Aiden Pink – Senior Sermon (RS ’25)
Nov 21, 2024 By JTS Senior Sermon | Commentary | Senior Sermon | Hayyei Sarah
Aiden Pink – Hayyei Sarah
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“Ger Vetoshav”: A Lesson on Vulnerabilities and Humility
Nov 22, 2024 By Gordon Tucker | Commentary | Hayyei Sarah
Abraham rose, as he had to, from his wailing, because there was a necessary and sacred task to perform. And at that moment of needing to bury his dead, an enormity confronted him. Here’s how Abraham put it: “ger vetoshav anokhi”—I am merely a stranger (ger), come to be an alien resident (toshav) here. I have no place; I have no accumulated rights and privileges.
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Jonathon Adler – Senior Sermon (RS ’24)
Nov 8, 2023 By JTS Senior Sermon | Commentary | Senior Sermon | Short Video | Hayyei Sarah
Parshat Hayyei Sarah All the Class of 2024 Senior Sermons
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Who Was Abraham’s Last Wife?
Nov 10, 2023 By Claire Shoyer | Commentary | Hayyei Sarah
Parashat Hayyei Sarah focuses on the devoted relationships between two of our patriarchs and two of our matriarchs. We begin by reading of how Abraham strove to fully acquire the land for Sarah’s burial. We then see that Abraham wanted to find a fitting wife for his son, Isaac. Abraham’s servant brings back Rebecca, and she and Isaac begin a partnership which seems supportive and loving—as soon as Isaac and Rebecca meet, we read that Isaac loves Rebecca and finds comfort in her after his mother’s death (Gen. 24:67). In both accounts, we see that each of these pairs was specifically well-matched. Why, then, does the parshah end by saying, “And again, Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah” (Gen. 25:1)? Who was this additional wife, Keturah, and why do we read about her in the context of the loving relationships of Abraham and Sarah, and Isaac and Rebecca? Is Keturah introduced simply to transmit information about Abraham’s geneaology, or does her presence signify something deeper?
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Rebecca the Patriarch
Nov 18, 2022 By Judith Hauptman | Commentary | Hayyei Sarah
This week’s parashah, Hayyei Sarah (Genesis 23:1–25:18), is about continuing the line, producing progeny. The parashah opens with a report of Sarah’s death at 120 years old. It closes with a list of Abraham’s children from concubines and Ishmael’s many offspring (25:1–18). But the central story of the parashah, the entire chapter of Genesis 24, is about finding a wife for Isaac.
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What Was Isaac Doing in the Field?
Oct 29, 2021 By | Commentary | Hayyei Sarah
The patriarch Isaac is one of the most passive biblical characters. He speaks infrequently and seems to stand still while other people feverishly act around him. His presence in Parashat Hayyei Sarah is no exception. After surviving the ordeal of the Akedah, and experiencing the death of his mother, Isaac is nowhere to be found. Abraham buys the burial plot and only Abraham is mentioned as present at Sarah’s burial. Abraham then sends his servant Eliezer to find a wife for Isaac, but again we lack any information as to what Isaac is doing or how he is feeling after successive traumatic life events. Isaac only returns to the story when Eliezer returns with Rebekah and she first sees Isaac.
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Lessons on Leadership from Abraham and Sarah
Nov 13, 2020 By Jonathan Milgram | Commentary | Hayyei Sarah
Sarah Imenu, matriarch of the Jewish people, is a rich and complex biblical character. As we read this week of her demise and her husband’s quest for her rightful resting place, it seems fitting to reflect on her extraordinary life, her role in the creation of the Jewish people, and the model of leadership she, together with Abraham, bequeathed to us as a legacy.
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A Family Reconciles
Nov 22, 2019 By Naomi Kalish | Commentary | Hayyei Sarah
Parashat Hayyei Sarah is bookended with the accounts of the deaths of the two first Jews, Sarah and Abraham. The early part of the text spends much time describing the process by which Abraham secured land for Sarah’s burial and then buried her. At the end of the parashah, we learn that Isaac and Ishmael buried their father Abraham together. Though the Torah describes these brothers’ unity in concise and matter-of-fact language, they and their extended family must have worked hard to achieve reconciliation.
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