Last week Abraham was described as a man who walked before God and was blameless. (Genesis 17:1) What merits this description of Abraham? What makes him the epitome of righteousness?
Our Torah portion begins with Abraham providing three strangers with hospitality, a place to rest, drink and a feast. Next we see him argue with God to save the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, which have been marked for destruction because of their cruel treatment of strangers who enter their cities.
Clearly, the Torah is setting up a moral contrast. A righteous person welcomes strangers and treats them with respect. An evil person hates the stranger and persecutes them.
With this in mind, we must admit that our country acts more like the Sodomites than like Abraham. We keep refugees and migrants in squalid camps on our border. We separate children from their parents. We refuse to provide a path to citizenship. How will history judge us: as a people who walk before God or as immoral and cruel like the Sodomites?
If we don’t like the judgment, what are we willing to do to change it? The choice is ours. ~Rabbi Dean Kertesz
Vayera, Genesis 18:1-22:24, Parshat Ha Shavua for Shabbat, Saturday, October 23, 2021
October 22, 2021 by Dean Kertesz • Drashot
Last week Abraham was described as a man who walked before God and was blameless. (Genesis 17:1) What merits this description of Abraham? What makes him the epitome of righteousness?
Our Torah portion begins with Abraham providing three strangers with hospitality, a place to rest, drink and a feast. Next we see him argue with God to save the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, which have been marked for destruction because of their cruel treatment of strangers who enter their cities.
Clearly, the Torah is setting up a moral contrast. A righteous person welcomes strangers and treats them with respect. An evil person hates the stranger and persecutes them.
With this in mind, we must admit that our country acts more like the Sodomites than like Abraham. We keep refugees and migrants in squalid camps on our border. We separate children from their parents. We refuse to provide a path to citizenship. How will history judge us: as a people who walk before God or as immoral and cruel like the Sodomites?
If we don’t like the judgment, what are we willing to do to change it? The choice is ours. ~Rabbi Dean Kertesz