Torah Table Talk A New PaRDeS

Pidyon Shevuyim: Redeeming Captives Across the Generations

Parshat Lech Lecha, Genesis, 12:1 17:27
This Torah Table Talk is dedicated by Peter and Evelyn Stone in memory of Peter's Parents, Katalin and Paul Stroh, victims of the Shoah
Its not often that an article in the NY Times has the word Mitzvah in its title. Last week, Samuel Freedman published such an article entitled: "A Mitzvah Behind the Price of a Soldiers Freedom." Referring to this weeks Torah portion, Freedman writes: The story of Abraham saving Lot represents the earliest of a series of examples of the concept of Pidyon Shevuyim redeeming the captives, invariably at a cost in Jewish Scripture, rabbinic commentaries and legal codes. That concept, absorbed into secular culture of the Israeli state and the Zionist movement, helped validate the steep, indeed controversial, price of Sergeant Shalits liberation. Upon learning that his nephew, Lot, had been taken prisoner by Chedorlaomer and his allies, Abram formed a posse to save him and the other residents of Sodom from captivity. Abram's act of bravery was not motivated by monetary or political gain; he asked for nothing when he returned his subjects home. Rather, Abram was motivated by a commitment to his kinsman and a sense of justice for the people of Sodom. Throughout the ages, Jews have struggled with the dilemma of Pidyon Shevuyim: to what extent do we have an obligation to liberate our coreligionists from captivity no matter the price and how do we safeguard the community from further abuse by the captors? In an age of Jewish sovereignty, this problem is no less complex.

Genesis 14:1316 A fugitive brought the news to Abram the Hebrew, who was dwelling at the Orchard of Mamre the Amorite, kinsman of Eshkol and Aner, these being Abrams allies. When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he mustered his retainers, born into his household, numbering three hundred and eighteen, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. At night, he and his servants deployed against them and defeated them; and he pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus. He brought back all the possessions; he also brought back his kinsman Lot and his possessions, and the women and the rest of the people 14:22-23 Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, Give me the persons and take the possessions for yourself. But Abram said to the king of Sodom. I swear by Adonai, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, I will not take so much as a thread or a sandal strap of what is yours; you shall not say, It is I who made Abram rich

PaRDeS 1. Pshat Understanding the plain sense meaning of the text

Three hundred and eighteen: The fact that this figure is unparalleled in biblical literature and does not conform to any of the usual schematized or symbolic number patterns has been taken as proof of its literal authenticity. However, attention has been drawn to two extra-biblical examples of the number 318, which may suggest its use as a literary device to indicate a large group: a scarab of Amenhotep III (14 th century B.C. E.) records the arrival of his bride, Princess Giluhepa of Mitanni, together with 317 harem women, making the company of 318 in all; the grand total of all persons who suffered a violent death in the course of the four days of fighting reported in the Iliad comes to 318. It has been noted that 318 is the sum of the twelve prime numbers from 7 to 72, which may explain its use symbolically. It remains to be proven that these examples are not meant to be precise and that the concept of the prime numbers was recognized in early times. (Nahum Sarna, The JPS Torah Commentary, Genesis) My Commentary: Sarna and others are puzzled by the use of this specific number 318 which appears in this passage; does this number have some literary or folkloristic significance or is it meant to be taken as an actual number? The image of Abram in this passage is different than we normally depict him. Abram is a general or, better yet, he is a war lord. He enlists his followers in a battle to help his family and the people of Sodom. More than a man of faith, this is Abram at his most earthly persona: he struggles to maintain his place in a hostile world

but he is still concerned about others. We learn little about what Abram believes but we see him, building a family, worrying about his legacy, and entertaining wayfarers. We also see Abram arguing with Gods justice and obeying Gods call no matter how mysterious it may be.

2. Remez Allusions: Finding meanings hidden in the text Three hundred and eighteen: It was Eliezer alone whom he armed; three hundred and eighteen is the
numerical value of his name. (Rashi, 14:14; note: Eliezer was the faithful servant who worked for Abraham all his life and who was sent to find a wife for Isaac. At one point, Abraham even suggested that Eliezer should be the inheritor of his covenant with God) Rabbi Abbahu said in Rabbi Eleazar's name: Why was our Father Abraham punished and his children doomed to Egyptian servitude for two hundred and ten years? Because he pressed scholars into his service, as it is written, He armed his dedicated servants born in his own house. (Gen. 14:14) Samuel said: Because he went too far in testing the promises of the Lord, as it is written, And he said, Lord God, whereby shall I know that I will inherit it? (Gen. 15:8) Rabbi Johanan said: Because he prevented men from entering beneath the wings of the Shechinah, as it is written, Give me the persons and take the possessions for yourself. (Gen. 14:22) And he armed his trained servants, born in his own house. (Gen. 14:14) Rab said, he equipped them by teaching them the Torah. Samuel said, he made them bright with gold by rewarding them for accompanying him. Three hundred and eighteen: Rabbi Ammi ben Abba sand: Eliezer outweighed them all. Others say, It was Eliezer, for this is the numerical value of his name. (Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 32a) My Commentary: I love this whimsical Midrash. Abram goes off to rescue his nephew not with 318 soldiers but with only one: his faithful servant, Eliezer. The numerical value (gematriah) of the letters in the name, Eliezer, equals 318. Here we see Abram as the Long Ranger and Eliezer as his Tonto! The sages were disturbed by the image of Abram as a war lord. If he was truly a man of faith, why would he need anyone with him in confronting evil? Some of the sages found other reasons to criticize Abram: for instance, for taking his followers (who were obviously all scholars of Torah) away from their studies to pursue Lot and save him from his oppressors. And finally they completely remove our forefather from this more militaristic role by depicting him standing alone with only Eliezer to aid him in his quest.

3. Din Law: Applying the text to life

Mishnah: Captives should not be redeemed for more than their values to prevent abuses; captives should not be helped to escape to prevent abuses. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said: The reason is to prevent ill treatment of fellow slaves. Gemara: The question was raised: Does this prevention of abuses relate to the burden which may be imposed on the community or to the possibility that the activities of the bandits may be stimulated? Come and hear: Levi ben Darga ransomed his daughter for thirteen thousand denarii of gold. Said Abaye: But are you sure that he acted with the consent of the Sages? Perhaps he acted against the will of the Sages. (Babylonian Talmud, Gittin 45a) Pidyon Shevuyim takes precedence over supporting the poor or clothing them. There is no greater mitzvah than Pidyon Shevuyim, for the problems of the captive include the problems of the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, and one who is in mortal danger. One who ignores the need to redeem captives transgresses the following: "Do not harden your heart or shut your hand against your needy kinsman" (Deut. 15:7) "Do not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor" (Lev. 19:16)"You shall not rule ruthlessly over him in your sight" (Lev. 25:53) "You shall surely open your hand to him" (Deut. 15:8) "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Lev. 19:18) "Rescue those who are drawn to death" (Proverbs 24:11)and many other injunctions like these. There is no mitzvah greater than Pidyon Shevuyim. Inhabitants of a town who have raised funds for synagogue but who see that performing another mitzvah requires the money they have collected, should donate the money toward that mitzvah. If they purchased stones and beams (for building the synagogue) they should not sell them in order to perform another mitzvah except Pidyon Shevuyim. Even if they have brought the stones, laid the foundation, carved the beams, and prepared everything for the building they may sell all the materials to redeem captives. But if they have completed the building, they need not sell the synagogue, but must raise more money from the community. (M. Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Gifts for the Poor, 8:10, 11)

My Commentary: The Mishnah, published in the second century C.E., and the Gemara, edited around the fifth
century C.E., are the two sections of the Talmud. The Mishnah is a compendium of legal opinions from the Oral Law. The Gemara is a collection of rabbinic discussions based on the Mishnah. In the statement above, the Mishnah places limits on how much one may spend to redeem captives. The Gemara turns around and contradicts this statement by telling us of one Levi ben Darga who spent an exorbitant amount of money to redeem his daughter from captivity. In other discussions, the Talmud suggests that women have a precedent over men in matters of redemption since they are physically in danger of sexual abuse. The Mishnah, the law, then, doesnt always reflect the realities of the real world; Levi spent larger sums of money on the redemption of captives than the amount which the sages specified. Finally, we see in Maimonides' statement that there are various priorities in redeeming captives; one may even use community funds for the building of a synagogue to redeem captives. We are left to wonder how much is too much.

4. Sod The Meaning and Mystery of Faith

A compelling argument can be made both for the redemption of captives at any cost and for placing limits on how much money should be used to redeem captives from their oppressors. Living in a world in which Jews were subject to hostile authorities, the capture of Jews was an easy way for the church or the government to raise the necessary funds for its needs. Jews had no recourse to courts of law and no means of defending themselves. The authorities had no interest in killing Jews simply in being paid to free their captives. This is quite different from the present circumstances. Holding Israeli soldiers captive is a means of freeing terrorists who are held in Israeli jails. Sometimes, hostages are being held for political reasons. Much more is at stake; when Israel frees such prisoners they are exposing the Israeli public to danger. The Talmud is already aware that there are dangers in negotiating with hostile parties. It endangers the public in that others may be taken hostage and it raises the ante of expectations on the part of our foes. Recently, a member of the royal family offered rewards of up to one million dollars to anyone who takes an Israeli soldier hostage! Similarly, the Talmud suggests that helping captives to escape may be detrimental to others in captivity; they may be punished in place of those who escaped. Negotiating with terrorists is seen as a sign of weakness; responding with force is often criticized as unnecessary use of force by Israel. There are no easy answers to the question of Pidyon Shevuyim in Israel today; did Israel do the right thing in turning over more than a thousand terrorists to redeem one of its own sons? How could Israel not do everything in its power to reunite Gilad Shalit with his family? For me, the fact that Israel engages in such a discussion is one of the many things that makes me proud to be a Zionist and a Jew!

Questions to Ponder
1. Is the expression war lord an appropriate way in which to describe Abram in the Torah? Why or why not? 2. Abram does not appear to have a particularly close relationship with his nephew, Lot. Why does he bother to go after him in order to liberate him from his captives? 3. Why do you think this story is included in the Torah? What does it add to our image of the founder of the Jewish faith and the people of Israel? 4. How is the Mitzvah of Pidyon Shevuyim different today in a time of Jewish sovereignty than it was in the Middle Ages when Jews lived as a landless people without the means of self-defense? Should our responses be different?
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All it takes to study Torah is an open heart, a curious mind and a desire to grow a Jewish soul.
Copyright 2011 Rabbi Mark B Greenspan