WELCOMING SHABBAT

Shabbat is more than a day of refraining from worldly activity.

When experienced to its spiritual fullest, its holiness enlightens all other days of the week.

We invite you to enhance your Shabbat with these words of Torah.

 

Avraham Avinu in front of his tent welcoming guests

Parashat Chayei Sarah: The Influence of Abraham

Parashat Chayei Sarah: The Influence of Abraham

Trugman, Rabbi Avraham Arieh
November 18, 2022

“Abraham [is] both the father of monotheism and the Jewish faith, [thus] his influence has no real parallel in world history. This is due to the fact that both Christianity and Islam trace their development and philosophical worldviews to Judaism and the Torah, (albeit with major shifts of emphasis and concepts…)… [and] also because of the significant influence Judaism has had on virtually every major concept underpinning Western civilization which has influenced the entire world.

Torah ideas have spread literally throughout the world, leading to a situation wherein legal systems everywhere have incorporated many of the basic principles enumerated in the Torah, as well as the more fundamental premises of justice, responsibility, and fairness on which all law depends.

 

Despite Israel’s long history of persecution and oppression during its 2,000-year sojourn in the Diaspora, there is no doubt that the Jewish people exerted a tremendous influence on virtually every area of human thought and practice. Although historians have largely concealed or ignored this truth, whether out of ignorance, malice, or a misguided sense of protectiveness, the truth of this statement is obvious to any serious student of history possessing a sense of integrity.”