Two parshas in one week again! I only had the time to do one, but I thought I should let you know there were two.
Matot-This parsha focused on one thing, how valuble honesty is. It says if a woman breaks her vow while in her father's household and her father has no objection, the father continues to trust the woman. If her father has objection no promises will be trusted again. Does how honest we are depend on our parents? According to the Torah, Honest Abe's dad is the guy that had an objection and Bernie Madoff's dad is the one that let it go.
With honesty comes loyalty. People wonder why God made the Israelites wander in the desert for 40 years. Loyalty. The Israelites did nothing wrong in Egypt, but God felt after being in the desert for a year or two his people had betrayed him. When we leave our mothers and fathers, do we betray them? We have no one telling us rules. Rules our parents were strict about. God, our almighty parent, granted us freedom. Did we betray him? We complained and distrusted God's decisions. We even made a golden idol to replace God. God did not let the same people who crossed the Red Sea into the promised land. He let them wander for 40 years instead. In a way, people who have no respect for their parents after they leave and get involved with drugs or other bad things wander for 40 years too.
You talk about two qualities that are the mark of people in this world: honesty and respect. Without these you have nothing. Adam one of the things that I have admired in watching you grow up is your tenacity to not tell a lie and your respect for adults. If you keep it up - you will go far because this is the basis of good character!
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