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Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Bereshit
- Chayei Sara
This week’s parsha records for us the passing of our father and mother, of Avraham and Sarah. The Torah notes these sad events without any undue display of emotion or even of great sadness. The Torah’s view of life is that death is inevitable and that death does not end the influence of life – in fact, it does not end life itself. The whole idea of the story of Yitzhak’s miraculous birth and his being saved from the altar of the akeida is to emphasize to us the continuation of life and generations in a family and in the Jewish people generally.
If Yitzhak is alive and finds his wonderful mate in Rivka, then Avraham and Sarah are also still here with us. The living generation always perpetuates the past generations, not only in photographs and memories but also in deeds and accomplishments. The Torah emphasizes zekhut avot – the merit of previous generations standing in good stead for later generations. But there is also a concept of brah mezakeh abuhu – of later generations justifying and affirming the accomplishments of previous generations.
A generation that sees itself in isolation, without any true connection to the past, and without any feeling of duty and responsibility to the future, is a generation that truly feels death as being a permanent status. In order to avoid this mistaken and dangerous notion of life, the Torah describes the death of Sarah our mother with the words chayei Sarah – the life of Sarah - for she lives on through all of Jewish eternity.
Our mother Sarah had a very turbulent life, full of frustrations, evil happenings and constant tension. Hagar and Yishmael, Pharaoh and Avimelech, all are part of her challenges. Even the miraculous gift of Yitzhak only adds to the tensions in her own home. And she is unable to survive the near death of Yitzhak in the terrible trial of the akeidah. In fact if we look at the lives of all of our patriarchs and matriarchs we can come to the conclusion that Yaakov’s assessment of his life – “few and difficult were the days of my life” – was certainly an accurate picture.
However, that would be viewing the lives of the founders of our people in a very narrow view. It was the very troubles and travails of their lives that fashioned them into the great almost super human figures that they were. Jewish life is and always was a struggle, a place of tensions and challenges and danger and soaring hope and belief. The response to this condition is the test of every Jewish generation.
Sarah lives on after her death because of her spirit and determination during her lifetime. The Torah therefore is most accurate in portraying her in death as still living. Deep down within us this is a source of consolation to all of us who have lost loved ones. They live on in our lives and deeds. There can be no greater comfort in viewing life and its inevitable physical end than this important understanding and lesson.
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If Yitzhak is alive and finds his wonderful mate in Rivka, then Avraham and Sarah are also still here with us. The living generation always perpetuates the past generations, not only in photographs and memories but also in deeds and accomplishments. The Torah emphasizes zekhut avot – the merit of previous generations standing in good stead for later generations. But there is also a concept of brah mezakeh abuhu – of later generations justifying and affirming the accomplishments of previous generations.
A generation that sees itself in isolation, without any true connection to the past, and without any feeling of duty and responsibility to the future, is a generation that truly feels death as being a permanent status. In order to avoid this mistaken and dangerous notion of life, the Torah describes the death of Sarah our mother with the words chayei Sarah – the life of Sarah - for she lives on through all of Jewish eternity.
Our mother Sarah had a very turbulent life, full of frustrations, evil happenings and constant tension. Hagar and Yishmael, Pharaoh and Avimelech, all are part of her challenges. Even the miraculous gift of Yitzhak only adds to the tensions in her own home. And she is unable to survive the near death of Yitzhak in the terrible trial of the akeidah. In fact if we look at the lives of all of our patriarchs and matriarchs we can come to the conclusion that Yaakov’s assessment of his life – “few and difficult were the days of my life” – was certainly an accurate picture.
However, that would be viewing the lives of the founders of our people in a very narrow view. It was the very troubles and travails of their lives that fashioned them into the great almost super human figures that they were. Jewish life is and always was a struggle, a place of tensions and challenges and danger and soaring hope and belief. The response to this condition is the test of every Jewish generation.
Sarah lives on after her death because of her spirit and determination during her lifetime. The Torah therefore is most accurate in portraying her in death as still living. Deep down within us this is a source of consolation to all of us who have lost loved ones. They live on in our lives and deeds. There can be no greater comfort in viewing life and its inevitable physical end than this important understanding and lesson.
In order to get articles like this delivered straight to your inbox every week, subscribe to the Israel National Torah newsletter here.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
