Human Effort and Supernatural Help

Parshas Vayishlach

Posted on December 1, 2009 (5770) By Rabbi Berel Wein | Series: Rabbi Wein | Level: Beginner

In this week’s parsha, our father Yaakov, fresh from his successful escape from Lavan, prepares to encounter his brother and sworn enemy, Eisav. He sends malachim to deal with Eisav before he will actually meet with him face to face. The word malachim signifies two different meanings. One is that it means agents, messengers, human beings who were sent on a particular mission to do Yaakov’s bidding. The other meaning is that the world malachim signifies angels, supernatural messengers of G-d who were sent to Yaakov to help him in his fateful encounter with his brother.

Rashi cites both possible interpretations in his commentary. When Rashi does so, he is teaching us that both interpretations are correct at differing levels of understanding the verse involved. The message here is that the encounter with Eisav, in order to be successful from Yaakov’s vantage point and situation, has to have both human and supernatural help.

Eisav is a formidable foe, physically, militarily, culturally and intellectually speaking. He cannot be ignored nor wished away. He has accompanied us from the time of Yaakov till this very day. At times he threatens our very existence and at times he appears to have a more benevolent attitude towards us.

Yet at all times he is there, hovering over and around us, and he has never relinquished any of his demands upon us to either convert, assimilate or just plain disappear. While it is Yishmael that currently occupies the bulk of our attention, it would be foolish of us to ignore the continuing presence of Eisav in our world and affairs.

Yaakov’s strategy is to employ both possibilities of malachim in his defense. He prepares himself for soothing Eisav by gifts and wealth, pointing out to Eisav that it is beneficial to him to have Yaakov around and being productive. He also strengthens himself spiritually in prayer and in appeal to G-d to deliver him from Eisav. And finally as a last resort he is prepared to fight Eisav with his own weapons, the sword and war.

Two of these strategies – gifts to Eisav and war against Eisav – require human endeavor, talent and sacrifice. They are the representative of the interpretation of malachim as being human agents and messengers. The third strategy, prayer and reliance upon heavenly intervention to thwart Eisav’s evil designs, follows the idea that Yaakov’s malachim were heavenly, supernatural creatures.

In the long history of our encounter with Eisav we have always relied upon both interpretations of malachim. Neither interpretation by itself will suffice to defeat Eisav. Without human endeavor and sacrifice, heavenly aid is often denied or diminished.

According to the labor is the reward. But it is foolish to believe that a small and beleaguered people can by itself weather all storms and defeat Eisav’s intentions solely by its own efforts.

Without the Lord in our help, in vain do we attempt to build our national home. Thus the double meaning of malachim in this week’s parsha has great relevance to ourselves and our situation.

Shabat shalom.

Rabbi Berel Wein

 

Standing Strong in the Face of Esau

Parshas Vayishlach

Posted on November 22, 2018 (5779) By Rabbi Berel Wein | Series: Rabbi Wein | Level: Beginner

 

Our father, Jacob, escapes from the mouth of the lion only to run into the arms of the bear. He leaves, in fact he flees, from the house of Lavan but is immediately confronted first with the angel of his brother Esau and later by Esau himself and an armed band of 400 men. Eventually Jacob escapes even from this trial by means of bribery, appeasement and the affectation of brotherly love exhibited by Esau.

All of this leaves a scar on Jacob’s psyche. For his entire life he will be haunted by these confrontations and by the dangers that they represent. Only at the end of days, when the world goes right will he escape from the trauma of being constantly pursued, hated and persecuted. And the fact that it is all so senseless and has really no basis in fact or logic only serves to compound the evil that is involved here. As we know, what occurs to our forefathers really is the harbinger of all later events in Jewish history. The Jewish people, no matter what position or political belief they may or may not espouse, are always in the wrong. They may be persecuted and attacked but they are always seen by Esau as the aggressor and the occupier. They may espouse a capitalistic economy, but they are called communists. In short, they never can win. Because of this there is an overriding sense of unease that always exists within the Jewish world.

This is especially true when less than a century ago over a third of the Jewish people were destroyed simply because they were Jewish. And this occurred in the most civilized and advanced continent that existed then on the face of the earth. The heroic attempts at the revival and rebuilding of the Jewish people that have occurred since have been treated negatively by many sections of the world. It is apparent that the world prefers that the Jews remain subservient and act as appeasers rather than as independent and productive people.

That type of antisemitism, which is so rampant in our time, is really the source of much of the dysfunction that exists in the Jewish world today. The age-old problem of antisemitism has never found any solution, though Jews somehow feel that it is incumbent on them to search for remedies. In reality, there is little if anything that we can do in this regard. It is obvious that there are no simple solutions and that nice speeches and benevolent statements about the need for tolerance and unity have little effect upon the haters and those who wish to do us harm.

The only thing that we can do is to remain firm and strong in our beliefs, our traditions and to confront our enemies in whatever form they may appear. This is the lesson that Jacob taught us after his own difficult experiences. It remains the only valid lesson that has hope and courage for our time as well.

Shabbat Shalom.

Rabbi Berel Wein

 

 

 

The Returning Strength of Jacob

Parshas Vayeitzei

Posted on November 14, 2018 (5779) By Rabbi Berel Wein | Series: Rabbi Wein | Level: Beginner

 

Our father Jacob was a very strong and physically powerful person. We read of his physical prowess in his previous encounter with the shepherds of Haran and later of his wrestling match with the angel of Esav, at the river of Yaabok. His sons, though young in years, are also very powerful and strong physically and filled with self-confidence, without fear of confronting dangerous enemies. We will see that his two sons, Shimon and Levi, destroy the city of Shechem in their rage and sense of justified revenge for the behavior against their sister Dena. And according to Jewish legend, as quoted by Ramban in his commentary, Jacob engaged in many battles against hostile tribes after entering the Land of Israel.

And yet the overall picture of our father Jacob that emerges from the narrative recorded in the Torah is one of appeasement and an avoidance of confrontation at almost all costs. He allows both Lavan and Esav to threaten him and, in effect, he chooses to buy them off with words and gifts. There is little evidence of the true strength and power of Jacob in the Torah narrative itself. It is obvious that that there is a dual nature present in the portrait that the Torah describes regarding our father Jacob. And there is a profound lesson present in that purposeful presentation that the Torah has made for us to learn and follow.

We are all aware that the narrative regarding the lives and experiences of our patriarchs and matriarchs is meant to be instructive, as are all the events in Jewish history. During first and second Temple times, when the Jewish people had national sovereignty, they engaged in many wars and battles and were well known throughout the area as a fierce foe. As a matter of fact, Josephus records that the wars of the Jews were the most fearsome in the history of the Roman Legions.

However, after the destruction of the second Temple and the rise of Christianity and later Islam, the Jews became a persecuted minority and almost powerless in terms of physical strength. The entire history of the exile is how the Jewish people lived by their wits, with low profiles and with appeasement of their enemies. Since the exile has lasted for such a long time, this attitude and self-assessment became ingrained in the Jewish psyche. It is only when the depths of despair of the Jewish exile was reached through the Holocaust that the situation of Jewish self assessment and self assertion began to change.

The creation of the State of Israel is undoubtedly the catalyst for this change. The success of the Jewish State, far beyond even the wildest hopes of previous generations, has emboldened Jewish life throughout the world. It has enabled Jews to become publicly Jewish and observant even while holding high office in non-Jewish societies and countries. It is the time of the children of Jacob reasserting themselves in pride and strength. May it continue to embed itself in the brains and hearts of Jews.

 

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Berel Wein

 

 

 

Today Depends on Tomorrow

Parshas Vayeitzei

Posted on November 9, 2010 (5771) By Rabbi Berel Wein | Series: Rabbi Wein | Level: Beginner

The story of our father Yaakov, as portrayed in this week’s parsha, is certainly the harbinger of all of the Jewish story in the long centuries of our exile and dispersion. Yaakov arrives penniless and persecuted – a survivor from the ravages of the enmity and sword of Eisav. He is subjected to further humiliation and discrimination in the house of his erstwhile father-in-law and employer Lavan who exploits his talents and labor to the fullest.

In spite of this unfair treatment, Yaakov prospers and builds a family and future for himself. Yaakov’s success in the face of overwhelmingly negative circumstances only enrages Lavan and his sons and Yaakov is eventually forced to flee and return to the Land of Israel. Here, he will again encounter enmity and great challenges to the survival of his family and himself.

Through all of this tumult and danger Yaakov perseveres and succeeds in building a family that will develop into an eternal and holy nation. And this is pretty much the story of the Jewish people over its over three millennia of existence. No other people or group of immigrants has ever done so much for its host nation as have the Jews. Yet, in the main, their efforts and achievements have been unrewarded if not even resented.

This phenomenon of ingratitude is Lavan’s inheritance bequeathed in full measure to the non-Jewish world generally. The Jew may be elevated, exploited, rewarded or persecuted but rarely if ever is he truly appreciated. The world has a mental block against truly appreciating the role of the Jew in the progress of civilization. And in our current world, that mental block has been extended to focus mainly on the Jewish state of Israel.

The secret of Yaakov’s ability to overcome Lavan, and to succeed in preserving the heritage of Avaraham and Yitzchak, lies in his constant recollection of the great dream that he dreamt at the beginning of his sojourn in exile. G-d’s presence in the house of Yaakov was a palpable one. He always felt G-d’s presence over him and thus his vision of the long game that he was to play triumphed over the near-sighted short game that Lavan always played. Yaakov, who is aware and confident in G-d’s promise that “I will be with you,” realizes that reversals and even tragedies are still only temporary events in the march of Jewish history.

It is the constant recollection of his great vision and dream that fuels Yaakov’s strength and sense of purpose. Lavan’s vision from Heaven is merely a warning not to further harm Yaakov. But he lacks grander visions – no ladders that can ascend heavenward and no sense of eternity. In this respect Lavan and Eisav resemble each other acutely. They are all about “now” – the additional pot of lentils and labor that can be squeezed out of the weak and defenseless with no thought about the ultimate future and the consequences of their behavior. Yaakov states that “tomorrow I will come into my reward” – Jews are concerned about their ultimate tomorrow and not just their today. He who is concerned about tomorrow is also successful today.

Shabbat shalom.

Rabbi Berel Wein

 

 

No Two People are the Same

Parshas Toldos

Posted on November 19, 2009 (5770) By Rabbi Berel Wein | Series: Rabbi Wein | Level: Beginner

Finding a mate is no simple matter. The rabbis characterized its difficulty as being on the scale of splitting the Yam Suf. But finding that mate and building a successful and satisfying marriage thereafter are two different tasks. From this week’s parsha it is obvious that Yitzchok and Rivka are at cross purposes regarding the treatment due to Eisav. Yitzchok is willing to give him almost everything in order to attempt to save him from his own evil nature and negative course in life.

Rivka feels that Eisav is irredeemable and that the entire investment of parental energy should be concentrated on Yaakov. Her policy of very tough love contradicts that of Yitzchok towards Eisav. Thus she does not inform Yitzchak of her plans to grant Yaakov the blessings by dressing him up as Eisav. She demands that Yaakov now flee the country to escape Eisav’s wrath and death threats.

Yitzchak acquiesces in her wishes though not from the same motives that impelled Rivka to send Yaakov away. In short for much of the parsha Yitzchak and Rivka do not appear to be on the same page as far as the future of their sons is concerned. This naturally leads to complications and problems that will again reflect themselves in the family of Yaakov and his wives and children.

The rift between Yitzchak and Rivka is not discussed further in the Torah and even Midrash and the commentators do not dwell on it. Yet it appears to be a major influence on the lives of both Yaakov and Eisav and on the tortured relationship between the two brothers.

The saga of favoritism by parents regarding one of their children will be repeated by Yaakov in the story of Yosef and his brothers. That dispute will haunt Jewish life throughout its history. Everyone strives to achieve a harmonious home and family. But the goal is an elusive one for many. Differing circumstances, personal preferences, human error, and societal influences all play a part in the problem of creating a harmonious and loving household.

That is what the rabbis meant when they stated that Yaakov wanted to dwell in peace and serenity – he wanted to achieve that household of goodness and peace. Instead, the disaster of Yosef and his brothers impressed itself upon him and his family. A great sage once said that life and especially family life can be likened to ships that traverse the ocean. Each one fabricates its own wake but the wake soon disappears and the next ship has to find its way across the ocean by itself.

No two family situations are the same nor are two children in the same family identical – even identical twins. The Torah informs us of the difficulties inherent in family situations and differing personalities and opinions. It offers no magic solution to these situations for there is no one-size fits all that can be advanced. Wisdom, patience, good will and common sense are the ingredients for family success and achievement.

Shabat shalom.

Rabbi Berel Wein

 

Removing the Shackles

Parshas Toldos

Posted on November 6, 2002 (5763) By Rabbi Pinchas Avruch | Series: Kol HaKollel | Level: Beginner

As Yaakov (Jacob) approached his father Yitzchak (Isaac) for the Divine blessings for material sustenance, he did so dressed as his coarse twin, Esav (Esau). This scheme was undertaken in accordance with the prophecy of his mother Rivka (Rebecca) that Yaakov – who was already destined to receive the Divine blessings for the spiritual and national providence promised to their grandfather, Avraham (see Beraishis/Genesis 28:3-4) – would need this blessing, too, if he was to survive.

“Yaakov said to his father, ‘…Rise up, please, sit and eat of my game…’ and So Yaakov drew close to Yitzchak his father who felt him and said, ‘The voice is Yaakov’s voice but the hands are Esav’s hands.'” (27:19,22) Rashi explains that the voice recognition was not an issue of insufficient disguise; rather it was an issue of verbiage. Yaakov would request, “Father, rise up, please,” where Esav would say “Get up, father!” (27:31)

But the Medrash Rabba explains that the honoring of his father was of paramount import to Esav. This evil son offered one hundred times more honor to Yitzchak than did the righteous Second Temple era sage Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel to his father. Esav genuinely felt compelled to wear his most formal wear when serving his father; Rabban Shimon could have gone through the motions, attempting duplication of Esav’s dedication, but it would have been an empty, meaningless act. If Esav’s sensitivity to his father’s honor was so profound, his actions and his words are most incongruous! How could he speak to Yitzchak in such a crass manner? It is even more perplexing considering Esav’s objective of putting Yitzchak in the proper frame of mind prior to offering his blessing!

Rabbi Alter Henach Leibowitz (Rosh Yeshiva/Dean of Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim in Kew Gardens Hills, New York) observes that one’s habits in speech are such an ingrained element of the personality that they come to surface in all situations. Thus, no matter how much honor Esav truly desired to bestow upon his father, his biting, chiding tone came through. For speech is a manifestation of the soul, as Onkelos (authoritative Aramaic interpretive translation by the Tannaic-era proselyte Onkelos, c.90) translates Adam’s soul of “life” (2,7) as the power of “[intelligent] speech”. Effecting genuine change in one’s speech demands an overhaul of one’s core personality, no small feat.

Rabbi Leibowitz draws the similarity to changing any one of our negative midos (character traits), a challenge the great ethicist Rabbi Yisrael Salanter (1810-1883; founder and spiritual father of the Mussar movement, a moral movement based on the study of traditional ethical literature and development of techniques for spiritual and character growth) called more difficult than learning through the entirety of the Talmudic and Midrashic Oral Tradition. Not addressing these spiritual shortcomings can be extremely self-defeating. Rabbi Leibowitz concludes that Esav’s negative trait of cruelty was, to his detriment, the root cause of in his selling his birthright to Yaakov. Nachmanides (R’ Moshe ben Nachman; 1194-1270; of Gerona, Spain; one of the leading Torah scholars of the Middle Ages) explains that his own sense of cruelty turned on him and caused himself harm by cruelly selling a birthright that he knew in his core essence to be most valuable.

As we strive to develop our “G-d consciousness”, to foster the growth of every Jew’s Divine spark and bring our G-dliness to the fore, we need to realize that we cannot move forward so long as we are shackled in place by bad character traits. Freedom is not the ability to DO what you want; freedom is the ability to DETERMINE what is in your best interest and ACT upon it. One who is “free” to react with jealousy, hate, rage, haughtiness and a pursuit of desires may not be a slave to another human…but is very much enslaved to himself. Only when we succeed in removing these fetters will our Jewish selves truly be free to soar.

Have a Good Shabbos!

 

Raising Perfect Children?

Parshas Toldos

Posted on November 19, 2014 (5775) By Rabbi Berel Wein | Series: Rabbi Wein | Level: Beginner

Perfect parents do not always produce perfect children. This week’s parsha is a perfect illustration of this truism of life and family. There apparently was very little that Yitzchak and Rivka could do to reclaim Eisav to their way of life and level of morality. He was, perhaps, incapable of moral improvement the moment he was born.

There existed, and perhaps still exists, a great debate about whether genetic makeup or social and family environment determine a child’s personality and behavior patterns. But no matter how we judge this question, it still is perplexing, if not even unthinkable, that Yitzchak and Rivka parented Eisav and raised him in their holy home.

It is one of the Torah’s prime examples of the power of freedom of choice that children and all human beings possess. Parents naturally berate themselves over the bad behavior of their children. Yet, in my admittedly limited experience, these parents are hardly ever to be blamed for the free- will wickedness of their offspring.

We ascribe too much power to parents in raising children. Of course family and environment are important, but a child’s choices will trump all other factors and circumstances. And thus we have an Eisav emerging from the house and family of Yitzchak and Rivka.

The Torah’s message to us in this matter is direct and blunt – there are no guarantees or perfect successes in raising children. One could say that though Avraham fathered Yishmael, perhaps it was Hagar’s influence that formed him. But what can we say about the house of Yitzchak and Rivka that could produce an Eisav?

The Torah poses for us the unanswerable questions of life that we encounter daily. And it never truly provides us with satisfying answers. Such is the nature of life itself – its mystery, uncertainty and unpredictably. The great question as to why the righteous suffer and the evil person apparently prospers lies at the root of the struggle for belief and faith. And as we read in the book of Iyov, the Lord chooses, so to speak, not to answer that question.

The Torah does not explain to us how an Eisav can arise from the house of Yitzchak and Rivka. Apparently it is satisfied just to notify us that it occurred and, by inference, to teach us that other inexplicable things will occur throughout Jewish and human history.

Eisav, whether genetically or environmentally influenced, was a free agent – as we all are – to choose between good and evil, peace and violence, compassion and cruelty. These choices were his and his alone to make. Somehow, Heaven also must have taken into account the heartbreak of Yitzchak and Rivka over the behavior of Eisav. But that is certainly secondary to the judgment regarding Eisav himself.

There is a tendency in our modern world to try and understand and sympathize with the evil one at the expense of the good and decent victims of that evil. The Torah is not a fan of such misplaced compassion. Rivka makes the painful decision to abandon Eisav and save Yaakov. By so doing she ensures the civilization of the human race.

Shabat shalom

Rabbi Berel Wein

Focus on the Future

Parshas Chayei Sarah

Posted on October 31, 2018 (5779) By TO-Admin-MD | Series: Rabbi Wein | Level: Beginner

 

The loss of one’s beloved spouse, especially after many years and decades of marriage and shared life, is always a traumatic and shattering blow. Those of us, who unfortunately have also experienced this occurrence of Avraham’s life in our own lives can testify as to the emotional damage and even physical harm that this sad experience can occasion.

We see from the life of our father Jacob that even decades later he reminds his children and himself of the pain and suffering caused by the death of his beloved wife, Rachel. In essence, it seems that Jacob never again was the same person after the death of Rachel. However, Avraham apparently dealt with the death of Sarah in a more stoic fashion. The Torah itself indicates this by inference, when it wrote concerning Avraham’s reaction to the tragedy by using a small letter kaf in its description of the grief and weeping of Avraham over the death of Sarah.

It is not that Avraham is less grieved at the loss of Sarah then Jacob was at the death of Rachel, It is rather that after all of the challenges and trials that Avraham had already endured, his attitude towards life and its vicissitudes was now always one of looking forward and never dwelling on the past.

Those who live exclusively in the past are doomed to self-pity and great emotional angst. This only causes a sense of victimhood and hopelessness. It reflects itself in every aspect of later life and stunts any further spiritual, social, personal or societal growth. The greatness of Avraham, as taught us by the Mishnah, was his resilience and continued spiritual and personal growth. Avraham constantly looked forward – ahead – and never dwelled on past misfortune.

I heard an outstanding speech delivered by George Deek, a Christian Arab who is a member of the Israeli Foreign Office. In telling the story of his life he describes how his family lived in Jaffa for many generations and how they fled to Lebanon during the 1948 War of Independence. Sensing the squalor and political manipulation of the refugees by the Arab powers, whose sole goal was the destruction of Israel and not in saving and resettling the refugees, his grandfather escaped Lebanon and somehow brought the family back to Jaffa and Israel, regained his job with the Israel Electric Company. He raised generations of successful professionals, all citizens of Israel.

He said that the Jewish refugees from Europe and the Moslem world attempted to forget their past and build a new future for themselves and their descendants when they arrived in israel. The Palestinian Arab refugees, under the misguided leadership of their spiritual and temporal heads, reveled instead in their past defeats, in their legend of nakba and, in the main, devoted themselves to attempting to destroy Israel rather than rehabilitating themselves.

That attitude and mindset has served them badly and cost them dearly. The past needs to be remembered and recalled, treasured and instructive to us. However, it is the future and what we make of it that ultimately determines our worth and our fate. That is one of the great lessons to be derived from the story of the life of our father Avraham.

Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Berel Wein

 

 

 

 

 

The Basis Of Yitzchak’s Love for Rivka

Parshas Chayei Sarah

Posted on November 16, 2011 (5772) By Rabbi Berel Wein | Series: Rabbi Wein | Level: Beginner

Finding the right mate has always been a complicated and potentially hazardous matter. It remains so today. Just ask any parent in our current society who has marriageable age children and you will, in all probability, hear a tale of angst and frustration about the inequities of life and the illogic of it all. In this week’s parsha, Avraham faces the task of finding a wife for Yitzchak. His main concern is that the prospective bride be from his extended family and not from the Canaanite women.

Jewish tradition has always viewed the family as being an important component in choosing a proper mate. Though family certainly cannot be the only criterion, it certainly is an important one. The rabbis taught us that the speech and language of a child is always a reflection of the speech and language of the father and mother of that child. People who are raised in serene and loving home environments, homes of tradition and Jewish values usually grow up to be serene, self-confident and proud Jews.

Children who are raised in dysfunctional family environments have great hurdles to overcome to achieve self-worth and a productive life. Both the Canaanites and Avraham’s family in Aram were pagans. But Avraham’s family had the stability and a minimum code of morality, traits that were lacking in the more permissive and licentious Canaanite society. This was the curse of the Canaanite society and Avraham felt that this factor would be impossible to ever truly overcome.

Eliezer, the loyal servant of Avraham, adds another requirement to the search for the mate of Yitzchak. Innate kindness and goodness and the willingness to sacrifice one’s own comforts for the sake of others is part of the makeup of Yitzchak, He was raised in a house where concern for the welfare of others was the everyday norm. A husband and wife have to be on the same page when it comes to this issue.

I recall that in my years as a rabbi there were husbands and wives that would bring to me money to distribute to the needy of the community and caution me not to allow their respective spouse to become aware that they had done so. Sometimes there were halachic or overriding family issues present that even forced me not to accept the donation. But I was always saddened by such situations.

Eliezer’s testing of Rivkah was correctly done in order to spare the couple possibly ruinous disputes in their future life together. And since in the house of Avraham and Sarah kindness of spirit and generosity of action and behavior were the fundamental norms of their family life, only a spouse that also espoused those ideals could bring to Yitzchak happiness and serenity.

The Canaanite society that tolerated and even exalted the societies of Sodom and Amorah could not produce a suitable mate for Yitzchak. The Torah tells us that Yitzchak loved Rivkah. Love is based on character traits and shared values and not only on physical beauty and attraction. That is what makes its achievement so elusive for so many.

Shabat shalom,

Rabbi Berel Wein

It’s All Good

Parshas Chayei Sarah

Posted on October 23, 2013 (5774) By Rabbi Berel Wein | Series: Rabbi Wein | Level: Beginner

In truth, our mother Sarah, like many other mothers past and present in Jewish life, has not quite received her due. Rashi, quoting Midrash in describing Sarah’s life, states that all the years of Sarah’s life were “for good.” He must mean “for good” in a spiritual and holy sense, for in her physical worldly life there was little good that she experienced. Wandering over the Middle East by following her visionary husband to a strange and unknown destination; being forced into Pharaoh’s harem; being unable to conceive children; having her maidservant Hagar marry Avraham and attempt to usurp her position in the household; kidnapped by Avimelech, the king of the Philistines; seeing her precious son’s life threatened by an aggressive and violent step-brother, Yishmael; and passing away almost fifty years before her husband – this does not make for a happy resume of a life that was “all good.” In fact, it raises the eternal question of why do bad things happen to good people.

But powerless as we are to really answer that question cogently and logically, we should, in retrospect, view our mother Sarah with a renewed sense of awe and appreciation. Lesser people would have been crushed by such a cascade of events in one’s lifetime. The Mishna speaks of the ten tests in life that befell Avraham – and that he rose above all of them. We should also make mention of the tests in life that our mother Sarah endured in her existence and that she too rose above them.

“The wisdom of women builds their home,” said King Solomon. That certainly must be said of the house of Avraham, the founding home of the Jewish people. It was Sarah’s wisdom and fortitude that was the foundation of that home.

In everyone’s life there are moments of danger, frustration, disappointment and even tragedy. Who amongst us can say in truth that all the years of our life were “all good?” This being the case we must revert to the understanding that since the “all good” in the life of our mother Sarah must perforce be interpreted in a spiritual sense – in a sense of continual service to G-d and man and a commitment to a higher level of living than mere physical existence and an optimistic frame of mind – so too must we search for such an “all good” interpretation in our individual lives as well.

The striving for finding such an “all good” approach to life is the essence of Torah and Jewish ritual. I once had to attend a rabbinical court here in Israel in order to register as being married. As often happens in government offices here the wait to be serviced was long and the ambience was not very pleasant. The clerk handling the matter was rather surly and disinterested in my problem.

Finally a wonderful rabbi came out of his inner office and took care of me and my need expeditiously and warmly. When I was foolish enough to begin to complain to him about the long wait and the less than forthcoming clerk, the rabbi gently shushed me and said: “Here in the Land of Israel all is good!” And when one is on that level of spiritually that is certainly true.

Shabat shalom

Rabbi Berel Wein