Abraham, our Father (Avrohom Avinu) challenged G-d Al-mighty to save even the most wicked of human beings. Why?
Highlights from this week's learning and events; An eternal message from the Torah about how G-d Al-mighty wants the Torah message of His Divine Wisdom to reach every single man, woman and child.
Did you know that the Torah has an eternal Divine Message that applies to every single human being? Authentic Torah learning grounds us in reality, both what we can observe and what is beyond our observation, grasp and even understanding, and leads to practical positive action. Positive for us and positive for those around us. Torah reveals our Divine Innate Spiritual Compass and brings our Spiritual Backbone to the forefront of life.
If you have adopted some or all of Enlightenment thinking, learning Torah will challenge everything you believe and hold dear.
In each Week’s Roundup, you will find a special topic, links to this week’s learning, the Torah perspective on current events, upcoming learning and action suggestions. This week we embrace seeing the essence of ourselves and others. Learn, take hope and take action, and share.
This week, I have been traveling in Florida to speak and uplift the Jews and non-Jews of Florida with the Torah’s Eternal Divine Message of Hope. 10 speaking opportunities in schools and synagogues and private homes as we spread the message of hope and also raise the funds to accelerate reaching even more Jews and non-Jews far and wide. Shabbos starts here later than the New York area so that’s why this newsletter is reaching you after Shabbos starts New York time and, if you are Jewish, please wait to read it until after Shabbos.
As I wrote at the opening of last week’s newsletter, in order to fulfill our individual missions in the world, we need to ask the question - when will my actions reach the actions of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob???
And, ask it again and again.
When G-d Al-mighty decided to destroy the entirely wicked and seemingly unredeemable cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, He curiously chose to first discuss His decision with Abraham, our Father.
His justification - Avrohom, means father of the nations, and therefore, Avrohom, Our Father, and all the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob have a fatherly care for the well-being, spiritual and physical of all human beings.
But why discuss it with Avrohom? Sodom and Gomorrah’s residents were determined to do the opposite of G-d Al-mighty’s Will and stood for the very opposite of Abraham’s message he shared with the world.
G-d Al-mighty wanted to provoke Avrohom Avinu to rise to the defense of the residents of Sodom and Gemorrah. In fact, G-d Al-mighty says that He wants to provoke this response because he knows that Avrohom Avinu will ingrain this advocacy in his children for all generations!
And, indeed, Avrohom Avinu rose to the occasion! He challenged and pleaded with G-d Al-mighty to save ALL the people of those cities. While his excuse was that there might be a handful of righteous people scattered among the wicked, he asked G-d Al-mighty to save everyone. He could have merely asked G-d Al-mighty to have the angels who were sent to rescue Lot and his family to also save another fifty people as part of their rescue mission.
But, instead he wanted everyone saved.
From Avrohom Avinu’s perspective these people were indeed redeemable. For him, he saw that they merited another day just so that they could return to G-d Al-mighty.
While he was not successful in saving those particular people, he redoubled his efforts to reach even more human beings before they should descend to such a low level.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe urged us to see that those who now appear to be our biggest enemies will become our greatest supporters.
How? When we see the potential of who they really are. To do this we must opt out of the phony dialectics were we are riled up to take sides and “write-off” all the human beings identified as being part of the “other side.”
That’s what Avrohom Avinu implanted in us for us to act accordingly and to show an example to every other human being that they should never give up on themselves nor on any other human being and instead see themselves and every other person as G-d Al-mighty creates and see them - created in His Divine Image ready at every moment to make the good choice, no matter what choices they have made until this moment. NO EXCEPTIONS.
And with that Vision, G-d Al-mighty’s Vision, we can complete Avrohom Avinu’s mission that he set out to accomplish to uplift every human being, to forge his offspring into a nation, the Children of Israel, willing to give up their lives to be a living beacon of hope to every human being, to uplift the Land of Israel to be a beacon of hope and inspiration to the entire world, and to build a House of Prayer for all the Nations, the Holy Temple.
Let’s make it happen and Now!
Shabbos is coming, a reminder for every human being that they are an intentional creation of G-d Al-mighty right now and a continuing beneficiary of His Love, His Joy and His Abundance! What an incredible moment to increase even more in joy!
Action: Use the link above to check Yom Tov and Shabbos Candellighting times in your city around the world. Yom Tov and Shabbos Candlelighting time in New York City this week (11/3/23) is 5:32 pm and Shabbos ends at 6:31 pm.
Here is some of the learning we did this week:
These videos are available in the content library at RabbiSmith.org (in parentheses) and also on YouTube by clicking the name of the learning. When you watch on YouTube please like, share and subscribe so the message of hope reaches more and more people. See below at the end of this article a list of upcoming classes both in person and on Zoom.
Sunday Learning
👉Mitzvos Hashem R Steif: don't go to theatres & circuses - they play with your mind, heart & morals
🔥Hot Topic🔥A Torah Approved War Strategy for Gaza
🔥The Second Amendment🔥The G-d given right to self-defense and how the Torah demands it!
Additional Learning (YouTube Shorts)
Upcoming Learning:
All learning uses the following Zoom link: https://bit.ly/BeisMedrash. Sponsor learning in honor or memory of a loved one.
👉Yeshiva Shem V'Ever
Shabbos Afternoon (Saturday) 4 pm Eastern
We will be learning Torah relevant to non-Jews with Jews and non-Jews.
Tanya: Sha'ar Hayichud v'HaEmunah - the Gate of Oneness and Faith
In person only.
👉Rabbi Steif Mitzvos Hashem
SUNDAY 7 am Eastern (1 pm Germany time) - No class this week
Rabbi Steif wrote this holy book to avert the Holocaust by making sure that both Jews and non-Jews should know clearly G-d Al-mighty's rules for non-Jews.
👉Zecharia 8:23 - Prayer for non-Jews
WEDNESDAY 8:00 pm Eastern
Actions:
See another person you have written off as G-d Al-mighty sees them.
This message of Hope can and must reach even more people, with you help. Please gift generously to propel this message to more people. Time is of the essence. The mission is monumental, but with G-d Al-mighty’s help it eminently possible. May G-d Al-mighty bless you for your generosity.
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👉Dedicate a future edition of the Week’s Roundup by clicking here.
thank you for this Rabbi. As Noahides, we need to embrace where Hashem has us, right? And be like Avraham Avinu and pray for the people[s] where we are, the cities, states, etc. right? Until and unless Hashem tells us, 'get up and go', right?