ספר בראשית

‎Genesis 14,19-20 “Blessed be Avram to the Supreme G’d,….and ‎blessed the Supreme G’d Who has delivered your oppressors ‎into your hand.”It is a rule that when G’d deals with a ‎person on the basis of ‎מדה כנגד מדה‎, “measure for measure,” ‎reward or punishment will be in a reciprocal relationship to one ‎another. However, when G’d does not apply this method in ‎dealing with an individual, and He does man a favour-that he has ‎not earned,- he is the recipient of a gift from G’d. Since Avram ‎was a person whose very personality exuded loving kindness, it is ‎clear that G’d reciprocated in equal measure. In this instance, -the ‎victory of a few men under Avram’s command over mighty ‎armies, was something he considered as way in excess of his input ‎thus far. In other words, G’d had given Avram a gift that he had ‎not deserved.The Ari’zal writes that when we recite three ‎times daily the words ‎מלך עוזר ומושיע ומגן‎, “King, Helper, Saviour ‎and Shield,” our sages used this formulation to describe such an ‎undeserved gift from G’d. We also find that Onkelos translates the ‎word ‎חנם‎ in Genesis 29,15 and in Exodus 21,2 as ‎מגן‎. By using this ‎formulation, Malki Tzedek gave Avram a hint that he had ‎received an undeserved gift from G’d. This hint was reinforced by ‎Malki Tzedek referring to G’d as the “Supreme G’d owner of ‎heaven and earth.” What man possesses he does not have to ‎acquire. When he needs something that he does not own, he has ‎to acquire it. Avram did not need to acquire the virtue of loving ‎kindness, as apparently, he personified this virtue since birth; ‎However, the characteristic of ‎גבורה‎, the kind of bravery and ‎heroism needed to wage war successfully, was not a quality he ‎possessed from birth, so that he had to acquire it. Malki Tzedek ‎blesses G’d for having provided Avram with this quality at a time ‎when he was really in need of it. Seeing that G’d “owns” heaven ‎and earth, He is able to bestow this quality on people whenever it ‎suits Him.‎