Make peace not war

Let’s look at just one episode in today’s action packed sidra.  Despite the earlier falling out with his nephew Lot, Avram takes an armed force of 318 troops to rescue him, who has been taken captive in a conflict pitting four kings (perhaps clan chieftains) against five others. Having achieved a victory and Lot's safe return, Avram exchanges diplomatic pleasantries with the king of S’dom, but refuses any of the spoils of war, both to ensure he was not politically indebted and, more importantly, to emphasise God's hand in securing his success.

You might suggest that Avram is clearly the hero of this story and his military skill has brought him honour and respect. But look carefully and the focus of the story is not on Avram 's martial prowess but on his skill as a diplomat and peacemaker. It is in Avram's responses to the challenges of war and peace, that we perhaps see his wisdom. There are times when war cannot be avoided. Avram / Avraham enters the conflict only after Lot's capture, in order to rescue his nephew.

Sadly, we know only too well that there are times when we need to go war to defend ourselves and protect our families and homeland. But the Torah suggests that one should not enrich oneself through warfare. The conventions of his day allowed Avram to keep the riches he seized from the defeated invaders. Avram /Avraham, however, wisely refused all the booty. We see that he did not take advantage of his neighbours' weakness to enrich himself and possibly plant the seeds for future conflicts. The Torah shows that Avraham was the first to demonstrate that, sometimes, one needs to be magnanimous in victory.