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If God endows us with certain talents and abilities, it means that He expects us to use them properly. God made you the way you are because He believes in you!
By Rabbi Ari Enkin, Rabbinic Director, United with Israel
This week’s Torah portion is “Lech Lecha” (Genesis 12:1-17:27), and in it God promises Abraham: “I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and I will make your name great. And you will be a blessing.”
A number of questions are asked on this verse. One of them is: What does it mean – “and you will be a blessing.”
According to our sages, it means that the power to bless other people was given to Abraham. Until this time, only God was able to bless people. From here on in, Abraham was given that power. Anyone whom Abraham decided to bless was blessed. If Abraham blessed a person with wealth or health, God obeyed, as it were. And indeed, we are told that people flocked to Abraham for blessings.
Abraham was now invested with incredible power. To some extent, he ran the world!
Why did God give Abraham so much power? What made Him think the Abraham was worthy of this power? How did God know that Abraham wouldn’t abuse the power?
The answer, it is explained, is that Abraham had a one-track mind: kindness. All day, every day, he tried to do good for others – believers in the One God, pagans, travelers….anyone and everyone. He was a kindness machine! As such, God knew he had the right guy for the job…err, for such power. God was not worried that Abraham would misuse his power or that it would go to his head.
From here we learn that if God endows us with certain talents and abilities, it means that He expects us to use them properly. To help others. God made you the way you are because He believes in you!
Let us emulate Abraham by demonstrating to God and others that we are worthy of everything we’ve been given and blessed with.
For more insights by Rabbi Enkin on this week’s Torah portion, click on the links below:
https://unitedwithisrael.org/living-torah-what-makes-a-man-great/
https://unitedwithisrael.org/living-torah-israel-is-a-jews-only-true-home/
https://unitedwithisrael.org/living-torah-israel-belongs-to-the-jewish-people/
https://unitedwithisrael.org/living-torah-why-is-location-location-location-so-important/
https://unitedwithisrael.org/aliyah-for-the-elderly-like-abraham-and-sarah/
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