Yalkut Shimoni on Torah Reader

Another interpretation: "Go forth" [lekh lekha] at a hundred years you will have a son, the numerical value of "lekh lekha" [the letters of the two words lekh lekha total one hundred].

Another interpretation: The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: The first trial and the last trial I will test you with none but this same expression: "Go forth from your land," and "Go forth to the land of Moriah."

(Genesis 12:1-2) Rabbi Yitzchak said: Four things tear up a person's harsh decree. They are these: charity, crying out, change of name, and change of deed. Crying out, as it is written, "And they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He brought them out of their distress." Charity, as it is written, "And charity delivers from death." Change of name, as it is written, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, for Sarah is her name," and it is written, "And I will bless her, and I will also give you a son by her." Change of deed, as it is written, "And God saw their deeds." And some say: change of place too, as it is written, "And the LORD said to Abram: Go forth," and afterward, "And I will make you into a great nation." And the other holds: that was the merit of the Land of Israel that availed him.

Another interpretation: To what may the matter be compared? To a king who entered a province and saw a handsome young man stoking the fires in the bathhouse furnace. The king said to him: Come with me, and I will place you in my palace. He went with him, and he made him an officer [pakostor]. The members of the palace said: Yesterday he was stoking the furnace, and now he is an officer! So too the Holy One, blessed be He, said: Come after Me, and I will make you a High Priest like Adam the first man. As it is stated, "And I will make you into a great nation," and it is written, "And the priest who is greatest among his brothers," and it is written, "You are a priest forever according to the order of Malki-Tzedek."

Rabbi Eliezer says: Five letters were doubled [the five Hebrew letters that take a final form], and all of them carry the language of redemption. Kaf doubled (the open and the final kaf), for our father Abraham was redeemed from Ur of the Chaldeans, as it is said, "Go forth (lekh lekha) from your land" (Genesis 12:1). Mem doubled, for through it our father Isaac was redeemed from the hand of the Philistines, as it is said, "Go from us (lekh me-immanu), for you have become far mightier than we" (Genesis 26:16). Nun doubled, for through it our father Jacob was redeemed from the hand of Esau, as it is said, "Deliver me, I pray (hatzileni na), from the hand of my brother" (Genesis 32:12). Pe doubled, for through it Israel was redeemed from Egypt, as it is said, "I have surely remembered (pakod pakadti)" (Exodus 3:16). Tzadi doubled, for through it the Holy One, blessed be He, is destined to redeem Israel at the end of the fourth kingdom, as it is said, "Behold, a man whose name is Branch (Tzemach), and he shall branch out from beneath him" (Zechariah 6:12). And all of them were handed down to our father Abraham, and he handed them to Isaac, and Isaac to Jacob, and Jacob to Joseph, and Joseph to his brothers, for he said to them, "God will surely remember (pakod yifkod) you" (Genesis 50:24). And Asher son of Jacob handed the secret of redemption to Serah his daughter. When Moses and Aaron came to the elders of Israel and performed signs before their eyes, the elders of Israel went to Serah daughter of Asher and said to her, "A certain man has come and performed such-and-such signs before our eyes." She said to them, "There is nothing of substance in these signs." They said to her, "But he said, 'I have surely remembered (pakod pakadti) you.'" She said to them, "He is the man who has come to redeem Israel, for thus I heard from my father: pe-pe [the doubled pe of pakod pakadti]." Immediately, "the people believed" (Exodus 4:31).

"And I will make you a great nation" (Genesis 12:2). He said to him: That nation of which it is written, "For what great nation is there" (Deuteronomy 4:7), I will raise up from you. It is not written here "I will give you" or "I will set you," but rather "I will make you": once I create you a new creature, you will be fruitful and multiply. Three expressions of greatness and four blessings are written here. He announced to him the three patriarchs and the four matriarchs. Because travel on the road causes three things: it diminishes fruitfulness and multiplying, it diminishes one's wealth, and it diminishes one's reputation. It diminishes fruitfulness and multiplying, so: "And I will make you a great nation." It diminishes wealth, so: "and I will bless you." It diminishes reputation, so: "and I will make your name great." As people say: From house to house, a shirt is lost; from place to place, a life is lost. But as for you, you shall lose neither life nor wealth. "And I will make your name great" means that a coin (moniton) went out for him in the world. Four men had a coin go out for them in the world. Abraham, "And I will make you a great nation," and what was his coin? An old man and an old woman on one side, a youth and a maiden on the other. Joshua had a coin go out for him in the world, "And the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame was in all the land" (Joshua 6:27), and what was his coin? An ox on one side and a wild ox on the other, after the verse, "His firstling bull, majesty is his, and his horns are the horns of the wild ox" (Deuteronomy 33:17). David had a coin go out for him in the world, "And the fame of David went out into all lands" (1 Chronicles 14:17), and what was his coin? A staff and a pouch on one side, and a tower on the other, after the verse, "Your neck is like the tower of David" (Song of Songs 4:4). Mordecai had a coin go out for him in the world, "For Mordecai was great in the king's house, and his fame went throughout all the provinces" (Esther 9:4), and what was his coin? Sackcloth and ashes on one side, and a golden crown on the other. Rabbi Yudan said: He fixes a blessing for you in the Eighteen Benedictions, but you do not know whether mine precedes yours or yours precedes mine. Once he says "Shield of Abraham," he says "who revives the dead." Rabbi Abbahu said: It is not written here "Look now to the heavens," but rather "to the heavens (ha-shamaymah)," with a heh: with a heh I created the world, behold I am adding it to your name [Abram becomes Abraham], and you shall be fruitful and multiply. Rabbi Yudan said: The letters of your name equal the number of "I will bless him (avarekheka)." Just as "avarekheka" equals two hundred forty-eight, so too the limbs of your body are two hundred forty-eight. No one set the value of produce apart from Abraham until he was blessed, and no one set its price until he was blessed. Abraham would pray over the barren women and they were remembered, and over the sick and they found relief. Rav Huna said: It was not necessary for Abraham to go to the sick; rather, the sick one would see him and find relief. Rabbi Hanina said: Even ships sailing on the Great Sea were saved through the merit of Abraham. And was their wine consecrated to idols? Rather, "vinegar cheapens wine": wherever idolatrous wine is found, the wine of Israel is sold cheaply. Rabbi Isaac said: He did this for Job too, as it is said, "You have blessed the work of his hands" (Job 1:10). No person took a coin from Job and needed to take from him a second time. "And be a blessing" (Genesis 12:2): read it as "a pool (berekhah)." Just as this pool purifies the impure, so too you bring near those who are far and purify them for their Father in heaven. Rabbi Berekhyah said: It is already written "and I will bless you," so what does "and be a blessing" teach? Rather, He said to him: Until now I was obligated to bless My world; from here onward the blessings are handed over to you. To whomever is fit for blessing in your eyes, bless him.

Resh Lakish said: "And I will make you a great nation" (Genesis 12:2), this is what we say in prayer, "the God of Abraham." "And I will bless you," this is what we say, "the God of Isaac." "And I will make your name great," this is what we say, "the God of Jacob." One might think that they should seal the blessing with all of them; therefore Scripture teaches, "and be a blessing" (Genesis 12:2): with you alone they seal, and they do not seal with all of them. [That is, the first benediction of the Amidah opens by naming all three patriarchs but closes only with "Shield of Abraham."]

(Genesis 12:3) "And I will bless those who bless you." The Holy One, blessed be He, was stricter regarding the honor of the righteous than regarding His own honor. It is written, "And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse, I Myself." But regarding His own honor it is written, "For those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed" (1 Samuel 2:30) [where He does not say "I Myself"]. "And in you shall be blessed" (Genesis 12:3): the rains by your merit, the dews by your merit. This is what is written, "And the matter became known to Mordecai, and he told it to Esther the queen, and Esther told the king in the name of Mordecai" (Esther 2:22). This one [Mordecai] was circumcised and that one [the king] was uncircumcised, and yet he had regard for him. Rabbi Judah says: "From the elders I gain understanding" (Psalm 119:100). Jacob blessed Pharaoh, "And Jacob blessed Pharaoh" (Genesis 47:7). Joseph did not reveal Pharaoh's dream to him [until asked], Daniel did not reveal Nebuchadnezzar's dream to him [until asked], so too I, "and he told it to Esther the queen." Rabbi Nehemiah says: The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Abraham, "And in you shall all the families of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 12:3). If for wealth, they are wealthier than we. Rather, when they enter into trouble, they ask of us and we reveal to them. [Written at Remez 709, Naso, letter 132.]

Rabbi Elazar said: What is the meaning of what is written, "And in you shall all the families of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 12:3)? Even the families that dwell upon the earth are blessed only for the sake of Israel. "All the nations of the earth" (Genesis 18:18): even the ships that come from Gaul to Spain are blessed only for the sake of Israel. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Abraham: I have two good shoots (berikhot) to graft into you, Ruth the Moabite and Naamah the Ammonite.

Rav Yehudah said in the name of Rav: Three things shorten a person's days. One who is given a Torah scroll to read from and does not read, for it is written, "For it is your life and the length of your days" (Deuteronomy 30:20). And a cup of blessing [over which] to recite the blessing, and he does not recite it, for it is written, "And I will bless those who bless you" (Genesis 12:3). And one who conducts himself with lordship [over others, seizing positions of authority], as Rabbi Hama bar Hanina said: Why did Joseph die before his brothers? Because he conducted himself with lordship.

(Genesis 12:4) "And Abram went, as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him." Lot was secondary to him. "And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran" (Genesis 12:4). It is written, "And he was raising Hadassah" [that is, Esther] (Esther 2:7). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Abraham: You went out from your father's house at seventy-five years of your life; the redeemer whom I will raise up from you will be seventy-five, the numerical value of "Hadassah."

Our father Abraham was seventy years old at the time when the Holy One, blessed be He, spoke with him at the Covenant Between the Pieces, as it is said, "And it came to pass at the end of four hundred and thirty years" (Exodus 12:41) [counting from the covenant to the Exodus]. Then he returned to Haran and remained there five years. For thus it says, "And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran" (Genesis 12:4). It turns out that from the Dispersion [of the generation of the Tower] until Abraham our father departed from Haran was twenty-six years. These are the twelve years that they served Chedorlaomer, and in the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer came [against them] (compare Genesis 14:4-5). That same year in which Abraham departed from Haran was the year of the famine, and he went down to Egypt and spent three months there, and came and settled in Hebron. That is the year in which he defeated the kings.

(Genesis 12:5) "And Abram took Sarai his wife, etc." If all the nations of the world were to gather together to create even a single gnat and to cast a soul into it, they could not do so. Yet you say, "and the souls that they had made in Haran" (Genesis 12:5)? Rather, these are the converts whom they converted. But let it say "whom they converted"; why does it say "whom they made"? Rather, this is to teach you that whoever draws a gentile near [to the worship of God], Scripture regards it as though he had made him. And let it say "whom he made"; why does it say "whom they made"? Rav Huna said: Abraham would convert the men, and Sarah would convert the women.

Resh Lakish said: Whoever teaches the son of his fellow Torah, Scripture regards it as though he had made him, as it is said, "and the souls that they had made in Haran" (Genesis 12:5). Rabbi Elazar said: as though he had made the words of Torah, as it is said, "You shall keep the words of this covenant and do them [otam]" (Deuteronomy 29:8). Do not read "them" [otam] but rather "you yourselves" [atem] [you make yourselves through Torah]. Rabbi Abbahu said: Whoever leads his fellow to a matter of a commandment, Scripture regards it as though he had made him, as it is said, "and your staff with which you struck the river" (Exodus 17:5). But did Moses strike it? Surely Aaron struck it! Rather, this is to tell you: whoever leads his fellow to a matter of a commandment, Scripture regards it as though he had done it himself.

"And the souls that they had made in Haran" (Genesis 12:5). It is a received tradition that at that time Abraham was fifty-two years old. And when you examine it, from "and the souls" until the giving of the Torah there were four hundred and forty-eight [448] years.

(Genesis 12:6-9) "And Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem." Until now merit was still being sought for them in the land. "And the LORD appeared to Abram and said, To your seed I will give this land, and he built there an altar" (Genesis 12:7). This is the altar he built for the good tidings of the land. "And he moved from there to the mountain on the east" (Genesis 12:8). Formerly it was called Beth-El, and now it is called Beth-Aven. "And he pitched his tent [aholo]." It is written "her tent" [aholah]: at first he pitched the tent of Sarah, and afterward he pitched his own tent. "And he built there an altar." He built three altars: one for the good tidings of the land, one for its acquisition, and one that his descendants should not fall at Ai. This is what is written, "And Joshua rent his garments and fell on his face to the earth before the ark of the LORD, he and the elders of Israel, and they put dust upon their heads" (Joshua 7:6). They began to recall the merit of the fathers, the merit of Abraham our father, who said, "and I am but dust and ashes" (Genesis 18:27). Did Abraham then build an altar at Ai for nothing? Rather, it was so that his descendants should not fall at Ai. "And he called on the name of the LORD" (Genesis 12:8): [this means] he prayed.

Another interpretation: "And he called" (Genesis 12:8) means he began to make converts. "And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the Negev" (Genesis 12:9): he kept measuring out his way and directing himself opposite the site of the Holy Temple.

(Genesis 12:10) "And there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt." "Behold, the eye of the LORD is toward those who fear Him" (Psalms 33:18): this is Abraham, [as it says] "for now I know that you are a God-fearing man" (Genesis 22:12). "To those who hope for His kindness" (Psalms 33:18): this is Abraham, [as it says] "You will give truth to Jacob, kindness to Abraham" (Micah 7:20). "To deliver their soul from death" (Psalms 33:19): from the death decreed by Nimrod. "And to keep them alive in famine" (Psalms 33:19): "and there was a famine in the land." "Happy is the man whom You chasten, O LORD" (Psalms 94:12), and if he comes to be resentful, "and teach him out of Your Torah" (Psalms 94:12) [let him learn how the righteous accept suffering]. What is written concerning Abraham? "And I will bless you and make your name great" (Genesis 12:2); yet when he went out, famine sprang upon him, and he did not become resentful, nor did he cry out in protest, but rather "and Abram went down to Egypt." "He has given food [teref] to those who fear Him" (Psalms 111:5): He gave confusion [teruf] to those who fear Him in this world, but in the world to come "He will remember His covenant forever" (Psalms 111:5). What is written concerning Abraham? "And I will make your name great," etc. There are ten kinds of famine, etc.

Our Rabbis taught: [When there is] famine in the city, spread your feet [depart], as it is said, "and there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt." And it says, "If we say, We will enter the city, then the famine is in the city" (II Kings 7:4). What is the force of "and it says"? And should you say, this applies only where there is no doubt concerning lives at stake, but where there is doubt concerning lives at stake one should not [leave], the verse teaches, "If we say, We will enter the city" [showing that even amid danger to life one should depart].

(Genesis 12:11-13) "And it came to pass, when he drew near to enter Egypt, etc." All these years she was with him, and only now does he say to her, "Behold now, I know [that you are a woman fair to look upon]"? Rather, [it was] because through the journey a person becomes disfigured [from the hardship of travel, yet she remained beautiful]. Another interpretation: We traveled through Aram Naharaim and Aram Nahor, and we did not find a woman as beautiful as you; and now we are entering a place of ugly and dark people [and your beauty will draw dangerous attention].

"Say, I pray you, that you are my sister" (Genesis 12:13). Two people were principal figures and yet made themselves secondary: Abraham and Barak. Concerning Barak, it is written, "And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam, and he said to her, If you will go with me, then I will go" (Judges 4:6). Rabbi Judah says: he meant, if you will go with me to Kedesh, I will go with you to Hazor, and so forth. Rabbi Nehemiah says: he meant, if you will go with me to the song of victory, I will go with you to the war. And she said, "I will surely go with you; nevertheless the journey that you take shall not be for your honor" (Judges 4:9). She said to him: do you suppose that the honor of the song is handed over to you alone, so that I am made secondary? As it says, "Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam" (Judges 5:1). Abraham was a principal figure, as it says, "And Abram took Sarai his wife" (Genesis 12:5), yet he made himself secondary when he said, "Say, I pray you, that you are my sister," and so he became secondary to her, and it went well with Abram for her sake. "Behold now, I know that you are a woman fair to look upon; say, I pray you." In Job it is written, "I made a covenant with my eyes; how then should I look upon a virgin?" (Job 31:1). What is not his he did not gaze at, but at what is his he did gaze. Abraham did not gaze even at what was his, for it is written, "Behold now, I know" [the word now implying] that until then he had not known so well.

"And it came to pass, when Abram was come into Egypt" (Genesis 12:14). And where was Sarah? He had placed her in a chest and locked it shut before her. When he reached the customs house, they said to him: pay the duty. He said: I will pay. They said to him: you are carrying garments. He said to them: I will pay for garments. They said to him: you are carrying silks. He said: I will pay for silks. They said to him: you are carrying pearls. He said to them: I will pay for pearls. They said to him: it cannot be unless we open it and see what is inside. As soon as they opened it, she lit up the whole land of Egypt with her radiance. Rabbi Azariah and Rabbi Jonathan bar Haggai in the name of Rabbi Isaac said: the likeness of Eve was handed down to the heads of the generations. Of one elsewhere it says, "And the maiden was very fair" (1 Kings 1:4), meaning she reached the likeness of Eve; but here, she was fairer than the likeness of Eve.

"And the princes of Pharaoh saw her, and praised her to Pharaoh" (Genesis 12:15). She kept rising higher. This one said: I will give a hundred dinars and go in to her. And that one said: I will give two hundred dinars and go in to her. I know only of their rising; from where do I learn of their descending? "And they took Jeremiah, and so forth" (Jeremiah 38:6) they raised him up. I know only of this world; from where do I learn of the world to come? Scripture teaches, "And many peoples shall take them and bring them to their place" (Isaiah 14:2).

"And the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house" (Genesis 12:15). With ten trials was our father Abraham tried, and he withstood them all. The first trial: when he was born, all the great men of the kingdom and the astrologers sought to kill him, and he was hidden in the earth thirteen years, so that he saw neither sun nor moon; afterward he came out speaking the holy tongue and despising the idols. The second trial: he was imprisoned in the house of bondage ten years, three in Kutha and seven in Kardo, and some say seven in Kutha and three in Kardo; afterward they cast him into the fiery furnace, and the King of Glory stretched out His right hand and saved him, as it says, "I am the LORD who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldees" (Genesis 15:7). The third trial: He uprooted him from his father's house, as it says, "And the LORD said to Abram, Get you out" (Genesis 12:1); and uprooting is harder for a person than anything. The fourth trial: "And there was a famine in the land" (Genesis 12:10) and not in all the lands, but only in the land of Canaan, to try him and to bring him down to Egypt. The fifth trial: Sarah was taken, as it says, "And the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house," and that night was the festival day of Passover, and the Holy One, blessed be He, brought upon Pharaoh and his house plagues, to make known that this is how He would in time strike his land, as it says, "Yet one plague more will I bring upon Pharaoh" (Exodus 11:1). Out of his love for her, Pharaoh wrote her a deed of her marriage-portion from all his wealth, whether silver or gold, whether menservants or maidservants and lands, and he wrote her the land of Goshen; therefore Israel dwelt in the land of Goshen; and he wrote her his daughter Hagar, one of his concubines, as a maidservant. And Abimelech too took her, and Michael the angel came down and drew his sword over him to kill him. The sixth trial: all the kings came upon him to kill him, and they said, let us begin first with his nephew, and for Lot's sake they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah; and Michael came and told Abraham, as it says, "And there came one that had escaped" (Genesis 14:13) this is what is written, "And that which has wings shall tell the matter" (Ecclesiastes 10:20). And why was his name called "the one who escaped"? Because at the hour when the Holy One, blessed be He, cast Samael down from his holiness from heaven, he seized the wing of Michael to drag him down with him, and the Holy One, blessed be He, delivered him from his hand; therefore his name was called "the one who escaped." And of him Ezekiel said, "One that had escaped out of Jerusalem came to me, saying, The city is smitten" (Ezekiel 33:21). Abraham rose early and took his three disciples, Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre, and Eliezer, and pursued them as far as Dan, and there he was delayed because of the idolatry, as it says, "and the other in Dan" (1 Kings 12:29). And there he left his three disciples and took his servant Eliezer, the letters of whose name number three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them as far as the left of Damascus. "And he divided himself against them by night" (Genesis 14:15) this is the night on which Israel went out of Egypt "and he brought back all the goods." Abraham stood and prayed: Master of the worlds, not by the strength of my hand did I do this, but by the strength of Your right hand, for You are a shield to me in this world and in the world to come. And those on high answered and said: Blessed are You, O LORD, Shield of Abraham.

"And he dealt well with Abram for her sake" (Genesis 12:16). A person should always be careful about wronging his wife, for since her tears come readily, the wrong done to her is great. A person should always be careful about the honor of his wife, for blessing is found in a person's house only on account of his wife, as it says, "And he dealt well with Abram for her sake." Rava said to the people of Mechoza: honor your wives, so that you may grow rich.

"And the LORD plagued Pharaoh" (Genesis 12:17). Rabbi Samuel bar Nachmani said in the name of Rabbi Jonathan: for seven things plagues of leprosy come. For evil speech, as it is written, "Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret, him will I destroy" (Psalms 101:5). For bloodshed, as it is written, "Let there not fail from the house of Joab one who has an issue or who is leprous" (2 Samuel 3:29). For a false oath, as it is written, "Be content, take the talents" (2 Kings 5:23) and "oath" means nothing other than a sworn statement, as it says, "And if a soul sin, and hear the voice of adjuration" (Leviticus 5:1) and it is written, "The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave to you" (2 Kings 5:27). For uncovering nakedness [forbidden relations], as it is written, "And the LORD plagued Pharaoh." For arrogance of spirit, as it is written, "But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up" (2 Chronicles 26:16) and it is written, "And the leprosy broke out on his forehead" (concerning Uzziah). For robbery, as it is written, "Then the priest shall command that they empty the house" (Leviticus 14:36) it was taught: he gathered money that was not his; let the priest come and scatter his money. For a grudging eye, as it is written, "And he that owns the house shall come" (Leviticus 14:35) and the school of Rabbi Ishmael taught: one who keeps his house to himself alone.

"And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him" (Genesis 12:20). Rabbi Joshua ben Levi said: because of the four cubits that Pharaoh escorted Abraham, as it says, "And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him, and they sent him away," his descendants were enslaved four hundred years, as it says, "And they shall serve them, and they shall afflict them four hundred years" (Genesis 15:13).

The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Abraham: Go and conquer the road before your children. You find that everything written of Abraham is written of his children. Of Abraham it is written, "And there was a famine in the land" (Genesis 12:10), and of Israel it is written, "For these two years has the famine been in the land" (Genesis 45:6). Of Abraham it is written, "And Abram went down into Egypt" (Genesis 12:10), and of Israel it is written, "And our fathers went down into Egypt" (Numbers 20:15). Of Abraham it is written, "to sojourn there," and of Israel it is written, "To sojourn in the land are we come" (Genesis 47:4). Of Abraham it is written, "And it came to pass, when he drew near," and of Israel it is written, "And Pharaoh drew near" (Exodus 14:10). Of Abraham it is written, "and they will kill me, but they will keep you alive," and of Israel it is written, "Every son that is born you shall cast into the river, and every daughter you shall keep alive" (Exodus 1:22). Of Abraham it is written, "that it may be well with me for your sake" (Genesis 12:13), and of Israel it is written, "And God dealt well with the midwives" (Exodus 1:20). Of Abraham it is written, "And it came to pass, when Abram was come into Egypt" (Genesis 12:14), and of Israel it is written, "And these are the names of the children of Israel who came into Egypt" (Exodus 1:1). Of Abraham it is written, "And Abram was very rich in cattle" (Genesis 13:2), and of Israel it is written, "And He brought them forth with silver and gold" (Psalms 105:37). Of Abraham it is written, "And they sent him away," and of Israel it is written, "And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, to send them out of the land in haste" (Exodus 12:33). Of Abraham it is written, "And he went on his journeys," and of Israel it is written, "These are the journeys of the children of Israel" (Numbers 33:1). "And the LORD plagued Pharaoh." It is written, "The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree" (Psalms 92:13). Just as this palm tree, everyone who climbs to its top falls if he does not guard himself, so everyone who comes to mate with Israel ends up taking what is his out of their hands. Know that it is so, for since Pharaoh dragged Sarah away for one night, he and all his house were struck with plagues, this is what is written, "And the LORD plagued Pharaoh." Resh Lakish in the name of Bar Kappara said: Pharaoh was struck with raatan. Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel said: an old man stricken with boils met me in Sepphoris and said to me, there are twenty-four kinds of boils, and there is none among them all for which intercourse is harmful except raatan alone, and with it Pharaoh the wicked was struck. "And his house" even the beams of his house were struck, and all were saying it was on account of Sarai the wife of Abram, because he dared to approach the matron's shoe. And all that night Sarah lay prostrate on her face and said: Master of the universe, Abraham went out on a promise and I went out on faith; Abraham went out beyond the ship and I am within the ship. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to her: all that I do, I do for your sake, and all are saying it is on account of Sarai the wife of Abram. Rabbi Levi said: all that night the angel stood with a whip in his hand, and if she said to him strike, he would strike, and if she said to him leave off, he would leave off; and all this why? Because she kept saying to him, I am a married woman, and yet he would not desist. We have heard concerning Pharaoh that he was struck with leprosy, and concerning Abimelech that he was struck with stoppage [of his household]. From where do we apply what is said here to there and what is said there to here? Scripture teaches, "for the matter of" "for the matter of" for a gezeira shavah [a verbal analogy linking the two cases]. "And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold" (Genesis 13:2) this is what is written, "And He brought them forth with silver and gold, and there was none feeble among His tribes." "And he went on his journeys" (Genesis 13:3) on the same journeys by which he had gone, he returned and went back to pay off his debts.

Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav: From where do we learn that a person should not change his lodging? As it is said, "to the place where his tent had been at the beginning" (Genesis 13:3). Rabbi Yose bar Chanina says: From here, "and he went on his journeys" (Genesis 13:3). What is the difference between them? Between them there is the case of a chance, one-time lodging. Until what point may a person not change his lodging? Rav said: Up to a beating. And Shmuel said: Up to the point that the host slings his belongings onto his back to throw him out. Regarding a beating that the host himself gives, all agree he need not stay; and regarding the host slinging his belongings onto his back, they also do not disagree. Where they disagree is regarding a beating given by the host's wife: one master holds that since she is not paining him directly, what does it matter to him; and the other master holds that he will come to be driven away anyway. Why all this concern? Because the master said: An unworthy guest disgraces and is disgraced.

(Genesis 13:4) Rabbi Eleazar said: A person should always offer prayer before trouble comes. For had Abraham our father not offered prayer between Bethel and Ai in advance, no survivor or remnant would have been left of Israel. And it is written, "Will your cry avail when you are not in distress?" (Job 36:19) [meaning: arrange your plea before the distress, not only within it].

(Genesis 13:5) "And Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents." Four good things came to Lot on account of Abraham. "And Abram went as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him" (Genesis 12:4); "and Lot also, who went with Abram" (Genesis 13:5); "and he brought back all the goods, and also Lot his kinsman and his goods" (Genesis 14:16); "and it came to pass when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out" (Genesis 19:29). And corresponding to these, Lot's descendants were obliged to repay good to Abraham's children, and not only did they fail to repay good, they repaid evil. This is what is written: "And he sent messengers to Balaam" (Numbers 22:5); "and he gathered to him the children of Ammon"; "and after this the children of Moab and the children of Ammon came against Jehoshaphat" (2 Chronicles 20:1); and this: "The adversary has spread his hand over all her treasures" (Lamentations 1:10). Their sin was recorded in four places: "No Ammonite or Moabite shall enter, because they did not greet you with bread and water" (Deuteronomy 23:4-5); "My people, remember now what Balak king of Moab plotted" (Micah 6:5); "because they did not greet the children of Israel with bread and water and hired Balaam against them to curse" (Nehemiah 13:2). And four prophets arose and sealed their sentence. Isaiah said, "The burden of Moab: in a night Ar of Moab is laid waste and brought to silence" (Isaiah 15:1). And Jeremiah said, "Behold, days are coming, says the LORD, when I will cause the trumpet blast of war to be heard against Rabbah of the children of Ammon" (Jeremiah 49:2). And Ezekiel said, "I will give Ammon to the people of the East for a possession, that the children of Ammon be not remembered among the nations, and on Moab I will execute judgments" (Ezekiel 25:10-11). Zephaniah said, "Therefore as I live, says the LORD of hosts, Moab shall be like Sodom and the children of Ammon like Gomorrah" (Zephaniah 2:9). "He had flocks and herds and tents" two tents: Ruth the Moabite and Naamah the Ammonite. And likewise, "Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are found here" (Genesis 19:15) two finds: Ruth the Moabite and Naamah the Ammonite. "I have found David My servant" (Psalms 89:21) where did I find him? In Sodom. (Genesis 13:7) "And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's cattle and the herdsmen of Lot's cattle." Abraham our father's cattle would go out muzzled, and Lot's cattle would not go out muzzled. Abraham's herdsmen said to them, "Has robbery been permitted?" Lot's herdsmen said to them: Thus the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Abraham, "To your seed I will give this land" (Genesis 12:7), and Abraham is a barren mule who cannot beget; tomorrow he will die and Lot his nephew will be his heir so even when they eat from what is ours, they are only eating from their own. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Lot: I said, "To your seed I will give this land" but when? When the seven nations are uprooted from within it. For now, "the Canaanite and the Perizzite were then in the land" (Genesis 13:7) He still claims a right to the land for them. (Genesis 13:8) "And Abram said to Lot." Just as there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram and the herdsmen of Lot, so there was strife between Abraham and Lot. This is what is written, "Let there be no quarrel, I pray, between me and you for we are kinsmen" (Genesis 13:8). And were they brothers? Rather, that the cast of Lot's face resembled his. (Genesis 13:9) "Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself" it does not say "be distinguished" here, but "separate" [be cut off]: just as this mule cannot take in seed, so it is impossible for that man to mingle with the seed of Abraham. "If you go left, then I will go right" he said to him: If you go to the left I will go to the south, and if I go to the south you go to the left from any direction, I am going to the south. Rabbi Yochanan said: It is like two men who had two heaps of grain, one of wheat and one of barley. He said, "If the wheat is mine, the barley is yours; if the barley is yours, the wheat is mine in any case the wheat is mine." It does not say "and I will go left" here, but "and I will put to the left" [a different verb] from any direction, I am pushing that man to the left side. (Genesis 13:10) "And Lot lifted up his eyes" anyone who is greedy after the lust of forbidden relations is in the end fed from his own flesh. Rabbi Yochanan said: This whole verse was spoken with regard to transgression. "And Lot lifted up" as in "his master's wife lifted up her eyes" (Genesis 39:7). "His eyes" as in "for she is right in my eyes" (Judges 14:3). "And he saw" as in "and Shechem son of Hamor saw her" (Genesis 34:2). "All the plain of the Jordan" as in "for on account of a harlot a man is brought to a loaf of bread" (Proverbs 6:26). "For it was all well watered" as in "I will go after my lovers who give my bread and my water, my oil and my drink" (Hosea 2:7).

Another interpretation: "for it was all well watered" (Genesis 13:10) as you say, "and he shall make the woman drink" (Numbers 5:24). "Before the LORD destroyed" as you say, "and it came to pass, when he went in to his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground" (Genesis 38:9). "Like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt" like the garden of the LORD for trees, like the land of Egypt for seed crops. (Genesis 13:11) "And Lot chose for himself all the plain of the Jordan" like a man who chooses the dowry portion of his mother. "And Lot journeyed from the east [mikedem]" he removed himself from the Ancient One of the world [the eternal God, by wordplay on mikedem]. He said: I want neither Abraham nor his God. (Genesis 13:12) "Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan." You have nothing worse among the cities than Sodom know this, for when a man is wicked they call him a Sodomite. And you have none harsher among the nations than the Amorite know this, for when a man is harsh they call him an Amorite. Rabbi Yose said: You have nothing finer among the cities than Sodom, for Lot went around all the cities of the plain and found no place as fine as Sodom. (Genesis 13:13) "And the men of Sodom were wicked" toward one another; "sinners" in the uncovering of forbidden relations; "against the LORD" in idolatry; "exceedingly" in the shedding of blood.

The men of Sodom have no share in the world to come, but they do stand in judgment, as it is said, "wicked and sinners" wicked in this world, and sinners in the world to come. Rabbi Nechemiah says: Neither these nor those stand in judgment, as it is said, "therefore the wicked shall not stand in judgment" (Psalms 1:5) this refers to the generation of the Flood "nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous" these are the men of Sodom. They said to him: They do not stand in the assembly of the righteous, but they do stand in the assembly of the wicked. Rabbi Yehuda says: "Wicked" with their bodies, and "sinners" with their money. "Wicked" with their bodies, as it is written, "and how can I do this great wickedness?" (Genesis 39:9). "Sinners" with their money, as it is written, "and it be a sin in you" (Deuteronomy 15:9). "Against the LORD" this is blasphemy of the Name. "Exceedingly" that they intend and sin deliberately. In a baraita it was taught: "Wicked" with their money, as it is written, "and your eye be evil against your needy brother" (Deuteronomy 15:9); "sinners" with their bodies, as it is written, "and I would sin against God" (Genesis 39:9); "against the LORD" this is blasphemy of the Name; "exceedingly" this is the shedding of blood, as it is said, "and Manasseh shed very much innocent blood" (2 Kings 21:16). Our Rabbis taught: The men of Sodom became arrogant only because of the goodness that the Holy One, blessed be He, lavished on them. For it is written, "a land out of which comes bread, and beneath it is turned up as it were fire; its stones are the place of sapphires, and it has dust of gold; a path no bird of prey knows" (Job 28:5-7). They said: Since bread comes out of our land, and gold-dust belongs to it, why do we need wayfarers, who come only to deplete us? Come, let us cause the law of the traveler's foot to be forgotten from our land, as it is said, "he breaks open a watercourse far from the inhabitant, places forgotten by the foot" (Job 28:4). They said: Whoever has one ox shall herd for one day; whoever has none shall herd for two days. A certain orphan, son of a widow, who had no ox, was given oxen to herd. He went, took them, and killed them. He said to them: Whoever had an ox, let him take one hide; whoever had none, let him take two. They said to him: What is this? He said to them: Let the custom be as the custom: just as one who has an ox takes one hide and one who has none takes two, so for the killed oxen. Whoever crossed by the ferry paid one zuz; whoever crossed through the water paid two. A certain fuller came there once. They said to him: Give one zuz [for the ferry]. He said: I crossed through the water. They said: Then give two. He refused. They beat him. He came before the judge. The judge said: Pay them the fee for the bloodletting they did to you, and give two zuz for crossing through the water. Four judges were in Sodom: Liar, Awful-Liar, Forger, and Justice-Perverter. One who struck another man's wife and caused her to miscarry they would say to the husband, "Give her to him until she becomes pregnant for you again." One who cut off the ear of another's donkey they would say, "Give it to him until the ear grows back." One who wounded another they would say to the wounded man, "Pay him the fee for the bloodletting he did to you." Eliezer, Abraham's servant, happened to be there. They wounded him, and he came before the judge. The judge said, "Pay him the fee for the bloodletting he did you." Eliezer took a stone and wounded the judge, and said, "The fee that comes due to me from you, give it to that man, and let my own zuz stay where it is." They had a custom at a wedding feast. Eliezer came and sat at the very end of everyone. They said to him, "Who invited you here?" He said to the man beside him, "You did." That man took his cloak and fled. Eliezer sat beside the next, and said the same, until they all left, and he ate the whole feast. They had a bed on which they would lay travelers: if a man was too long, they would cut him down; if too short, they would stretch him. Eliezer happened there. They said, "Rise, lie on the bed." He said, "I made a vow from the day my mother Sarah died not to lie on a bed." When a poor man came among them, each one would give him a dinar with his name written on it, but no one would bring him bread, and when he died each one came and took back his own. There was a certain young woman who used to bring bread out to a poor man in her pitcher. After three days he had not died. They came and learned the matter, and they smeared her with honey and set her on the city wall, and hornets came and ate her. As it is said, "the outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah, because it is great" (Genesis 18:20). Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav: on account of the young woman [riva]. And this is what is written, "I will go down now and see whether they have done according to its outcry" the outcry of this young woman.

Rav Hamnuna said to one of the rabbis who was arranging aggadah before him: From where do we learn the matter that the Rabbis said, "The memory of the righteous is for a blessing" (Proverbs 10:7)? From the Torah, from where? As it is written, "And the LORD said: Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing?" (Genesis 18:17) [the righteous Abraham is named with blessing]. And from where do we learn the matter, "but the name of the wicked shall rot" (Proverbs 10:7)? As it is written, "and he pitched his tent toward Sodom, and the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners" (Genesis 13:12-13).

(Genesis 13:14) "And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him." Rabbi Yehuda said: Abraham our father was angry when his nephew parted from him. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: To everyone He cleaves, but to Lot his nephew He does not cleave [that is, the divine word that had been withheld now returns]. Rabbi Nechemiah says: The Holy One, blessed be He, had been displeased with him during the time that Lot walked with him. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: Thus I said to him, "To your seed I will give this land" (Genesis 13:15), and he clings to Lot his nephew in order to make him his heir. If so, let him go and bring two mannequins from the market and make them heirs of what is his, just as he wants his nephew. This is what is written, "Cast out the scoffer, and contention goes out" (Proverbs 22:10) "cast out the scoffer" this is Lot, of whom it is written, "and there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's cattle" (Genesis 13:7); "and quarrel and shame cease" (Proverbs 22:10), as in "and Abram said to Lot, let there be no quarrel" (Genesis 13:8). (Genesis 13:16) "And I will make your seed as the dust of the earth." Just as the earth stretches from one end of the world to the other, so your children shall be from one end of the world to the other. And just as the dust of the earth is blessed only through water, so your children are blessed only through the merit of the Torah, which is compared to water. And just as the dust of the earth wears away vessels of metal, so Israel: the nations cease and Israel endures. And just as the dust of the earth is made for treading, so your children are made to be trodden by the kingdoms. This is what is written, "and I will put it in the hand of those who afflict you" (Isaiah 51:23) those who afflict you, yet even so it is for your good, for they shake your sins off you, as you say, "with showers you soften it, you bless its growth" (Psalms 65:11). "Who said to your soul, bow down that we may pass over" (Isaiah 51:23) what would they do? They would lay them down in the open streets and make them lie down and pass over them. And this is a good sign: just as this street wears out those who come and go and yet it endures, so your children wear out the nations and they endure.

(Genesis 13:16-17) "Arise, walk through the land in its length and in its breadth." It was taught: If one walked through a field, whether in its length or in its breadth, he acquires up to the place he walked for Rabbi Eliezer used to say: walking acquires. But the Sages say: he does not acquire until he takes formal possession. What is the reason of Rabbi Eliezer? "Arise, walk through it." And the Rabbis say: it is because of God's love for Abraham that He said this to him, and so on. And when Balaam came and saw the wilderness full of the foreskins of Israel, he said: Who can stand against the merit of this blood of the covenant of circumcision, which is covered with dust? As it is said, "Who can count the dust of Jacob?" (Numbers 23:10). From here the Sages instituted that the foreskin and the blood should be covered with the dust of the earth, since they were likened to dust, as it is said, "and I will make your seed as the dust of the earth" (Genesis 13:16). And so Israel kept circumcising until they split into two kingdoms, and Ephraim withheld circumcision from themselves. Then Elijah, may he be remembered for good, arose and was filled with great zeal: "And he said, I have been very zealous" (1 Kings 19:10). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: You are forever zealous you were zealous at Shittim over forbidden relations, and you are zealous here. By your life, Israel shall not perform a circumcision until you behold it with your own eyes. From here the Sages instituted that a seat of honor be made for the angel of the covenant, who is called Elijah, of blessed memory, the angel of the covenant, as it is said, "and the messenger of the covenant whom you desire" (Malachi 3:1).

Abraham, in whom no observance of the Sabbath is written, inherited the world by measure, as it is said, "Arise, walk through the land" and so forth. Jacob, in whom observance of the Sabbath is written, "And he encamped before the city" (Genesis 33:18), entered with the dimming of the sun and fixed the Sabbath boundaries while it was still day, inherited the world without measure, as it is said, "And you shall break forth to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south" (Genesis 28:14).

"And it came to pass in the days of Amrafel" (Genesis 14:1). It is written, "The wicked have drawn the sword... their sword shall enter their own heart" (Psalms 37:14-15). There was an incident concerning Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, whose brothers were plowing on the plain while he was plowing on the mountain, and the leg of his cow broke. It broke for his good. He fled and went to Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai, and he ate clods of earth until his mouth gave off a foul smell. They went and told Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai, "The smell of Rabbi Eliezer's mouth is harsh." He said to him, "Just as you have caused your mouth to give off a smell for the sake of the Torah, so shall the fragrance of your learning go from one end of the world to the other." After some days his father went up to bar him from his property, and found him sitting and expounding, with all the great men of the country sitting before him, Tzitzit the Pillow, Nakdimon ben Gurion, and ben Kalba Savua. He found him sitting and expounding this very verse: "The wicked have drawn the sword and bent their bow," this is Amrafel and his fellows; "to bring down the poor and needy" (Psalms 37:14), this is Lot; "to slay those who are upright in the way," this is Abraham; "their sword shall enter their own heart," "and he divided himself against them by night, he and his servants, and smote them" (Genesis 14:15). His father said to him, "I came up here only to bar you from my property; behold, all of it is given to you as a gift." He said, "Behold, it is forbidden to me as a dedicated thing, and I will be no more than equal in it with my brothers." "And this also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go" (Ecclesiastes 5:15). Just as he comes wrapped, so does he go wrapped. Just as he opened with four kingdoms, so he seals only with four kingdoms: "Chedorlaomer and Tidal and Amrafel and Arioch." Why? "All these joined together in the Valley of Siddim," so that they would come and fall by the hand of Abraham. This matter we received from the exile: every place where it says "and it came to pass," it was in days of trouble, and so forth, as it is written at the beginning of the Scroll of Esther. Three names were given to him: Cush, Nimrod, Amrafel. Cush, because he was certainly a Cushite. Nimrod, because he raised up rebellion in the world. Amrafel, because his speech was darkness, in that they say and they darken in the world, in that they say and they darken concerning Abraham, for he told him to go down into the fiery furnace. "And Tidal king of nations": there is a place there in Rome, and they took one man and made him king over them, and Tidal was his name.

Another interpretation: "And it came to pass in the days of Amrafel king of Shinar," this is Babylon; "and Arioch king of Ellasar," this is Greece; "Chedorlaomer king of Elam," this is Media; "and Tidal king of nations," this is the fourth kingdom, which conscripts recruits from all the nations. If you see kingdoms provoking one another, look for the footsteps of the Messiah. Know this for yourself, for so we find in the days of Abraham: because these kingdoms provoked one another, greatness came to Abraham.

Rav and Shmuel: one said his name was Nimrod, and why was he called Amrafel? Because he cast Abraham our father into the midst of the fiery furnace. And the other said his name was Amrafel, and why was he called Nimrod? Because he made the whole world rebel against it by his kingship.