This week’s parasha, Lech Lecha, introduces us to our patriarchs, Avraham and Sarah, and shares with us their early encounters in eretz Canaan . After successfully retrieving his nephew Lot from capture, Avram encounters Malki-Tzedek, king of Shalem and priest of Hashem. In this encounter, Avram takes a tenth of his possessions and gives them as a gift to Malki-Tzedek – presumably to assist him in his work as a priest of Hashem. The Midrash tells us that Malki-Tzedek is none other than Noach’s righteous son, Shem. Furthermore, our mefarshim (Ramban and others) teach us that Shalem is none other than Yerushalayim. What lesson is the Torah teaching us by using pseudonyms for Shem and Yerushalayim? Why doesn’t the Torah simply refer to Malki-Tzedek as Shem and Shalem as Yerushalayim? The Torah seems to be teaching us a fundamental idea about the purpose of Yerushalayim from its very origins as a city. Malki-Tzedek means “king of justice”. Shalem is a variant of Shalom - “peace”. ...
Rabbi Benjy Owen, Dean, Margolin Hebrew Academy-Feinstone Yeshiva of the South, Memphis, TN