There are times when we look at an image and it conveys a particular message. Then we zoom out and see it in a broader context and it tells an expanded story.
When we read narratives in the Torah this same phenomenon applies. We can examine it at a “zoomed in” level, and it leaves us with a wonderful message or lesson. Then we take a deeper dive which gives us a “zoomed out” and broader perspective, and suddenly, we are exposed to an idea that is more profound and far-reaching.
An example from this week’s Parsha. The Torah relates that Avraham’s nephew Lot moved to Sodom. After his move, Sodom and its four neighboring cities were invaded by the armies of the “Four Kings.” Lot is taken captive, and Avraham takes up arms to rescue him. In the process, Avraham vanquishes the armies of the Four Kings, frees Lot along with the Kings and citizens of Sodom and its environs.
On the surface this is a simple story. Your relative is under duress, you do what you can to help him. Lot is captured by the Four Kings; Avraham battles them and rescues him. The story is significant because Avraham had a small band of warriors that helped him conquer the mighty armies or Four Kings, who had previously managed to conquer the five armies of Sodom and the neighboring cities. It was by Divine Intervention that Avraham was successful. End of story.
When we zoom out and peel away the surface layer, we begin to see a fascinating narrative unfold. Psalms (89:20) states, “I have found David My servant and anointed him with My holy oil.” Where did G-d find him? Who knew that David was lost?
The Midrash explains that G-d “found” David in Sodom. How is that even possible; David was born a millennium after Sodom became the Dead Sea? David is descended of Ruth, the righteous convert who began life as a Moabite princess. The Moabite nation is descended from Lot (as we will see in next week’s Parsha). So the special soul of King David, the ancestor of Mashiach, was lost in Sodom, completely out of its element.
One of the four kings, Amrafel of Shinar, is identified by our sages as Nimrod, the nemesis of Avraham, who was the main instigator behind the Tower of Babel. Nimrod senses that the unique soul of Mashiach, who will make the name of G-d known to all mankind, was “wandering” in Sodom. To prevent this soul from achieving its purpose, he attacks Sodom and captures Lot with the intention of not allowing him to sire Moab, the ancestor of Ruth, the grandmother of David, who was the forerunner of Mashiach.
Avraham senses the great threat to G-d’s very purpose of creation (the future redemption through the coming of Mashaich), and he jumps in to ensure that the process will play out as intended.
Seeing it from this vantage point, the narrative becomes pivotal to the development of world history. It also teaches on a micro level, that we cannot truly appreciate the far-reaching impact of a simple act of kindness to another.
This is just an example. Every word in the Torah tells a multi-layered story. Go and learn.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin