And they took Lot and his possessions (Bereshis 14:12)
And Avram heard that his brother had been taken captive and he armed his trained men, those born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and he pursued them until Dan (Bereshis 14:14)
And he returned all the possessions and also Lot, his brother (Bereshis 14:16)

We learn in next week’s parsha that Lot has a son named Moav, who becomes the father of a nation. But the Torah tells us in Parshas Ki Seitzei that we are not allowed to let a man from the nation of Moav to convert to Judaism. The reason is because they lack an important Jewish trait: Hakaras HaTov, which is being thankful.

The Jews were traveling in the desert and were on the border of Moav. We asked the men of Moav if we could pass through and stated that we would even help their economy by buying food and water from them (even though we had the manna and Miriam’s well which supplied all of our needs). The Moabites should have been very gracious to us… after all, they would not even exist if it wasn’t for our grandfather, Avraham, risking his life to save their grandfather, Lot. Instead of showing Hakaras HaTov, they approached us with their swords and told us to get away. That is a terrible trait.

In Parshas Mishpatim, we learn that we are to give traif meat to the dogs. The commentators question why the Torah specifically states to give it to the dogs instead of selling it a non-Jew (which the law also allows). They answer that it is to teach us a lesson. A dog’s job is to protect sheep from wolves. Day in and day out the dog protects the sheep. Then, one day, the wolf wins and kills a sheep. The sheep lies dead and is now traif meat. What do you do with that meat? Give it to the dog that was protecting the sheep! It seems to make no sense at all, but it is a great lesson. We do this because we are thankful to the dog for the many, many times he stopped the wolf. It is true that he failed this time, but he did his job perfectly so many times that we need to show him how thankful we are for all of his success in the past.

I know of someone who works for the U.S. Department of Defense and was forced to take furlough all of last week due to the Government being shut down. Last Thursday, this person was very happy and I wondered why (at that point, it was not announced that they would be paid retroactively so he did not know that this was a “paid vacation” yet). He said the above idea from Parshas Mishpatim. He said he has worked for the Federal Government for almost 13 years. This is the first time he has been furloughed. Week after week he has always received his paycheck on time, no matter what happened. After September 11, he was paid on time, even though the country had other things to worry about at that time. After hurricanes, tornadoes, and other disasters, even though government buildings were closed, he was paid on time. Therefore, he was happy because he realized that he needs to have Hakaras HaTov to Congress and the President for the last 13 years. He was not happy that he was being furloughed, but when he put it in this perspective, he was able to have joy when most people were angry.

A person who lives his life with Hakaras HaTov is much, much happier!

Good Shabbos!
-yes
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