Weekly Announcements
Ahavat Yisrael of Wesley Hills Announcements
Chayei Sarah
Shabbos Mevorchim
Nov 14 – Nov 20
23 Cheshvan – 29 Cheshvan
Kiddush is being sponsored by Elliot Lasky on the 30th Yahrzeit of his mother Shulamis Bas Eliyahu Halevi.
Mazel Tov to Devorah and Peretz Seltzer on the engagement of their son Rachamim to Sophia Kohn in Israel.
SCHEDULE
FRIDAY (11/14)
Candle lighting/Mincha: 4:19 PM
SHABBOS MEVORCHIM (11/15)
Shacharis: 9:00 AM
Latest time for shma: 9:12 AM
Parsha shiur: 3:30 PM
Mincha: 4:10 PM
Shabbos Ends: 5:22 PM
Maariv: 5:28 PM
SUNDAY (11/16)
Shacharis: 8:00 AM
Rabbi’s Gemara Shiur: 8:45 in shul and on zoom: https://zoom.us/j/3812539596
Mincha/Maariv: 4:20 PM
MONDAY – THURSDAY (11/17-11/20)
Maariv: 9:00 PM
Wednesday: Parsha previews on zoom at 8pm https://zoom.us/j/3812539596
Dvar Torah & Thoughts on Chayei Sarah
Rabbi Asher Bush
While the Torah presents Avraham dealing with all sorts of different people from kings and generals to townsfolk and shepherds, nowhere does it seem to present the picture of nuance and balance more than as seen the beginning of Chayei Sarah. As the account of the death and burial of Sarah is given, Avraham stands before the people of Chevron, native Cnaani descended from Cham. On one hand Avraham seems quite comfortable with the people of Chevron, even grieving and delivering a eulogy for his beloved wife in front of them and feeling comfortable enough with them to ask for a gravesite. They, in turn, are quite gracious with him, firstly gathering the entire population in his honor ready to listen and honor him and Sarah, and not only sincerely offering the best available burial site but speaking to him and of him as a נשיא אלקים אתה בתוכנו/you are a prince of God in our midst, indicating a high level of respect for what Avraham stood for and that they felt honored to have such a man in their midst.
Yet it was right after this episode that Avraham sends his servant, Eliezer, to find a bride for Yitzchak. The first thing he makes absolutely clear that it is unnegotiable that there is absolutely no way that this bride can be a local Cnaani girl. Yes, the very same people who assembled in his honor and graciously offered a gravesite and assumedly provided comfort and consolation as good neighbors do, it was about these people that he made Eliezer swear not to take a bride from this group.
This short description of Avraham and his neighbors provides a much needed paradigm for this often difficult balance that many face. And yes, unless one lives in Israel, or surrounded by antisemites of the worst variety, this is reality, not just our reality but the reality of Avraham Avinu. Yet for many it is hard to achieve this kind of nuance and balance. Avraham is so respected both for who he is and his religious life that his neighbors look at him with awe and admiration. And as Rav Aharon Lichtenstein pointed out so matter of factly, all of the many people that he and Sarah famously did chesed with were not Jewish. He, in turn appreciates and respects them, and obviously he has treated them with that respect otherwise this gathering would never have taken place. But there are clear and strong limits to this relationship, limits that affected him, his son and our entire destiny.
Our Sages also directed us in this way, on one hand prohibiting בישולי נכרים and סתם יינם lest our socialization go too far, leading us to cross lines that just may not be crossed. At the same time, they decreed that when any neighbor, Jewish or not, who needs help with food, burial, sickness, that we need to be there for them, just like Avraham Avinu.
All too often we go to one extreme or the other, becoming too enmeshed in the culture and values of the world around us, or eschewing the people around us to such an extent that we fail in the basic mission of Avraham Avinu. So along with the countless critical religious and moral lessons seen in this final parsha in the life of Avraham, the Torah offers us one more perspective on something easily overlooked, but in fact a major portion of the legacy of Avraham, to live a life of Godliness and Chesed that will inspire all whom we encounter, but to not let those encounters bring us down, instead serving as an opportunity for us to grow and elevate all whom we encounter.