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Lech Lecha

"From there he [Avram] relocated to the mountain east of Beis-el and pitched his tent, with Beis-el on the west and Ai on the east; and he built there an altar to Hashem and called out in the Name of Hashem" (Bereishis 12:8).

The Rambam writes that Avram was the first one who "called out in the Name of Hashem," meaning that he went out in the street and taught idol worshippers to believe in the true G-d Who created Heaven and Earth.

One of the ways to influence non religious Jews to become ba'alei teshuvah (penitents) is by demonstrating to them our own belief and dedication. Sometimes they are so impressed that they simply "get this feeling" that they want to be religious too.

In Barechi Nafshi, Rabbi Zilberstein shlita tells a story of a religious Jew who worked in a supermarket and his job was to attach labels to all of the products in the store. In the meat department, the labels certified that the meat in the package was fresh and its weight. However, this worker was the only one who knew the truth; that the meat was not at all fresh.

The worker approached Rabbi Zilberstein and asked him if he is permitted to attach these false labels to the products or not. The Rabbi answered that he must quit his job and find another one, because in the present situation he is living from falsehood.

The worker approached the manager of the store and told him that unless he discontinues his evil ways, he will be forced to quit his job immediately because he cannot continue to fool the customers.

Surprisingly, the manager was so impressed with the integrity of his worker that he told him that he will stop lying immediately and not only that but he became a full ba'al teshuvah.


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