Author: Shlomo Bar-Ayal

Abraham was so named because of his attribute of mercy. He was merciful but he was not stupid. When faced with evil he was not merciful. He would show mercy to those who were proven to be evil.

Abraham is told to go to the Land of Canaan. The reason is that God wanted the Jews to be seen. That through our actions the world could learn how make the world a better place.

When God describes the land He mentions the seven nations dwelling in the land. Missing from the list were the Philistines. About them the Torah that they were then in the land, inferring that they were not native to the land.

Abraham has to go to war for the sake of Lot. He does not go to war for its own sake. He refused any rewards for the victory. So, it is true with us today. We do not go to war unless we have to not because we want to.

The command to Abraham to leave his home is a strange one. He is commanded to go for himself. This underlines the idea that we do not do the commandments for God but for our benefit.

The Torah is specific in that a government should exist for the safety of society but that it should be a totalitarian regime. This was one of the inspirations for the Framers of the US Constitution.

The Torah states that Noah was a righteous man in his generation. What add the qualifier? Because he would make excuses for the evil around him even though he was apart from it.

Before the flood there were no laws. After, God gave the 7 Laws for mankind. What is interesting is that the one positive is to set up courts to enforce the other 6.

A question of the flood story was why were the animals drowned. The answer is that the purpose of Creation was man. Without man there is no purpose to the animals.

In this week’s portion we see that the Torah is against anarchy and totalitarianism. While it is necessary to have a government, it should be limited.