Chayei Sarah – Page 4 – Peninim on the Torah

ברך עלינו... את השנה הזאת

Bareich Aleinu… es ha’shanah ha’zos. Bless upon us… this year.

While a person’s prosperity is decided on an annual basis (hence, we ask Hashem to bless the year), we pray for prosperity on a daily basis. Our allotment can be withheld due to sins on our part. Hashem reviews our behavior during the course of the year. For instance, if on Rosh Hashanah it had been decided that we should be blessed with good fortune, and, during the course of the year, we prove ourselves unworthy of such a fortuitous blessing – it might be reversed. Hashem grants us funds for a purpose. Obviously, our family takes precedence, but, prior…

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ויבא אברהם לספד לשרה ולבכתה... ויקם אברהם מעל פני מתו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chayei Sarah, 5777

Avraham came to eulogize Sarah and to bewail her. Avraham rose up from the presence of the dead. (23:2,3)

Surely, at the first formal funeral mentioned in the Torah, the Father of our nation must have delivered a profound eulogy for our nation’s first Matriarch. The first Jewish couple had been through so much. Having been married for decades without a child must have had a powerful effect on their relationship. Yet, the pasuk simply states that he came to eulogize, followed by the phrase, “rose up from the presence of the dead.” Should he not have said something more personal? The Tiferes Shlomo quotes the Midrash which explains that, as Avraham Avinu was about to eulogize Sarah, the…

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הוא ישלח מלאכו לפניך ולקחת אשה לבני משם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chayei Sarah, 5777

He will send His angel before you, and you will take a wife for my son from there. (24:7)

Avraham Avinu was a nasi, Prince, in the land; therefore, he was highly respected. The most distinguished persons of that era were guests at his home. His wealth was unparalleled. He had one son (with his wife Sarah) who was his sole heir, both materially and spiritually. He could have had any young woman as a wife for Yitzchak. Nonetheless, he made every arrangement, by sending his trusted servant to seek out the right woman. Avraham prayed incessantly that Yitzchak would find the right wife. Why? The shadchan must have been standing by his door with a list of names…

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אלי לא תלך האשה אחרי

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chayei Sarah, 5777

Perhaps the woman will not follow me? (24:39)

Rashi explains that Eliezer had a daughter whom he would have liked to see married to Yitzchak Avinu. Thus, he had a vested interest in the success or failure of his mission. Failure meant that Yitzchak might become his son-in-law. This could create pressure on even the most objective mind. The commentators wonder why, specifically at this point, when the shidduch has been successfully concluded, that Rashi mentions Eliezer’s personal negios, vested interests, rather than doing so earlier, when Avraham Avinu had originally sent him on the mission. The accepted explanation rendered by the Rishonim is that Eliezer was well…

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מד' יצא הדבר

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chayei Sarah, 5777

The matter stemmed from Hashem! (24:50)

Anyone who has ever been involved in the area of shidduchim, matchmaking, is acutely aware of the value and verity of this pasuk. Hashem is the Divine matchmaker – end of subject. While at times we have difficulty finding rhyme or reason to explain some marriages, Hashem does, and that is all that really counts. Indeed, the Divine Providence manifest in shidduchim is so acute and lucid that one must be myopic to ignore it. There is a classic story, which occurred concerning the Rashash (Horav Shmuel Shtarshon, zl, noted commentator to Talmud Bavli), which underscores this idea. The Rashash…

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ויבאה יצחק האהלה שרה אמו... וינחם יצחק אחרי אמו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chayei Sarah, 5777

And Yitzchak brought her into the tent of Sarah, his mother… and thus was Yitzchak consoled after his mother. (24:67)

Rashi teaches that the arrival of Rivkah Imeinu in the tent of her late mother-in-law, Sarah Imeinu, reestablished the practices of the first Matriarch, to the point that Yitzchak Avinu was finally consoled over his mother’s passing. The spiritual void left by Sarah’s demise seemed to be filled with the presence of Rivkah. Rashi focuses on three miracles that were regular occurrences in Sarah’s home. First, Ner daluk mei’erev Shabbos l’erev Shabbos, the candle which she lit on erev Shabbos (to usher in the Shabbos) did not burn out. It remained lit the entire week. Second, Brachah metzuyah b’issah, there…

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אשר לא תקח אשה לבני מבנות הכנעני אשר אנכי יושב בקרבו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chayei Sarah, 5776

That you not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among who I dwell. (24:3)

Avraham Avinu was adamant in insisting that Eliezer not take a wife for Yitzchak (Avinu) from the daughters of Canaan. He would rather that Eliezer travel to Charan, Avraham’s birthplace, to seek a wife for Yitzchak. Being the ben yachid, only son, of Avraham and Sarah Imeinu, Yitzchak carried a tremendous legacy on his shoulders. The next generation which he, together with his future wife, would progenate must be able to carry on the Abrahamitic way of life and its commitment to serving Hashem. To ensure this, Yitzchak could not marry just anyone. Avraham felt that the girls of Canaan…

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ותמהר ותער כדה אל השוקת ותרץ עוד אל הבאר לשאוב

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chayei Sarah, 5776

So she hurried and emptied her jug into the trough and kept running to the well to draw water. (24:20)

The Shlah Hakadosh notes the exceptional kavod habriyos, human dignity, evinced by Rivkah Imeinu. First, Eliezer drank from the jug, leaving over some water. Rivkah was now in a quandary concerning what to do with the remaining water. If she gave the water in the jug to the camels, it would indicate that she held animals and humans in the same esteem. If she poured it out on the ground, it would impugn Eliezer’s dignity. This is where her wisdom came into play. She began to run with the jug, in such a manner that it would cause the water…

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ויען לבן ובתואל ויאמרו מד' יצא הדבר

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chayei Sarah, 5776

Then Lavan and Besuel answered, and said, “The matter stemmed from Hashem.” (24:50)

In the Talmud Moed Kattan 18b, Chazal view this response (although it came from Lavan and Besuel) as a clear indication that Hashem pre-ordains man’s proper mate. Otherwise, the Torah would not have recorded these words. Any true, believing Jew is acutely aware of Hashem’s management of the marriage process. One who does not see Hashem’s guiding hand in this process either suffers from some form of myopia or, worse, lacks the capability to discern the events that take place in life. Much has been derived from this parsha concerning the manner and approach one should take towards shidduchim, matrimonial…

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נתתי כסף השדה קח ממני

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chayei Sarah, 5775

I give the price of the field, (take) accept it from me . (23:13)

The Talmud Kiddushin 2a questions the source for money, kessef, serving as a means for achieving kiddushin, betrothal, of a woman. The Talmud explains that a woman is actually niknis, acquired; thus, the act of kiddushin is essentially a kinyan, act of acquisition. The Talmud asks, “From where do we know that ‘money’ is a valid method of kiddushin?” “We derive kichah/kichah misdei Efron.” (Through the use of a gezeirah shavah, one of the thirteen hermeneutic principles for expounding the Torah, through which a similar word or phrase occurs in two otherwise unrelated passages in the Torah, they are linked…

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ברך עלינו... את השנה הזאת

Bareich Aleinu… es ha’shanah ha’zos. Bless upon us… this year.

ויבא אברהם לספד לשרה ולבכתה... ויקם אברהם מעל פני מתו

Avraham came to eulogize Sarah and to bewail her. Avraham rose up from the presence of the dead. (23:2,3)

הוא ישלח מלאכו לפניך ולקחת אשה לבני משם

He will send His angel before you, and you will take a wife for my son from there. (24:7)

אלי לא תלך האשה אחרי

Perhaps the woman will not follow me? (24:39)

מד' יצא הדבר

The matter stemmed from Hashem! (24:50)

ויבאה יצחק האהלה שרה אמו... וינחם יצחק אחרי אמו

And Yitzchak brought her into the tent of Sarah, his mother… and thus was Yitzchak consoled after his mother. (24:67)

אשר לא תקח אשה לבני מבנות הכנעני אשר אנכי יושב בקרבו

That you not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among who I dwell. (24:3)

ותמהר ותער כדה אל השוקת ותרץ עוד אל הבאר לשאוב

So she hurried and emptied her jug into the trough and kept running to the well to draw water. (24:20)

ויען לבן ובתואל ויאמרו מד' יצא הדבר

Then Lavan and Besuel answered, and said, “The matter stemmed from Hashem.” (24:50)

נתתי כסף השדה קח ממני

I give the price of the field, (take) accept it from me . (23:13)

YEARS

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