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.
Day in the Life of an Old Man
It is Abraham’s greatness that as he grew old, he continued to enter into his days.
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Eliezer’s Story
Eliezer’s story is a classic example of the “toil of speech”—of the manner in which we apply our creative and communicative skills to create a world in partnership with G-d.
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The Return of Hagar
Three years after Sarah’s death, Abraham remarries Hagar. Learn the significance of the return of Hagar, spiritually and as an historical event.
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Father and Son: Abraham and Isaac
Despite the fact that Abraham and Isaac embodied different approaches to life, the father and son had a respectful and symbiotic relationship. Learn a quick lesson on parents and children from this Torah story.
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Chayei Sarah: Can East Meet West?
Abraham surely knew how religious zealotry can breed intolerance, condescension, judgmentalism and prejudices of all sorts — feeding into the ugliest elements of human nature.
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Growing Old: The Folly and Opportunity of Retirement
The weakened physical state of growing old is not a sentence of inactivity, but a challenge to find new–and superior–venues of achievement. Or how not to retire.
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Chayei Sarah: Birth of a Revolution
Is your ultimate purpose self-actualization, the need to express yourself and be “recognized” by others, or is there something more to life?
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Chayei Sarah: Beyond Self-Interest
The model of shlichus – that an individual, or a couple, leave their comfort zone and self-orbiting life and go out to build communities – is a model for us all: the ultimate antidote to modern-day self-indulgence.
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Chaya Sarah: Tattoos
Man can transcend seemingly permanent scars or wounds – both physical and psychological – and access the inner recesses of his soul.
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