GEN795 Judaism does truly admire physical beauty.  However, like any other special quality given by God, it should not be shown off with revealing clothes except on special occasions, which Judaism defines as in the bedroom with one’s spouse.  Sarah, Abraham’s wife, remained in the tent when strangers came to visit Genesis 18:9 despite the fact that she was exceedingly beautiful.   Western culture tells husbands to “show off” the beauty of their wives.  Yet, because Sarah stayed inside the tent, the Talmud Baba Metzia 87a calls the beautiful Sarah modest.  This is the meaning of the verse Psalms 45:14 that says that the honor is paid to the princess who remains hidden. Like the use of jewelry or the Torah, using that special quality only on an occasional basis and in the proper context is what makes that talent more appreciated, not less appreciated.  Because the mountain did not symbolically try to “show off” how great it was, Mount Sinai was called modest and was chosen as the site of the giving of the Torah.  Thus, hiding one’s special talent except for special occasions (as part of Jewish holiness) is one important aspect of Jewish modesty.  AMEMEI 184

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GEN796 R. Chelbo said: “One should always be solicitous of his wife’s honor, for blessing abides in a man’s house only for the sake of his wife, as it is written: ‘And he benefited Avram for her sake’” Baba Metzia 59a TEMIMAH-GEN 59

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GEN797 Deception is one of the ways marginal people imagine themselves improving their situation at the expense of those with greater power, as in the many underdog tales of Genesis or the Afro-American tradition of trickster-tales (Niditch, 1987: 44 – 50). The sons of Jacob use their own wits to succeed. God’s help is not mentioned. And yet, their success is of an unstable variety as are all tricksters’ victories. Abram deceives Pharaoh only to be thrown out of town [this verse], Jacob deceives Esau and suffers exile and the prospect of again confronting his brother, and so on. The old trickster himself, Jacob, warns his hot-headed suns at genesis 34:30: “you have brought trouble upon me by making me hated among the inhabitants of the land… they will gather against me, strike me, and I shall be destroyed, myself and my household.” The suns have the last word, again an appeal to honor based upon the man’s capacity to protect his women.” Should he be allowed to treat our sister like a harlot?!” The victory, how are, is not neat or final as the Karen text would have it. This tale of war comes from the time and people who enjoy and find relevant the image of Israelites as tricksters who defy those who would control them or there is. They do not defy the enemy directly, but employee with, while, and deception and assume that no victories are final or neat. Theirs is a world-review it Differs strongly of the bardic text NIDITCH 110-1

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GEN798 The Torah tells us that Abraham was extremely wealthy with cattle, gold, and silver, and showed the world that it is possible to have wealth and power and not necessarily become greedy.  AMJV 338

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GEN799 A person should not change the place of his lodging.  When Abraham returned from Egypt to the land of Canaan, he lodged at the same inns in which he had stayed on his way down to Egypt.  From this we learn that a person should not change his place of accommodation Erchin 16b Rashi.  A change in lodgings could harm the reputation of both host and guest. People might think something is wrong with the host, and therefore the guest does not want to stay with him, or vice versa.  PLYN 47 

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GEN801 R. Yehudah said in the name of Rav: “Whence is it derived that one should not change his accustomed lodging place? From the verse: ‘Until the place where his tent was in the beginning.’” R. Yossi b. R. Chanina said: “From the verse: ‘And he went to his travels.’” What reflects the difference between the two views? – And incidental lodging place [where one was compelled to stop because of unforeseen circumstances. According to the first view, the rule does not apply to such a place, and according to the second view, it does] Erchin 16b TEMIMAH-GEN 60

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GEN800 One must endeavor to lodge at the place to which he is accustomed; he may only desist if he is physically evicted from the premises by the owner of the lodging.  Rashi explains the reason for this laws: People will say, “How difficult are those two – they could not even manage to live in peace together!”  This rule applies even if one pays rent to the landlord.  WAGS 168

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GEN802 Peer pressure seems to be a very powerful force in our society, causing people to alter their intended actions and behavior. … When the shepherds of Lot, Abraham’s nephew who lived with Abraham, began quarrelling with the shepherds of Abraham, the reaction of Abraham was swift: Rather than fighting the possible negative influences of Lot and his shepherds, Abraham ordered his nephew and his shepherds to immediately leave his household and part company.  … Thus we can see the fear of peer pressure that Abraham displayed.  Rather than combatting Lot’s beliefs, which were contrary to his own, he immediately ordered Lot to leave before any negative values could be acquired by his household.  We may also postulate that the peer pressure and negative influence of Lot himself influenced the views of his shepherds.  Lot then moves to Sodom, where his new peers more truly reflected his outlook on life.  AMEMEI 214

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GEN803 What should a person do when he wants to hate someone, as the Torah forbids hating?  How can he or she be around this person and see the object of his or her hatred on a regular basis, and not display this emotion?  The Rabbis, based on the precedent of Abraham, give us one possible remedy. When Abraham saw that his nephew Lot and Lot’s shepherds were acting in an immoral and despicable manner (by stealing the grazing land of others), in order not to come to the forbidden emotion of hate over these actions, Abraham asked Lot to depart from him and gave him the choice of the best lands.  Thus, by choosing to avoid any further contact with these people, Abraham rid himself of his ill feelings before those feelings could turn into actual hatred.  AMJV 130

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GEN804 Both Judaism and the secularists make use of the concept of justice for the rationalization of the unethical. However, Judaism’s conception of the nature of justice and the manner of its implementation differs radically from that of the secularist. As we have previously noted, the secularist limits the concept of justice to interhuman affairs. Its origin is attributed to enlightened self-interest, and its concretizations reflect a compromise between the enlightened self-interest of the individual and of the group. For Judaism, justice is not the product of human intelligence applied to human experience; human intelligence and experience merely play a role in its implementation.  Justice is a principle that governs the whole of the universe, for “Justice and righteousness are the foundations of God’s throne” (Psalm 89:15). Justice is present in the affairs of men. Men have been endowed by God with the ability to become conscious of its presence and to apply it to their affairs. But the concept of justice reaches far beyond the human. The existence of the whole of creation, not only of an enlightened human society, is dependent upon the preservation of “The foundations of God’s throne.” One of the fundamental doctrines, therefore, of the Biblical–Rabbinic tradition is that men’s violation of justice affects the whole universe. “He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the watersprings into dry ground; a fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein” (Psalm 107:33 – 34). It was man’s unethically motivated acts that brought on the flood (Genesis 6:11) and the transformation of “The well-watered plane of the Jordan which was like the Garden of Eden” [this verse] into a wilderness (Genesis 19:13-25).  Note that the biblical narrative very specifically includes all the inhabitants of Sodom, “From the young to the old, all of the people,” in the intention to act wickedly toward Lot’s guests (Genesis 19:4). This is apparently in response to Abraham’s plea to save the city even if there be but ten righteous inhabitants (Genesis 18:32). God Himself is concerned with preserving the foundations of His throne, and the viability of His creation. The implementation of justice in human affairs places a two-fold responsibility upon man: (a) to harbor and implement the ethical intention to treat one’s fellow man justly. One is called upon to do this as a matter of divinely enlightened self-interest.  A self-interest which is securely rooted may, as we have pointed out, counsel one to act unjustly; but a self-interest enlightened by faith that God is concerned with the implementation of justice can never counsel even temporary violation of justice. (b) to harbor and implement intentions to curb those who act unjustly. Such intentions must on occasion be unethical, since they involve subjecting the wrongdoer to restraints or punishments which are not intended for his welfare, but primarily for the welfare of society as a whole or of the individual who had been wrong.  GREENBERG 55-56

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