22
Cheshvan 5778 / 10-11 November 2017
Parashat
Chayei Sarah
Torah - Genesis 23:1 - 25:18
Haftarah - 1 Kings 1:1-31
Torah - Genesis 23:1 - 25:18
Haftarah - 1 Kings 1:1-31
Calendar
and dedications follow below. For more information about our community, check
out our web site at:
Please
feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER!
“And Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother; he married Rebecca, she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother.” Genesis 24:67
Rashi: He brought her to the tent, and behold, she was Sarah his mother! That is to say, she became like Sarah his mother. For as long as Sarah was alive, a candle burned from one Shabbat eve to the next, a blessing was found in the dough and a cloud was attached to the tent. When she died, these things ceased, and when Rebecca came, they resumed (citing Genesis Rabbah 60:16).
According to the Midrash, Sarah was the first to kindle Shabbat lights and to take challah (a symbolic offering) from dough. In doing so, she caused the Shekhinah (the Divine Presence, symbolized by the cloud) to descend to her home. Isaac and Abraham either could not or would not do these things. It was Rebecca, the wife who replaced (became?) the mother, who reinstituted the practices, and brought about the return of the Shekhinah.
There are several ways to look at this. There is a rather obvious oedipal reference. There is the female viewpoint that men are clueless when it comes to certain matters. However, I am more interested in mystical cause and effect.
Simply by kindling Shabbat lights, Sarah and Rebecca (and any of us!) could bring God’s Sheltering Presence into the home. What’s the mystery? Take a mundane act, lighting candles, infuse the act and yourself with holiness through kavannah (focused intent) and by reciting the appropriate blessing, and you have instant Shalom Bayit, a peaceful household. This Shabbat, perform this simple mitzvah; then look at the light, marvel at the Creation it symbolizes, and bring the Shekhinah home for dinner!
Have a Wonderful Shabbat!
GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER!
“And Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother; he married Rebecca, she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother.” Genesis 24:67
Rashi: He brought her to the tent, and behold, she was Sarah his mother! That is to say, she became like Sarah his mother. For as long as Sarah was alive, a candle burned from one Shabbat eve to the next, a blessing was found in the dough and a cloud was attached to the tent. When she died, these things ceased, and when Rebecca came, they resumed (citing Genesis Rabbah 60:16).
According to the Midrash, Sarah was the first to kindle Shabbat lights and to take challah (a symbolic offering) from dough. In doing so, she caused the Shekhinah (the Divine Presence, symbolized by the cloud) to descend to her home. Isaac and Abraham either could not or would not do these things. It was Rebecca, the wife who replaced (became?) the mother, who reinstituted the practices, and brought about the return of the Shekhinah.
There are several ways to look at this. There is a rather obvious oedipal reference. There is the female viewpoint that men are clueless when it comes to certain matters. However, I am more interested in mystical cause and effect.
Simply by kindling Shabbat lights, Sarah and Rebecca (and any of us!) could bring God’s Sheltering Presence into the home. What’s the mystery? Take a mundane act, lighting candles, infuse the act and yourself with holiness through kavannah (focused intent) and by reciting the appropriate blessing, and you have instant Shalom Bayit, a peaceful household. This Shabbat, perform this simple mitzvah; then look at the light, marvel at the Creation it symbolizes, and bring the Shekhinah home for dinner!
Have a Wonderful Shabbat!
Rabbi
Richard A. Flom
Visit
me on Facebook
Twitter: @DrahcirMolf
"שתיקה כהודאה דמיא"
"Silence
in the face of wrongdoing is consent.”
BT
Yevamot 88a
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CALENDAR
Candle lighting: 4:34 pm
Friday – Cool
Shabbat Evening Service with Steve Pearlman and Rabbi Flom (It’s a GAS! –
guitar accompanied service) – 7:30 pm (Oneg Shabbat follows).
Saturday – Breakfast
and Torah study - 8:45 am. Shabbat Morning Service – 9:30 am.
Kiddush luncheon follows.
Sunday –
Religious School – 9:30 am. Sign up the kids and bring ‘em on
down! Adult Hebrew with Lynda Foster at 9:30 am and Barry Glass at
10:00 am!
Tuesday – Lunch
and Learn – 12:00 noon.
Friday,
November 17 – Shabbat Evening Service at 6:30 pm, followed
by Annual Turkey Dinner at 7:15 pm. RSVP deadline November 10 –
Adults $25, Children 5-12 $10, under 5 no charge.
Saturday,
November 18 – Breakfast and Torah study - 8:45
am. Shabbat Morning Service – 9:30 am. Kiddush luncheon follows.
Sunday,
November 19 – Religious School – 9:30 am. Sign up the kids and
bring ‘em on down! Adult Hebrew with Barry Glass at 10:00 am.
TBH Religious School and TBH Pre-school have
open enrollment. Enroll your children now! Contact the TBH office for
information.
And be sure to tell your neighbors, friends, and relatives about
our warm and welcoming community and our programs!
We are looking for volunteers for services: chant
Torah or Haftarah, daven, lead English readings, and have aliyot and other
Torah/bimah honors. Contact Rabbi Flom by e-mail for details and to sign up!
This d'var torah is offered in memory of Jack Hirsch, who passed
away earlier this week. His obituary may be found at:
We extend our condolences to his wife, Diana Hirsch. Y’hi zikhro
liv’rakhah – may his memory be a blessing.
This d'var torah is offered in honor of America’s veterans. Please
observe Veterans’ Day on Friday and Saturday.
This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Avi Shmuel
Yosef Hakohen ben Bella, Ze’ev ben Adeline, HaRav Chana Rivka bat
Doronit, Yaakov Rani Ben Margalit, Eilite bat Miryam, HaRav Tzvi
Hersh ben Frimet, Sarah bat Devorah, Hiroe Andriola, Susan Arbetman, Stuart
Barth, Ken Bitticks, Jerry Daniels, Maya Fersht (Maya bat Esther), Dr. Samuel
Fersht (Shmuel Natan ben Gittel), Leonard Foint (Eliezer Moshe ben Esther),
Jerry Forman, Bernard Garvin, Myra Goodman, Leah Granat, Simon Hartmann,
Brandon Joseph, Philip Kovac, Tonya Kronzek (Zlata Malkah bat Sarah Emanu),
Lyndia Lowy (Leah bat Sarah), Deborah Schugar Strauss (Devorah bat Chaya
Feiga), Helen Schugar (Chaya Feiga bat Kreina), Jonathan Woolf, and Meagan
Yudell.
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.
My
weekly divrei torah are available through free subscription to the Cyber Torah e-mail list. No
salesman will call!
Cyber
Torah list management:
To subscribe to Cyber Torah, send an
e-mail from the receiving address to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net with the
heading “Subscribe Cyber Torah”.
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heading “Unsubscribe Cyber Torah”.
To dedicate a Cyber Torah in honor of
a simchah in memory of a loved one or for a refuah shleimah, send an e-mail
to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net with the
heading “Dedicate Cyber Torah” and provide details in the message body.
