Overview of
the Weekly Reading: Chayei Sara
To be read
on 22 Cheshvan 5765 (Nov. 6)
Torah: Genesis 23:1-25:18;
Haftorah: Kings I 1:1-31 (because the
first verse is like Gen. 24:1)
Chayei
Sara is the 5th Reading out of 12 in Genesis
and 5th overall, and 37th out of
54 in overall length.
Sarah
died at the age of 127. Avraham bought the Cave of Machpelah.
Avraham sent his servant to look for a wife for his son, making
him swear not to bring back a Canaanite bride. The servant
left for Charan, and arriving at the well, asked G-d to give
him a sign. Rivkah arrived to draw water. The servant asked
if he may have some, and after he drank she drew more water
for his camels. The servant spent the night in her father's
house. Her family agreed to let Rivkah marry Yitzchak. Avraham
remarried Keturah, who bore him six sons. Avraham died at
the age of 175, and was buried in the Cave of Machpelah, next
to Sarah. Ishmael had twelve sons, each princes for their
nations. He died at the age of 137. His descendants lived
along the border of Egypt all the way to Assyria.
FROM THE MASTERS
OF KABBALA (K:05-65/Chaye
Sara)
From the
holy Zohar, teachings of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai
(Z:05-65/Chaye
Sara)
Come and see [p. 124b]: The days of a person are all created
and exist at [various] supernal levels, in that they complete
their existence at these levels [i.e. the seven lower sefirot],
as is written, "The days of our years are 70" (Psalms 90:10).
For the full article, click to the "Weekly Torah"
section on our KabbalaOnline
site.
* * * * *
From the
holy Ari, Rabbi Yitzchak Luria of Safed
(A:05-65/Chaye
Sara)
The text of this passage of the Torah [understood mystically]
is referring to the moment of Redemption, when this "pitcher"
[on Nukva's shoulder] will descend to the yesod of Imma.
For the full article, click to the "Weekly Torah"
section on our KabbalaOnline
site.
* * * * *
From the
Shelah, Shney Luchot HaBrit by Rabbi Isaiah
Horowitz (S:05-65/Chaye
Sara)
It is well known that Adam incorporated within him all subsequent
generations of mankind, for their very existence was through
him.
For the full article, click to the "Weekly Torah"
section on our KabbalaOnline
site.
FROM THE
CHASSIDIC REBBES (V:05-65/Chaye
Sara)
"Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the evening
time." (24:63)
As Rashi explains, "meditating" denotes prayer.
If the vowels under the words for "evening time,"
"lifnot arev" are changed slightly, the Hebrew reads
"lefanot areiv," literally "to remove sweetness."
Isaac prayed to G-d to remove from his heart the desire for
gratification from the physical world, which is perceived
as sweet.
(Ma'ayanot HaNetzach)
"Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac, but to the
sons of the concubines...he gave gifts." (25:5-6)
Isaac is symbolic of holiness and the spiritual realm; the
"sons of the concubines" stand for the physical
and corporeal world. The Torah teaches that we must give "all"
of ourselves - the lion's share of our time, energy and talents
- to spiritual matters. Worldly matters, however, can be placated
with "gifts."
(The Lubavitcher Rebbe)
A
MYSTICAL CHASSIDIC DISCOURSE
from the Chabad
Master series, produced by Rabbi Yosef Marcus for
www.ascentofsafed.com and www.kabbalaonline.org
MOSHIACH THIS
WEEK (M:05-65/Chaye
Sara)
"These were the years of the life of Sarah." (Gen.
23:1)
Although the Torah portion is entitled, "The Life of Sarah"
it really commences with her death and events occurring after
her passing. This is because the actual effects of Sarah's work
during her 127 years were only fully revealed in the events
which unfolded after her death. So, too, the ultimate reward
and effect of the mitzvot which we fulfill in this world will
be fully revealed only in the days of Moshiach.
(Likutei Sichot)
"He [Ishmael] settled (lit. "fell") in the
presence of all his brothers...and these are the generations
of Isaac." (Gen. 25:18-19)
This is an allusion to the End of Days, when Ishmael will "fall"
and will no longer exert dominance over the Jewish people. Moshiach,
a descendant of King David in a direct line from Isaac, will
then arise to establish G-d's sovereignty in the world.
(Baal HaTurim)
[Reprinted with permission from L'Chaim Magazine (www.lchaim.org).]
An
essay from Rabbi Shaul Yosef Leiter, director of Ascent
(for a free weekly email subscription,
click
here) (W:04-65/Vayeira)
Following Sarah's burial, Abraham realized that he needed
to find a wife for Isaac. After all, if Isaac had been sacrificed,
Abraham would have no descendants! (Rashi on Gen. 22:20). Therefore
Abraham sent his servant, Eliezer to seek a suitable mate for
Isaac among Abraham's relatives in Aram Naharaim. Upon his arrival,
Eliezer prayed to G-d that he be shown specific signs of acts
of kindness performed by Isaac's destined mate to distinguish
her from other girls. Why did he not prefer a different manner
of measuring her eligibility to marry Isaac?
The Alter Rebbe explains the difference between holiness -
in Hebrew, "kedusha" - and its opposite - "kelipa".
The foundation of holiness is to give to others: to give the
spirit of life to the lowly beings, to constantly give existence
and life ex nihilo. On the other hand, the side opposite
holiness solely seeks to receive without giving. It shouts "Give,
give!" as the verse states: "The leech has two daughters,
'Give' and 'Give...'" (Proverbs 30:15). Therefore Eliezer
tested Rebecca in this particular realm. When she herself volunteered
"I also will give drink to your camels", he saw this
as a sign of her holiness and therefore fitting to marry Abraham's
offspring.
I once heard why Eliezer was sent to look for Isaac's bride
from among Abraham's relatives, as opposed to a local Canaanite
girl. Despite the fact that both groups of people were idol
worshippers, there was an intrinsic difference. The daughters
of Canaan had truly evil character traits; Abraham's relatives
had negative outlooks. In comparison, the former is much more
detrimental because it is nearly impossible to alter an ingrained
character trait. A bad belief system may also be hard to change,
but not as hard as a character trait. Knowing this, Abraham
sent Eliezer much farther away in his search, but as seen in
the results, Rebecca was truly righteous in all aspects.
The Kli Yakar writes that when Eliezer brought Rebecca
back to Abraham, they encountered Isaac praying in the field
nearby. The Sages say that the three daily prayers were established
by the three forefathers: the Morning Prayer - Abraham, the
Afternoon Prayer - Isaac, and the Evening Prayer - Jacob. So
when Rebecca and Eliezer saw Isaac, he was praying the Afternoon
Prayer. What is interesting in this is that upon completing
his prayers, Isaac raised his eyes, and saw that he had immediately
been answered. He had prayed to find his wife-to-be, and here
she was. We do not find this immediate response to prayer with
either of the other two forefathers. From this we learn that
for us too, the Afternoon Prayer has a special quality for receiving
quick divine response.
The Kli Yakar adds another idea about the fact that
Isaac prayed specifically just prior to sunset, which was immediately
followed by Rebecca's arrival. This teaches us that the "sun"
of Sarah did not set until the "sun" of Rebecca began
to rise. This was in order that there should not be a lack of
righteous women in the world, as righteous women are compared
to the orb of the sun.
The beginning of the parasha tells of the death and
burial of our matriarch Sarah, and how Abraham purchased the
cave of Machpela in Hebron for her burial. "And after this,
Abraham buried Sarah, his wife, in the cave of the field of
Machpela" (Gen. 23:19). Hebron and the cave of Machpela
have been controversial for centuries, and the controversy continues
till today, as the media reminds us.
What amazes me is the false impression given by newspapers
here and abroad. Anyone who visits Hebron will tell you, Hebron
is an alive, small, but thriving, Jewish community, with real
people living there in a day to day struggle to protect one
of the holiest sites in our tradition from being abandoned.
The people of Hebron make me proud to be Jewish and live in
Israel. I am not sure I could live there, but when I visited
I came away certain that it is a community that must be supported
by any means possible.
Shabbat Shalom, Shaul
P.S. Please also read my weekly Shabbat Law, below.)
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here)
For all our insights for this
parsha:
from three years ago
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