Musar על בראשית 14:22

And with all his thoughts he should meditate how to do the will of the Creator, and purify the many others to do likewise, and to sanctify the Name of God and to surrender himself completely in the love of God, Blessed be He. And this is the love of God, Blessed is He, that is written in the Torah, as in the case of Phineas who risked his life for the sake of the Creator, may He be Blessed (Num. 25), and as in the case of Abraham, our father, who said: "I have lifted my hand to the Lord, the most High God, Creator of heaven and earth, that I will not take from a thread or a shoestring nor will I take anything of yours" (Gen. 14:22-23). And, as in the case of Elisha who did not wish to take anything from Naaman (II Kings 5:16).

4) A fourth level of מצוה performance is performance of the commandment for the sake of G–d, not for the securing of any kind of advantage on this earth. Abraham was a prime example of this when he risked his life to liberate Lot and incidentally all the people of Sodom, etc, and refused as much as a shoelace of the loot which was legally his (Genesis 14,22).

It is fitting for every person to pray this short prayer before entering the synagogue: “ ‘Please accept the gifts of my mouth, Hashem, and teach me Your laws’ (Tehillim 119:108). May it be Your will, Hashem my God and God of my fathers, that my prayer should be lucid and pure and free of any hindrance that might interfere with proper intention.” It is very precious to the Holy One Blessed is He when a person raises his arms and fingers while praying from the bottom of his heart. Thus the Zohar relates in Parashas Yisro (67a) that ten angels are appointed over the one who lifts up his arms and fingers during prayer or the washing of the hands. However, it is forbidden to raise one’s hands and fingers in vain. To this the Zohar applies the verse, “Let them not appear before Me empty-handed” (Shemos 23:15). Then the ten angels mentioned above curse him with two hundred and forty-eight imprecations, Heaven spare us. A spirit of impurity immediately settles upon his hands and no blessing is to be found in them. Thus it is written of Avraham, “I raised my hand to Hashem, God the most High” (Bereishis 14:22). The Targum renders, “I raised my hand in prayer.” That is, he did not raise them in vain, Heaven forbid.

Therefore it is stated, “And the King of Sedom” — that is, the Prince of Gehinnom. “Said to Avram” — an allusion to the soul of the righteous person. It is called Av Ram, “Exalted Father,” because it is a Divine spark from On High. “Give me the souls” — that is, the souls of the wicked who paid no heed to their parents and teachers, ridiculing the words of the Sages instead. “And the property you may take for yourself” — that is, those wicked who listened joyfully to those rebuking them and did not ridicule them. They are the “property” of the righteous, who may take them for themselves and save them from punishment in Gehinnom. Then the soul of the righteous man swears that he will not take those who are the portion of the Prince of Gehinnom because they failed to heed the voices of the Sages. This is the meaning of the verse, “And Avram said to the king of Sedom, ‘I raise my hand in oath to Hashem, God the Most High.’” (Bereishis 14:22). That is, he swore that he would not pray for the sake of those wicked who ridiculed the Torah and shamed the scholars.