Hello Friends and welcome back to Torah Thoughts from Adas Israel, the Jewish Congregation of Mason City, Iowa. Grateful that you are with us again. Just a reminder that we'll hold services Friday the 18th of November at 7:00PM and then our Midrash (Study Session) will be on Shabbat starting at 10:00AM. We truly hope you can be with us. Remember, all are welcome and there is no effort to proselytize anybody. Jews just don't do that. We're here to share knowledge and build relationships. Ready? Let's go!
Chayei Sarah
This week's Torah Portion can be found in Genesis 23:1 - 25:18 and begins with remembering the life of Sarah, "Sarah's life was one hundred years, twenty years and seven years, the years of Sarah's life." The rabbis say that Sarah died as a result of the "Binding of Isaac". Satan came to Sarah and reported that Abraham took Isaac up to the mountain and did, indeed, kill him. Of course that was not true as we learned last week. G-d halted the test of Abraham and Isaac lived. That is what explains the fact that Abraham and Isaac were not with Sarah at her death as we learn, "...and Abraham came to eulogize Sarah and bewail her." (Gen. 23:2)
Right away Abraham purchased a burial place for Sarah from the people of Heth who allowed it because they knew Abraham was a follower of G-d.
Another interesting item: If we go back to last week's reading we end that parsha with the birth of Rebecca (Gen. 22:23). Why is that? The sages say that a righteous person is not taken from the earth until his or her successor has been born. This is implied in the verse, "The sun rises and the sun sets." (Ecclesiastes 1:5)
And Now Rebecca
Abraham sends his servant, Eliezer, back to the “old country,” his birthplace Charan, to find a wife for Isaac (Yitzchak). Eliezer makes what appears to be very strange conditions for the matrimonial candidate to fulfill in order to qualify for Isaac. Rebecca (Rivka) unknowingly meets the conditions. Eliezer succeeds in getting familial approval, though they were not too keen about Rebecca leaving her native land.
Love and Marriage
We now read an interesting line about the marriage of Rebecca and Isaac. "He (Isaac) married Rebecca, she became his wife, and he loved her." (Gen. 24:67) Because every word and phrase in the Torah means something what do we learn by this simple statement?
We learn that Isaac first married Rebecca and THEN he loved her.
That is so very different from what many of us think about love. Every day we are bombarded with messages of love. Heck there is even a day set aside for hearts, flowers and candy. And, if you know what's good for you...you will comply.
But here we learn that love came about after the marriage. It has to do with self-love vs. a mature love. Rabbi Abraham Twerski says it best, "It may be difficult for us to understand how marriages were once made, with the parents of the couple arranging the engagement. In absence of passion and self-love, what was the basis for such marriages? It was a sense of responsibility to establish a family to whom the couple could transmit the legacy of Sinai. Certainly, the relationship was to provide satisfaction for both partners. However, if the level of satisfaction was not what each might have wished, the basis of the relationship was not weakened, and accommodation could more easily be reached. There was a common goal and purpose to the marriage rather than self-seeking interests. This enabled the development of a more mature love."
Powerful, yes?
Finally
Abraham marries Keturah and fathers six more sons. He sends them east (with the secrets of mysticism) before he dies at 175. Isaac and Ishmael bury Abraham near Sarah in Ma’arat HaMachpela, the cave Abraham purchased to bury Sarah. The portion ends with the listing of Ishmael’s 12 sons and Ishmael dying at age 137.
Shabbat Shalom and thank you for reading. Hope to see you this Shabbat in Mason City!
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