Welcome to the short, practical Lelamed Weekly Dvar and Daily Aliyah. As
always, you can Order The Daily Aliyah
https://mosaicapress.com/product/the-daily-aliyah/ and receive your hard
copy of these daily practical and relevant Torah thoughts, or join this
Whatsapp group https://chat.whatsapp.com/DnAFialrvmy6hNahBkU61F to
receive one per day. I hope you connect with this thought...
When the southern region of Canaan becomes embroiled in a battle involving
nine kings, Avram’s nephew Lot is among the captives. When Avram is
informed of this, the pasuk refers to him as “Avram the Ivri” (14:13), a
label not used to describe Avram anywhere else. Rashi explains that Ivri
connotes “from the other side of the [Euphrates] river” and is, in fact, an
accurate designation, yet it is still unclear why this is the one and only
time this term is used to describe Avram.
Rav Moshe Neriyah posits that the Torah defines Avram as morally and
spiritually on “one side of the river” while the rest of the world is on
the other. While Sodom and Nimrod subjected innocent people to brutal
punishment, Avram stood for kindness. Avram did not require acceptance from
anyone or try to assimilate but stood alone in defense of the innocent.
Perhaps it’s this steadfastness, along with G-d’s help, that empowered
Avram to triumph over the evils that surrounded him.
Doing the right thing and standing for what’s moral and just can be a
lonely endeavor (as we are seeing today), but Avram’s actions and G-d’s
support show us that it’s a fight worth fighting and a victory worth
pursuing.
Shlomo Ressler
Quotation of the week:
“It is better to try and fail, than to fail to try”
Welcome to the short, practical Lelamed Weekly Dvar and Daily Aliyah. As
always, you can Order The Daily Aliyah
<https://mosaicapress.com/product/the-daily-aliyah/> and receive your hard
copy of these daily practical and relevant Torah thoughts, or join this
Whatsapp group <https://chat.whatsapp.com/DnAFialrvmy6hNahBkU61F> to
receive one per day. I hope you connect with this thought...
_______________________________________________
When the southern region of Canaan becomes embroiled in a battle involving
nine kings, Avram’s nephew Lot is among the captives. When Avram is
informed of this, the pasuk refers to him as “Avram the Ivri” (14:13), a
label not used to describe Avram anywhere else. Rashi explains that Ivri
connotes “from the other side of the [Euphrates] river” and is, in fact, an
accurate designation, yet it is still unclear why this is the one and only
time this term is used to describe Avram.
Rav Moshe Neriyah posits that the Torah defines Avram as morally and
spiritually on “one side of the river” while the rest of the world is on
the other. While Sodom and Nimrod subjected innocent people to brutal
punishment, Avram stood for kindness. Avram did not require acceptance from
anyone or try to assimilate but stood alone in defense of the innocent.
Perhaps it’s this steadfastness, along with G-d’s help, that empowered
Avram to triumph over the evils that surrounded him.
Doing the right thing and standing for what’s moral and just can be a
lonely endeavor (as we are seeing today), but Avram’s actions and G-d’s
support show us that it’s a fight worth fighting and a victory worth
pursuing.
Shlomo Ressler
_____________________________________________
Quotation of the week:
“It is better to try and fail, than to fail to try”