Genesis, Chapter
20, Verse 8
Early the next morning Abimelech called all
his servants and informed them of everything that had happened, and the men
were filled with fear.
Abimelech was a pagan
King warned in a dream not to take Sarah; who by accounts in the scripture was
a most beautiful and alluring woman, into his Harem because she was the wife of
Abram (Abraham) a visitor to his kingdom. Abimelech even though a pagan was a
righteous man; so righteous and good was he that he was warned in a dream from
God about Sarah. Abimelech and his servants and men were righteous as they demonstrated
holy fear when they realized how close the King came to culminating a grievous
sin that surely would have caused the ruin of the entire kingdom. Being
righteous men they may have listen to that small still voice of God’s spirit
that calls men to right actions knowing instinctively the words God spoke on
mount Sinai to Moses “I, the LORD, your
God, am a jealous God, inflicting punishment for their fathers’ wickedness on
the children of those who hate me, down to the third and fourth generation; but
bestowing mercy down to the thousandth generation on the children of those who
love me and keep my commandments.”(Exodus, 20:5-6)
Today is my youngest of
five daughter’s birthday; so I would like to share something of why Sarah was
one of the most beautiful women of all times.
The apparent implication is that Sarah
was beautiful inside and out—and what’s more, that the inside and outside were
interdependent. Her face was a transparent canvas from which emanated her inner
radiance.
Chassidic philosophy demonstrates three ways in which the body and soul can
interact:
·
The soul can try and mitigate the urges of the
body. Things that look good, taste good and feel good are stimulating and
addictive. Most of us live life with our body in the driver’s seat. The soul
just can’t compete. And so the soul tries to negotiate reasonably, and
encourages moderation.
·
Or, the soul can choose to reject the body and
abhor anything associated with materialism. The soul-driven person would then
rebel against society’s shallow and false veneers. Simplicity and ascetism
become the ultimate goals of the soul.
·
The third scenario is not a compromise between
the first two. It is an entirely new approach, where the body and soul learn to
work together. The soul neither leans towards the body nor rejects it. It does
not react; it pro-acts. In a proactive position, the soul directs and channels
the body’s inclination in a constructive way.
In this last approach, instead of
repressing the body’s needs, the soul views them as an opportunity to serve God
in a whole new way.
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