Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Have you ever felt out of place? Like you're somewhere you don't belong? Maybe you showed up to an event that ended up being the wrong place or wrong time? Or maybe you've been to another country where you didn't know the language or the culture. How did these situations make you feel? What if I told you that we might need to experience these situations and feelings more often? Because there's a valuable lesson we can learn from this in this week's Five Minute Tour.
[00:00:30] Shalom once again. Hey everyone, I'm Darren and I'm excited to be with you here once more for another video on the weekly Torah portion. Before I get into my five minute Torah commentary, here are a few quick facts about this week's Torah portion. This week we're studying the portion of chaye serah Genesis 23:1 25:18 and here are the three things you need to know about it. 1. The death of Sarah 127 years young despite the name of the portion Chayei Sarah, we don't really read about the life of Sarah, but rather her death. The portion begins by recounting the death of Sarah at 127 years young. Her age at her time of death is recorded in a unique manner. In Hebrew it says that she was 100 years, 20 years and 7 years old when she died. Rashi says it was written this way to tell us that each of these stages of her life carry significance. At 100 she was as innocent as she was when she was 20 and when she was 20 she was as beautiful as she was when she was seven. Number two the Cave of Machpelah A Long Term Investment the Torah tells us that Sarah died in Kriyat Arba, that is Hebron. Abraham needed a place to bury her, so he bargained with Ephron, the Hittite, for the cave of Machpelah at the end of his field. Along with the surrounding land. Ephron feigns friendship say that five times fast with Abraham and says that he will only charge him 400 silver shekels. While it may seem that it was a trivial amount of money, it works out to be an inflated price in our present day economy. Abraham paid the full amount without batting an eye and buried his beloved wife there in the cave of Machpelah. Number three True Love Isaac and Rebekah after the death of Sarah, Abraham knew he needed to find a bride for his son Isaac to continue the family line. Isaac's offspring would inherit the promises God made to Abraham. You know the story. Abraham's servant, presumably Eliezer of Damascus, is sent back to the land of Abraham's family to choose a wife for Isaac. Abraham has him take an oath that he will not select a wife for Isaac from among the Canaanite women. Eliezer prays that God will give him a sign for who he is to select, and God confirms this sign when Rebekah, the granddaughter of Abraham's brother Nahor, provides water for both him and his camels. He asks Rebekah's family permission, her father Bethuel and her brother Laban, to take her back as a bride for Isaac. She agrees, and the rest, you might say, is history. You've made it to the new Torah cycle. Congratulations. Now all you need to do is grab a copy of one of my five Minute Torah commentaries. With three volumes to choose from, you can't go wrong. Help promote Messianic Judaism and Shalom Makan by picking up your own copy and sharing it with your family and friends. Once they see the depth and beauty of the Torah from a Messianic Jewish perspective, you might end up with a new study partner. Grab your copy today using the link in the description below this video this week's Torah commentary is called Strangers and Aliens and comes from my book 5 Minute Torah, Volume 3. Although Chayei Sarah means the life of Sarah, this parshah, this Torah portion actually begins with her dying at 127 years old. Once we are given this information, the Torah recounts the process by which her husband Abraham procured a burial location for her. It details the dialogue between Abraham and the local Canaanites, the location of the burial site, the name of the seller, the selling price, and the transaction details. In this dialogue between Abraham and Ephron the Hittite, the seller, Abraham petitioned the local population by saying, I am a sojourner and a foreigner among you. Genesis 23:4 why does Abraham say this and what is the significance? Let's explore these implications. Sarah died in Hebron, and that is where Abraham sought to purchase a tomb for her. The land Hashem promised Abraham extends from the Nile river in Egypt to the Euphrates that flows through modern day Syria and Iraq. See Genesis 15:18 20. Before Sarah's passing, Abraham had been dwelling in Beersheba, which is about 45 miles southwest of Jerusalem as a crow flies. If we think about Abraham's location when he was speaking, he was within the land that God had promised him and was already dwelling in the region. If this is the case, why does he claim that he is merely a sojourner and a foreigner? Shouldn't he have told his audience that he was taking up permanent residence among them. The Lubavitcher Rebbe resolves this by understanding Abraham's words to be more of a statement of spiritual identity. They remind us that we are merely sojourners in this physical world and naturally long for our true home. Although Abraham was a permanent resident of Canaan, he still considered himself to be a sojourner because he had not yet reached his final destination, the world to come. As we learned in our previous portion, the deeds of the fathers are signposts for the children. This means that the actions of our fathers have a significant bearing on how things play out in our own lives. The actions of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in particular, have a great effect upon us. If we are spiritually in tune, we follow the pattern of their successes. If we are spiritually dull, however, we will follow their shortcomings. Abraham longed for the day that God's presence would be made manifest on this earth, and he considered his days to be merely sojourning until that time, shouldn't it be fitting for his children to do likewise? A story is told about the Chofetz Chaim, Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan, in which a wealthy Jew from America who had been deeply touched by his teachings, traveled all the way to Radin, Poland, to visit the great Tzaddik in his home. Upon entering his home, he was not only shocked but also appalled by the condition of his dwellings, particularly the lack of furnishings. There were no chairs, no table, no bed, etc. The Chovitz Chaim simply sat at a wooden crate with a candle where he learned Torah. Where's your furniture? The visitor asked. Where's yours? The Tzaddik replied. That's a ridiculous question. I'm merely traveling from far away. Why would I carry all of my furniture with me? Retorted the visitor. The same is true for me, the Chovitz Khan replied. I'm only passing through this world. Carrying my possessions with me on this journey would be too cumbersome. They're waiting for me at the end of my journey. The apostles took this position as well. Peter urged his disciples to consider themselves as sojourners in this life so that they would not succumb to the enticements of this world. Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles, to abstain from the passions of the flesh which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. 1st Peter 2:11:12 we must always remember that this life is not permanent. As Peter reminds us, we are merely sojourners in this life. However, sometimes we forget and we believe that we have arrived at our final destination by investing too heavily into the trappings of this life. Often we try to fill the spiritual void with the material things of this world. However, if we are truly sons and daughters of Abraham, then we should be living with a similar perspective to Abraham. It's time we reassessed our purpose in this life. Have we forgotten that we're merely sojourners? Are we using the time, the energy and the resources we have been given to live for a higher purpose? Or have we settled for less than what we were created for? As long as we view this life as our home, we will never be able to elevate the holiness of this world and create a dwelling place for God's presence. If we're honest with ourselves, based on how we've been living our lives up to this point, can we say I'm a sojourner, a foreigner among you? Or have we become a permanent resident of this world? What are some signs that we may have been lulled into becoming too comfortable in this life? Is there anything wrong with enjoying the pleasures of this world? How do we know if we've gone too far? And where do we draw the line between partaking in the blessings of God and letting those blessings become all consuming? Please help me out by posting your thoughts in the comments below. And don't forget to keep up with our series Repaving the Romans Road. If you missed any of the previous lessons, you can check them out right here. I'll see you next week for another messianic insight into the eternal tour of God. Blessings from Shalomachan, the place where disciples of Yeshua learn, connect and grow.
