Like something’s not quite adding up. Well, our sages grappled with that very idea, digging deep into a verse in Genesis and a proverb from the Book of Proverbs to uncover some surprising truths about how we navigate the world.
Genesis 21:22 tells us, "It was at that time, Avimelekh and Pikhol, the captain of his army, said to Abraham, saying: God is with you in everything that you do." And Proverbs 16:7 states, “When the Lord is pleased with the ways of a man, He will cause even his enemies to make peace with him.” But what does it really mean for your enemies to make peace with you?
Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis, asks this very question. What exactly does this proverb signify? Our rabbis offer some striking, and at times, unsettling answers.
Rabbi Yoḥanan suggests a rather sobering thought: This proverb refers to a man's wife! He points to Micah 7:6, "The members of his household are a man’s enemy." And to illustrate this point, the text tells a chilling story of a woman who complained to the authorities about her husband, leading to his execution. While some say she was later beheaded as well, the core message is clear: those closest to us can sometimes be our greatest adversaries. Whoa.
Then, Rabbi Shmuel offers a completely different interpretation: it's about snakes! Rabbi Ḥalafta taught that snakes have a thing for garlic. The story goes that a mountain snake once invaded a house, gobbled up a bowl of garlic, and then, to add insult to injury, poisoned it. A house snake, unable to fight off the intruder, later protected the family by covering the poisoned garlic with dirt. This tale highlights how even seemingly dangerous creatures can play a role in protecting us when "the Lord is pleased with our ways."
But Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi takes us to a much more internal, and perhaps more familiar, battle: the yetzer hara (יֵצֶר הָרַע) – the evil inclination. He argues that while most companions grow fond of each other over time, the yetzer hara remains a constant adversary, waiting for any opportunity to lead us astray, even in our old age. As David laments in Psalm 35:10, "All my bones will say: Lord, who is like You, who delivers the poor from those who are stronger, the poor and the needy from their despoiler?" Rabbi Aḥa emphasizes that there is no greater despoiler than the yetzer hara.
So how do we combat this inner enemy? Solomon offers a solution in Proverbs 25:21: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him bread; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink." But the rabbis interpret this metaphorically: "bread" and "water" refer to the Torah. By engaging with Torah, we weaken the evil inclination. We feed it something it can't digest, so to speak. By feeding it with Torah, as it says in Proverbs 9:4, "Come partake of my bread" and Isaiah 55:1, "Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters," we starve its power over us.
Rabbi Berekhya expands the scope even further. When Proverbs 16:7 says "even his enemies," the Hebrew word gam (גם) indicates inclusion. This includes the pests in our lives – gnats, fleas, and flies! Even these minor annoyances are kept at bay when "the Lord is pleased with the ways of a man."
Finally, the midrash circles back to Abraham himself. It connects the "man" (ish – איש) in the proverb to Abraham, who is referred to as "The man of My counsel from a distant land" in Isaiah 46:11. And "even his enemies" refers to Avimelekh.
So, what's the takeaway from all of this? Perhaps it's that the concept of "enemies" is far more complex than we initially assume. Sometimes, our enemies are external, like Avimelekh. Sometimes, they are internal, like the yetzer hara. And sometimes, they are even those closest to us. Ultimately, when we strive to live righteously, we find protection and even unexpected alliances in the most surprising places. It begs the question: what "enemies" might actually be blessings in disguise, pushing us to grow and seek deeper meaning?