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Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Bereshit
- Chayei Sara
The famous Rashi on this pasuk - noting the seemingly superfluous use of the word "shana" - explains that Sara at 100 was as sinless as one who is 20, while at 20 she had the pure, natural beauty of a 7-year old. Rashi adds that all of her years were "l'tova," for the good.
OK, fair enough, but what about the end of this pasuk? Why was it necessary to again add the words, "the years of the life of Sara?!" Don't we already know this?!
I suggest that these 3 words – "sh'nay chaye Sara" - can have another meaning. They can be translated as "the two lives of Sara!" You see, in effect Sara Imenu lived two distinct existences. The first was her life of 90 years until Yitzchak was born; her second life was the 37 years she had as a mother to share with her only son.
Sara - no less than Avraham - went through her own nisyonot, her own compelling trials and tribulations. She, too, had to leave her home & journey to a new, foreign land. She had to deal with surrogate-mother Hagar's uncomfortable presence in her home & Hagar's insolence towards her. She had to battle with her husband Avraham to evict troublesome Yishmael from their home. And she was kidnapped - not once, but twice!
Yet the greatest challenge she faced was her ceaseless determination to bring a child into the world. For almost a century, she was barren, & the situation looked totally hopeless (indeed, the Gemara says that she did not even have a uterus!). Yet through it all, she would not give up; even when her "friends" told her how blessed she was to be so beautiful in face & form at her advanced age, she resisted their comments. She argued that she would not rest until she succeeded in giving birth. And so, even though her years with Yitzchak were relatively brief, they nevertheless constituted a whole new life that finally made her complete as a woman and leader of Israel.
Sara's story not only helps us to understand the pain of infertility, it also teaches & inspires us to never abandon our dreams, to soldier on until the very last moment in order to achieve our goals & complete our mission. Sara's legacy then remains: Never give up and never give in when you are striving for something worthwhile and holy.
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 9 - "Seeing is Believing" (parag. 21-30)
These paragraphs elaborate on the theme that seeing and knowing is better than any attempt to prove logically, and begins explaining the difference between Israel and gentiles.
Ein Aya Various Universal Stages of the Geula Process
Rav Kook examines the various stages of redemption, explaining how (in addition to the obvious oft-mentioned stages of ingathering the exiles, reviving the Hebrew language, army, state etc.) the messianic dream of world prosperity, the State of Israel and world unity can and are realistically and logically gradually coming true.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
How do we know that the "claim" of mass revelation to 2,000,000 witnesses at Mt. Sinai is really true? This important class answers all of the questions skeptics ask about this claim of the Kuzari.
Ein Aya Armies Still Necessary for Balance & the War Against Wars
Rav Kook explains why the world was originally divided into the various seemingly contradicting ideologies and cultures, in order to develop each one respectively. Swords or armies symbolize how each respective ideology defends themselves, as well as deters their opposing ideologies and cultures. On the other hand, the messianic era will be one of peace, and Rav Kook explains the transition to that stage, which mankind is already undergoing.
The Land of Israel LGBT'S IN ISRAEL
The question was asked, how can one make Aliyah with the LGBT parades?
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 7 - Five Accumulative Proofs of G-d
As a preparation for the Kuzari's classic proof of G-d from the mass-revelation at Sinai, we start here with 5 other directions to strengthen our belief which also contribute to what the Kuzari will present as well.
Ein Aya Muscle & Meaning: The Dual Nature of Gevurah (Physical Strength)
Is physical strength and fitness a necessity or an ideal? Although it if often totally overlooked among topics of Judaism, Rav Kook writes that it clearly is also a necessity to deter the many enemies of Israel, but even in Y'mot HaMashiach, in the Messianic era, to a certain extent, it's ideal continues even after our enemies will have been finished off.
