SHABBAT MESSAGE FROM RABBI ROB: (a little earlier then usual) We should think about Abrahams negotiations with HaShem before the destruction of the evil cities. Its fair to ask if God really negotiated with Abraham, or could there have been something else at play. I suggest the latter, and heres why. Consider: Does God really need to negotiate? I think not. So what was that about, anyway? I suggest that God was testing Abraham. God, as we see, had selected Abraham to be Gods special person. But to be that special person, the bar needed to be pretty high, dont ya think? what, then, was God looking for in Abraham? In a word, compassion! Its not hard to be Gods messenger. All ya gotta do is stand on a corner and preach chapter and verse. But to be the father of an entire people, the test gets harder. Certainly, Abraham could have said, Gonna blow em up, eh? Guess I better get the family as far away as I can. But he didnt. he showed compassion for those doomed souls who were about to be destroyed. Further, he showed compassion not just for the few righteous that might be found, but also for those who loved around them even though they werent at all righteous. What does this teach us today, in our own time? It teaches us that no matter the circumstance, compassion is always the right thing. We cannot know everybodys story. We cannot know what brings someone to living in ways that are opposed to Gods laws of living. But we can assume that all souls...souls which belong to God....are valuable and worth our compassion. True, sometimes our expressions of compassion seem to be wasted on the unrepentant. Or is it? No, it isnt wasted at all. If we show compassion, even in difficult circumstances, then we are demonstrating something about ourselves, something about our own souls. Doing the right thing is not about negotiations. We cannot expect quid pro quo for doing the right things and showing compassion, even to those who might not seem to deserve it. Thats not our call! But our reward, so to speak, is the doing of it, the doing the right thing, the expression of compassion. The act is the reward in itself. Let us all strive, therefore, to gain the reward by doing what is right and showing compassion. Shabbat Shalom! P.S.: clearly, abraham passed the test. Just sayin.......
Posted on: Thu, 06 Nov 2014 20:48:39 +0000
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