. Why does Avram list the smallest things, a thread and a shoelace? And why does the Gemara (Sotah 17a; Chullin 89a) say that these few words earned Avram’s descendants two mitzvot as a reward: Techelet in the Tzitzit, and the straps of tefillin?
To answer, we first need to look at a fight that happened one perek earlier.
Rashi – “It Isn’t Really Stealing”
וַיְהִי רִיב בֵּין רֹעֵי מִקְנֵה אַבְרָם וּבֵין רֹעֵי מִקְנֵה לוֹט וְהַכְּנַעֲנִי והפרזי אָז יֹשֵׁב בָּאָרֶץ׃ (13:7)
What was the fight about? Rashi explains that Lot’s shepherds let their animals graze in other people’s fields. Avram’s shepherds rebuked them for stealing. Lot’s shepherds had an answer ready: Hashem gave this land to Avram, Avram (at that point) had no children, Lot will inherit him – so וְאֵין זֶה גֶּזֶל, “this is not theft.” The pasuk answers them in its last words: “the Canaanim and the Perizim were then living in the land.” In other words, Avram did not own it yet.
This has been a running theme in the first few parashot of the Torah. We as rationalizing beings tend to reason that whatever we take (towels from a hotel?) is ours, or that the owner doesn’t mind, or that it’s “coming to us anyway.” Our forefather Avram sets a path of righteousness in all financial matters for his children, the people of Israel.
The Ramban and the Sforno – What the Neighbors See
The Ramban offers another explanation. The promise of the land was made to Avram’s children (12:7), so how could Lot claim he is the heir? Perhaps, he says, the shepherds heard about the promise and misunderstood it. But by the plain meaning, the land could not support both flocks, and Lot’s shepherds kept crossing into Avram’s pasture. Avram was worried that the Canaanim and Perizim living there would notice how large their herds were and drive them out.
The Sforno adds a related point (Bereishit 13:7). Avram and Lot were two relatives living as foreigners among the local people. A fight between them would give them a bad name in the eyes of everyone around them. The locals were watching.
Chizkuni – “So You Will Not Say”
Let’s return to the story of the king of Sedom. Why does Avram care what the king will say?
The Chizkuni puts it in Avram’s own words (Bereishit 14:23): when I left my father’s house, Hashem promised to make me rich. Better that I take nothing from you, so that when I do become rich, I will credit the wealth to Hashem (to whom everything truly belongs), and not to some מלך בשר ודם (king of flesh and blood).
The Or Hachaim – It Was Legally His
The Or Hachaim Hakadosh points out something we might miss (Bereishit 14:23). The king of Sedom thought the property was his to give. Avram did not agree: by law, the spoils belonged to Avram, the one who won them, and that is why he had already given maaser from all of it to Malki-Tzedek. Avram was turning down something that was rightfully his, only so that the king would not claim, “I made Avram rich.”
Compare that to Lot’s shepherds. They took what was not theirs, telling themselves it would be theirs eventually. Avram refused what already was his, so that no one would be confused about where his blessing came from.
Avram teaches us an important lesson on fortune and how to live one’s life (מעשה אבות סימן לבנים). We should view all of our wealth and possessions as gifts from Hashem—rather than the result of the stock market or our own cleverness.
The Malbim – Hashem Won the War
The Malbim explains (Bereishit 14:22) that normally the spoils of a war belong to the one who won it. But Avram saw clearly that he had not defeated four great kings with his own strength. Hashem fought the war through him. So how could he take any of it? That is the meaning of הֲרִימֹתִי יָדִי אֶל ה’: this hand that fought, I lift up to Hashem, because the victory was His.
Rabbeinu Bachya – Not Even What Has No Value
Rabbeinu Bachya says (Bereishit 14:23) that here Avram showed the strength of his generosity. He did not want to benefit from the spoils at all, וַאֲפִלּוּ הַדְּבָרִים שֶׁאֵין לָהֶם דָּמִים, even items that have no real monetary value. That is why he names a thread and a shoelace. Also, the words הֲרִימֹתִי יָדִי, “I have raised my hand,” are the language of a שבועה (an oath). Avram bound himself not to take anything.
The Reward – A Thread and a Strap
Rava says (Sotah 17a) that in reward for מִחוּט וְעַד שְׂרוֹךְ נַעַל, Avraham’s children received the thread of Techelet (Tzitzit) and the strap of Tefillin. The Gemara explains each one.
For tefillin, it brings the pasuk וְרָאוּ כָּל עַמֵּי הָאָרֶץ כִּי שֵׁם ה’ נִקְרָא עָלֶיךָ, “every people on earth will see that you carry Hashem’s Name” (Devarim 28:10), and Rabbi Eliezer HaGadol says this refers to the tefillin worn on the head.
For Techelet, it brings Rabbi Meir: Techelet looks like the sea, the sea looks like the sky, and the sky looks like the Kisei HaKavod, Hashem’s Throne of Glory.
The children of Avraham were given a mitzvah that puts Hashem’s Name on their heads, where every nation can see it, and a thread that turns our eyes up to Hashem’s throne. Avram refused even a thread and was repaid with the threads of Tzitzit. Avram refused even a shoelace and was repaid with the straps of Tefillin.
Let’s be careful with every thread that belongs to someone else, and may we always merit (be zocheh) to carry the glory of Hashem in our Tzitzit and Tefillin.
Shabbat Shalom,
Moshe
MarCheshvan 5787