Richard Bligdon
Hastings,Ontario,Canada

Inquiry: In this week's Parashah,Kha•yeiyꞋ Sâr•âhꞋ ,you stated: "However, Av•râ•hâm′, who rejected their idols, did NOT view himself as a nobleman of their idols. Accordingly, he explicitly identified himself as an alien from their ëloh•im′, isolated and remote from the idolaters, alone among the goy•im′."

Somebody once said:
"The "idols" of sophisticated people are not literal stone effigies. Instead they are the cultural, social, and scientific paradigms of the societies in which they live."

What really struck me is that Abraham left more than just the physical idols of his Father Terach(who no doubt knew how to sell idols,because religion is big business,esp. in the Middle and Far East),he left the sciences,the prosperity,culture,everything,because idolatry is more than just the physical 'idols' and how similar it is to what each of us is going through.

We have left our former pagan religion,all other paganism and way of life and are moving towards Judaism,but we're not there yet.We live in "no-man's land","the desert("Negev")",not accepted in either camp,but like Abraham,we've heard "the call!"What a life!The Torah Road.The Torah of Ribi Yehoshua.

I'm extending the deadline for Pâ•râsh•atꞋ  Shâ•vuꞋ a submissions by one day to see how it works. Sometimes when things get busy it can take me 2-3 days to post. Also, the earlier in the week it's posted, the more readers can profit from the submissions and be able to discuss it with others during the week.

I don't think Av•râ•hâmꞋ  the sciences. But I think I know what you mean. He left the pseudo-sciences. Many religions have associated pseudo-sciences.