פרשת לך לך - מלחמה נגד מלכות בית דוד

With ten tests Abraham, our father, was tested - and he withstood them all: The first was 'Ur (which besides being a place name can also mean fire) Kasdim' - that Nimrod dropped him down into the fiery furnace and he was saved. And this is not explicit in the Torah and it is from the words of tradition. But we have a hint about this thing from the Torah; that before Parshat Lech Lecha Meartsekha ouMemoladetekha, Ur Kasdim is mentioned twice above [it], to make known that it was because of that test that he withstood that God, may He be blessed, promised him and brought him to the land [of Israel. This is] like we find with Noah. As at the beginning it is written (Genesis 6:8), "But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord," and afterwards in Parshat Eleh Toledot Noach that he was saved from the waters of the flood - [which indicates that it was] because he found favor in his eyes. And the second is that He commanded him to go out from his land and from his birthplace, and he did so. And the third is that is stated (Genesis 12:10), "And there was a famine in the land." And even though the Holy One, blessed be He, promised him and said to him (Genesis 12:3), "And all the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you”; when He brought the famine, he did not question His traits. The fourth is the taking of Sarah to Pharaoh. The fifth is the war of the four kings when he deployed [only] three hundred and eighteen men and trusted in the Holy One, blessed be He; and a miracle was done for him that he was saved and he saved his brothers and all of the property of Sedom and Ammorah. And he endured the events [accepting that it was] for his good and for his merit. The sixth is that he was ninety-nine when he circumcised the flesh of his foreskin [and] placed himself in danger due to his old age, and he was saved. The seventh is the taking of Sarah to Avimelekh. The eighth is when he sent Hagar and Yishmael away by the commandment of God. And [even] if 'the thing was bad in his eyes on account of his son,' he fulfilled the commandment. The ninth was the binding of Yitzchak his son, about which it is written (Genesis 22:12), "For now I know that you fear God.” And did He not know until now - and is not everything revealed and seen in front of Him? Rather when the thing is known to the creatures, the Holy One, blessed be He, calls it, "For now I know that you fear God." And it comes to inform us that [this showed] greater fear of Heaven than all of the other commandments in the Torah. Since with all the tests except for this, He did not say to him "that you fear God" - as this test was the greatest of all of them, since he took his son to bring him up as a sacrifice. The tenth was the burial of Sarah. As it was stated to him (Genesis 13:17), "Get up, walk about the land, through its length and its breadth, for I give it to you”; but when his wife died, he could not find a place to bury her until he bought it - and he did not question.

(1) Now, when King Amraphel of Shinar, King Arioch of Ellasar, King Chedorlaomer of Elam, and King Tidal of Goiim

AND IT CAME TO PASS IN THE DAYS OF AMRAPHEL KING OF SHINAR. This event happened to Abraham in order to teach us that four kingdoms will arise to rule the world. In the end, his [Abraham’s] children will prevail over them, and they will all fall into their hands. Then they will return all their captives and their wealth. The first one mentioned here is the king of Babylon for so it was to be in the future, as it is written, Thou art the head of gold. Perhaps Ellasar, mentioned here second, is the name of a city in Media or Persia, and Elam, mentioned third, is the city in which the first Greek king — Alexander — was crowned. From there his kingdom spread after he was victorious over Darius, [king of the Persians]. Our Rabbis have already mentioned this matter: “Rabbi Yosei said, ‘For six years the Greeks ruled in Elam, and after that their kingdom spread over the entire world.’” The king of Goiim, [the last of the four kings mentioned here], who ruled over various nations that had made him their head and leader, is an allusion to the king of Rome who ruled over a city comprised of many peoples: Kittim, Edom, and the rest of the nations. Thus the Rabbis said in Bereshith Rabbah, “Rabbi Avin said, ‘Just as Abraham’s grief began with four kingdoms, so will it end for his descendants only with four kingdoms.’” And it further says there: “And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar — this is Babylon; Arioch king of Ellasar — this is Media; Chedorlaomer king of Elam — this is Greece; And Tidal king of Goiim — this is that kingdom (Rome) which writes out a levy [and collects assessment] from all nations of the world.”

(1) “It was in the days of Amrafel king of Shinar, Aryokh king of Elasar, Kedorlaomer king of Eilam, and Tidal king of Goyim,” (Genesis 14:1). “It was in the days of Amrafel king of Shinar” – Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin in the name of Rabbi Levi began: “The wicked drew their swords…their swords will come into their own hearts….” (Psalms 37:14–15). There was an incident involving Rabbi Eliezer ben Hurkenos, that his brothers were plowing in the plain and he was plowing on the mountain. His cow fell and was incapacitated. He said: It was for my benefit that my cow was incapacitated. He ran away and went to study under Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Zakai. He would eat clods of earth, until the odor of his breath became foul. They went and said to Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Zakai: ‘Rabbi Eliezer’s breath is unpleasant.’ He said to him: ‘Just as the odor of your breath was befouled over Torah study, so may the scent of your Torah teaching go forth from one end of the world to the other.’ Sometime later, his [Rabbi Eliezer’s] father went up with the intent to disinherit him from his property. He found him sitting and delivering a lecture, and the most prominent men of his province were sitting before him: Ben Tzitzit HaKeset, Nakdimon ben Guryon, and ben Kalba Savua. He found him expounding this verse: “The wicked drew their swords…” – this is Amrafel and his cohorts. “To topple the poor and the needy” (Psalms 37:14) – this is Lot. “To slaughter those whose path is upright” (Psalms 37:14) – this is Abraham. “Their swords will come into their own hearts” – “he arrayed against them at night…and smote them” (Genesis 14:15). His [Rabbi Eliezer’s] father said to him: ‘Son, I came up here only to disinherit you from my property. Now, all my property is hereby given to you as a gift.’ He said: ‘It [the extra portion you are giving me] is hereby proscribed from me by vow, and my rights in it [the entire property] shall be equal to that of my brothers.’ Another interpretation, “the wicked drew their swords [and stretched their bows]” – this is Amrafel and his cohorts.

kings of the earth take their stand,and regents intrigue togetheragainst the LORD and against His anointed?

“It was in the days of Amrafel” – he was called by three names: Kush, Nimrod, and Amrafel. Kush – because he was literally a Kushite. Nimrod – because he brought about a rebellion [mered] in the world. Amrafel – because his statements [imrato] were darkness [afela]. [In addition,] it is because he defied [amrei] and ridiculed [aflei] the world, and because he defied and ridiculed Abraham, because he said [amar] that he should be cast down into the fiery furnace. “Aryokh king of Elasar” – Rabbi Yosei of Milḥaya said: There we learned: The isar coin was named for Elasar. “Kedorlaomer king of Eilam, and Tidal king of Goyim” – Rabbi Levi said: There is a place there in Rome that is called this [Goyim]. They took one person and made him king over themselves. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Tidal was his name. Another matter: “It was in the days of Amrafel king of Shinar” – this refers to Babylon; “Aryokh king of Elasar” – this refers to Greece; “Kedorlaomer king of Eilam” – this refers to Media; “and Tidal king of Goyim” – this refers to the kingdom of Edom, which recruits conscripts from all the nations of the world. Rabbi Elazar bar Avina said: If you see kingdoms clashing with one another, you should anticipate the coming of the Messiah. You may know that it is so, as in the days of Abraham, as a result of the kingdoms clashing with one another, redemption came to Abraham.

Ulla therefore went to console Rav Shmuel bar Yehuda by himself, and said to him: The verse states: “And the Lord said to me, do not be at enmity with Moab, neither contend with them in battle” (Deuteronomy 2:9). What entered Moses’s mind, that God had to warn him not to undertake a particular action? Did it enter his mind to wage war with the Moabites without permission? Rather, Moses reasoned an a fortiori inference by himself, saying: And if with regard to the Midianites, who came only to help the Moabites harm the Jewish people (see Numbers, chapter 22), the Torah said: “Harass the Midianites and smite them” (Numbers 25:17),

To counter this, the Holy One, Blessed be He, said to him: That which has entered your mind has not entered Mine, because I have two virtuous fledglings [feridot], i.e., girls, to extract from them: Ruth the Moabite, who will be the foremother of the dynasty of David, and Naamah the Ammonite, Solomon’s wife, from whom the continuation of that dynasty will emerge. For the sake of these women, the Moabites and Ammonites must not be destroyed.

Lot merited to be with Avraham and to have descendants like David and Mashiach due to the merit of his father, Haran. Although Haran's self-sacrifice was imperfect—choosing Hashem only after Avraham's miraculous survival—his death still sanctified Hashem's name. Haran was burned in the furnace due to his allegiance to Hashem, making it a "kiddush Hashem."Despite Haran's imperfect motives, Hashem rewards all acts of sanctification. Therefore, Lot was rewarded for Haran's ultimate sacrifice, which included the privilege of accompanying Avraham and having noble descendants.