Welcome to Temple Beth Ami
Welcome To Temple Beth Ami
  • Home Page
  • About Us
    • Clergy and Staff
    • Board of Directors
    • Membership
    • Policies and Inclusion
    • Contact Us
    • Rentals
    • History
    • Czech Scrolls at Temple Beth Ami
    • Events
    • Judaica Shop
  • Jewish Life
    • Shabbat
      • Shabbat Sermons
    • Holidays and Festivals
    • Lifecycle
      • Bereavement
      • Birth
      • B’nei Mitzvah
      • Confirmation and Graduation
      • Marriage
      • TBA Cares
    • Israel
      • Israel Resources and Facts
    • Torah Blog
  • Education
    • Gan Ami (Early Childhood)
    • Machane TBA (Religious School)
    • Summer Programs
      • Gan Ami Summer Program (Age 2 – Pre-K)
      • Kayitz (K – 7th Grade)
    • Adult Education
    • Resources for Having Difficult Conversations with Children
  • Get Involved
    • TBA Tribune
    • Monthly Calendar of Events
      • April 2025
      • May 2025
    • Social Action
      • Tikkun Olam (Community Service)
      • Community of Action (Social Justice)
    • Social Groups
    • Jewish Book Council and Book Events
    • TBA TV
    • Member Support
  • Donate
  • Contact Us
  • Members
    • ShulCloud
    • Financial Assistance
    • B’nei Mitzvah Preparation
    • Judaica Shop
    • Events

Events Calendar

« May 2025 » loading...
S M T W T F S
27
28
29
30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31

Chayei Sara - 5779

Genesis 23:1 – 25:18

[This commentary was written before the tragic attack at the Tree of Life Synagogue where 11 Jews were killed this past Shabbat. I am leaving it unchanged. Although the pain and sorrow are still raw for many of us, these words may resonate now more than ever as we begin to move through our grief towards healing.]

It seems ironic that chayei Sara, literally “the life of Sarah” is really about her death: “And Sarah’s life was a hundred and twenty-seven years, [these were] the years of Sarah’s life. And Sara died in Kiriat-Arba, which is Hebron in the land of Canaan, and Abraham came to eulogize and to bewail her.” [Gen. 23:1-2]

It seems ironic, but perhaps the point is not that she died, but that she lived.

The medieval rabbinic commentator Rashi shared a tradition which ascribed meaning to Sarah’s age when she died: that throughout her life she had the wisdom of a one-hundred-year-old, the beauty of a twenty-year-old, and the vitality of a seven-year-old. For this reason, her age was mentioned before her death.

We don’t know what Abraham said, but this is the first mention of a eulogy in the Torah – a tribute to how one lived. Before Abraham can negotiate a burial cave for Sarah, he feels compelled to speak of Sarah’s life.

We Jews have developed a highly structured and emotionally healthy approach to mourning, which may very well have its roots in these two verses. Consider, for example, the mourner’s kaddish – the preeminent Jewish spiritual expression in our times of grief. While the function of the kaddish has been tied to safeguarding the afterlife of the departed, the words themselves offer a different perspective. The kaddish, written mostly in Aramaic (the vernacular of the time) rather than Hebrew, does not mention mourning, death, sorrow, anger, loneliness or any of the feelings we might associate with the passing of a loved one. In fact, it contains a difficult-to-translate doxology, magnifying the supremacy and holiness of the Divine.

It seems to me that the mourner’s kaddish is actually a “thank you” prayer – not for taking our loved ones from us, but for God’s incredible generosity in sharing them with us in the first place. The kaddish teaches us to treasure each moment we have, and each memory that remains, as a precious gift from heaven – for that is true value of our lives.

Chayei Sara may record Sarah’s death, but it is really about life.

Recent Posts by Rabbi Pokras

July 30, 2020

Va’Etchanan – 5780

July 24, 2020

Devarim – 5780

July 17, 2020

Mattot/Masei – 5780

July 13, 2020

Pinchas – 5780

July 1, 2020

Chukkat/Balak – 5780

June 26, 2020

Korach – 5780

June 19, 2020

Shelach Lecha – 5780

June 11, 2020

BeHa’alotecha – 5780

1 2 3 4›»
  • Older Posts
    June 5, 2020

    Naso – 5780

    May 31, 2020

    Shavuot – 5780

    May 21, 2020

    BeMidbar – 5780

    May 15, 2020

    Behar/B’Chukotai – 5780

    May 8, 2020

    Emor – 5780

    May 1, 2020

    Achare Mot/Kedoshim – 5780

    April 8, 2020

    A Passover Message

    April 3, 2020

    Tzav – 5780

    March 20, 2020

    VaYak’heil/Pekudei – 5780

    March 15, 2020

    Ki Tissa – 5780 (On the COVID-19 Virus Crisis)

    March 4, 2020

    Tetzaveh – 5780

    February 26, 2020

    Terumah – 5780

    February 19, 2020

    Mishpatim – 5780

    February 12, 2020

    Yitro – 5780

    February 5, 2020

    BeShalach – 5780

    January 23, 2020

    Va’Era – 5780

    January 15, 2020

    Shemot – 5780 (I am a Jew)

    January 8, 2020

    VaYechi – 5780

    January 2, 2020

    VaYigash – 5780

    December 26, 2019

    Miketz – 5780

    December 20, 2019

    VaYeshev – 5780

    December 12, 2019

    VaYishlach – 5780

    December 4, 2019

    VaYeitze – 5780

    November 26, 2019

    Toledot – 5780

    November 20, 2019

    Chayei Sarah – 5780

    November 13, 2019

    VaYeira – 5780

    October 24, 2019

    Bereshit – 5780

    October 11, 2019

    Erev Yom Kippur Sermon 5780 – How To Build a Community that will Beat the Odds

    October 2, 2019

    Rosh HaShanah I 5780 Sermon – Truth in Teshuvah

    September 12, 2019

    Ki Tetze – 5779

    September 5, 2019

    Shoftim – 5779

    August 29, 2019

    Re’eh – 5779

    August 23, 2019

    Ekev – 5779

    August 15, 2019

    Va’Etchanan – 5779

    August 9, 2019

    Devarim (Shabbat Hazon) – 5779

    August 1, 2019

    Mattot/Masei – 5779

    July 24, 2019

    Pinchas – 5779

    July 19, 2019

    Balak – 5779

    July 5, 2019

    Korach – 5779

    June 26, 2019

    Shelach Lecha – 5779

    June 13, 2019

    Naso – 5779

    June 5, 2019

    BaMidbar – 5779

    May 29, 2019

    B’Chukkotai – 5779

    May 23, 2019

    Behar – 5779

    May 1, 2019

    Kedoshim – 5779

    April 30, 2019

    B’nei Yisrael

    April 24, 2019

    Acharei Mot – 5779

    April 17, 2019

    Pesach I – 5779

    April 9, 2019

    Metzorah – 5779

    April 4, 2019

    Tazria – 5779

    March 29, 2019

    Shemini – 5779

    March 20, 2019

    Tzav – 5779

    March 12, 2019

    VaYikra – 5779

    March 6, 2019

    Pekudei – 5779

    February 28, 2019

    Vayak’heil – 5779

    February 19, 2019

    Ki Tissa – 5779

    February 13, 2019

    Tetzaveh – 5779

    February 6, 2019

    Terumah – 5779

    January 24, 2019

    Yitro – 5779

    January 17, 2019

    BeShalach – 5779

    January 9, 2019

    Bo – 5779

    January 6, 2019

    A Few Words About Israel

    January 2, 2019

    Vaera – 5779

    December 27, 2018

    Shemot – 5779

    December 19, 2018

    VaYechi – 5779

    December 11, 2018

    VaYigash – 5779

    December 5, 2018

    Miketz – 5779

    November 28, 2018

    VaYeishev – 5779

    November 21, 2018

    VaYishlach – 5779

    November 14, 2018

    VaYeitze – 5779

    November 8, 2018

    Toldot – 5779

    October 25, 2018

    VaYeira – 5779

    October 19, 2018

    Lech Lecha – 5779

    October 10, 2018

    Noach – 5779

    October 3, 2018

    Bereishit – 5779

Shop and support Temple Beth Ami
Amazon Logo
Contact the Webmaster with questions or comments about this site
Temple Beth Ami, 14330 Travilah Road Rockville MD, 20850
301-340-6818