Life or Death?

"And the life of Sarah was one hundred years and twenty years and seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. And Sarah died in Kiryat Arba, which is Hebron" (Genesis 23:1-2)

Abraham & Sarah were quite the incredible couple. The modern world as we know it would've been completely different without them. These 2 people embarked on a journey - defying all odds and braving nearly impossible hurdles - to spread the concept of one G-d to the pagan world around them. In this week's Torah portion, Chayei Sarah ("The Life of Sarah"), the Torah opens, ironically, by recounting Sarah's death! We learned about the life of Sarah in the past Torah portions; yet the name of those portions have no mention of Sarah. Yet now that we read about Sarah's passing, the title of the portion is "The life of Sarah"! What's going on?

Many of us see commercials of all kinds. Some of the most glaringly ironic commercials, are those for cigarettes. Two beautiful people, smiling with bright white teeth, hold cigarettes. On the bottom corner is a large warning that smoking this is hazardous, can harm pregnancies and could lead to death. The title on the top says: "Living life with pleasure." But what does it mean to really be alive? Is it simply biological; breathing, walking, talking, doing business? Many people who can do these things will tell you they feel dead. They don't feel emotionally alive, intellectually alive, spiritually alive. To live, to be happy, comes when one makes a difference in the world around them for the good. This is what the Torah is teaching us with these opening words, the title of this week's Torah portion. Some people impact the world, but in undesirable ways, with the effect that people are happy when they are gone. Others however, live such positively impactful lives, that even when they're not around physically, they still influence us. Sarah lived thousands of years ago, yet we still speak about her. Her impact on her husband, her son, and the world around her was such, that it didn't die with her. The Torah is teaching us that if you want to truly see one's life, you have to look at their spiritual life. The Talmud states: The wicked even in their lifetimes are called dead, and the righteous, even in death, are called alive. So if we want to really know about the life of Sarah, we have to begin at her passing. Then we can see the knowledge & wisdom she passed on to her son, the impact her life had on the world around her.

May we work to emulate our amazing mother Sarah, living our lives in a meaningful way and impacting the world around us for the good, in a way that our lives can be felt as really living. (Based on a talk by Rabbi Simon Jacobson)

Shabbat Shalom!

Why Not Me?

'And God Appeared to him in the plains of Mamre.'(Genesis 18:1)

This week's Torah portion, Vayera, opens with God "visiting" Avraham and "Appearing" to him (in some way), after Avraham circumcised himself and his children. There is a powerful story told of the 5th Lubavitcher Rebbe, Shalom Dov Ber (lived 1860-1920). When he was 4 or 5 years old, he came home from school crying. His grandfather the Tzemach Tzedek (the 3rd Rebbe), asked him what was wrong. Unlike perhaps the children of today, who may have been sad over not receiving the right version of play station for their birthdays, little Shalom Dov Ber had a different problem. "It's not fair!" He cried. "How come God revealed himself to Avraham, but not to me!?" After a moment, his grandfather answered him: "When a Jew, at 99 years old, decides to have a circumcision, to him deserves that God appear to him." And the child understood and stopped crying.

How did this answer pacify the child? And what can we learn from it in our lives today? Let's look first at his age. "5 years old" represents - not only youth in years - but in understanding. We today may not cry for spiritual elevation at 5 years old, but spiritually, many of us are at the level of "5 years old" - far removed from feeling God in our daily lives like we could. We too can cry out to God: "How come you haven't revealed yourself to me more? Show me that you are involved and care about my daily life and struggles, in an easily apparent way!" More than that: We can demand that God reveal himself to us as he did to Avraham! As it says: "Each Jew is obligated to say: "When will my deeds reach the level of my forefathers, Abraham, Issac and Jacob?" (Tana Devei Eliyahu Rabbah Ch. 25)

But what was so great about was Avraham did that he merited such a revelation? Avraham, at this point in his life, had changed the world around him as much as humanly possible, eductaing and refining all that he came in contact with about God and living a moral life. He could have sat back and relaxed; "Look what I've accomplished!" Instead, when God asked him to take another leap, he did so, leaving the ocnstraints of his ego behind. And through this act of willingness to grow, to always grow higher, no matter what plateau he may have reached, is why Averaham merited a higher revelation from God. We too must never be satisfied with our achievements, but must always desire to grow morally and spiritually, working to achieve more. Through the act of circumcision, Avraham completed the turning of his body into a mitzvah - a living vehicle for God's Infinite reality in a finite world. As we refine the world around us and our inner world, may God appear to us in turn, as he did to our forefather Avraham.

Shabbat Shalom!

Go to Yourself

'God Said to Avraham: "Lech Lecha" - Go from your land, from your birthplace, from your father's house, to the land which I will show you.' (Genesis 12:1)

The 1st two words that open this parashah and lend it its name - Lech lecha (literally meaning "Go, to yourself") - are perhaps the most important words ever spoken in history. With these words, God set Avraham on the course that would reverse the process of degeneration that humanity had been locked into ever since the expulsion of Adam & Eve from the garden of Eden, a course that would eventually lead the world to the Giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai. It's fascinating that the 1st real thing we learn about Avraham is this command from God to "go." The Midrash teaches us multitudes of amazing stories about events in Avraham's life, including his preaching of monotheism to every idol worshiper around him, getting thrown into a furnace by King Nimrod and miraculously surviving, and much more! And yet, the Torah begins its narrative of Avraham's life at age 75, when he is told by God to go on a new journey. The reason for this, our Sages explain, is because as great a level as Avraham had thus reached through his heroic self sacrifice for his beliefs, his spiritual level was limited to his human capabilities. When God spoke to Avraham, commanding him to travel to Israel, this wasn't simply a travel tip. God was telling Avraham that as great a level as he had reached, there were deeper levels infinitely beyond. With this command, God was empowering Avraham to "Go to yourself" - to tap into levels unreached before. This applies to our lives today. One can meditate and contemplate the deepest mysteries of the world and God's existence, but as lofty as one can get, it will always be humanly limited. The Mitzvot, however, are Godly - and therefore lift us up through our performance of them, to levels we could never have reached on our own.

The Midrash says: "And God said to Avraham: 'Go from your land, your birthplace, and your father's house...'" (Genesis12:2) -- To what may this be compared? To a man who was traveling from place to place when he saw a palace in flames. He wondered: "Is it possible that the palace has no owner?" The owner of the palace looked out and said, "I am the owner of the palace." So Abraham our father said, "Is it possible that the world lacks a ruler?" G‑d looked out and said to him, "I am the ruler, the Sovereign of the universe." Why does the Midrash use such an analogy for Avraham? Couldn't it have merely said: "...It's like a man who sees a beautiful palace and wonders "who created such a magnificent palace?" Why does the Midrash say a "burning palace"? Our sages explain a powerful idea is being expressed here. Avraham recognized that this world was a 'beautiful palace', full of colors and sounds, miraculous childbirth and roaring waves, planets and galaxies. But he also saw that the palace was in flames - the world is full of thugs, abusers, thieves, and worse who demolish the palace, lighting it in flames of destruction! Avraham wondered, where is the owner to this palace? How can he allow this to go on!?

The Midrash says: "The Owner of the palace looked out and said, I am the owner..." God replied to Avraham's wonderment that he was indeed the owner of the world. But notice that in the analogy, the owner calls out from inside the burning palace! It is as if God, the owner, is calling for help. God made the palace, man set it on fire, and only man can put out the flames. Avraham asks G‑d, "Where are you?" G‑d replies, "I am here, where are you?" Man asks G‑d, "Why did You abandon the world?" G‑d asks man, "Why did you abandon Me?" As Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks explains: 'Thus began the revolution of Judaism --- humanity's courageous venture to extinguish the flames of immorality and bloodshed and restore the world to the harmonious and sacred palace it was intended to be. Abraham's encounter with G‑d in the presence of a burning palace gave birth to the mission statement of Judaism - to be obsessed with good and horrified by evil.' May we start today to follow in our forefather Avraham's revolutionary path.

Shabbat Shalom!