GEN1142 The twelfth attribute [of Divine goodness and mercy] is derived from the phrase, as You swore to our forgathers. There are so many unworthy people, and yet, Hashem still has compassion on them. The Sages taught Berachos 7a that the verse, And I shall grant “chein” [Chein seems to denote special affinity and love for a person just because “he is who he is.” When Noach found chein in the eyes of Hashem Genesis 6:8, it does not mean that he was absolutely perfect and worthy of being saved, but rather than his personality was one that Hashem “liked” – i.e. he had an inner desire to do the will of His Creator. When Shechem asked to find chein in the eyes of Dinah’s brothers Genesis 34:11, he was asking them to “like” him and follow his wishes even though he was not deserving of their friendship.]  to those that I shall grant it, and have compassion on those that I shall have compassion Exodus 33:19, teaches us that Hashem has a “treasure” of compassion which He grants freely to those who are undeserving. The rationale is: “They still have the merit of their forgathers, to whom I swore; [this verse] therefore, even if the children are unworthy, I will still guide them with compassion until they eventually reach their lofty destiny.” We, too, should not insult a wicked person, nor react with cruelty, since he, after all, is also descended from Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov. Although such individuals may themselves be unworthy, their ancestors were highly worthy; an affront to the descendants is an affront to the ancestors as well. Note: One should not overlook the evil of the wicked…However, one who is not actually engaged in “distancing from evil” should constantly remind himself that even the wicked are children of Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov and teat them accordingly with respect and compassion, thus emulating this attribute of Hashem.   JOURNEY 548-9

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GEN1143 The Pentateuch does not directly consider intentionally induced abortions.   … That an Israelite parent might consider intentionally aborting a fetus seems almost beyond the moral horizon of the Torah’s original audience.  For in the moral environment where the law was first received, the memory of genocide and infanticide was still fresh Exodus 1:16; every birth was precious.   The Torah vividly articulates the ideals of patriarchal times and the vision of national destiny embedded in those ideals when it voices the loftiest and most sublime blessing to a patriarchal or matriarchal figure in God’s promise:[this verse].   Against this backdrop, the solitary and oblique reference to abortion in Exodus is all the more striking, for it clearly shows that aborticide, even though an assault, is not biblically deemed a homicide—although fatal injury to the expectant mother in such an incident would be.   JHRHV 88

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GEN1144 See [[GEN65]] Genesis 1:26 likeness COHON 207-8

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GEN1145 Dating … is a very recent phenomenon … however, there are enough ideas found in Jewish writings that give us an understanding of what constitutes a proper and improper “Jewish date.”  Most teens and even some adults go out on a date because: (1) they wish to have fun or a good time, (2) there is peer pressure to go out (when everyone else is out Saturday night, no one wants it known that they stayed home), or (3) there is a desire for sexual fulfillment. Those people who give a forth reason and say they are dating because they are “preparing for marriage” are rationalizing or are misinformed.  The rate of divorce among heavy daters may be even greater than the rate of divorce among people who get married without much dating.   Dating has never truly prepared anyone for marriage.   All the reasons cited for dating are not “Jewish” reasons.   These reasons are all selfish, and show that the person is out for fulfillment or his or her needs and not for the development of a relationship with the other person. …   When a person is more concerned about the needs of the other person than his or her own needs, it is a genuine relationship.   Most teenagers are not mature enough to forgo their own needs for those of another and hence are not ready for dating in the Jewish sense of the word.   Of course, on a “Jewish” date, the couple is still governed by all the laws regarding no sexual contact and of Yichud.  This is certainly the proper Jewish order: first the nonsexual relationship demonstrating compatibility on the levels of values and interests, and only later will the sexual, physical, emotional relationship come, following marriage … After Sarah died, it says [this verse] that Abraham first eulogized Sarah and then he cried for her.  The intellectual relationship of eulogy preceded the emotional relationship of crying, since in life, too, this was how they lived.   They first related on the nonsexual, intellectual level and only then related on the sexual, emotional level.   When Isaac met Rebecca, the order of their relationship was no different, as it says Genesis 24:67 that first Isaac brought Rebecca to his tent and only afterwards he loved her.  Like his father, Abraham, Isaac first related to his wife on the nonsexual, intellectual level and only then related on the emotional, sexual level.   The laws surrounding Jewish sexuality at first sound a bit outdated because they differ so radically from the attitudes of general society.  However, a careful analysis of this sexual life-style shows a special sensitivity by Judaism for love, sex, and the emotional needs of two human beings of the opposite sex.  AMEMEI 264-5

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GEN1146 [This teaches us that a eulogy is for the honor of the dead] for if it were for the honor of the living would Sarah’s burial have been delayed for Abraham’s honor? Sanhedrin 46b TEMIMAH-GEN 105

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GEN1147 Question: One of the leading Torah authorities of the generation suffered the death of his son, and did not shed even a single tear over him.   Is this a positive attribute, or not?   Answer: This is indeed a negative attribute.  It is indicative of hard-heartedness, and an evil quality of the soul.   It is a trait of cruelty… Crying, mourning and shedding tears for the passing of relatives –let alone for the passing of a righteous individual – is characteristic of the prophets, the saintly and the pious.   Such behavior is indicative of the purity of one’s soul, and of his humility before the Creator.   He will then grieve over his sins, and mourn for his transgressions, which were a cause for this tragedy. [This is, the tragedy of a relative’s passing should lead one to rethink his own conduct and repent for his sins, in the belief that they contributed to the Divine decrees that took the life of this relative.] It was not without reason that our Sages taught (Mo’ed Katan 27b): “Three days [following a death] are for weeping; seven (Shiva) for mourning; thirty (Sheloshim) for [the prohibition of] ironing and haircuts.” Had weeping been considered unseemly, the rabbis would certainly not have instituted three days for this purpose.   So too, with regard to Avraham Avinu a”h, the Torah states [this verse] that he came “to eulogize Sarah, and to week for her.” We find similar examples with regard to Yaakov, King David, and countless others.   EYES 169

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GEN1148 “I am both a stranger and a resident in your midst,” he tells them [this verse].   This paradox of the first Jew foreshadowed later Jewish existence.   Even today, Jews are both residents – equal citizens of their adopted lands—and strangers.  … Jews in the United States are Americans [etc.] [B]ut they are also distinctively recognized as Jews.  Wherever they are, the Jews represent what is almost a subnation within a nation.   An American Jew and a British Jew often have more in common with each other than with their American and British counterparts.   The Jews have a different New Year from the rest of the world’s, are circumcised, don’t celebrate some of the most important national holidays of their adopted lands, like Easter and Christmas, and are staunch supporters of the State of Israel.   They are both residents and aliens, a people within a people.   BOTEACH 378

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GEN1149 See [[GEN1044]] Genesis 18:27 ashes SINAI3 201

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GEN1150 One whose dead one is before him is exempt from all of the mitzvoth of the Torah.  And though the body may not actually be in front of him, still, since it is incumbent upon him to bury it, it is considered as lying in front of him, as it is written: “And I will bury my dead one from before me” Berachot 18a TEMIMAH-GEN 105

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GEN1151 The biblical exemplar of Kiddush Hashem is Abraham, the first Jews, who made so positive an impression on his non-Hebrew neighbors that they said of him [You are a prince of God in our midst”].   There are two activities in particular that Jewish tradition associates with Abraham: teaching people about God’s existence and practicing hospitality.   Both are cornerstones of the mitzvah of Kiddush Hashem. … For Maimonides Book of the Commandments, Positive Command #3, Abraham’s behavior should serve as a model for his future descendants … indeed, when people speak of Jews as the Chosen People, this is the task for which Jewish tradition understands them to have been chosen: to make known to humankind that there is One God, Whose primary demand of human beings is ethical behavior.   Carrying out this mission is the ultimate act of Kiddush Hashem.   TELVOL 1:458-9

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