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A war was to be waged in order to rescue Lot. Avraham Avinu wasted no time in gathering his students and setting out to the battlefield. Obviously, the Torah has a reason for relating this piece of history. Certainly, it is not to teach us about Avraham’s physical prowess and his skill as a soldier and as a general. Indeed, the image of our Patriarch that is presented in this parshah is blurred. On the one hand, Chazal teach that Avraham took hold of a hammer and smashed his father’s idols. He followed this up by arming himself and going…

The Zohar HaKadosh teaches that nitzotzos ha’kedushah, holy sparks, which contain the Divine Light, are imbedded all over the physical world within klipos, shells, of impurity. When one makes a brachah prior to food consumption, he releases these holy sparks which ultimately attach to him. If he does not make a blessing, or if the food lacks appropriate spiritual standards, the holiness disappears and the impurity of the klipos attach to the soul of the person who consumes this food. This ultimately causes him to wane in his service to Hashem, until he eventually completely turns his back on Hashem….