The Denver Jewish news., 1919-12-24
ONE OF cons GREAT GENTLE.
By RABBI, LEON HARRISON

:" :
there be no strife / pray thee between
me and thee,-for we are brethren. Is
not the whole land before thee? III
thou wilt take the left hand, then !
will go to the right. But if thou
take the right. hand, then will go
to the left."-Gen. u :s-9
Abraham was a great man; Lot
was nobody. His story is the bio
graphy of nonentity. We read that
Abraham went as the Lord had spoken
unto him, and Lot went with him"
Lot also went.
Abraham was the outstanding fig
are, and Lot was cipher. Yet Abra-
ham issued no orders to Lot; he didn't
dictate; he didn't insist on his own
privilege as lord and master; he. ex-
hibited toward him tile most exquisite
courtesy. IF thou wilt take the left
hand, then l will go to the right; or
if thou wilt take the right hand, then
j will go to the left"
i call Abraham one Of Gods Great
Gentlemen. Here is fine courtesy, con-
sideration and largeheartedness. He
When only force could answer force.
he would defend himself and help his
own. But he did not attack; he was
not the aggressor. He did not pune
tiliously insist upon his rights, upon
his superior power and resources. He
yielded the choice to his inferior, to
his dependent. He was magnanimous
and that is the first reason why l
call him one Of Gods great gentle
men.
Such a man Is bound to be "A man
of peace; indeed, does he not dis
tinctly say 'let there be no strife l
pray thee between me and thee, for we
are brethren How can there be strife
when there is no vanity, no petty egct-
ism. no aggression, no punctilious In
sistence upon your own exaggerated
Importance. The magnanimous man
full of courtesy, full Of consideration
lis bound to be a man of peace.
Peace will be his aim, and gen
tleness his method. Did / not say
that Abraham was gentleman? Did
you ever think that means a gentle
man, gentle, not rough and overbear-
ing. sweet-spoken and patient. Are
ilot these indeed the essential at.
tributes Of q gentleman?
You see there was much wisdom as
well as kindness in Abraham. There
was no need of strife between him and
his nephew. Why should they quar-
rel. rs not the whole land before
thec?" lie said. "and before me?" Is
there not room enough for all. sus-
tcnance for all? There is never any
real reason why men should quarrel.
if in them is spirit Of magnanimity,
!, spirit of gentleness, the spirit of
.Atraham. t
And why should nations quarrel any
more than men? Can We not say to
any nation, is not the whole land be-
fore thee? Does one or the other iia-
ton wish colonies, wish areas of trade
ur spheres of influence? Why kill
each other to decide their rights Why
not let the one say, II thou Wilt take
the left, then will go to the
tight; or if thou wilt tuke the right.
then I will 20 to the left. Is not the
whole world there: Can they not ami
cably agree each one to 90 his own
way? 1t is simply the spirit riiat is
missing-the spirit of amity, the spirit
of concord-the spirit Of Abraham.
Yes, that is all that is missing, the
spirit of Abraham. And that is
good deal that is missing-the mag
unanimous spirit. the greatness that
can surrender much without surrend'
ering self-respect, the spirit that can
ooncede, that can be courteous and
gracious, that can give without COM
pulsion, that can allow the choice to
others. 1 cannot help thinking that
that is the attribute of true great
ness; not might or brute force or
large possessions. but greatness of
soul.
1t is in the soul-in the spirit of
men. 1t is not an accident that "Abra-
ham believed in God, and it was ac-
counted unto him for righteousness y
1t is not an accident that God said
10 Abraham, BE n blessing" Abra-
ham abounded in faith-in faith not
only in God but in man.-Jewish
Voice.