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Essays on the weekly Torah portion, the holidays and Jewish thought.
Parsha Chayei Sarah – Get a Life Judaism – for all of its great thinkers and theoreticians – would have gotten nowhere without the Sarah’s of the Jewish community who devoted their lives to making these noble concepts a tangible reality. Indeed, this is the main purpose G-d created the world; to take heaven and introduce it to the Parsha Chayei Sarah – Chain Reaction I The Torah’s seemingly prosaic term “And he said” was part of the most important chain of events. It linked the beginning of civilization to its end; the highest and most sublime spiritual energies with the lowest physical entities. It united opposite ends of the spectrum that will finally link the b Parsha Chayei Sarah – Geulah and Women While the men think and talk about the imminence of Geulah, women will make it happen. For men, Moshiach and Geulah are real concepts and real ideas. For women, Moshiach and Geulah are reality, not just theories, concepts and ideas. Without the concretization of the Geulah, women cannot be satisfied Parsha Chayei Sarah – Go East In recent decades, many Jews have returned to Judaism, ironically, through exposure to Eastern mysticism. Many Jews who have lost their appreciation for Jewish values and teachings and who were turned on by Eastern mysticism have subsequently discovered that they could find these mystical teachings Parsha Chayei Sarah – Instant Gratification Our prayers are replete with requests for G-d to bring an end to suffering and misery; and end to the exile. These prayers are punctuated with an urgency. The word “speedily” appears in many of these requests. When we deal with a mission that will affect the entire world, there is not luxury to dela Parsha Chayei Sarah – Opportunism When you see someone who is filled with a passion for something, instead of knocking it and trying to suppress it, be an opportunist and use that love for something positive. Parsha Chayei Sarah – Purim in Cheshvan? Our Sages declare, “Moses is the first redeemer and Moses will be the final redeemer.” This does not mean that Moses and Moshiach are the same person. Rather, Moshiach’s power and ability to redeem the Jewish nation, is derived from Moses. Moshiach internalizes the soul of Moses and all the ideals w Parsha Chayei Sarah – Reversing Roles: Two Eulogies Sarah’s inability to digest the loss of Isaac was more than just a motherly instinct. It was also a product of her utter devotion to the future of the Jewish nation. She could not tolerate the notion that Isaac would disappear, not only because of her love for her only child born to her at the age o Parsha Chayei Sarah – Speak Little and Finish the Job We are now standing on the cusp of the Final Redemption. It behoove us to remember that what is most important now is finishing the task and bringing G-d’s Master Plan to its conclusion. Parsha Chayei Sarah – The Cosmic Marriage A marriage is not merely a contract between two parties. Besides all the legalities that a marriage involves—financial support, etc.—it is the act by which two half souls commit themselves to one another unconditionally, in ways that transcend logic and reason. Marriage is not a quid-pro-quo contrac Parsha Chayei Sarah – The Fountain of Youth & a Tale of Two Horses Sarah’s passing is reported briefly in the beginning of this week’s parsha in the following manner: “And these were the days of… Parsha Chayei Sarah – The Search and Discovery of Marriage Marriage, according to the Zohar, is the reunion of two half souls which were separated at birth. Marriage thus is discovery of another person, a total stranger up till now, who is actually your other half. Parsha Chayei Sarah – The Same Old New Stories Our unparalleled history of devotion and sacrifice is testimony to the greatness of our fathers and mothers. Every time we perform a Mitzvah it not only attests to our own loyalty to G-d, it testifies to the devotion of our ancestors as well. Parsha Chayei Sarah – The Test Pro-active compassion is where one cannot bear to keep the resources they possess for themselves. A truly kind and compassionate person’s need to give, prompts him to become a pro-active giver who seeks out others who are in need. It is not his own pain that he is trying to assuage, but he is in pai Parsha Chayei Sarah – The Veil To ensure that the Shabbos is hermetically sealed off from the rest of the week, the woman who lights the Shabbos candles hides behind a veil of sorts. This, in turn, preserves the peaceful aura of Shabbos. Since peace is the greatest receptacle for all of G-d’s blessings, the veil is appropriately Parsha Chayei Sarah – Torah: The Link to the Past and Future When we appreciate the stories of the Torah, particularly the miracles of the Patriarchs that are highlighted in the narrative of Eliezer the servant of Abraham, it prepares us for the miracles of the future. When we study Torah by searching for new ideas and continually seeing its intricacies and n Parsha Chayei Sarah – Vision, Mastery and Perception The power of Sarah and of all women is to concretize the ideals of Abraham. Abraham’s bequeathing everything he owned to Isaac was a result of Sarah’s insight and foresight that Abraham’s legacy would go through Isaac exclusively. Sarah planted the seed in her lifetime and it finally took root after Parsha Chayei Sarah – Welcome Back Abraham’s influence did not go to waste. His father Terach and his son Yishmael did return to Abraham’s ways. Hagar too did eventually return to Abraham a righteous woman. Parsha Chayei Sarah – Women's Role in Judaism Judaism is multifaceted. If we would want to reduce all of Judaism’s goals into just a few categories, it can be said that its objective is threefold. Judaism is about bringing light, holiness and purity, into our own lives, our homes and to the entire world. These three ideals are the three traits Parsha Nitzavim – Bringing Light Into the Darkness and Removing Darkness from the Light There are three approaches to darkness and light: The first focuses on the way we must look for light even as we sit in the darkness of exile. The second is to see the light of the future and live with it. The third approach is to not allow darkness to intrude in times of light. LIGHT FORM THE FUTUR