TORCH

Ep. 36 - Not a Thread

Abraham comes back from the battle. The king of Sodom is waiting with an offer: keep all the wealth, just return the people. Abraham won't touch any of it. Not a thread, not a shoe strap. He refuses to let anyone claim they made him rich. But someone else is there too. Melchizedek, king of Salem. He's actually Shem, Noah's son, and he's the high priest. He brings out bread and wine and offers Abraham a blessing. But he makes a critical mistake. He blesses Abraham first, before blessing G-d, and this costs him everything. The priesthood is taken from his line and given to Abraham's descendants forever. Abraham's refusal of the spoils brings its own reward. From that thread and shoelace come two commandments: tzitzit and tefillin. Eternal reminders woven into Jewish life. Twenty-six years later, the same group that Abraham returned to the king of Sodom would be destroyed when fire rained down on Sodom and Gomorrah. The Talmud says Abraham shouldn't have done that. He should have kept them and set them free. The episode digs into a question we all face: how much do we do ourselves, and how much do we trust G-d? Abraham left guards at his base when he went after the four kings. Smart strategy or lack of faith? It depends. What's right for one person at one spiritual level might be wrong for someone else. This is about knowing when to act and when to let go, why even the righteous stumble, and how one reversed blessing changed everything.