There is a famous quote from Chazal that is found in the medrash in parshas Lech Lecha. It reads, “When you see kingdoms starting up with each other, look for the footsteps of Moshiach.” The Chofetz Chaim is quoted as mentioning this Medrash when World War I began, describing it as the beginning of the wars of Gog U’magog. All the nations joined in, or were dragged in. And what for? Some countries only joined in because they had treaties with other nations, not because they wanted more land or more power. The Yalkut Shimoni says that we see from Avraham Avinu that his personal salvation came after the war of the four kings versus the five kings.
Rav Avigdor Miller zts”l writes in his sefer on chumash Bereishis that Avraham Avinu was most bothered by the chidush (innovation), which Kedarla’omer and Amrafel (Nimrod) and their partners introduced to the world. The chidush was warfare. Yes, this was a new concept. To force your will upon others and to rule over them was a new concept. Murder and crime had already happened, and agreeing to appoint a leader as king had already happened. However, now we are being introduced to all out warfare. This is the first mention of milchama (war) in the Torah, as it says asu milchama, they made war, they invented the concept of war. The world was still relatively young, only a few hundred years from the mabul, and everyone was literally related, even though they were already divided as seventy different nations. Noach’s son Shem was still alive, among many others who had seen Noach. Everyone could be different, but each should live with their families, each according to their ways. Then along came these four kings, led by Kedarla’omer, who decided to force the five wealthy kings of Sedom, Amorah etc. to pay tribute to them. When Sedom and company refused to continue paying, Kedarla’omer brought his partners and went on the warpath. Not only against the five kings, but also against the other peoples in their path. And in capturing Sedom, they captured Lot, Avraham Avinu’s nephew who had chosen to settle there.
Avraham considered this to be a direct attack against Hashem! First, it went against Hashem’s midah (trait) of kindness, upon which the world is built, and which Avraham was trying to emulate and teach to everyone. His teaching about Hashem’s kindness through the Divine plan and purpose in nature, and his own acts of kindness (hospitality) and Murder, bloodshed, theft etc., are all part of warfare and all against the chesed of Hashem. This is besides for violating many of the mitzvos which b’nei Noach are required to keep.
Secondly, war stems from a denial of Hashem’s hashgacha, His will and directive. Hashem created everyone and everything, placing everyone where they’re supposed to be, and gives everyone what they are supposed to receive. To say, “I want something different, and I’ll try to get it, even by force, and if necessary to kill to get it” is the opposite of that. Jealousy, greed, and a desire for power remove one from this world. Removed from the perfect world Hashem designed, to be corrupted by their selfishness.
Here is a description of this. Imagine a father provides each of his children a portion of something, one for each of them, exactly what he wants and thinks each one should receive. One of the kids decides that they want more than their share. They gather some friends, promise them reward, and begin to threaten their siblings to give up their share. They even beat and hurt whoever won’t follow the command. That’s all directly opposed to what the father wanted! All it does is cause pain, because the father won’t let it go
Avraham Avinu saw all this as a massive chilul Hashem. Worse, it would set a precedent in the world. Therefore, he endangered himself, taking all his household, 318 servants/students -chanichei yelidei baiso- the people raised and trained from his household to stop the four kings and to save Lot. According to the medrash, it meant only his servant Eliezer, who was equal to all his 318 servants/students. And yes, Eliezer’s father was Nimrod. He went to battle against his own father, following his beloved master. So much so was the need to battle against the chilul Hashem.
Now, what was the four king’s real goal? The Medrash says that their real target was Avraham Avinu. They went for Lot to draw out Avraham. Even though it appeared like there was a long story, a history of cause and effect happening until this point, of servitude, rebellion, etc.; the entire goal was to get Avraham Avinu from the beginning. Amrafel (Nimrod) was an old archenemy of Avraham from long ago. Yalkut Shimoni says that Nimrod honored Avraham after he survived being thrown into the furnace (by Nimrod) in Ur Kasdim, and Nimrod was so impressed that he gave his son Eliezer to be Avraham’s servant/student. That honor and respect didn’t last.
After this amazing victory, he was anointed king over the world by all the people, receiving tremendous honor and respect, and wealth (although he had that already from Pharoh). He tried to use his fame to teach everyone about Hashem. The salvation from his enemies and the ability to do exactly what they didn’t want him to do.
Why did they want to get rid of Avraham? He’s teaching about Hashem; why is that so bad?
Avraham Avinu was indeed a major threat to them. After the mabul, and the dispersion around the world when they tried to build the tower of Bavel, under Nimrod’s leadership, they were very angry at Hashem. He foiled all their plans! He got involved in life down here on Earth! Stay up there in heaven, and we’ll run things down here. We’ll use witchcraft and other powers from the sun, moon, and stars, so we don’t even need you Hashem. But now you have an ambassador down here, teaching everyone about you? Well, we can’t get you, but we can try to get him! That’s why they wanted to get rid of Avraham Avinu. He was a threat to their separation from Hashem.
Let’s return to how we began. “When you see kingdoms starting up with each other, look for the footsteps of Moshiach.” Why are they starting up with each other? As we mentioned before, it’s not to gain land or power. But something is disturbing them, and they’re not sure what it is.
Really, it’s their malach in Heaven who is sensing something big coming: Moshiach. That is bothering them, and they don’t know what to do about it. But they realize that it will mean the end of their rule, their power, and they don’t want that to happen. So they target each other, but they really want to get Hashem’s ambassadors in this world, Klal Yisrael. And it will be Klal Yisrael who will emerge from all this with the yeshuah.
All of history has been, and is being, directed by Hashem. Everything going on is in His master plan. How all the parts fit in, and what’s needed to happen is all included. There is no one who can change it, even though they’d want to. And it’s us, Klal Yisrael, with our loyalty and bitachon in Hashem that will get us through.
What will happen in the U.S. presidential elections? Only He knows. What will happen with Iran and all the other enemies of Klal Yisrael, only He knows. How will we make our way through all the confusion? By strengthening our belief in Hashem, by seeing and recognizing his millions of acts of kindness to us constantly, by seeing all the open miracles He has done for us recently, and by remaining loyal through the Torah and mitzvos.
May we be zoche to greet Melech HaMashiach very soon!
Adapted from shiurim given by R’ Yisrael Altusky shlita, Yeshivas Torah Ore, Yerushalayim.
Shiurim can be heard at the Kol Halashon website
By R’ Dovi Chaitovsky
