Parashat Chayei Sarah
25 Cheshvan 5776 / 25-26 November 2016
Torah: Genesis 23:1 – 25:18
Haftarah: 1 Kings 1:1-31
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Dedications
and Calendar of Events follow.
Please feel
free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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THE GIFT OF
FULFILLMENT
And this
was Sarah’s life; the years of the life of Sarah were one hundred years and
twenty years and seven years. Sarah died in Kiryat Arba, now Hebron ,
in the land of Canaan
Rashi: “The
years of the life of Sarah” tells us that they were all equally good.
Yehudah
Aryeh Leib of Ger, aka the Sefas Emes, offers the following comment on Rashi
and the verse: There must be differences and changes during the years of a
person’s life. There are special times in youth and in old age. But the truly
righteous ones find fulfillment (shleimut) in all (or, in each) of their
days. Since this is not natural, it must be a gift from God. And this is the meaning of the verse (24:1)
“and the Lord blessed Abraham in every way” – fulfillment that is found in
every place and in every time. Thus, Rashi says, “They were all equally good.”
Sarah
suffered much travail over the years. Uprooted from her home and moved to a
foreign land; years of barrenness; conflict with her maidservant who was also
Abraham’s concubine; the near sacrifice of her only son – this must have taken
a heavy toll. And yet, the Gerer Rebbe teaches that Rashi was right - that all
of her years were equally good.
Thursday is
the American holiday of Thanksgiving. What better day for each of us to
remember that we can, we must, find fulfillment in what we have, and to be at
peace (shleimut comes from the same root as shalom – peace) with
what we don’t have. This doesn’t mean we should not strive to improve
ourselves, our lives and our society. But it does mean that, as the Sefas Emes
says, fulfillment is indeed a gift from God. And for that, we should be
thankful.
Happy
Thanksgiving! Hodu l'Adonai ki tov; ki l'olam chasdo - Give thanks to the Lord Who is good, Whose lovingkindness is eternal. Psalm 136.
Shabbat
Shalom!
Rabbi
Richard A. Flom
Congregation
Beth Meier
http://bethmeier.org
Blogging
at: http://rav-rich.blogspot.com/
Visit me on
Facebook
Twitter: @DrahcirMolf
"שתיקה כהודאה דמיא"
"Silence
in the face of wrongdoing is consent.”
BT Yevamot
87b
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Candle
lighting: 4:26 pm
Thursday – Happy Thanksgiving!
Friday – NO Shabbat
Evening Service.
Saturday – Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush lunch follows
services.
Sunday - NO Religious School
Tuesday – Lunch and Learn – 12:00 noon.
Friday 12/2 – Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm
Saturday 12/3 – Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush lunch follows
services.
Friday, 12/9 – Early Family Shabbat Evening Service at 6:00 pm, followed by Shabbat Dinner at 7:00. RSVP no later
than Friday, December 2.
This
d'var torah is offered in honor of our son, Robert Flom, celebrating his
birthday on December 1. Yom huledet sameach! Ad meah v’esrim!
This
d'var torah is offered in honor of my sister, Lorrie Flom Goodman, celebrating
her birthday on November 29. Yom huledet sameach! Ad meah v’esrim!
This
d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Avi Shmuel Yosef Hakohen ben
Bella, HaRav Yisrael Shimon ben Liebah Breina, Yaakov Rani Ben Margalit, Sarah
bat Devorah, Zehavah B’rakhah bat Leah, Susan Arbetman, Ken Bitticks, Elsbet
Brosky, Jerry Daniels, Maya Fersht (Maya bat Esther), Dr. Samuel Fersht (Shmuel
Natan ben Gittel), Leonard Foint (Eliezer Moshe ben Esther), Jerry Forman, Myra
Goodman, Simon Hartman, Fouad Kay (Yehoshua ben Salima), Philip Kovac, Tonya
Kronzek, Toni Linder, Roy Miller, Deborah Schugar Strauss (Devorah bat Chaya
Feiga), Helen Schugar (Chaya Feiga bat Kreina), Hedy Woolf, and Naomi
Zimmermann (Naomi bat Yorma).
Please
let me know if there is anyone you would like to add to this list or if there
is anyone who may be removed from this list.
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