Chayeh Sarah

                                        All you need is love

1.My wife is amazing. She brought me to Israel for the first time this summer. We were in Jerusalem and I wanted to learn Torah in the old city, so she very patiently waited with Jacob our 1 year old son outside the classroom. The class was on this week’s Parsha.

1.The question of the class was, what is the most important decision of your life? It was the first time the Rabbi ever taught the class and it was the first piece of Torah I ever learned in Israel.

He stated that who you marry, your spouse, was the most important choice you make in your life. His source was this week’s Parsha and the process of Abraham getting Rebeca as a wife for Isaac. My source was my wife.

1.The Talmud in Kedushin discuses the legal process of acquiring a wife. It uses a story from this week’s Parsha but not the romantic tale of Isaac and Rebecca . The Talmud cites the story of Abraham purchasing a burial plot for his deceased wife Sarah.

2.Why is this incident chosen?  It is a cold transaction. Abraham transacting a business deal does not seem connected to marriage.

3. Rabbi Harry Rosenberg proposes an interesting answer. We must look at the mindset of each person in the transaction to understand why this story is used as an example. Abraham was an intensely spiritual man, constantly peering at eternity. Ephron was a materialistic, this worldly man with a short term perspective.

4. Ephron sold a meaningless piece of a field for a large amount of silver. Abraham bought one of the holiest locations in the universe for all time. Each left the deal feeling as though they ripped the other one off. That is why this story is perfect for a marriage. When I got married I was thinking " I can’t believe she wants to marry me".  Each person needs to feel like the marriage is a great deal for them. No one is perfect, but my wife is perfect for me.