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GENESIS — 18:19 that

GEN999 [T]he Torah states [this verse]. We see, then, that this is more beloved to the holy One than all the other commandments.  Reflecting this principle the Rambam writes in the “Laws of Charitable Gifts” (10:1): “We are obligated to be more heedful with respect to the commandment of charity than with any other positive commandment.”   EYES 80

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GENESIS — 18:19 way

GEN1002 [The Rashba [Shlomo ben Aderet (1235–1310)] attributes the Jewish people’s great love of truth to several reasons, including the inheritance of Torah, a Torah of truth, and the fact that they are descendants of Yaakov, whose defining characteristic was truth.   The Rashba also alludes more subtly to a third reason – that they are “entirely an offspring of truth.”   That is, our entire nation descends from the patriarch Avraham, who could not be persuaded to worship idols by his father and his entire generation, all of whom were heathens.   Rather, he investigated the matter on his own, until he arrived at the truth and his soul became attached to the true God.   Thus, the very founding of our nation came about as a result of Avraham’s tireless search for the true path, and it thus became the defining characteristic of our nation.   This explains the Rashba’s later statement about “a powerful testament to how much the nation of the God of Avraham loves the path of truth.”   Thus, he mentions only the God of Avraham, and not the God of Yitzchak and Yaakov, because Avraham was the first to bequeath to his children and household the true path, as it is written [this verse]: “because he commands his children and his household after him that they keep the way of HaShem, doing charity and justice.”   EYES 437-8

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GENESIS — 20:12 honor

GEN1093 … gratitude is a fundamental principle of our holy Torah as the author of the Chinuch notes in his commentary on [this verse]: “The roots of this commandment are that one ought to be grateful and benevolent towards one who did something good for him, and not be duplicitous, two-faced and ungrateful.   For this is an evil trait, and one that is utterly despicable in the eyes of God and men … And when he will imbed this trait in his soul, he will be elevated by it to recognize the goodness of God towards him.” EYES 68

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GENESIS — 23:2 weep

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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GENESIS — 32:4 sent

GEN1356 [In] Ramban [Nachmanides’] opening commentary on Parshas VaYishlach [this verse], [] he writes as follows: “This parsha (passage) was written to let it be known that God rescued his servant [Yaakov] by sending an angel to free him from the clutches of his more powerful opponent [Esau]. We also learn that Yaakov did not merely rely on being rescued by virtue of his righteousness, but endeavored with all in his power to save himself.  [This parsha] also offers guidance for future generations, for we will constantly face situations vis-à-vis the descendants of Esau similar to that which our Patriarch faced [in this encounter] with his brother Esau.   We should therefore follow in the footsteps of the tzaddik [Yaakov] by preparing ourselves for our own moments of peril the same way he did: with prayer, gifts, and a means of escape by which to save ourselves in the course of war. EYES 23-4

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