Chayei Sarah – Peninim on the Torah

And Avraham expired and died in a good old age, mature and content. (25:8)

The Ramban remarks on Avraham Avinu’s lofty character. He was sameiach b’chelko, satisfied with his lot in life. He was not one to yearn for luxuries. Those who desire luxuries will never be happy with what they attain. If they have a hundred, they desire two hundred; if they have two hundred, they desire four hundred. We are puzzled by the Ramban’s statement. Avraham really did not have a reason to complain. Hashem blessed him with extraordinary wealth and prestige. He miraculously saved his life when he was thrown into the fiery furnace. He was blessed with a son…

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Moshe Marcovich In Chayei Sarah, 5758

And Avraham said to his servant, the elder of his household who controlled all that was his….And I said to my master,” Perhaps the woman will not follow me?” (24:2, 39)

The Torah tells very little about Eliezer, Avraham’s trusted servant. Who was he? Who was his father? The first indication about his origins is later in the narrative, when Rashi explains the word “hkt”–“ulai,” this word is normally spelled with a “vov” and is translated as “perhaps.” It is now spelled without a “vov” and should really be interpreted as “to me.” Rashi says that Eliezer was alluding to his own daughter whom he had hoped to marry to Yitzchak. Thus, when he asked Avraham what to do if he was not successful in finding the suitable mate for Yitzchak,…

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Moshe Marcovich In Chayei Sarah, 5758

Let it be that the maiden to whom I shall say, “Please tip over the jug so I may drink,” and who replies, “Drink, and I will even water your camels,” her will You have designated for Your servant Yitzchak. (24:14)

Eliezer established a criteria for a suitable mate for Yitzchak. He would request of her an act of chesed, kindness. If her response exceeded his request, it would indicate that she was truly a baalas chesed. The wife for Yitzchak, the future Matriarch of Klal Yisrael, must be an individual whose character refinement is innate. Rivkah displayed a level of chesed that was exemplary. We may wonder why her willingness to draw water for the camels was so remarkable that it demonstrated her admirable quality of chesed. What was so special about it? We suggest that the answer lies…

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Moshe Marcovich In Chayei Sarah, 5758

I have given you the field, and as for the cave that is in it, I have given to you….bury your dead. Land worth four hundred silver shekels; between you and I–what is it? Bury your dead. (23:11,15)

What made Efron change his mind so radically? At first, he appeared to be a wonderful, refined gentleman who opened his land to Avraham. He granted him a place in which to bury Sarah without asking any compensation. Suddenly Efron showed a different side to his personality, when he “intimated” that he would be inclined to “give” the property to Avraham for a mere four hundred silver shekels, which constituted an outrageous amount of money. Something must have transpired that catalyzed this sudden change. What was it? Horav Yaakov Neiman, zl, cites the Alter M’Kelm who responds to the question…

Home -> 5758 -> Chayei Sarah

Moshe Marcovich In Chayei Sarah, 5758

And Sarah died in Kiryas Arba….And Avraham came to eulogize Sarah and to cry for her. (23:2)

Rashi explains that the narrative regarding Sarah’s death is juxtaposed upon the previous parsha, which relates the story of Akeidas Yitzchak, because her death is intrinsically related to the Akeidah. When she heard the news that her only child was about to be slaughtered, “parchah nishmassah,” her soul “flew out” and she died. We may question why Rashi discusses Sarah’s death and its connection with the Akeidah while commenting on the pasuk which mentions Avraham’s eulogy. He should have raised this issue in the beginning of the parsha, when the Torah says, “And Sarah died.” Second, it is difficult to…

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And Avraham expired and died in a good old age, mature and content. (25:8)

And Avraham said to his servant, the elder of his household who controlled all that was his….And I said to my master,” Perhaps the woman will not follow me?” (24:2, 39)

Let it be that the maiden to whom I shall say, “Please tip over the jug so I may drink,” and who replies, “Drink, and I will even water your camels,” her will You have designated for Your servant Yitzchak. (24:14)

I have given you the field, and as for the cave that is in it, I have given to you….bury your dead. Land worth four hundred silver shekels; between you and I–what is it? Bury your dead. (23:11,15)

And Sarah died in Kiryas Arba….And Avraham came to eulogize Sarah and to cry for her. (23:2)

YEARS

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