וַיְבָרְכֵהוּ וַיֹּאמַר בָּרוּךְ אַבְרָם לְאֵל עֶלְיוֹן קֹנֵה שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ… אִם מִחוּט וְעַד שְׂרוֹךְ נַעַל וְאִם אֶקַּח מִכׇּל אֲשֶׁר לָךְ וְלֹא תֹאמַר אֲנִי הֶעֱשַׁרְתִּי אֶת אַבְרָם.
He blessed him, and he said, “Blessed be Avraham to Kel Elyon, creator of heaven and earth… Not from a thread to a shoelace, I will not take from anything that is yours, lest you say, ‘I have made Avraham rich.’
Genesis 14: 23
The Victorious War
Abraham fought a war and he won. As a peace offering, the king wants to bestow gifts onto Avraham, but Avraham does not accept a single gift.
As a reward for his refusal, Hashem gave Avraham’s nation – the Jewish nation – two mitzvot that will be an eternal reward for those who keep them.
- Tzitit
- Tefillin
Later on in history Abraham gets offered presents from king Pharaoh and he accepts the gifts. Why now does Abraham accept the gifts from king Pharaoh if in the past he did not accept the gifts from the king of Sodom?
With the king of Sedom, a war was fought with effort and physical strength. With the gifts from king Pharaoh, Abraham did not extend effort.
Because Hashem Wills
A person spends his life trying to accomplish. He invests and gets involved, and the more he gets involved, the more he thinks it’s his own efforts that made him succeed. And then God is all but forgotten.
Nowadays, there are no open miracles. Although we don’t know the reasons why things happen, it’s our job to realize that Hashem (God) is involved in our lives. We must realize that anything that happens is because He commanded.
Avraham refused gifts from the king of Sedom because he did not want the king to think that he won the war because of his strength. Avraham knew it was because of God and not his own physical strength.
Eternal Gifts
But why do we get specifically these two mitzvot?
- Tzitit is made of techeilet (blue material) which resembles the color of the sky, which turns us to the Throne of Glory (Hashem).
- Tefillin because it contains the chapters of shema – commanding us to serve Hashem.
Both are constant reminders that He is in control.
A person achieves and succeeds in life if God wants him to. By himself, no man can accomplish anything.
Though we don’t have open miracles, we must seek out the miracles that are hidden, Hashem is there ALWAYS and He is the only Power and Force.
It’s our mission to find Him, see Him, and use the strengths He gave us to serve Him.
Written by RL Breski; based on the teachings of Rabbi Tzahn
