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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.
Rabbi Stewart Weiss
Was ordained at the Hebrew Theological College in Skokie, Illinois, and led congregations in Chicago and Dallas prior to making Aliyah in 1992. He directs the Jewish Outreach Center in Ra'anana, helping to facilitate the spiritual absorption of new olim.
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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.
Chukat "HOW ENTEBBE STOLE THE BICENTENNIAL
The Difference Between Historic & Eternal"
As we approach America's 250th birthday, it's worth remembering her 200th Bicentennial birthday, on Jul. 4th 1976, when Israel "stole the show" by shocking the world & miraculously saving 101 hostages in a foreign continent. As Pres. As Pres. Trump decides which countries get priority in his new Middle-East, it's worth reminding him of the difference between historic events and eternally historic ones. This obviously connects with this week's parsha, as well!
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 6 - The Parable of the King of India
The advantages of testimony over circumstantial evidence or philosophical speculation.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 5- "Proofs of G-d"
This may be the most important class of the entire book, where we finally get to the Jewish proof of the existence of G-d and truth of the Torah. We should follow His own direction where He tells us how to get to Him: through the Nation of Israel: Jewish history, Jewish prophets (and today, prophecies fulfilled), and national reward & punishment towards Am Yisrael.
Ein Aya One Humanity, One Creator, One Jerusalem
Rav Kook innovatively and beautifully explains this aggadeta where our sages say that after Jerusalem was destroyed her cinnamon fragrance is only found locked in a particular kingdom's treasury.
