Stand Up For What You Believe In

Social pressure is one thing that holds us back from taking charge and doing the right thing. Abraham instituted Barech, the "Grace After Meals" 4000 years ago. Abraham would invite travelers into his tent for a good meal, and then tell them the price of the meal was to bless God. They thought he was absolutely crazy! Very few people believed in God! Abraham was called Ha'Ivri ("the Hebrew"), meaning "the one who stands on the other side." He was considered a social outcast and a single voice in the wilderness.

Would we have had the fortitude to stand up to that kind of social pressure? Do we speak out today against the proliferation of sex, violence and drugs and crime in our country? Or are we preoccupied with self-image and social status? Do you fear rejection and isolation?

We live in a country where we are free. But are we free of the societal forces that restrict us to a narrow path of image and ideas? Freedom means doing the right thing even when it may not be socially popular. Stand up for what you believe in and see just how liberating it can be.