Bet Mishpachah D'rash: Honesty

<BODY BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" LINK="#000000" VLINK="#000000" ALINK="#000000"> <CENTER><TABLE><TR><TD WIDTH=20% VALIGN="TOP"> <A NAME="top"> <P> <B><a href="http://betmish.org/text/honestydrash.html">Text-Only Version</a></B> <P> <BIG><B><a href="http://betmish.org/index.html">Home</A></B></BIG> <P> <BIG><B><a href="http://betmish.org/whatsnew.html">What's New</A></B></BIG> <P> <BIG><B><a href="http://betmish.org/calendar.html#July8">Coming Events</A></B></BIG> <P> <BIG><B><a href="http://betmish.org/drashot.html">D'rashot</A></B></BIG> <P> <BIG><B><a href="http://betmish.org/do.html">What We Do</A></B></BIG> <P> <BIG><B><a href="http://betmish.org/who.html">Who We Are</A></B></BIG> <P> <BIG><B><a href="http://betmish.org/contact.html">Contact Us</A></B></BIG> <P> <BIG><B><a href="http://betmish.org/faq.html">Frequently Asked Questions</A></B></BIG> <P> <BIG><B><a href="http://betmish.org/archives.html">Archives</A></B></BIG> <P> <BIG><B><a href="http://betmish.org/links.html">Links</A></B></BIG> <P> <BIG><B><a href="http://betmish.org/member.html">Membership</A></B></BIG> <P> <BIG><B><a href="http://betmish.org/credits.html">Credits</A></B></BIG> <P> <BIG><B><a href="http://betmish.org/addbook.html">Guest book</A></B></BIG> </FONT></TD> <TD ALIGN=CENTER VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="80%> <CENTER>    <table border="0" align="center"> <tr> <td align="center"> <a href="http://betmish.org/index.html" target="_top"><IMG border=0 src="http://betmish.org/images/banner2.gif" align=center height="104" width="512" hspace=5 alt="Bet Mishpachah banner"></a> </td> <td align="left"> <font size="-5"><a href="http://betmish.org/child/descriptions/banner.html">Banner<br>Description</a></font> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center"> <p><font size="-1"><i>Washington, DC's Egalitarian Synagogue</i><br> <i>Embracing a Diversity of Sexual and Gender Identities</i></font> </p> <p> <b><font face="Arial"><font size="+1">Rabbi Bob Saks<br> </font></font></b><br> <font face="Arial"><font size="-1"><i>Founded in 1975 by Members of the GLBT Community<font color="white" size="-4"> </font></i></font></font></p> </td> <td align="left"> <font size="-4" color="white"> </font> </td> </tr> </table> </center> <center><h1>Honesty</h1> Brian Harradine <br>19 Heshvan 5763/October 25, 2002 <br>Copyright Š2002</center> <P><span lang="Transliterated Hebrew"><i>Shabbat Shalom!</i></span> I want to start out tonight by asking you to think on a couple of questions. Am I a person who deals honestly with others? Can people in my <span lang="Transliterated Hebrew"><i>Kehillah</i></span>/Community count on my word as binding? <P>I am a meeting planner by profession. My word is my stock and trade. If I do not deal honestly with my hotel representatives and vendors, my effectiveness is diminished and some will refuse to work with me. When this happens, my clients suffer, my work suffers, and I suffer. I would go home at night and not be able to sleep because the issues I had created with dishonesty would haunt my dreams. I am happy to report that this is not usually the case. <P>In this week's <span lang="Transliterated Hebrew"><i>parsha,</i></span> Abraham and Abimelech have a dispute over a well that Abimelech's servants have seized from Abraham. Abimelech asks the patriarch to swear by G-d that he will not deal falsely with him or his kin. Abraham swears this and keeps his word. The end of this section relates how Abraham resided in the land of the Philistines for a long time, presumably peacefully. This illustrates a simple cause and effect relationship. Honest dealing leads to a long, peaceful life. As a contrast, I want to offer some examples of what not to do. <P>The current situation in Israel is an example of what dishonest dealings can do. Yasser Arafat has repeatedly shown that his words and actions are for show to achieve a short term result. Ariel Sharon has repeatedly shown that his measures said to be taken for the protection of the nation are essentially punitive actions that add to the spiral of violence that grips our holy land. Dishonesty leads to violence and bloodshed. <span lang="Transliterated Hebrew"><i>Eretz Yisrael</i></span> is not at peace. <P>Another example relates to our community. A couple of weeks ago, a man seeking fame, fortune or merely attention, gave false information to the police regarding the sniper terrorizing our area. This led police in the wrong direction and to more deaths. He is now in prison, denied bail, and has a couple of deaths on his conscience as a result of his dishonest ways. He is not at peace. <P>A final example is personal. I have a few friends that have recently ended long-term relationships. One of the main reasons given is dishonesty from one partner or another. Whether it is sexual infidelity, problems with money that are not disclosed, or lying, all forms of dishonesty leads to a shattering of the peace of our homes. <P>I want each of us from the end of this <span lang="Transliterated Hebrew"><i>Shabbat</i></span> to the beginning of the next to take a look at how we deal with those outside our community, those within our community, and those we hold close. Do our words and actions reflect that we are honest people, a community which is bound by the words that come out of our mouths? Or do they twist and turn like a sidewinders tracks in the sand dunes serving our own hidden agendas? <P>We must remember to deal honestly with everyone like our patriarch Abraham showed us, and may we all have long, peaceful lives. </TD></TR></TABLE></CENTER> <P><HR> <p align="center"><FONT face=Arial><small><small><b>For a description of any of the graphics on this page, click on the D next to the graphic. <BR>For more information, contact our office at <a href="mailto:office@betmishpachah.org?SUBJECT=Request for Information from Web Site">office@betmishpachah.org</a><br> Send comments about this site to <a href="mailto:webweaver@betmishpachah.org?SUBJECT=Comments About Web Site">webweaver@betmishpachah.org</a>.<br> Copyright 1996 - 2008 Bet Mishpachah.</b></small></small></FONT> <CENTER><font face=Arial size="-1" color="#999999"><small><small><P><b>This page last modified on Sunday, May 18, 2003 at 08:02 PM EDT.</b></small></small></font> </CENTER> </body>