Shabbat Shalom!.
Chayei Sarah (Genesis 23:1-25:18)
"And Sarah died in Kiryat Arba, which is Chevron in the land of Canaan; and Avraham came to cry for her and mourn her." [Bereshis 23:2]
“ He cried over her “ As there is in every parsha each word, each sentence that we read in the torah has something which needs to be evaluated and discussed since there is a lesson to be learned. It is interesting that every letter in the torah is written with a certain height, however it is only in this parsha that we notice one letter which is smaller than all the rest. There is a small Kuf in the word Velivkosah, (He cried over her), and naturally one needs to discuss why this is so. Many commentaries have noted that this is to teach us that Avraham didn't cry too long .When Avraham cryed over Saras passing, it has been said that he cried a little bit. Perhaps this is because when someone dies of a ripe old age as did Sarah, the grief is not as great as if someone who had died at a younger age. Sarah lived a long and full life, it was her time. In the first verse the word, Chai, meaning life, is repeated twice. In fact, the word death is never invoked in the first verse. It is meant that we focus on the life of Sarah and not her death. This explains why the title of this week's Torah portion is "Chayei Sarah" - which literally means the "life of Sarah."
“And Avraham was elderly, advanced in days, and G-d blessed him with everything" [24:1].
We are also strangely relayed the information of Sarah’s passing in the way the number 127 is described in the torah. It states, she lived “one hundred years and twenty years and seven years.” Why write it in this manner when it could just say she died at 127 years? Rashi has declared this to be the highest compliment should be paid to Sarah in that she was as devoid of sin at the age of 100 as when she was 20 and as innocent and pure at 20 as when she was a small child of 7. All of her years were good. For the most part most people cannot be considered perfect throughout their lives. We go through the journey of life, hopefully correcting ourselves and perfecting ourselves to become better; however Sara was a completely righteous perfect person when she was young as well as during her old age. The Sages comment on the odd phrasing of the above mentioned verse that it tells of the three phases of a person’s life—childhood, young adulthood, and maturity. She carried the valuable aspects of each of those phases into the next and maintained them. She carried the beauty of her childhood into her young adulthood and the innocence of her young adulthood into maturity. She was innocent and beautiful all the days of her life according to Rashi even when she was young she was completely righteous. So much of Abrahams greatness is attributed to Sara. When Sara died Avrahams life was diminished.
This is why she is the first of the 4 matriarchs, how she set the standard. Avraham credits his wife, in giving him the strength to do all that he did. As we read the parsha we come to realize that Sarah had a difficult life.First she had to travel far away, then there was a famine. She was kidnapped twice, and experienced years of childlessness. Finally Sarah gave birth to a boy. Not long after that however, Yishmael, the son of the concubine Hagar, began to have a bad influence on her son. Both Yishmael and Hagar had to be sent away.
In Chaye Sarah, we see examples of how different people uniquely respond to stress or any trial or tribulations that we face in life. G-d not only gives s the task but ultimately he gives us the ability to deal with that task.
Sarah had a “good life” because of the way she looked at life, and how She influenced the life of those around her The negative things that occur in ones life can be a devastation or an opportunity to grow. As one tries to believe that life has a higher purpose than the here and now, may the example of Sarah inspire us to lead a “good life” from beginning to end.
On shabbot it is customary for men to sing this song in honor of their wives. http://www.aishfiles.com/audio/shabbat/aishcomshabbossongs/Aishet_v2.mp3
A Woman of Valor, who can find? She is more precious than corals.
Her husband places his trust in her and profits only thereby.
She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.
Shabbat Shalom,
Miriam
Roast Turkey with Vadalia Onions and Apples
1 (12- to 14-pound) kosher turkey feathers removed if necessary and neck and giblets (excluding liver) reserved for making stock 1 pound onions 4 green apples (finely chopped)
Pan juices from roast turkey About 4 cups Turkey Giblet Stock 1/2 cup apple cider (or white wine) 4 tbl.flour
chicken broth
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar 1/2 cup sugar 4 tbl. garlic
for around the turkey- mix together 1/4 cup olive oil 6 red onions,quartered, 10 cloves garlic peeled, whole garlic, 3 green apples, peeled and quartered.
Rinse turkey inside and out and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper inside and out. Tie drumsticks together with kitchen string.
Roast turkey in middle of oven 30 minutes.
While turkey is roasting, put onions, garlic, apples balsamic vinegar and sugar in pan on med. heat and cook for about 30minutes, stirring occassionally until thicker.
Reduce temperature to 350°F. Brush olive oil over turkey, cover and bake 11/2 hour more.
Baste turkey , scatter ingredients around turkey ,then roast 30 minutes more.
Baste turkey and add apples to roasting pan. Roast another 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until a thermometer inserted into fleshy part of a thigh registers 180°F.
Transfer turkey, onions, and apples to a heated platter, leaving juices in pan.
Simple Fish Stew
6 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup of chopped onions
1 carrot thinly sliced
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
2/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 cup of fresh chopped tomato (about 1 medium sized tomato)
or can of tomatoes
2 tsp of tomato paste.
2 tsp. saffron mixed with1/2 cup sherry
8 oz vegetable or chicken stock(needs to be pareve)
2/3 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 lb fish fillets (use halibut, cod, sole, red snapper, sea bass), cut into 2-inch pieces
Touch of dry oregano, Tabasco, thyme, pepper
Salt
Heat olive oil in heavy large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion and garlic and sauté 4 minutes. Add parsley and stir 2 minutes. Add tomato, tomato paste and cook 2 minutes longer.
add broth, dry white wine, and fish and simmer until fish is cooked through, less than 10 minutes. Add seasoning. Salt to taste. Ladle into bowls and serve.
Shabbat Shalom!.
