“… Avraham took … the souls they made in Charan …” (Bereishis 12:5).
Rashi comments that these are the souls that Avraham Avinu and Sarah brought under the wings of the Shechinah, with Avraham converting the men and Sarah converting the women.
In our generation we do not seek to convert non-Jews. It is challenging enough to bring closer our brethren who have become disenfranchised – be it with active outreach, engaging in activities that encourage Jewish observance, or demonstrating by example how to live an observant Jewish life.
Our Sages ask: We know that Noach spent 120 years building the Ark, precisely so that when people saw this huge vessel being constructed, they would stop to inquire about the project and become interested in doing teshuvah. Yet, points out the Sefer VaYedaber, not one soul was brought closer to Hashem or repented in any way. Ultimately, only Noach and his children entered the teivah (Ark).
Why were Avraham and Sarah more successful in their efforts to bring people closer to Hashem?
When Noach was asked about the Ark, he explained that boiling waters would rain down upon the people in a Great Flood, and people would die. Although the people were horrified and frightened, they were not convinced to repent. Avraham Avinu, on the other hand, was very gracious and affable, offering free food, drink and lodging around the clock to all who entered his open tent. That is the appropriate way to bring people back to Hashem.
The Medrash Bereishis Rabbah says in the name of R’ Elazar ben Zimra that if the entire world was gathered to create something they couldn’t instill a soul into a fly. Yet the Torah tells us of “the souls that Avraham and Sarah made in Charan.” The Medrash says that this refers to the people they converted, because whoever brings someone close to Hashem it is as if he created him.
Today, the disenfranchised are truly thirsting to enrich and improve their attachment to their people and to mitzvos. Within the past two years we have witnessed the amazing comeback of hundreds, if not thousands, to mitzvos – tefillin, kashrus, Shabbos and Torah. Our Sages tell us that this movement is part of the ingathering of the exiles. Following the example of Avraham and Sarah, this resurgence had been achieved by extending warmth, acceptance, friendship, and congeniality.
We learn that if one successfully persuades a disenfranchised Jew to do even one mitzvah, that individual is rewarded in this world, for his entire life, each and every time the Jew performs that mitzvah.
R’ Shalom Schwadron once went to Kiryat Gat for Shabbos to speak about the future of the Jewish nation, and the importance of young children receiving the proper Jewish education so that they could develop an enthusiasm and love for Judaism. Many in the audience were very moved by his words and were inspired to think about the future of their own children and what connection they would ultimately have to Yiddishkeit.
Years later, a Jew met R’ Schwadron and said to him, “I did teshuvah because of you.
I was there in Kiryat Gat that Shabbos when you spoke about the future of our people, and your words made a profound impression on me because the rav was describing my family.
“I must confess it was not easy, but my path to teshuvah began with you. I own a successful furniture store, which used to be open on Shabbos. My daughter, however, became interested in Yiddishkeit and had developed an association with a rebbetzin who encouraged shemiras Shabbos. My daughter began to observe some mitzvos, including shemiras Shabbos, and we didn’t interfere.
“One Shabbos, however, we had to be away for the weekend, and I told my daughter that she would have to open the store for business. At that point in time, I had no understanding of the importance of Shabbos, nor any awareness of the significance of its observance. We left my daughter no room for argument, not realizing her total commitment not to transgress the Shabbos.
“My daughter opened the store, and uttered a simple heartfelt prayer to Hashem that no customers should come into the store, because she did not want to have to make a sale.
“Indeed, for a good part of the day there were no customers. But then someone came in to buy an armoire that was on the floor. When asked the price, my daughter said it was very expensive and gave him a ballpark figure. However, when the Evil Inclination tries to implicate a person, money is no object. Pressed for an exact price, she quoted a ridiculously inflated dollar amount that was more than the estimate, and the person left. My daughter was thrilled that she had not transgressed the Shabbos. She was ecstatic when the stars finally came out in the sky and Shabbos was over.
“When we returned my daughter informed us that she had not sold even one item, and we were very surprised. Suddenly the customer who had come in earlier on Shabbos returned because he had decided that he was willing to pay the inflated price.
“You can imagine our delight. But even greater was our eye-opening comprehension and appreciation of what had just occurred. A person could be shomer Shabbos and in one moment realize an extraordinary profit.
“With the original motivation of the rav’s words, and now driven by this unusual incident, we earnestly began to do teshuvah and became shomer Shabbos.”