הַכּוֹתָבוֹת. (בראשית יד, יב): וַיּקְחוּ אֶת לוֹט וגו', כָּךְ עָשׂוּ לְלוֹט נָתְנוּ אוֹתוֹ בְּסִירָה וְנָטְלוּ אוֹתוֹ עִמָּהֶם, כָּל כָּךְ לָמָּה (בראשית יד, יב): וְהוּא ישֵׁב בִּסְדֹם, לְקַיֵּם מַה שֶּׁנֶּאֱמַר (משלי יג, כ): הוֹלֵךְ אֶת חֲכָמִים יֶחְכָּם וְרֹעֶה כְסִילִים יֵרוֹעַ.
“They took Lot, son of Abram’s brother, and his property and they went, and he resided in Sodom” (Genesis 14:12).
“They took Lot, [son of Abram’s brother]…” – this is what they did to Lot: They placed him in a cage and they took him with them.69This is derived from the fact that the words “they took” already appear in the previous verse. The repetition of these words here indicates that he was treated with special harshness. Why to such an extent?70What did Lot do to deserve such harsh punishment? “And he resided in Sodom” – in realization of what is stated: “One who walks with the wise will become wise, and one who consorts with fools will be broken” (Proverbs 13:20).
“Fear not, Abram,
I am a shield to you;
Your reward shall be very great.”
(ד) אָנֹכִי מָגֵן לָךְ (בראשית טו, א), רַבִּי לֵוִי אָמַר תַּרְתֵּין, וְרַבָּנָן אָמְרֵי חָדָא. רַבִּי לֵוִי אָמַר לְפִי שֶׁהָיָה אָבִינוּ אַבְרָהָם מִתְפַּחֵד וְאוֹמֵר תֹּאמַר אוֹתָן אֻכְלוּסִין שֶׁהָרַגְתִּי שֶׁהָיָה בָּהֶם צַדִּיק אֶחָד וִירֵא שָׁמַיִם אֶחָד, מָשָׁל לְאֶחָד שֶׁהָיָה עוֹבֵר לִפְנֵי פַּרְדֵּסוֹ שֶׁל מֶלֶךְ, רָאָה חֲבִילָה שֶׁל קוֹצִים וְיָרַד וּנְטָלָהּ, וְהֵצִיץ הַמֶּלֶךְ וְרָאָה אוֹתוֹ, הִתְחִיל מִטַּמֵּן מִפָּנָיו, אָמַר לוֹ מִפְּנֵי מַה אַתָּה מִטַּמֵּן, כַּמָּה פּוֹעֲלִים הָיִיתִי צָרִיךְ שֶׁיָּקשׁוּ אוֹתָהּ עַכְשָׁיו שֶׁקָּשַׁשְׁתָּ אוֹתָהּ בּוֹא וְטֹל שָׂכָר. כָּךְ אָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְאַבְרָהָם אוֹתָן אֻכְלוּסִין שֶׁהָרַגְתָּ קוֹצִים כְּסוּחִים הָיוּ, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (ישעיה לג, יב): וְהָיוּ עַמִּים מִשְׂרְפוֹת שִׂיד קוֹצִים כְּסוּחִים. רַבִּי לֵוִי אָמַר אוֹחָרִי, לְפִי שֶׁהָיָה אָבִינוּ אַבְרָהָם מִתְפַּחֵד וְאוֹמֵר תֹּאמַר אוֹתָן הַמְּלָכִים שֶׁהָרַגְתִּי שֶׁבְּנֵיהֶם מְכַנְסִין אֻכְלוּסִין וּבָאִים וְעוֹשִׂים עִמִּי מִלְחָמָה, אָמַר לוֹ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא: אַל תִּירָא אָנֹכִי מָגֵן לָךְ, מָה הַמָּגֵן הַזֶּה אֲפִלּוּ כָּל הַחֲרָבוֹת בָּאוֹת עָלֶיהָ הִיא עוֹמֶדֶת כְּנֶגְדָן, כָּךְ אַתְּ אֲפִלּוּ כָּל עוֹבְדֵי כוֹכָבִים מִתְכַּנְסִין עָלֶיךָ נִלְחַם אֲנִי כְּנֶגְדָּן. וְרַבָּנָן אָמְרֵי חָדָא, לְפִי שֶׁהָיָה אָבִינוּ אַבְרָהָם מִתְפַּחֵד וְאוֹמֵר יָרַדְתִּי לְכִבְשַׁן הָאֵשׁ וְנִצַּלְתִּי, יָרַדְתִּי לְמִלְחֶמֶת הַמְלָכִים וְנִצַּלְתִּי, תֹּאמַר שֶׁנִּתְקַבַּלְתִּי שְׂכָרִי בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה וְאֵין לִי כְּלוּם לֶעָתִיד לָבוֹא, אָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא: אַל תִּירָא אָנֹכִי מָגֵן לָךְ, וְכָל מַה שֶּׁעָשִׂיתִי עִמְּךָ בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה חִנָּם עָשִׂיתִי עִמָּךְ, אֲבָל שְׂכָרְךָ מְתֻקָּן לֶעָתִיד לָבוֹא. שְׂכָרְךָ הַרְבֵּה מְאֹד, הֵיךְ מָה דְאַתְּ אָמַר (תהלים לא, כ): מָה רַב טוּבְךָ אֲשֶׁר צָפַנְתָּ לִּירֵאֶיךָ.
(4) “I am a shield for you” – Rabbi Levi said two [interpretations], the Rabbis said one. Rabbi Levi said: Because our forefather Abraham was fearful, and saying: ‘Perhaps those people whom I killed, there was among them one righteous man, or one God-fearing man.’5And therefore I have incurred God’s wrath and will be held accountable. This is analogous to a person who was passing by the king’s orchard. He saw a bundle of thorns and he went down and took it away. The king peered out and saw him. He began hiding from him. He [the king] said to him: ‘Why are you hiding from me? How many laborers would I have needed to gather it up. Now that you have gathered them up, come and collect your reward.’ So, the Holy One blessed be He said to Abraham: ‘Those people whom you killed were like cut thorns.’ That is what is written: “Peoples will be like burnings of lime, cut thorns ignited with fire” (Isaiah 33:12).
Rabbi Levi said another interpretation: Because our forefather Abraham was fearful, and saying: ‘Perhaps those kings whom I killed, their sons will assemble multitudes and they will come and wage war against me,’6To avenge their fathers’ death. the Holy One blessed be He said to him: “Fear not, Abram, I am a shield for you” – just as a shield, even if all the swords [in the world] were to come up against it, it would withstand them, so you, even if all the idolaters were to gather against you, I will fight against them.
The Rabbis said one: Because our forefather Abraham was fearful, and saying: ‘I went down into the fiery furnace and was saved, I went down to do battle with the kings and was saved, perhaps my reward has already been received in this world, and I have nothing [left] for the future.’ The Holy One blessed be He said: “Fear not, Abram, I am a shield [magen] for you” – everything that I have done for you in this world, I did for you without cost,7In Aramaic, magan means gratis. but your reward is allocated for you in the future – “your reward is very great,” just as it says: “How great is the goodness You have in store for those who fear You” (Psalms 31:20).
Descend then, to the cellars of the town,
There where the virginal daughters of thy folk were fouled,
Where seven heathen flung a woman down,
The daughter in the presence of her mother,
The mother in the presence of her daughter,
Crushed in their shame, they saw it all; They did not stir nor move; They did not pluck their eyes out; they Beat not their brains against the wall! Perhaps, perhaps, each watcher had it in his heart to pray: A miracle, O Lord,—and spare my skin this day! Those who survived this foulness, who from their blood awoke, Beheld their life polluted, the light of their world gone out— How did their menfolk bear it, how did they bear this yoke? They crawled forth from their holes, they fled to the house of the Lord, They offered thanks to Him, the sweet benedictory word. The Cohanim sallied forth, to the Rabbi's house they flitted: Tell me, O Rabbi, tell, is my own wife permitted? The matter ends; and nothing more. And all is as it was before.
There is a place for acts of retribution and revenge against the oppressors of Israel. … Those who are unruly are responsible for any damage that comes to them, their sympathizers, or their children. They must bear their sin. There is no obligation to refrain from reprisal for fear that it might harm innocent people, for we did not cause it. They are the cause and we are innocent.
Yisraeli justified the attack on Kibiya with reference to a classic Rabbinic concept. The community of nations, he claimed, believed these kinds of military actions were permissible, therefore Israel could avail herself of this international consensus in an application of a classic Rabbinic principle dina d’malkhuta dina – the law of the land is the law. ‘The foundation of dina d’malkhutah dina relates not only to what transpires within a state, but also to international matters as is the accepted custom’, claimed Yisraeli. Putting aside the issue of whether the international community would have accepted the legality of actions taken in Kibiyah, Yisraeli’s claim is that Israel should be judged by the standard of the ethics of nations at large. If the British bomb Dresden and the Americans lay waste to Hiroshima (both examples cited in support of his position), the Israelis can lay waste to Kibiya not only as a matter of military expediency, but also without religious qualm.
We can, indeed, justify the action of Kibiyah before "the world." [Even though] its spokesmen and leaders admonish us for having adopted the methods of "reprisal"- cruel mass punishment of innocent people for the crimes of others in order to prevent their recurrence, a method which has been condemned by the conscience of the world. We could argue that we have not behaved differently than did the Americans, with the tacit agreement of the British, in deploying the atomic bomb… It is therefore possible to justify this action, but let us not try to do so. Let us rather recognize its distressing nature. There is an instructive precedent for Kibiyeh: the story of Shekhem and Dinah. The sons of Jacob did not act as they did out of pure wickedness and malice. They had a decisive justification: 'Should one deal with our sister as with a harlot?!'… Nevertheless, because of this action, their father Jacob cursed the two tribes for generations.