אריוך מלך אלסר, “Aryoch, king of Elassar.” From this verse, i.e. the wording here, our sages decided that in a dispute between two major Talmudic scholars, Rav and Sh’muel, when the subject concerns secular matters we rule in accordance with the opinion of Sh’muel, whereas when the subject concerns ritual matters, matters regulating our direct relationship to G–d.], we rule like Rav. (Compare Talmud, tractate Shabbat folio 53.) Our sages describe Aryoch’s real names as being “Sh’muel, and the reason that he is called here Aryoch, is because the word is synonymous with being a monarch on earth, the secular part of the universe, whereas the name Elassar reminds us of the Hebrew word Issur, something forbidden by religious law. In other words: Aryoch arrogated to himself the right to give both secular and religious rulings on earth, treating earth as if G–d had no say in this terrestrial part of the (His) universe.

ויבא הפליט, “the one who had escaped (from the armies that captured Sodom and its satellites) came,” (and reported on the battle to Avraham) It was the angel Michael who told Avraham. If so, why is he referred to as if a human being who had escaped from Sodom? [According to a comment in a book by Rabbi Reuven Margolies, called Malachey elyon, in which the names and functions of all the angels about whom we have some information are listed (131), Michael is an alternate name for Mattatron, often cited in kabalistic literature, as G–d’s “general manager” in matters relating to earth,” with especial concern for the Jewish people and their well wishers. Ed.] As to the reason why he is called by the strange name פליט, “refugee, escapee,” according to a tradition, when G–d dispatched Samael and his forces to earth from heaven, Samael being another name for the perennial Satan, the latter tried to force Michael to go down to earth with him, and G–d at the last moment took hold of his wing in order to keep him in the celestial spheres. Ever since then, the angel Michael has acquired the nickname פליט, “escapee.” Concerning this escapee, the prophet Ezekiel in Ezekiel 33,21, says: בא אלי הפליט מירושלים לאמור הכתה העיר, “the angel Michael came to me to inform me that Jerusalem had been conquered by the Babylonians.” The prophet then is assigned a task by G–d.

וירק את חניכיו, “he mobilised all those whom he had trained;” Avraham told all these men that they were about to go to war and if someone was afraid for his life due to sins he had committed, he was free to go back home. (Compare Deuteronomy 20,8) When they heard this, they all decided to return to their homes, with the exception of his loyal servant Eliezer. G–d told Avraham not to worry and to let them go home, as He would empower Eliezer to possesss as much power as all these men had possessed combined. The numerical value of the letters in the name אליעזר total 318, and that is why the Torah described his ”army” as consisting of 318 men. (Compare Talmud, tractate Nedarim, folio 31) In addition, we have two interpretations of the Talmud scholars Rav and Sh’muel, respectively, the former saying that the word וירק in our verse refers to “pouring words of Torah into these potential soldiers, whereas Sh’muel says that he overcame their fears by giving them large quantities of gold. (same folio in the Talmud) His objective was to instill in these men the will to save as many lives as possible, not to fight for the sake of the loot they might capture by killing fellow human beings. [This editor has some difficulty with the explanations offered, as in verse 24 of our chapter Avraham insists that the men who had fought with him receive their share of the loot. Ed.]

ויכם וירדפם, “he smote them and put them to flight.” Midrash Tanchuma asks: “who ever heard of soldiers pursuing dead people? How are we to understand this sequence in the verse?” He therefore understands our verse as meaning that Avraham and his men pursued the soldiers of that army, and G–d killed them.

ומלכי צדק מלך שלם הוציא לחם ויין, “and Malki Tzedek, King of Shalem, produced bread and wine, etc.” This was the custom in which soldiers returning from battle would be welcomed. They were naturally tired and worn out, and needed to replace spent energy by imbibing drink and consuming food. An alternate explanation: the reference to bread and wine, specifically, is a hint that just as that King was a priest, so priests of the Jewish people would perform temple service offering libations of wine and the showbreads to the Almighty on a regular basis. In this instance Malki Tzedek, up to now a priest of the supreme G–d, forfeited that honour when he blessed Avraham before first blessing the Almighty, Who had enabled Avraham to become the victor. When David, in Psalms 110,4 said: נשבע ה' ולא ינחם אתה כהן לעולם על דברתי מלכי צדק, “the Lord has sworn and will not relent, ’you are a priest forever, a rightful priest by My decree,’” he referred to the incident in our verse which cost Malki Tzedek his priesthood. [All the people killed in that battle were actually killed by G–d, as a priest who has killed a human being is forthwith denied the right to perform service in the Temple. Abraham certainly had represented the priesthood in his age. He was “officially” appointed as such after this incident. Ed.] According to the Talmud in Nedarim 32, quoted earlier, this is all derived from the word כהן, “a priest,” which our sages understand to mean that his offspring were not priests.