Kindness is the Cure - Rabbi Yitzchak Botton

the Bible relates how the city of Sodom was so progressively evil that in the end it was destroyed what exactly led to their downfall where do the people of Sodom go wrong Sodom started with a reasonable philosophy moderates and harmless each man for himself in the words of the sages what's mine is mine and what's yours is yours they viewed kindness as a problem if you give to one person today tomorrow 10 will come eventually their selfishness and greed led to the world's worst atrocities Abraham was the antithesis of Sodom he opened his doors to all Wayfarers welcoming them into his home he showed the world that kindness is not a cancer it's the world's cure Abraham taught a revolutionary philosophy that changed the world we are all created in the divine image just as God gives to us so we must give to others this is the essence of life in the end the people of Sodom were destroyed because their self-centered life led to a dead end but Abraham's light of giving of caring of charity connected mankind to the infinite and his light will shine forever as a society mankind has always faced the simple choice a choice on which our lives and the lives of our children rest if we choose to give the world will become a better place filled with goodness love and mutual respect if we choose to take we invite greed hate and lies and ultimately bring destruction on us all the difference between a society beyond hope and one that is full of hope is whether we define life as a story about me or a story about [Music] [Applause]