And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came 12:5
Rashi explains: Avraham was Megayeir the men and Sarah was Megayeres the women.
This was an extraordinary accomplishment! How were they able to achieve such a drastic shift in the belief of those they came in contact with?
Chazal relate that Avraham loved to invite guests . He went to great lengths to cater to his guests, with love and respect and free of charge, on one condition! that they would display gratitude to their Creator.
Wouldn’t this seem to be naive on Avraham’s part to rely on the sincerity of his clients when they may have just been angling for a free meal?
Avraham was known as the Pillar of Chessed. However, the fact that he chose to serve Hashem our G-d in this fashion was not just incidental. When Avraham “discovered” his Creator it was through recognizing the infinite Chessed of Hashem our G-d inherent in every aspect of creation!
When his guests were moved by the tremendous Chessed and seek to repay him he would reply, “Don’t thank me! I am merely trying to emulate the Kindness that Hashem our G-d does for us every moment!”
After absorbing this lesson from Avraham who personified Chessed, it was only natural that his guests were inspired to sincere gratitude to the Source of Blessing.
The success of Avraham and Sarah lay in the fact that they completely embodied the message they were transmitting and no one could fail to be affected by this lesson.
The most effective way to teach and encourage our children to grow in their Kiddush Hashem is to provide a living breathing example. Or as the popular expression goes “You’ve got to talk the talk and WALK THE WALK!”

By Rabbi Sharaga Thav
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