Chayei Sarah

C h ay e i S a r a h ● C H E S H VA N 2 4 5 7 6 9 ● N O V E M B E R 2 2 2 0 0 8

Chaya Miriam Nimchinsky The Temptation of Money

Clarice Shkedy The Small Chuf

Rabbi Eliezer Kessler Shalom Zachor

be’ertorah

wellspringoftorah

Editor Dvar Torah•Chaya Miriam Nimchinsky•Grade 12

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n Parshat Chayei Sarah it says, “And Avraham died at a good old age, full of years, mature and content, and he was gathered to his people” (Pasuk 8). The Ramban comments on the phrase “old age, full of years”. He says that Avraham ‘witnessed the fulfillment of all the desires of his heart and was sated with all good thing’. He didn’t desire to have anything new added to

it; he didn’t yearn for more then what he already had. Additionally, it is said of Dovid HaMelech: “And he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and honor.” This is a Chesed that Hashem performs for the tzadikim, that they die with their lives full. The Torah is complementing Avraham for being content with what he had, but don’t we know that Avraham, as well as Dovid, were wealthy, prestigious,

honored men. Why would it be difficult for someone with that status to be satisfied? Would someone in that standing even be upset with what they had? There is a story told of a king who was very greedy. He loved gold more then anything else in the world. One day when he was counting his gold coins, an angel told him, “You are very rich.” The king responded, Continued on page 4

Student Dvar Torah•Clarice Shkedy•Grade 12

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n Parshat Chayei Sarah it states, “Sarah died in Kiryat-Arbah which is in Chevron in the land of Cannan, and Avraham came to eulogize Sarah and to weep over her”. In describing that Avraham wept, it seems strange that the letter ‘kaf ’ in the word ‘livkotah’ is written smaller than the rest of the letters

in the Torah. Many commentaries try to determine what the Torah is trying to teach us in doing this. According to the gemara in Bava Batra 16b, in addition to having two sons, Avraham also had a daughter named Bakol. When he went up to Mount Moriah for the Akeidah, Sarah and Bakol both passed away. The word ‘livkotah’

without the small kaf spells “l’bita”, which means ‘for her daughter’. According to the Mincha Betula this small kaf shows us that Avraham was mourning for both his daughter and his wife. The Baal Haturim interprets small kaf to be emphasizing the fact that Avraham did not mourn for very long. This interpreContinued on page 2

A Torah publication of the students, faculty and alumni of the Robert M. Beren Academy.

Student Dvar Torah•Clarice Shkedy•Grade 12 Continued from page 1

tation comes from the idea that the Akeidah took place on Yom Kippur. Since the Torah tells us that in traveling to Mount Moriah, Avraham saw the place form afar on the third day of his journey, we know that the distance from Avraham’s house to Mount Moriah was three days. Thus, when Avraham returned from the Akeidah, he journeyed on the 11th, 12th, and 13th of Tishrei, and Sarah’s funeral took place on the 14th day of Tishrei. Since according to Jewish law shiva is not observed over a holiday even if the seven day period is not complete, Avraham was only able to mourn for Sarah for one day. The Kohelet Isaac understands this small kaf as in indication that Avraham did not weep excessively over Sarah’s death. Why would Avraham only cry a little bit over the loss of his much-loved wife? Rashi further strengthens this question when he points out that the juxtaposition of the Akeidah and Sarah’s death is hinting at the fact that when she heard about the Akeidah 2

Be’er Torah Chayei Sarah

she was so overwhelmed that she died. If Avraham knew that it was his actions that were the cause of his wife’s death, should he not have cried even more? We can find an answer in Avraham’s motives. When Avraham came back from the Akeidah and saw that his wife was dead,

he could have regretted following Hashem’s commandment. After all, his willingness to give up his son caused his wife’s death. Despite this, Avraham understood that if he regretted performing this mitzvah, retroactively it would be invalidated and future generations would lose the ability to draw merit from his actions at the Akeidah. Avraham only cried a little bit over Sarah’s death to show that he did not regret perform-

ing the mitzvah of Akeidah. He believed that there are no negative consequences to performing mitzvot with full intention, so he understood that her death was natural. This idea can be applied to understanding a puzzling passage we find in Maariv, when we ask Hashem to please “remove the Satan from before us and from after us.” What does this prayer mean? The Satan is the yetzer hara that c h a l lenges our relationship with Hashem. The Satan before us tries to prevent us from performing mitzvot and listing to Hashem, and the Satan after us wants to undo the effects of the mitzvot we have already performed by getting us to regret our actions. Avraham’s lack of regret of his actions in the Akeidah was yet another triumph over the yetzer hara. May we all merit to perform the mitzvot and to be happy with them regardless off the consequences. May our performance of the mitzvot cause us to be blessed with reward in this world and the next. Continued on page 4

ever wonder why.. The Shalom Zachor: Welcoming The New Arrival Rabbi Eliezer Kessler

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ne of the most joyous of all the life cycle events is the birth of a child. There are many beautiful minhagim or customs associated with this joyous occasion. Perhaps one of the most special of these is known as the shalom zachor. This is a distinctive celebration held on the first Friday night after a baby boy is born. The only thing that most people know about this gathering is that the parents are warmly congratulated on their new arrival and that, chick peas, along with a whole lot of other food and drink, is served. As you can imagine, there’s a bit more to it than that. Actually, the origin, history and significance of the shalom zachor is quite interesting, as we shall see. This minhag of shalom zachor seems to be a very old practice indeed. The sefer Terumat HaDeshen by Rabbi Israel Isserlin ben Petahiah (13901460) relates that, in his time, there was a custom to gather on the first Shabbat night after the baby was born. He quotes the source for this as a certain gemara which states that one should make a meal in honor of and in appreciation for the baby coming forth from the mother’s womb. He explains that

this ended up taking place on Friday night mainly for the practical reason that everyone tended to be at home at this time. Moreover, he adds that because the purpose of the meal is to give thanks to Hashem for the new life He has brought into the world, the meal, itself, has the status of a seudat mitzvah. Another reason for the shalom zachor is offered by the Turei Zahav written by David HaLevi Segal (c. 1586–1667). The Gemara writes that when a baby is in the womb, he is taught the entire Torah. However, as soon as he enters the world, an angel comes and strikes him on his mouth, causing him to forget the entire Torah. Because the baby forgot all the Torah he had learned, he is likened to a mourner, saddened by the loss of his loved one. Just as we visit a mourner in his home to comfort him during the mourning period, so too, do we visit the child at his shalom zachor, to do the same. This is also the reason why chickpeas, known as arbes, are served at the shalom zachor, as they are round and are therefore, like the hard boiled egg, an appropriate food for a mourner. It also explains why, if the baby is not present for whatever reason, the shalom zachor does not take place. The name shalom zachor, in and of itself, is imbued with

meaning. Certainly the basic meaning of the words which translate as, “welcome to the male child” is very appropriate, but it can also have an additional meaning. In some places it was customary that whoever would make a brit milah or marry off a child would invite not only his family and friends to the celebration, but also his enemies, as well. The idea behind this was that the gesture might provide an opening for the parties to reconcile their differences. By inviting them to come eat and rejoice with him, the baal simcha would, hopefully, get his “former” enemies to end up blessing him and not cursing him. Hence, applying this to our situation the name shalom zachor would also mean “the male brings shalom (peace).” In the end, we see that this custom of shalom zachor, like so many others we’ve discussed, has much more to it than first meets the eye. Just like a beautiful diamond has many facets, each of which reflects the light in its own special unique way, so too, does our tradition contain many varied and rich minhagim, each of which reflects its own special unique meaning and significance. Just as each facet of the diamond contributes to its overall brilliance and beauty, so too do all of our minhagim, when taken together, add up to our rich and beautiful way of life. Be’er Torah Chayei Sarah

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Editor Dvar Torah•Chaya Miram Nimchinsky•Grade 12 Continued from page 1

Editors Chaya Miriam Nimchinsky Rachel Rolnick Rebecca Yoshor Faculty Editor Rabbi Eliezer Kessler Copy Editors Dr. David Jacobson Lisa Kellerman Robert M. Beren Academy 11333 Cliffwood Drive Houston, Texas 77035 713∙723∙7170 www.berenacademy.org

“I am not rich. I have very little gold.” The angel said, “You are not satisfied with so much gold? How much more do you want?” The king answered, “I want the power of contact, such that whatever object I touch, should turn to gold.” The angel agreed, “Okay, from tomorrow morning onwards, whatever you touch will bec o m e gold .” The next morning, when the king touched a table and chairs, they instantly turned to gold. He was delighted. Soon he became very hungry and thirsty. The servant brought food and water for him, but as soon as the King’s lips touched food and the water it became gold. The king became upset because he realized he could no longer eat. But his love for gold soon overtook his distress, and he carried on, touching all of his possessions. Soon his entire castle and all

his belongings were gold. The King then decided to take a walk outside. During his stroll he amused himself by turning daises, strands of grass, and even insects gold. As he was making his way back inside, he spotted his daughter play-

ing with the flowers. She saw him and came running towards him, holding her new gold flowers, but the second she hugged him, she turned into a golden statue. The king was devastated and began to weep very bitterly. Then the angel appeared. The king begged the angel to take his ‘power’ back. He said, “I do not want gold. Man can live without gold but he cannot live without a piece of bread and a glass of water, and I cannot live without my daughter.” The angle took

some water in a bowl and told him to sprinkle it on everything that had turned gold. The king sprinkled the water on his daughter, the flowers, grass, insects, the table, chairs, food, and on all his clothes. Everything reverted back to the way it was before. It is human nature to always want more than what we have. Even a person w h o has the means to acquire a n y t h i n g imaginable can still want more. It is said that “He who loves money shall not be satisfied with money.” Anyone who desires more will never be satisfied, no matter how much ‘more’ they get. They will always think that they can get more, that they deserve more. Avraham overcame the desire to want more. Therefore the Torah is praising him on his accomplishments of overcoming the potential desire to be greedy. From here we should learn to be happy with what we have. All that we have comes from Hashem; He has the power to give to us, and he has the power to take away.