绿帽社

讘专讗砖讬转 专讘讛 驻专砖讛 谞讞

讜讗讞专讬 讻谉 拽讘专 讗讘专讛诐, 讛讛”讚 (诪砖诇讬 讻讗) 专讜讚祝 爪讚拽讛 讜讞住讚 讬诪爪讗 讞讬讬诐 爪讚拽讛 讜讻讘讜讚… 讗诪专 专讘讬 砖诪讜讗诇 讘专 讬爪讞拽 讗诪专 诇讜 讛拽讘”讛 讗谞讬 讗讜诪谞讜转讬 讙讜诪诇 讞住讚讬诐, 转驻住转 讗讜诪谞讜转讬, 讘讗 诇讘讜砖 诇讘讜砖讬, 讜讗讘专讛诐 讝拽谉 讘讗 讘讬诪讬诐.

And then Abraham buried Sarah (Gen. 23:19). Thus it is written, He that follows after righteousness and love finds life, prosperity, and honor (Prov. 21:21) . . . Rabbi Samuel ben Isaac said: The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: It is My function to dispense love; since you have embraced My function, come and don My raiment. Hence, And Abraham was old, well advanced in years, and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things (Gen. 24:1).

Sometimes our Torah鈹�the Torah I teach, anyway鈹�is very abstract. Sometimes, though, I feel called back to the basics. This midrash is one of those calls. Judaism is about living a life of days spent pursuing righteousness and love. It is about finding life and feeling prosperous and honored because of our inner sense of living according to the highest ideals.

“My function is to dispense love.” “Love” is the Soncino Press’s translation of gemilut hasadim, which might also be called, in English, “acts of kindness.” God’s job is to craft acts of kindness. And when we craft acts of kindness, or “dispense love,” we are doing God’s work. There is no more basic nor more powerful religious message than this, for this is what it means to live a blessed life.