Ari Goldwag - Lech Lecha - Kingdom of Kindness

you're listening to the weekly para podcast with Ari goldwag recorded with hashem's NeverEnding assistance in R Israel 5778 2017 this week's par is and I'd like to share with you a few thoughts I'd like to to read a med which is quoted by by the and I'd like to give you an overview or a broad picture of the mission of ab of you know of Abraham whose life or some events in his life are chronical in our para par that follow and I'd like to understand who he was what was his mission what was his Essence and how does it relate to us we are his offspring we are the Jewish people who carry and maintain the torch of his greatness of his mission in the world as we've spoken about previously so we need to understand who he was and thereby understand who we are who we are meant to be as we read the par the Torah tells us said go to the land of Israel go leave all that you've accomplished here had already been involved in kiru and bringing many Souls back to God steering people away from AAR steering them away from idolatry comes to is has certain challenges he starts to call out in the name of God sah they go down to Egypt they go down to Gar Sarah is abducted different challenges different results he becomes very wealthy he comes back to Israel he has to be involved with a war because his nephew lot is also kidnapped with the people of sidom the war of the four and five Kings aru goes and he wins the war with his 318 men mighty warrior a general conqueror AR ainu Abraham said next week's par we're going to see all the kindness that he does with the the he thinks that they are people they're actually Angels said amazing personality with many many facets to his personality and I want to understand who ISU or how are we to seeu you see he someone who does kindness he's a c of professional brings people back to God he is somebody who is a conqueror like he does all of these different things who is he and just to share with you a little uh what's going on in my life this past week I was in in uh London for a Simka for a wedding and I went with my wife and we had the opportunity to go to visit Buckingham Palace to see the Palace of the queen and we had an opportunity to go to Windsor Castle and amazing to to walk around inside the Beauty and the opulence and the wealth and the gifts that were given to the many Kings throughout history and the beautiful paintings of these Kings and I came out of that experience that this thought like these people had power they had power there was was the Duke of this place and the Duchess of this place and the queen and the king and they had this power and this this Castle has been here for 800 years or so and throughout this time the the royal families have lived in the castle they lived they had power they died their children lived had power power died and it reminded me a bit of what we saw in the in the previous part show with the generations who they you know they they live they be got children they they lived a certain amount longer Etc I want to understand like significance wise what's so significant about these kings and queens of Britain right it seemed to me to be very like okay they have power but what does it mean today nothing especially you look at the British Commonwealth today it's gone right they had all these countries underneath their Sovereign their uh their power and uh today it's gone nothing left and so we look back then we say what did they what did they really have what did they really accomplish what what was the meaning or the significance of their life okay we can look at them in a painting because they were so rich they had people who would paint them and we know what they looked like but I just couldn't help thinking like what's the meaning of it what's the significance of it and I want to compare it to aru who also lived and also conquered and also accomplished and was also fabulously wealthy and how do we remember him how do we how do we understand significantly how do we understand the fact that the Torah tells us all about his wealth and all about his his battles and all about his challenges what is the significance of it so I want to draw you for a moment to look at the brisban of which is in our par which is the Covenant that God makes with AB with Abraham and God says to him I'm going to I'm going to have a covenant with you you're going to receive this land the land of Israel your children are going to inherit this land fourth generation but in the meantime they're going to be strangers in a Strange Land they're going to be downtrod and they're going to have difficulties Etc the verses describe the entire conversation between God and Abraham now what's interesting is that when the Torah begins when when Hashem begins this conversation with this bris so the Torah tells us um he says to him I am Hashem your God I am hasem your God who took you out of orasin okay this is a verse in chapter 15 verse I am God who took you out of or what is or so it's the story which is welln but it's not mentioned in the Torah it's a story of and his youth we don't really see too much about him until he's about 70 75 years old but in his youth what happened so I'd like to read it to you inside because the ra says the story very clearly very beautifully and actually it's brought down here in the in the notes that they don't he brings the magish but it's not it's not clear with the is from but says it just it's pretty lengthy I'd like to go through all of it I your God who took you out of War listen to this because this is extremely powerful this is to me foundational for understanding who was AB what was his mission and what's the difference between him and all the other kings the Kings of England the kings of of France the kings of all of the other nations that have existed throughout time as opposed to the Jewish people the kingdom of the Jewish people and who we are and who we're meant to be when Abraham was born there was an amazing Celestial phenomenon everyone was looking up at the sky and they saw that there was a star that came along on one side and it went to the four different uh poles of the heavens and it swallowed up the stars in each of those four different locations the four different directions so in trying to explain what what was this phenomena what was this unbelievable thing you know we talk about some of you may have seen the E clipse and it's an amazing thing to see can you imagine this kind of phenomenon everyone saw it so they were explaining to him like this they were able to figure out that it meant something very significant that had had a son at this time that a nation is going to come from this son of his they're going to inherit this world and the next World if you want we will give a house full of gold and silver to his father and we will kill him very interesting Okay so they saw that this amazing spiritual force is coming into the world it's called the Jewish people the Jewish people are going to rule over the world the Jewish people ultimately when the Messiah comes we will have dominion over the world we will lead the world spiritually and physically and so they said let's cut this off at the let's knit this in the bud before it starts to grow let's get it now they sent Messengers they said to you just had a kid we'll give you a house full of silver and gold let's kill him we will kill him if you agree said he said I want to give you an analogy what you're asking of me this is comparable to a horse who they said to the horse we're going to cut off your head in exchange for cutting off your head we will give you tons and tons of of hay and barley that you can eat so the horse said to them you fools if you cut off my head how will I be able to eat the barley what do I need this money for if you kill my son I'll have no one to inherit all of the money that you're going to give me the king responded and said I can tell from your response that you indeed have had a kid my and my wise men were correct said he said I have had a son and the son has died not talking about the child that you had who died I'm talking about the child who's alive went and he hid his son in a cave for three years God prepared for him miraculously two windows from one side there was oil coming out from the other side there was flour so he had all his needs taken care of for three years listen to this amazing story when he left when he was 3 years old so he left the cave here and he thought inside of his heart he didn't know anything was a child he had grown up by himself inside of a cave who created the heavens and the Earth and me so he looked up he had never been outside before and he saw the sun and he said wow that's an amazing power so he prayed the entire day to the sun thinking that it was the power that created the world in the in the evening sun went down in in the west and the moon came up in the East when he saw the moon and he saw all around were all these Stars so he said this must be that which created the heavens and the Earth and me and the stars must be its servants so the entire night he prayed to the moon in the morning he saw the moon went down the sun came back up he saw these do not have the power there must be someone who is greater than them a master upon these only to him only to the God who created them will I pray and Bow Down he went to his father and he asked him my father who created the heavens and the Earth and who created me my Idols have created the heavens and the Earth and all of these show me your Idols I want to see if they have the ability to create everything so he brought his idols out and he showed him the idols he turned to his mother and he said to her said I want to bring please make me some good foods I want to bring them as a sacrifice for these Idols like maybe that they will receive my offering he brought them as a sacrifice brought it in front of the biggest one of them no sound nothing no response couldn't believe it he went back to his mother thought maybe it wasn't good enough for them so make me better ones brought it again in front of them not a noise not a response he had a divine inspiration and he said it's a verse in he spoke it out himself he said they have they have a mouth they don't speak they have eyes but they don't see they have no power he immediately took a fire and he burned them you serious he took out the biggest of them all he and he placed him outside and he put the fire in his hand the torch in his hand when his father came home and he saw that all of his idols were burned he said to Abra why have you done this my son he said he said I didn't burn them the biggest one of them who's holding the torch he's one to burn them all he said to him my son you fool what these are made out of wood they don't have the power to burn another one I made out of wood listen to what you're saying listen to what your mouth is sayings why they don't have any power why you telling me that they were the ones who created the world that doesn't make sense what did he do he went in wrote very interesting at this point goes to tell on Abu on Abraham he goes to nimr who was the king at that time and we'll see Not only was he a king but he had made himself to be a God he said he was a god are they okay so what happens he says my son burned our Idols so calls for Abraham he says to him why did you do this why have you done this he said the same thing I didn't do it the big Idol did it they're not Al Li they can't do that said the same thing listen to what you're saying so what does what does say sorry I lost the place so said they don't have any power so if they don't have any power why are you bowing to them and why are you not bowing to the one who actually created the world which is God or l he just said why don't you B the one who created the world said I created the heavens and the Earth with my power say you can create yeah you're the one who created when I came out of the cave so I saw that the sun rises in the East and it sets in the west if you can make the Sun rise in the west and said in the East you're the Creator I will bow down to you I have no problem if not says Abraham to if you can't do that so the one who gave me the power to burn up those Idols will will help me to kill you who make yourself into an idol so says to his wife man what what should we do with him how can we how can we get rid of this guy says the wise man of this is the guy this is the one we spoke about that we said that a nation is going to come from him who's going to inherit this world and the next world and now you must give him measure for measure he burned those Idols he must be burned they immediately threw him into the furnace of fire at that momentem had mercy upon him and saved him God says I am the one who saved you from or so this is the introduction that God speaks about when it comes to creating a covenant with Abraham he says I'm the one who took you out of orm I'm the one who saved you from the fire I'm the one who took you out of that place you were threatened now what's interesting to me is that according to according to this medish so this is the introduction to the creation of the Jewish people God is saying this is how I understand this is the depth of what's being said here God is saying it was implanted there was a moment in creation during history where you came into being and when you came into being the wise men saw it in the Stars this one star came from this side of heavens and and surrounded the whole reality swallowed up the whole reality took it over and what is the idea behind that what is what is the concept the concept is that there's an Abraham who is a higher reality who's a spiritual reality who's a star that comes from somewhere else the Jewish people are that star we are that star we come from a different reality now look at the contrast and this is is also the foundation the the introduction to the Covenant look at the contrast between the Kings of the world the kings of Britain the kings of France the kings of Asia the kings of Japan the kings of Every Other Nation and Abraham who is the king of the Jewish people the first king the first conqueror look at the difference nimod who represented the forces of evil the forces of the of the nations of the world of the the opposite of what the Jewish people resent represent he is all about I created this world the idol is just it's it's when I pray to this Idol I get what I want what I want right that's that's the that's the idolatry the idolatry is ego I created me I am a self-made man I have done everything myself I I me me I I me me okay the me generation is not a new thing the iPhone the iTunes all these eyes it's not new it's old it's as old as history it's as old as humankind but the difference is that the king what's the job of a king the king leads his generation Nimrod LED his generation in saying it's all about me and I create myself and I create my reality I from a ven is the opposite of that he's the one who comes in from a different part of reality a different space a different place and he says there's something it's not just me he comes out of the cave which is just him right it's only him inside of the cave and no notably even there he's living on Miracles he comes out of the cave and he says there's something greater than me there's something Beyond me that created everything here it's not just me maybe it's the sun maybe it's the moon no it's not those maybe it's these Idol Idols no it's not those maybe it's Nimrod no it's not him there's something greater there's something Beyond me that's aru aru is the one who recognizes that there's a Creator there something Beyond him and he draws the Beyond him into the worldo is the one who is focused on others he's the B there's something besides from me it's not just about me nimod is the one who all people exist just to serve him that's all it's about right it's just about serving me I am the king I The Creator ainu is no it's not about me it's about how can I serve you how can I help you see that there's someone Beyond you how can I see beyond me right that's arino and that's the Jewish people and that's the foundation of who we are why you know why does AB aino need all this wealth why does AB aino need to be a conqueror a great power hasm promises him all that see you will will be blessed all who see will bless you those who bless you will be blessed those who curse you will be cursed you will be famous everywhere he goes people know who he is what that what why does he need that for why is that important why do we need to see that he's a conqueror why do we need to see that he's so wealthy and the answer is because these things are important these things it is important to have power but only in so far as I aino is the one who will use that power to draw godliness into the world God God is going to to manifest here in the wealth in the Conquering and even within the Conquering itself when Arin wins this war with 38 men with honor and esol and his generals and all the people who come with him he wins the war but it's not about him he doesn't even want to keep the spoils of the war unheard of why did you go to war to to a mass well to to conquer and to have servants and people to serve you no it's not about me it's not if anything it's about bringing these people under the under the wings of the divine presence it's not about me that is the difference between all the kings of England all those portraits they lived they had power and they died all those people and perhaps they were good kings and queens perhaps they were not so good but what did they leave over behind them a portrait what is the portrait that we have of the portrait that we have is of someone who looked outside of himself searched for God he was someone who from his very Inception was someone who it was all about coming from another place a spiritual realm and spreading that throughout the four corners of the earth spreading that throughout the four corners of the land this world and the next he inherits this world and the next because the next world is only inheritable by those who realize that there is a next world who that there is a spiritual reality and try to draw that reality into our reality that's who AB was that's the portrait that we get his Focus was outside of himself his Focus was how can I expand and see beyond me Beyond who I am and recognize that I am not the one who creates my reality I am not the one who uh who it's all about that everyone has to bow down to me and serve me but rather it's all about greater power a power called God a power called Hashem who I want to reveal in the world and I want to bring about and nimr and his and those wise men knew about that they understood that he represented an existential threat to their powerful egos unbelievable it's not about me it's not about me it's not about I says AR aino it's about something higher and that's the power that's the kingship that's the kingdom of the people of Israel and that's who we are and that's what we represent in the world it's not about us we are not many in number we are not Mighty and Powerful although we are also Mighty and powerful and we are also conquerors and we also have wealth the Jewish people have returned to the land of Israel and we do have a moome of power we do have a moome of wealth and we've always had some power and sway throughout history but it's not about us it's not just about us having power or sway we know how to give to others that is the the reason we have the power so that we can be influential in our spiritual quest in bringing down the spirituality the godliness into the world so I want to bless you and I ask you to bless me hasem should help us to realize what is our mission what is the goal in life how can we emulate an Abraham we read these stories every year we have to understand our history we need to understand 3,000 years ago 3,000 700 years ago what went on we need to know the foundation of Who We Are what is our mission hasm should help us to recognize that and to remember what it's all about that it's not about me it's not about my power it's not about everyone bowing down to me has should help us to recognize it's about you it's about him and it's about bringing that spiritual recognition to the entire world thank you so much for listening have a wonderful sh miss this podcast was made possible through the gracious donations of listeners like you for more podcasts like this please visit w ww. arold wag.com or search on iTunes Ari goldwag