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Abraham goes to war to save Lot, who was kidnapped. After the war he is offered some of the booty of the war. He declines since the reason he fought was to save his nephew. This is why we fight. We do not fight for land or money but because it is the last option.

Abraham realizes that he and Lot have different agendas. Lot is into himself while Abraham wants to affect the world through his actions. Lot chooses Sodom while Abraham does not. This is to teach us that all our actions will affect society.

Abraham is told to go to the crossroads of the ancient world. This was so that he could influence people to live better lives morally. This is the mission that God wants from us. To be involved and make people better.

When Abraham is given the command to go to Canaan there is an extra word used. It should read Go to a land that I will show you. Instead, it reads Go for yourself. Why the extra word?

The Torah goes out of it way to infer that Noah, while righteous, was not perfect. This is to teach us, that while our great leaders were righteous, they made mistakes, and they learned from their mistakes. That is what made them great.

The Torah is specific in that we do not know where Moses is buried. This was to avoid us praying to Moses. We celebrate his spiritual teachings, not his physical body.

The final judgement is given on Simhat Torah. The reason is it will show if we really meant it when we repented on Yom Kippur.

Just as Joshua built upon the foundation laid by Moses, we should learn that we build upon the foundation of those who came before us. As we build we make it better than it was.

On Yom Kippur Eve we recite the blessing that we are permitted to pray with criminals. The reason for this is that even though they might be criminals, they are with the community.

We are responsible for our behavior. If we behave better, then those around us will too. This is how we improve society. Not from the top down but from the bottom up.