Ancient Wisdom for Modern Living: The Torah
There are so many experts today offering antidotes for modern-day problems. They share inspiration and wisdom that help us through our murkiest times, and there is no question that they are gifts from Adonei. However, there is nothing like the timeless wisdom found in the Torah. It’s the first place we should turn in times of trouble. The Torah teaches us how to be better humans. It inspires and imparts timeless wisdom we can apply to our contemporary trials and tribulations. Here is my take on this week’s Torah portion: Vayera (Genesis 18:1-21:24).
Parashat Vayera in a Super Small Nutshell
In Vayera, Abraham receives three visitors at his home and shows them great hospitality. He offered them food and rest and washed their feet. One of the visitors is the Divine, and the other two are angels. Hashem tells Abraham that he plans to destroy the city of Sodom because the town has turned evil. Then Abraham begins negotiating with Adonai to save the city’s innocent people. Abraham asked whether, if there were fifty innocent people, he would spare the city? The negotiation continued until they reached ten. God agreed not to destroy Sodom if there were ten good people. Unfortunately, there weren’t ten.
Meanwhile, the two angels go to Sodom and warn Lot, a good and righteous man, and his family to leave immediately so they do not perish with the others. Ultimately, Adonie destroys the city, and Lot and his family survive, except for his wife, who ignores the angel’s warning not to look back at the city. She, unfortunately, turned into a pillar of salt. When it was all said and done, G-d blessed Abraham with a son, Isaac, and the promise that his descendants would be great in numbers and be a blessing to all nations. If there ever was a blueprint for living righteously and being a morally solid, all-around good human, it’s Abraham. He is a pillar in his community. When the three visitors arrived, he invited them into his home, providing food and rest. When Adonei tells Abraham of his plans to destroy Sodom, his concern is for the innocent lives.
Applying This Week’s Torah Portion to Everyday Life
While reading Vayera, I thought, how can I take this profound story and truncate the message into a few words that can inspire us to be better humans? The answer, I found is in the concept ‘bless and be blessed’. These four words encapsulate the essence of Abraham, offering us a simple yet powerful message to carry with us each day. To be blessed, we must bless others. Abraham is a good man whose faith and devotion to Adonei are limitless. As an ambassador for good and righteous living, he works tirelessly to bless others through justice, compassion, and hospitality and as a result G-d blessed him. Abraham’s actions make up the perfect checklist for us in our daily lives. Questions we can ask ourselves are:
1. Are we moving through each day showing kindness and compassion for others and steering clear of negativity?
2. Are we giving of ourselves? Showing hospitality toward others and working to make our communities better and stronger.
3. Are we advocating for the innocent? Do we take time out of our busy lives to care for those in need?
For many of us, myself included, this is a work in progress. Human beings are not flawless, and life can be demanding and difficult. Still, the more we take these Torah stories to heart and model ourselves after people like Abraham, the closer we come to reaching our divine purpose and when we live like this everything we pass on our life’s journey will become a little more beautiful.
Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts on this week’s Torah portion. May you have a blessed Shabbat full of joy and plenty of love. Shalom!
Are you interested in learning more at about my journey? Check out the article below:
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