Chayei Sarah
Life continues, even – or especially – when it seems to pass away.
Sarah, the mother of every Jew, passes away at the age of 127. Abraham, in the first documented real estate deal in history, purchases a double cave in Hebron in which to put his beloved wife to rest. Isaac, the consummate scholar, is not getting any younger. Eliezer, the butler, is sent to discover the perfect girl for Isaac. Thus was the matchmaking industry born. Rebecca wasn’t just beautiful and lovely, she was kind and refined. Isaac and Rebecca marry, the second link in the chain of the Jewish people. At the age of 175, Abraham passes from this physical plane and is laid to rest next to his wife Sarah in Hebron, by his sons Isaac and Ishmael.
Chayei Sarah: The First Jewish Mother
This week’s Torah portion is about the first Jewish mother, Sarah: The embodiment of an Aishet Chayil.
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Eliezer’s Story
When we speak, we emulate G-d’s speaking the world into being. We extend ourselves beyond our own existence in the minds, hearts and deeds of others.
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A Knowing Ignorance
Said Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov: One who finds an immense treasure … his distress is greater than his happiness.
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The Return of Hagar
Dealing with the “Hagars” and “Ishmaels” in our lives—the raw and unruly elements in our nature, society and environment.
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Nothing II
The story is told of a chassid who met with a childhood acquaintance after many years of disrupted contact.
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A Day in the Life of an Old Man
A lifetime of seeking and achievement, of trials and triumphs, did not diminish Abraham’s thirst for life.
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The Married Life
The ultimate manifestation of divine truth requires a union of the spiritual and the physical.
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Separatism
A divorce of deed from faith and feeling is obviously antithetical to the very essence of Judaism.
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