Chayei Sarah Parshah Thoughts
@@@@@@
No Gifts!
Why didn’t Avraham accept the kever offered him by the people of Ches, instead of insisting to buy it?
The kinderlach suggested that a gift can be regretted and taken back, a sale cannot. Avraham wanted to be sure the grave stayed his.
We suggested that one does not accept gifts he can do without. Avraham did not want the kever for free when he could afford to pay for it.
This is a consciousness which has unfortunately deteriorated today; we must inculcate it into our children!
@@@@@@
Heavy???
When Eliezer met Rivka he put a nose-ring on her nose, bracelets on her hand. The Torah tells us that they weighed 10 golden coins. I don’t have exact figures for how much that is in pounds, but it was a lot.
Where was Eliezer’s decency!? Is it nice to make a small girl like that carry such weight!?
Of course, Silly! It was solid gold – a gift to her. The heavier; the better!
Same thing with Mitzvos: are they heavy? Oh, they do weigh lots at times. But they are solid gold, and they are a present to us. The heavier, the better!!
(Rav Zundel Salanter zt”l, R’ Yisroel Salanter’s Rebbe)
@@@@@@
In His Moccasins
Eliezer asked Rivkah if her parents had place in her house to sleep. She answered that “they have straw and fodder, and place to sleep too”. He had never asked her about straw – why did she mention it?
One suggestion was that some people offer help without really considering what it may entail. They say “Sure, I’ll help you. Call me any time!”. When the person does call, they discover that they have conflicting engagements and cannot deliver on their offer. They may offer a loan or promise financial aid, and when it comes time to pay out they find they cannot keep their commitment.
Rivkah detailed what she included in her offer. Her hospitality was circumspect, taking into account the practical realities entailed. She was sure to do what she promised. Important!
A second point is that Rivkah was sensitive to his needs. When she heard he had no place to stay, she figured that he has no straw or fodder either. So she offered that too. She was thinking about him, not merely responding to a request.
We spoke with the kinderlach that sometimes we need to look out and figure what our fellow man needs. A stranger comes into shul and looks unsure, maybe show him where there is an empty seat. Otherwise, he will not know where to sit, and the whole davening he will be nervous that the seat’s owner will show up. And after davvening tell him where he can eat in town. If a guest comes into the house we can show him the bathroom: he may be uncomfortable for the restroom.
Put yourself in the other guy’s shoes!
@@@@@@
Charan Mentality
Why did Avraham wanted a wife specifically from Charan: why wasn’t it enough that she wasn’t Cannanite?
Rabbi Hirsch suggests that although people of that age paid Mohar, – a bride-price,(Sh’chem offered to pay a bride-price for Dina, and Avraham was given riches in exchange for Sarah) – this was not the practice in Charan.
Paying for a bride means that the wife is a possession of the husband, a servant or maid, and is therefore paid for. Even fourteen years later, Rachel and Leah were still hurt, complaining ‘For we are like strangers to our father; He SOLD us!’.
Eliezer gave expensive gifts to Rikah, but merely some rugalach to Lavan, and nothing to her father, Nachor. It was considered brutish to give money to the family of the bride in Charan, for a wife is not a possession. In Charan a wife was a life partner, and had no price tag. Paying was an affront.
Perhaps this was part of Avraham’s specification in taking a Charan girl; he sought someone who would be matriarch to klal Yisroel, not a maidservant to Yitzchak. That needed someone with self worth – a girl from Charan.
The biggest gift we can give our children is the self concept they have.
@@@@@@
Filling The Earth
In his old age Avraham married K’tura a.k.a. Hagar. The Pasuk also speaks about the “B’nai Hapilagshim “ – the sons of his concubines, indicating many wives and many children.
Yet he knew well that Yitzchok, and only Yitzchok, was to be his successor, spiritual and material. Hashem had told him so. So why marry again? For what?
Hashem wants people in His world. Not only Jews, but also Arabs, Puerto Ricans and blacks. He wants this world populated, and that is what Avraham was busy doing!!
@@@@@@
Alone With Hashem
Why didn’t Yitzchak, a mature 40 year old man, involve himself with marrying, a clear mitzvah or pru uvu? Why was Avraham doing it, and through a shliach yet?
Yitzchak was a kadosh Hashem, totally devoted to Hashem. This was his destiny and mission. Those around him understood this, and facilitated his non-involvement with this world.
Avraham undertook to get a wife for Yitzchak in order to free Yitzchak from getting involved in this.
(When someone today says he is too totally involved in his ruchnius it is a cop out, more often than not. But Yitzchak was the real deal)
@@@@@@
Ours
Why didn’t Avraham buy a burial plot for Sarah BEFORE he needed one, instead of bargaining under duress?
Despite having heard that his children will be slaves in another land, Avraham hoped this negative prophesy was abandoned, and instead he and his children would dwell securely in Eretz Yisroel.
We see this clearly in the reply he gave when Eliezer suggested that Yitzchak return to Charan to marry; Avraham said “Hashem who has taken me away from there and brought me here and has promised to give me this land, He will help you find a bride for Yitzchak” The meaning seems clear; here the great act of history of the Jews coming into the Holy Land is being actualized and realized – Hashem has taken me to here and already promised me this land for keeps – and you want to bring Yitzchak to settle out of Eretz Yisroel?!
Avraham believed that in a matter of days, perhaps, all of Israel will be his. Why spend money on a burial plot??
©2013
kollel parshah | Tiferet Ramot 83-21, Jerusalem, Israel, 97290
This email was sent to [email protected].
To ensure that you continue receiving our emails, please add us to your address book or safe list.
View this email on the web here.
You can also forward to a friend.
Unsubscribe
Powered by Mad Mimi ®