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Targum Pseudo Jonathan for:

B’ resheet (Genesis) 14:1-24

XIV. And it was in the days of Amraphel,-- he is Nimrod, who commanded Abram to be cast into the furnace; he was then king of Pontos; Ariok, (so called) because he was (arik) tall among the giants, king of Thalasar, Kedarlaomer, (so called) because he had bound himself (or gone over) among the bondmen of the king of Elam, and Thidal, crafty as a fox, king of the peoples subjected to him, -- made war with Bera, whose deeds were evil, king of Sedom, and with Birsha, whose deeds were with the wicked, king of Amora: Shinab, who had hated his father, king of Admah, and Shemebar, who had corrupted himself with fornication, king of Zeboim; and the king of the city which consumed (Bela) the dwellers thereof, which is Zoar. All these were joined in the vale of the gardens (paredesaia), the place that produced the streamlets of waters that empty themselves into the sea of salt. Twelve years they had served Kedarlaomer; and in the thirteenth year they had rebelled. And in the fourteenth year came Kedarlaomer and the kings who were with him, and smote the Giants (gibboraia) which were in Ashtaroth-Karniam, and the Strong who were in Hametha, and the Terrible who were in the plain of Kiriathaim, and the Choraee (dwellers in caverns) who were in the high mountains of Begala, unto the valley of Pharan, which was nigh upon the edge of the desert. [JERUSALEM. 3. All these were joined in the valley of the gardens. 5. And they slew the giants who were in Ashtaroth-Karnaim, the famed who were among them, and the formidable who inhabited the city which they had built, and the cavern people who dwelt in the mountain of Gebala, unto the valley of vision which is nigh upon the desert.]

And they returned, and came to the place where was rendered the judgment of Mosheh the prophet, to the fountain of the waters of Strife, which is Requam. And they smote all the fields of the Amalkaee, and also the Emoraee, who dwelt in En-gedi. And the king of Sedom, and the king of Amorah, and the kind of Admah, and the king of Zeboim, and the king of the city which consumed its inhabitants, which is Zoar, went forth, and set the array of battle against them in the valley of the gardens; with Kedarlaomer king of Elam, and Thidal king of the nations obedient to him, and Amraphel king of Pontos, and Ariok king of Thelasar; four kings arrayed in battle against five. [JERUSALEM. And Amraphel king of Pontos, and Ariok king of Elasar: four kings against five spread out the array of war.] And the valley of the gardens had many pits filled with bitumen: [JERUSALEM. The valley of the gardens was full of pits of bitumen:] and the kings of Sedom and Amora fled away, and fell there; and they who were left fled to the mountains. And they took all the property of Sedom and Amora, and all their food, and went. And they made captive Lot the son of Abram's brother, and his property, and went. And he had dwelt in Sedom.

And Og came, who had been spared from the giants that died in the deluge, and had ridden protected upon the top of the ark, and sustained with food by Noah; not being spared through his righteousness, but that the inhabitants of the world might see the power of the Lord, and say, Were there not giants who in the first times rebelled against the Lord of the world, and perished from the earth? But when these kings made war, behold, Og, who was with them, said in his heart, I will go and show Abram concerning Lot, who is led captive, that he may come and deliver him from the hands of the kings into whose hands he has been delivered. And he arose and came, upon the eve of the day of the Pesach, and found him making the unleavened cakes. Then showed he to Abram the Hebrew, who dwelt in the valleys of Mamre Amoraah, brother of Eshkol and brother of Aner, who were men of covenant with Abram. And when Abram heard that his brother was made captive, he armed his young men who were trained for war, grown up in his house; but they willed not to go with him. And he chose from them Eliezer the son of Nimrod, who was equal in strength to all the three hundred and eighteen; and he pursued unto Dan. [JERUSALEM. Domestics (marbitsi, down-liers) of his house, eighteen and three hundred, and pursued after them unto Dan of Kisarion.] And he divided them at night in the way; a part were to engage with the kings, and a part were hidden to smite the firstborn of Egypt. And he arose, he and his servants, and smote them, and pursued them which remained of them unto (the place) of the memorial of sin which was to be in Dan, from the north of Darmesek. [JERUSALEM. And he pursued them unto Havetha, which is from the north of Darmesek.] And he brought back all the substance, and also Lot his brother and his substance he brought back, and also the women and the people. And the king of Sedom came forth, after that he returned from destroying Kedarlaomer and the kings who were with him, to meet him at the plain of Mephana, which was the king's race-course. [JERUSALEM. And the kings who were with him, at the plain of vision which was the house of the king's plain.]

And Malka Zadika (Melchizedek), who was Shem bar Noah, the king of Yerushalem, came forth to meet Abram, and brought forth to him bread and wine; and in that time he ministered before Eloha Ilaha. [JERUSALEM. And Malki Zedek, king of Yerushalem, who was Shem, who was the great priest of the Most High.] And he blessed him, and said: Blessed be Abram of the Lord God Most High, who for the righteous possesses the heavens and the earth. And blessed be Eloha Ilaha, who has made your enemies as a shield which receives a blow. And he (Abram) gave to him one of ten, of all which he brought back.

And the king of Sedom said to Aram, Give me the souls of the men of my people whom you have brought back, and the substance take to yourself. [JERUSALEM. And the treasure take to yourself.] And Abram said to the king of Sedom, I have uplifted my hands in an oath before the Lord God the Most High, who for the just possesses his possession of the heavens and the earth, if from a thread to the latchet of a sandal I receive any thing of all that is yours; lest you magnify yourself in saying, I have enriched Abram from mine own. Have I not power over all the spoil? Apart from what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me, Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre, they also receiving their portion. [JERUSALEM. If from a thread to the latchet of a sandal I receive of all that is that you magnify not yourself and say, I have enriched Abram.]

Ashlamatah:

Isaiah 41:2-5, 8-13

1 ¶ Keep silence before Me, O coastlands; and let the people renew their strength; let them come near. Then let them speak, Let us come near together for judgment.

2 Who raised up the righteous one from the east, called him to His foot, gave the Gentiles before him, and made him rule over kings? Who gave them as the dust to his sword, and as Chasen stubble to his bow?

3 Who pursued them and passed by in peace by the way he had not gone before by foot?

4 Who has planned and done it, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, Adonai, am the First and the Last. I am He.

5 The coastlands saw and feared. The ends of the earth were afraid, and drew near and came.

6 They each one helped his neighbor, and said to his brother, Be strong.

7 So the craftsman encourages the refiner, and he who smooths with the hammer, him who struck the anvil, saying of soldering, It is good. And he makes it steady with nails so that it will not be shaken.

8 But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham, My friend;

9 whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called you and set you apart. And I said to you, You are My servant; I have chosen you, and not cast you away.

10 ¶ Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will make you strong; yes, I will help you; yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of My righteousness.

11 Behold, all those who were enraged against you shall be ashamed and disgraced; they shall be as nothing. And those who strive with you shall perish.

12 You shall seek them, and shall not find them; the men striving against you shall be as nothing; at an end.

13 For I, Adonai your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, Fear not; I will help you.

Targum

Psalm 10

1. ¶ Why, O Lord, will you stand afar off, hide yourself in the dwelling of the holy ones in the times of distress?

2. In brutality the wicked man will pursue the poor man; they will be caught in the scheme that they plotted to carry out.

3. For the wicked man is praised for the craving of his soul; he who blesses the violent man abhors the word of the Lord.

4. The wicked man in the grossness of his spirit will not seek God, and he will say in his heart that his thoughts are not manifest in the presence of the Lord.

5. His ways prosper at all times; your judgments are far from his sight; he will rebuke all his oppressors.

6. He will say in his heart, “I will not be shaken from doing evil for all generations.”

7. His mouth is curses, full of guile and deceit; under his tongue is misery and falsehood.

8. He will sit in the hiding places of the courtyards; in secret places he will kill the innocent; he will hide his eyes against the poor.

9. He will lie in wait in secret places like a lion in his covert; he will lie in wait to seize the poor man; he will seize the poor man when he is drawn into his trap.

10. The poor man will be crushed, and sink down, and he will fall into the power of his hiding places.

11. He will say in his heart, “God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he does not see forever.”

12. ¶ Arise, O Lord, fulfill the oath of your hand, do not forget the humble.

13. Why has the wicked man abhorred God? He will say in his heart, “It will not be sought after.”

14. It is manifest in your presence, because you will inflict misery and wrath upon the wicked man; look carefully to pay a good reward to the righteous by your hand; the poor will place their hope on you; you have been a helper to the orphan.

15. Break the arm of the wicked; and let the evil seek their wickedness, [and] not find it.

16. The Lord is king forever and ever; the Gentiles have perished from his land.

17. The desire of the humble is heard in your presence, O Lord; strengthen their heart, incline your ear.

18. To judge the orphan and poor man; may the sons of men not again be shattered before the wicked of the earth.

Pirqe Abot

“All Israel have a share in the World to Come, as it is stated: And your people are all righteous; they shall inherit the land forever; they are the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, in which to glorify Me” (Isaiah 60:21).

Pirqe Abot I:10

Abtalion was wont to say: "You wise, be guarded in your words; lest you load upon yourselves the penalty of exile and be exiled to the place of evil waters; and the disciples that come after you may drink and die, and the name of Heaven be profaned."

Tosephtha--Aboth of R. Nathan.

"You wise men, be guarded in your words." Perhaps they will decide something in Your Name which will not be according to the teachings of Law, and you will become liable to the punishment of exile, and be banished to a place where the water is bad. What is meant by "bad water"? It is permissible to say that it has reference to the vices of that place, as it is written [Psalm 16:35]: "And they will mingle with the nations and will learn their doings." Some think that it is to be taken literally. Others, however, think that it refers to hard labor.

Midrash of Matityahu (Matthew) 2:7-12

1 ¶ Now after Yehoshua was born in Bet Lekhem of Yehudah, Israel, in the days of King Herod the Great, behold Hakhamim (Rabbis) came to Yerushalayim from the East (Mizrach).

2 saying, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Yehudim? For we saw his celestial sign in the east and have come to pay homage to him.

3 When Herod the Great heard of it, he and all the inhabitants of Yerushalayim were dismayed.

4 Then, having gathered together all the chief Kohanim and Soferim and the kinsmen (descendants of David), he inquired of them where the Mashiach would be born.

5 They replied to him, “In Bet Lekhem of Yehudah, Israel, as it is written in Mikha the prophet – 6 “But you, Beth-Lekhem Ephratah, which are junior among the thousands of Yehudah, out of you shall one come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth are from of old, from ancient days” (Micah 5:1).

7. ¶ Then king Herod the Great called the wise men (Hakhamim = Rabbis) secretly and interrogated them well concerning the time the celestial sign that appeared to them.

8. He sent them to Beth-Lekhem and said unto them: Go and inquire diligently concerning the child and when you find him inform me, so that I can also come to him and pay homage.

9. Having heard the king they went, and behold the celestial sign which they saw in the East (Mizrach) was going before them until they came to the place. When they entered Beth-Lekhem the celestial sign stood in conjunction with the place where the child was.

10. When they saw the celestial sign they rejoiced with exceeding joy.

11. They came into the house, found him and his mother Myriam. Kneeling, they paid homage to him (as before a king). They opened their sacks, and brought to him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

12. Then they were commanded in a dream by the angel who spoke to them not to return to king Herod; so they returned to their land by another route.

Commentary

The Mikraoth Gedoloth on Psalms, introduces the Psalm for this week with the following comment not only appropriate for our Torah Seder this week, but also appropriate for the situation in Israel at the moment.

“David did not recite this Psalm for a particular occasion. He composed it as a prayer to be prayed by anyone distressed by enemies. In it, he relates the ways of the wicked, who oppress the poor with stealth and cunning, and from whom the poor man has no protection, except to look to G-d. He speaks of the wicked both in the singular and in the plural, because the wicked man is one but his assistants are many. David also includes the oppression the nations of the world are destined to inflict upon Israel in their (Israel’s) land; in v.17, he states: “nations have perished from His land,” and in v.18: “to break the weak from the land.” [Redak]”

Who is this wicked man “par excellance” we may ask? Well, Messiah King David has been doing a lot of meditation on our Seder, and he finds this wicked man to be in the mould of Amraphel (which our Targum identifies as Nimrod, who commanded Abram to be cast into the furnace). In other words, this Nimrod is a prototype of all wicked men and whose spirit will be incarnated in the last great wicked man – the anti-Messiah, In fact, it is to this particular Torah Seder for this Shabbat, and this particular Psalm that Hakham Shaul comments:

“Now brethren, concerning the coming of our Master Yeshuah the Messiah, and of our gathering together to Him, we ask you, (2) not to be quickly disturbed in mind or alarmed, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the Day of Messiah has come. (3) Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of sin (i.e. “the wicked man”) is unveiled, the son of perdition, (4) who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called G-d or that is honored (by G-d), so that he sits as G-d in the temple of G-d, declaring of himself that he is G-d. (5) Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? [2 Thessalonians 2:1-5]

Now, in Hebrew the “wicked man” is called “Rasha” because he undeservedly wants to be “Rosh” (i.e. the head, the chief) and control everyone by means of lawlessness. The Greek for “man of sin” is “ANTHROPOS (man) TIS (of) AMARTIAS (sin)” and “sin” (Greek: Amartias) is defined in 1 John 3:4 as “the transgression of the law.” Thus, this “Rasha” (“wicked man” or “man of sin”) is “a man of lawlessness.” The Psalms also identifies him in v.18 as “Enosh min Ha-Aretz” and meaning “the earthy man” – i.e. whose ultimate destiny is to remain dust and disappear into oblivion.

Psalm 10:1-3 states:

1 ¶ Why do You stand afar off, O Adonai? Will You hide in times of distress?

2 The wicked in his pride persecutes the lowly; let them be caught in the plots that they have devised.

3 For the wicked boasts of his heart’s desire, and blesses those who plunder, whom Adonai has spurned.

There are two things that characterize the “wicked man” – the Rasha, the man of sin, the man of lawlessness – in these verses: “pride” and “boasting.” Do you want to know who the wicked are as look around you? They are those who are filled with pride and boasting, the “great” of the earth, who have no place for G-d and His law in their lives. According to Rashi, Psalm 10:3 (cf. above) could also be translated to mean: “For the wicked boasts of his heart’s desire, and those who laud the ways of the wicked are considered as if they had blasphemed G-d.” Here we return back to the statement at our introduction of the Mikraoth Gedoloth, where it states: “He speaks of the wicked both in the singular and in the plural, because the wicked man is one but his assistants are many.” And this, in short, is the prophetic preoccupation of the Psalmist with our Torah Seder for this Shabbat.

The Midrash Tanchuma Yelammedenu approaches our subject from an entirely different perspective. Abraham faces the most formidable armies at that time with professional soldiers equipped with the latest technologies and war skills of the time, and yet with a band of 318 converts like him he became “the King of the world” defeating all the great armies and super power kings of his day. The Yelammedenu therefore starts with the following homily:

“May it please our master to teach us when a proselyte who has converted on the eve of the Passover is permitted to partake of the Paschal lamb. Thus did our masters instruct us: The school of Shammai maintained: let him undergo ritual immersion and then he may partake of the paschal lamb offering in the evening. The school of Hillel taught: One who is circumcised is like one who leaves a burial site [i.e. he must ritually wash his hands, like one who returns from the cemetery, and then he may eat – Pechaim 92a; Buber Tanchuma 5].

R. Simeon the son of Lakish declared: A proselyte is more precious in the sight of the Holy One, blessed be He, than those who stood at the foot of Mt. Sinai. Why is this so? If those who stood at the foot of Mount Sinai had not experienced the thunder, the flames, the lightning, the quaking of the mountain, and the sound of the (heavenly) Shofarot, they would not have accepted the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven upon themselves, whereas the proselyte, who witnessed none of these things, makes himself acceptable to the Holy One, blessed be He, and receives upon himself the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven. Is there anyone more precious than this?

It is related that the convert Onkelos (Onkelos the proselyte translated the Bible into Aramaic) asked one of the elders: How can the proselyte be so precious to the Holy One, blessed be He if, in return for his devotion, it is written merely, And He loves a stranger (Hebrew: Ger = convert) in giving him food and raiment (Deuteronomy 10:18)? He replied: Even our patriarch Jacob sought no more than that from the Holy One, blessed be He: If G-d will give me food to eat and raiment to wear (Genesis 28:20). Our Sages stated: The proselyte is so dearly beloved that the Holy One, blessed be He, emphasized his importance through the words of the prophet, as it is said: Why should you be as a stranger (Hebrew: Ger = convert) in the land? (Jeremiah 14:8). The Holy One, blessed be He declared: I love the proselyte, and these wicked men are conspiring to attack Abraham, the father of all proselytes. Woe unto them, for they are doomed to succumb before him, as it is written in Scripture: And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel. Why was he called Amraphel? Because he had ordered Abraham: “Fall into the fiery furnace” (Amraphel is identified with Nimrod in many Jewish sources).”

Finally in the last homily of the Tanchuma Yelammedenu, this Midrash return back to the topic that concerned King David the Messiah in Psalm 10, as we have explained. The Yelammedenu states:

“Scripture says elsewhere in reference to this verse (i.e. Genesis 14:1): Through You do we push down our adversaries, through Your name do we tread them under that rise up against us (Psalm 44:6). R. Isaac said: In the word “bekha” (“Through You”) the letter Bet equal two and the letter Khaf twenty, corresponding to the twenty two letters of the Hebrew alphabet with which the Torah was given. Abraham cried out: Master of the Universe, if Your glory does not accompany me and assist me in the struggle, what can one man do against nine kings and their formidable military forces? [Abraham obtained strength to achieve victory by calling upon G-d.]

He gives power to the faint (Isaiah 40:29); to some by means of a chariot and to others with horses (Psalm 20:8), but I lift up my horn through Your name. How do we know that he did so? It is so written: And he divided himself against them, he and his servants by night, and he smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left of Damascus (Genesis 14:15). Our Sages maintained: The night divided itself of its own accord, whilst R. Benjamin held: The Holy One, blessed be He, who knows its hours and its moments, computed the night to the thickness of a single strand of a hair and divided it [to indicate the moment of attack]. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Abraham: You slaughtered My enemies from the middle of the night until morning, so be assured that I will bring death to the enemies of your descendants from the middle of the night until the morning. I shall exact retribution from them at that time, as it is written: And it came to pass at midnight that the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt (Exodus 12:29). Hence Scripture says: And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel.

R. Joshua of Sikhnin was of the opinion that the Holy One, blessed be He, gave Abraham a sign that whatever happened to him would likewise happen to his descendants. He chose Abraham from amongst all those in his father’s house, as it is said: You are the Lord God who did choose Abraham, and brought him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gave him the name of Abraham (Nehemiah 9:7). And He selected Abraham’s sons to be His chosen ones amongst the seventy nations of the world, as it is said: For you are a Holy people unto the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be His own treasured nation out of all the peoples that are upon the face of the earth (Deuteronomy 14:2). He said to Abraham: Get you, and to Abraham’s sons, He said: I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Emorite, etc. (Deuteronomy 3:17). He promised Abraham: And I will bless you, and make your name great; and be you a blessing (Genesis 12:2), and He told his sons: The Lord bless you and keep you (Numbers 6:24). To Abraham He said: I will make you a great nation (Genesis 12:2), and to his descendants He said: And what a great nation is there (Deuteronomy 4:8). Concerning Abraham it is written: Abraham was one (Ezekiel 33:24), and of Israel it is said: And who is like your people Israel, a nation one in the earth (1 Chronicles 17:21). In reference to Abraham it is said: and hunger was in the land (Genesis 12:10), and about his descendants it is said: When they returned to Egypt, hunger was already in the land (Genesis 43:1). Abraham descended to Egypt because of famine, and his sons, also, descended because of famine, as it is said: And Joseph’s ten brethren went down to buy corn from Egypt (Genesis 42:3). When Abraham descended the Egyptians approached him, and the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very beautiful (Genesis 12:14), and concerning his descendants, the Egyptians declared: Come, let us deal wisely with them lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that when there befalls us any war, they also join themselves unto our enemies, and fight against us, and get them up out of the land (Exodus 1:10).

The four kings attacked Abraham, and in the future all the kings will war against Israel, as it is said: Why are the nations in an uproar, and why do the peoples mutter in vain? (Psalm 2:1), and it says elsewhere: The kings of the earth stand up, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and His Messiah (Psalm 2:2). Just as in the case of Abraham, the Holy One, blessed be He, waged war against those who hated him, as it is said: Who has raised up one from the East, and whose steps victory attends? He gives nations before him, and makes him rule over kings, his sword makes them as the dust, his bow as the Chasen stubble (Isaiah 41:2), so too the Holy One, blessed be He, will wage war in the future on behalf of his descendants, as it is said: Then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights in the day of battle (Zechariah 14:3).”

Our text in the Midrash of Matityahu, again concentrates on another part of our Torah Seder, where we read about Melekh Tzadiq (Melchizedek) – who is none other than Shem the son of Noach and who at that time being a King of Righteousness greets Abraham and his servants with bread and wine. In Matityahu we see the Jewish Sages from the East (Babylon) coming and greeting the future King Messiah they also present gifts unto him. The first King of Jerusalem – Melchizedek becomes then a figure of the last King of Jerusalem: the coming Messiah!

Is your life then a mirror image of Abraham the father of all Proselytes and of all those who are faithfully obedient to the Torah? This question is one which we will all have to answer before G-d one day. May your answer be fulfilling to you, pleasing to G-d, most blessed be He, and a blessing to all, amen ve amen!

Shalom Shabbat!

Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

Shabbat:	Torah Reading:	Weekday Torah Reading:
ויהי בימי אמרפל
“Vay’hi BiY’me Amrafel”	Reader 1 – B’resheet 14:1-3	Reader 1 – B’resheet 15:1-3
“And it was in the days of Amraphel”	Reader 2 – B’resheet 14:4-7	Reader 2 – B’resheet 15:4-6
“Aconteció en los días de Amrafel”	Reader 3 – B’resheet 14:8-10	Reader 3 – B’resheet 15:7-11
B’ resheet (Genesis) 14:1-24	Reader 4 – B’resheet 14:11-13
Isaiah 41:2-5, 8-13	Reader 5 – B’resheet 14:14-16
	Reader 6 – B’resheet 14:17-20	Reader 1 – B’resheet 15:12-14
Psalm 10	Reader 7 – B’resheet 14:21-24	Reader 2 – B’resheet 15:15-17
Pirke Abot I:10	Maftir – B’resheet 14:22-24	Reader 3 – B’resheet 12:18-21
N.C.: Matityahu 2:7-12	Isaiah 41:2-5, 8-13