Hertz p.80
Soncino p.118
| Sidra Lite | |
| L'Chayim - To Life! | Rabbi Andrew Shaw |
| Shabbat clothes | Rabbi Daniel Roselaar |
| On G-d and Good | Chief Rabbi Dr Jonathan Sacks |
| See and Essene - Qumran | Simon Goulden |
| Riddle of the Week | Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis |
|
Several years ago on a return flight to London, I watched Ever After, a modern adaptation of the much loved fairy tale Cinderella. The film, far from being worthy of an Academy Award nomination, featured a poignant ending. In lieu of the typical carriage riding off into the sunset and the heroine living happily ever after, the final line was, "It was not so much that she lived happily ever after, but that she lived."
These sentiments are brought home beautifully in this week's Sidra with the life of our matriarch, Sarah In the first verse of the Sidra, we read, 'Sarah's life was one hundred and twenty seven years, the years of Sarah's life'. The word chayei, life, is mentioned twice. Similarly, when Abraham's life is mentioned at the end of the Sidra we read, 'The days of the years of Abraham's life, which he lived'(25:7). Here, once again one notices the seeming redundancy.
R. Zalman Sorotskin provides an insightful explanation. He says the Torah is highlighting that Abraham and Sarah were alive, in the Torah sense of the word, during all their years, using their time on earth to share their knowledge of G-d and to practice kindness at every opportunity. For them, each day was utilized for a sublime purpose.
The Gemara in Berachot tells us cryptically that the righteous are alive even when dead and conversely, the wicked are dead even when alive. The Gemara can be understood perfectly using the approach of R. Sorotzkin. Someone whose life is not contributing to the world may be physically alive but in Torah terms he is very much dead, while the imprint that a righteous person leaves on the world continues long after he or she has passed on.
I recall Rav Avigdor Nevenzhal, Rav of the Old City of Jerusalem, gave a shiur while I attended Yeshivat Hakotel some years ago. Although the shiur was in Hebrew he said to us in perfect English, 'The world says Time is money, the Torah says Time is life.'
Today, it is easy to allow the days to march on without maximising the time we have been granted. We frantically fill our days with a plethora of activities, but when we reflect on our personal time sheet we may well feel that we have not utilized our time as best we could.
That was not the case with Sarah. Her 127 years on this earth were extraordinary and we still learn from her and Abraham's legacy today. The seemingly redundant phrase teaches us simply that she did not merely live but lived her entire life on a glorious level of existence - she most certainly lived!
The prophet Isaiah proclaimed: You shall declare the Shabbat a delight, and G-d's holy day honoured (58:13). The sages of the Talmud (Shabbat 113a) explained that one of the ways that Shabbat is honoured is by people wearing special clothes. The Mishnah Berurah and other authorities note that special clothes should be worn even if a person is away from home for Shabbat and there are no other Jews in the vicinity. Shabbat clothes are not worn in order to enhance the appearance of their wearer, but to accord honour to the sanctity of the occasion. The medieval author of the Orchot Chayim adds that they also serve to constantly remind us of the sanctity of the day and prevent us from inadvertently breaking Shabbat.
The Rambam mentions two criteria in the context of this mitzvah: Shabbat clothes must be clean and neat, and they should also be different from one's regular weekday clothes. Consequently, even if a person's regular clothes are smart and presentable, special clothes should be worn on Shabbat. It is also incorrect to wear clothes that are excessively casual as this is not a Shabbat style of dress.
The Acharonim note that ideally a person should have a complete set of clothes specially for Shabbat. Whilst there is some discussion about whether it is necessary to have special Shabbat shoes, the halachic conclusion is that there is no such requirement. Several authorities mention that it is proper to have a special tallit for Shabbat use.
ON G-D AND GOOD
A scene engraved in the Jewish imagination: the aged Abraham, sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day, looks up and sees three passers-by. He rushes to greet them and urges them to eat, drink and rest. "Let a little water be brought," he says, but then he and Sarah - despite the heat and their age - engage in a flurry of activity, Sarah baking bread, Abraham preparing a calf, offering their guests a lavish meal.
This is no mere story. It is a Biblical video of Jewish values in action. To be a Jew is to welcome strangers. The Sages went further. Immediately before the men pass by, the Torah tells us that "G-d appeared to Abraham," yet it is not until the visitors leave that G-d speaks. From this the Rabbis inferred that Abraham asked G-d to wait until he had seen to the needs of his guests. They drew the majestic conclusion: "Hospitality is even greater than welcoming the Divine presence."
How can anything be greater than welcoming the Divine presence? Perhaps the meaning is this: in Tenakh angels often appear in the guise of human beings. The word "angel" - malakh - does not always mean what it does in the mystic visions of Isaiah and Ezekiel: an ethereal being next to the heavenly Throne of Glory. Often it means "a messenger," someone whose appearance is part of the Divine script.
By treating their visitors as if they were angels, Abraham and Sarah were in fact welcoming the Divine presence - not as did Isaiah and Ezekiel in a vision, but by responding to the image of G-d in the face of a stranger. To see G-d in heaven is one of the heights of religious experience, but to see the trace of G-d in human beings is even higher. It is what made Abraham and Sarah the grandparents of an utterly new kind of faith.
In the Synagogue where I first served as a Rabbi, there was a couple who sat near the back of the Shul and the ladies' gallery. They were quiet people. They sought no honour or recognition. But whenever a stranger appeared, they would welcome them, make them feel at home, and invite them to a meal. Through this simple and lovely act, they brought many people "under the wings of the Divine presence." I used to think of them as our Abraham and Sarah. It was a privilege to know them.
When the strangers first appeared to Abraham the Torah says that they were nitzavim alav, literally "standing above him." After all, they were angels; he was only a human being. But when he serves them food, the Torah says hu omed aleihem, "he stood above them" - for when we welcome strangers we are lifted even higher than angels.
by Simon Goulden, Agency for Jewish Education
See and Essene - Qumran
A visit to the Shrine of the Book in Jerusalem is always worth a trip, but for a real understanding of the people who wrote the scrolls and how they lived, you really should take a trip to Qumran, on the edge of the Dead Sea.
There had been small settlements in the desert regions of Qumran during the Israelite period, until the Babylonian conquest. In the second century BCE a Jewish sect called the Essenes moved to the area, according to many historians. They led communal lives, and practiced an ascetic life as they waited for the Messiah. It was destroyed in 31 BCE by an earthquake and was rebuilt about 4 BCE. The Romans destroyed it in 68 CE and made use of the site as a military fortress, as it had a commanding view over the northern section of the Dead Sea.. The site was eventually abandoned about two thousand years ago. In 1947 a young Bedouin boy who was chasing after a goat entered a cave. Here he discovered jars containing scrolls which scholars date all the way back to the Essenes. The famous work by Professor Yigal Yadin did much to bring Essene culture and beliefs to light, but there is certainly more to be learned.
The scrolls give an excellent picture of life in the community, which is augmented by archeological finds. Excavations at Qumran have uncovered the mikvaot, 'scritoria' (rooms used by scribes who wrote the scrolls), the refectory (communal eating seemed to be a feature of Essene life) and other public buildings.
You can visit the fascinating site, which is located very close to the northern end of the Dead Sea on Route 90.
Last week's questions:
1) set by Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis.
What starts in the beginning and ends in a coffin in Egypt?
Answer:
The Book of Bereishit starts, "In the beginning" and ends "in a coffin in Egypt".
2) EXTRA CHALLENGE set by Dan Rickman of Hampstead Garden Suburb.
When, in principle, might it be possible to have an ordinary conversation with someone between putting on the Shel Yad and the Shel Rosh of one's tefillin?(One is over 13 and it is at the beginning of a service.)
Answer:
On Chol Hamoed, according to those who follow the custom of putting on tefillin without saying a beracha (see Shulchan Aruch O.C. 31:2, Mishna Berura 31:8).
This week's question:
1) What is the connection between Sarah and King Achashverosh?
2) EXTRA CHALLENGE Where in the Siddur do you find Isaac's name spelt yiSchak instead of yiTZchak?
|