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Home -> 5779 -> Chayei Sarah

ואברהם זקן בא בימים וד' ברך את אברהם בכל

Sruly Schnair
In Chayei Sarah, 5779

Now Avraham was old, well on in years, and Hashem had blessed him with everything. (24:1)

We think of life as measured by years: a long life is one during which one has lived many years; a short life is defined the opposite way. Horav Eliyahu Lopian, zl, derives from the above pasuk that we should measure life by days – complete days. He quotes the Zohar HaKadosh, who teaches that at the beginning of each day, a person’s forthcoming “day” asks him, “What will it be today?” What type of day will you have? Will you stand up to the challenges and tests prepared for you by the yetzer hora, evil inclination? Will your yetzer…

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Home -> 5779 -> Chayei Sarah

תנו לי אחזת קבר עמכם ואקברה מתי מלפני

Sruly Schnair
In Chayei Sarah, 5779

Grant me burial property with you, so that I may bury my dead from before me. (23:4)

Achuzah (according to Horav S.R. Hirsch, zl) means settlement, the act of becoming domiciled in a given place. When Avraham asked permission to bury his wife, Sarah, he asked that she be able to rest in a place that would be her permanent, everlasting home. Avraham Avinu lived his entire life as a wanderer, refusing to settle in any one place, because this would contradict his mission in life: to reach out wherever possible to touch the lives of many, wherever they may be. He was not going to sit back and wait for people to come to him. He…

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Home -> 5778 -> Chayei Sarah

ותמת שרה בקרית ארבע

Roberto Szerer
In Chayei Sarah, 5778

Sarah died in Kiryas Arba. (23:2)

Rashi expounds on the juxtaposition of the sudden passing of Sarah Imeinu upon the Akeidah, Binding of Yitzchak. Apparently, Satan came and informed Sarah of Avraham Avinu’s intention to slaughter Yitzchak. U’kimaat shelo nishchat, “And before he could have been slaughtered,” she died. Sarah heard that Yitzchak was about to be slaughtered, and she died. Why does Rashi emphasize the fact that she died before he was slaughtered? It is obvious what happened. Rashi could have simply said that the very news that her son was on the way to his death, to be slaughtered by his father, was too…

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Home -> 5778 -> Chayei Sarah

ותמת שרה בקרית ארבע... ויבא אברהם לספד לשרה

Roberto Szerer
In Chayei Sarah, 5778

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

Rashi explains the juxtaposition of the passing of Sarah Imeinu upon the Akeidas Yitzchak, because it was as a result of the Akeidah that her “sudden” passing came about. The Satan told her that Avraham Avinu was about to slaughter her one and only child, Yitzchak Avinu, and she died from the shock. Before we continue, it must be made clear that Sarah Imeinu died when she was supposed to die. Hashem creates the circumstances. With our limited minds, we unfortunately only see what occurs: an elderly woman succumbs to the news that her son is being slaughtered. It may…

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Home -> 5778 -> Chayei Sarah

ויקם אברהם מעל פני מתו

Roberto Szerer
In Chayei Sarah, 5778

Avraham rose up from the presence of his dead. (23:3)

In his Tiferes Yehonasan, Horav Yehonasan Eibeshutz, zl, explains this pasuk based upon an original idea that only those righteous who died through the medium of missas neshikah, kiss from Hashem – and not through the Malach HaMaves, Angel of Death – were allowed burial in the Meoras HaMachpeilah. Thus, when Avraham Avinu petitioned to have Sarah Imeinu buried in the Meoras HaMachpeilah, he was certain that she was worthy of acceptance. Chazal describe the Angel of Death’s manner of taking a person’s life. “He stands over the head of the soon-to-be-deceased. In his hand is a sword; the tip…

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Home -> 5778 -> Chayei Sarah

ויקח האיש נזם זהב בקע משקלו ושני צמידים על ידיה עשרה זהב משקלם

Roberto Szerer
In Chayei Sarah, 5778

The man took a gold nose ring, its weight was a beka and two bracelets on her arms, ten gold shekels was their weight. (24:22)

The gifts which Eliezer gave Rivkah Imeinu were not ordinary jewelry. They symbolized something important, a message to her concerning the destiny of her future progeny. The beka is a half-shekel, which symbolized the amount that every Jew was mandated to contribute annually towards the Bais Hamikdash. The two bracelets symbolized the two Tablets of Law, and the ten-shekel weight alluded to the Ten Commandments. The machatzis hashekel, half-shekel, contributed by all Jews, is certainly an important mitzvah, but is it on par with the Aseres HaDibros, Ten Commandment? Why did Eliezer use the half-shekel as the gift that would…

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Home -> 5778 -> Chayei Sarah

ברך עלינו... את השנה הזאת

Roberto Szerer
In Chayei Sarah, 5778

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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Home -> 5777 -> Chayei Sarah

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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Home -> 5777 -> Chayei Sarah

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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Home -> 5777 -> Chayei Sarah

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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