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Chayei Sarah – חַיֵּי שָׂרָה (Genesis 23:1−25:18)

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This Week’s Torah Portion: Chayei Sarah – חַיֵּי שָׂרָה (Genesis 23:1−25:18)

This week’s Torah Portion is called Chayei Sarah, “The Life of Sarah” even though, in the very first verse we learn of Sarah’s death. Simply recounting Sarah’s death would seem to tell us very little about her life. When some people die, they leave nothing behind. But after Sarah and Abraham died, the Jewish people remained. And, within the Jewish people live all of Abraham and Sarah’s characteristics and values.

It is often said that we live on in memories, from the life of Sarah we learn that we live on in more than memories alone. When Abraham and Sarah set forth, following God’s call on their journey of faith, the Jewish people was just a dream. God promised them that their descendants would number like the stars in the sky, and the sands of the sea. We are their living legacy, the fulfillment of that promise through their lives.

Sarah, our matriarch, lives on in more than just our memories, she lives on in our lives, in our values, and in the life of every generation of our people. 

Parsha Chayei Sarah – חַיֵּי שָׂרָה Torah Summary:

Abraham purchases the cave of Machpelah in order to bury his wife Sarah. (23:1-20) Abraham sends his servant to find a bride for Isaac. (24:1-9) Rebekah shows her kindness by offering to draw water for the servant’s camels at the well. (24:15-20) The servant meets Rebekah’s family and then takes Rebekah to Isaac, who marries her. (24:23-67) Abraham takes another wife, named Keturah. At the age of one hundred and seventy-five years, Abraham dies, and Isaac and Ishmael bury him in the cave of Machpelah. (25:1-11) Chayei Sarah – חַיֵּי שָׂרָה

Happy Hour and Dinner

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Thank you to everyone who joined us for The Temple’s Happy Hour and Dinner! We had over 140 Temple members attend. We enjoyed a beautiful night with music, delicious food, and wonderful company. Thanks to all who attended!

We value your membership and appreciate your ongoing support of The Temple.   

Event Description:

We’re excited to invite you to an incredible outdoor event where you can safely reconnect with other Temple members!

On Thursday, October 21, Happy Hour and Dinner starts at 5:30 pm in the back parking lot, by The Klein Center. You’re invited to enjoy food from a local food truck and a full bar, courtesy of Heaven Hill. The best part is – the night is free of charge – to show our appreciation for our Temple members!

Please mark your calendar – it’s an evening for-members-only to enjoy live entertainment, delicious drinks, food, and plenty of fun. Please be sure to RSVP here or call Santa at The Temple office 502-423-1818.

Looking forward to seeing you!

Your Temple Team
Avery, Benji, Craig, Gene, Santa, Sarah, Terry, Rabbi David, & Rabbi Rapport

Thank you to everyone who joined us for The Temple’s Happy Hour and Dinner! We enjoyed a beautiful night with music, delicious food, and wonderful company. Thanks to all who attended! We’re excited to invite you to an incredible outdoor event where you can safely reconnect with other Temple members! On Thursday, October 21, Happy Hour and Dinner starts at 5:30 pm in the back parking lot, by The Klein Center. You’re invited to enjoy food from a local food truck and a full bar, courtesy of Heaven Hill. The best part is – the night is free of charge – to show our appreciation for our Temple members! Please mark your calendar – it’s an evening for-members-only to enjoy live entertainment, delicious drinks, food, and plenty of fun. Please be sure to RSVP here or call Santa at The Temple office 502-423-1818. Looking forward to seeing you! Your Temple Team Avery, Benji, Craig, Gene, Santa, Sarah, Terry, Rabbi David, & Rabbi Rapport

Vayeira – וַיֵּרָא (Genesis 18:1–22:24)

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This Week’s Torah Portion: Vayeira – וַיֵּרָא (Genesis 18:1–22:24)

Our Torah Portion begins with the promise of the birth of Isaac whose name means “laughter.” Abraham and Sarah show hospitality to three travelers who turn out to be angels in disguise. As the angels are about to depart, they tell Abraham that Sarah will soon bear a son. This is unbelievable news, literally unbelievable, in that Sarah is now 90 years old and Abraham is 99. Sarah, listening from a distance in the privacy of her tent, laughs quietly to herself, saying: 

“Now that I am withered, am I to have enjoyment—with my husband so old?” (Genesis 18:12)

God responds asking Abraham:

“Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I in truth bear a child, old as I am?’ Is anything too wondrous for God?”  (Genesis 18:13-14)

God’s response to Sarah’s laughter raises two interesting and insightful questions:

  1. Why does God take exception to Sarah’s laughter, particularly when Abraham responds to this same promise with laughter himself, just one chapter earlier in the Torah?

    “Abraham threw himself on his face and laughed, as he said to himself, ‘Can a child be born to a man a hundred years old, or can Sarah bear a child at ninety?’” (Genesis 17:17)

    God seems fine with Abraham laughing at himself, and yet concerned about Sarah laughing to herself about Abraham.
  2. Why does God “lie” to Abraham concerning the reason for Sarah’s laughter?

    The great Biblical commentator Rashi notices a slight adjustment between the words which Sarah says to herself and the words which God tells Abraham she has said. Sarah laughs at the news that she will bear a son, because her husband Abraham is now so old. God says to Abraham that Sarah laughed because she thought that she herself was too old.

    Rashi teaches us that the lesson of this little ripple in the telling of the tale, is a lesson on Sh’lom Bayit, “peace in the home.” God prefers to tell a “white lie” rather than embarrass Abraham or cause strife between Abraham and Sarah. The big lesson of this story is that nothing is too miraculous for God, but the lesson beneath that lesson is that peace between people may at times matters more than the unbending truth of our words.

Parsha Vayeira – וַיֵּרָא Torah Summary:

Abraham welcomes three visitors, who announce that Sarah will soon have a son. (18:1-15) Abraham argues with God about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. (18:16-33) Lot’s home is attacked by the people of Sodom. Lot and his two daughters escape as the cities are being destroyed. Lot’s wife is turned into a pillar of salt. (19:1-29) Lot impregnates his daughters, and they bear children who become the founders of the nations Moab and Ammon. (19:30-38) Abimelech, king of Gerar, takes Sarah as his wife after Abraham claims that she is his sister. (20:1-18) Isaac is born, circumcised, and weaned. Hagar and her son, Ishmael, are sent away; an angel saves their lives. (21:1-21) God tests Abraham, instructing him to sacrifice Isaac on Mount Moriah. (22:1-19) Vayeira – וַיֵּרָא

Lech L’cha – לָךְ-לְךָ (Genesis 12:1−17:27)

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This Week’s Torah Portion: Lech L’cha – לָךְ-לְךָ (Genesis 12:1−17:27)

The first commandment to Abraham our father is to go. God appears 10 times to Abraham, seven of them are about going and walking. Jewish law is called Halacha (literally the same as walking). God wants us on the move, not standing in one place. Therefore Jewish tradition is always evolving, always changing, always trying to be relevant to our people!

Parsha Lech L’cha – לָךְ-לְךָ Torah Summary:

Abram, Sarai, and Lot go to Canaan. (12:1-9) Famine takes them to Egypt, where Abram identifies Sarai as his sister in order to save his life. (12:10-20) Abram and Lot separate. Lot is taken captive, and Abram rescues him. (13:1-14:24) Abram has a son, Ishmael, with his Egyptian maidservant, Hagar. (16:1-16) God establishes a covenant with Abram. The sign of this covenant is circumcision on the eighth day following a male baby’s birth. (17:1-27) Lech L’cha – לָךְ-לְךָ The first commandment to Abraham our father is to go. God appears 10 times to Abraham, seven of them are about going and walking. Jewish law is called Halacha (literally the same as walking). God wants us on the move, not standing in one place. Therefore Jewish tradition is always evolving, always changing, always trying to be relevant to our people! Lech L’cha – לָךְ-לְךָ

Noach – נֹחַ (Genesis 6:9−11:32)

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This Week’s Torah Portion: Noach – נֹחַ (Genesis 6:9−11:32)

“Noah was a righteous man, he walked with God”

What kind of a person knows about a disaster that is about to happen, and does not raise heaven and earth to rescue his neighbors? What kind of a person builds an ark and saves only his family?

The prophet Isaiah calls the flood “Noah’s water” blaming the flood on Noah’s decision not to try and save others! Letting us know we should not be closing ourselves in our Arks when others can use our help.

Parsha Noach – נֹחַ Torah Summary:

God decides to cause a flood that will destroy the world, sparing only Noah’s family and the animals that Noah gathers together on the ark. (6:9-8:22) Life starts over again after the Flood. The Noahide Commandments are listed, and God uses a rainbow to make a symbol of the first covenant. (9:1-17) People start to build a city and the Tower of Babel. God scatters the people and gives them different languages to speak. (11:1-9) The ten generations from Noah to Abram are listed. (11:10-29:2) Noach – נֹחַ “Noah was a righteous man, he walked with God” What kind of a person knows about a disaster that is about to happen, and does not raise heaven and earth to rescue his neighbors? What kind of a person builds an ark and saves only his family? The prophet Isaiah calls the flood “Noah’s water” blaming the flood on Noah’s decision not to try and save others! Letting us know we should not be closing ourselves in our Arks when others can use our help. Noach – נֹחַ

B’reishit – בְּרֵאשִׁית (Genesis 1:1−6:8)

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This Week’s Torah Portion: B’reishit – בְּרֵאשִׁית (Genesis 1:1−6:8)

“In the beginning, God created the Heaven and the earth” – God creates the world, God existed before the world was created and God will continue to exist, even if God forbid we destroy the world.

That is the most important innovation the Hebrew Bible brings about God! God is not dependent on laws of nature, God is beyond the world, God has no sexuality, nor family, nor any other human fixtures, God is the total other than us.

Parsha B’reishit – בְּרֵאשִׁית Torah Summary:

God creates the world and everything in it in six days and rests on the seventh. (1:1-2:3) Adam and Eve are placed in the Garden of Eden, where they eat the forbidden fruit and are subsequently exiled. (2:15-3:24) Adam and Eve have two sons, Cain and Abel. Cain kills his brother, Abel. (4:1-24) Adam and Eve have another child named Seth. The Torah lists the ten generations from Adam to Noah. (4:25-5:32) God regrets having created human beings and decides to destroy everything on earth, but Noah finds favor with God. (6:5-6:8) B’reishit – בְּרֵאשִׁית “In the beginning God created the Heaven and the earth” – God creates the world, God existed before the world was created and God will continue to exist, even if God forbid we destroy the world. That is the most important innovation the Hebrew Bible brings about God! God is not dependent on laws of nature, God is beyond the world, God has no sexuality, nor family, nor any other human fixtures, God is the total other than us. B’reishit – בְּרֵאשִׁית