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Drash for Shabbat Chayei Sarah By Laura Woods - November 2, 2007 This week's parsha first concerns the death and burial of Sarah. Abraham mourns her death and seeks to buy a burial place for her from the Hittites among whom they have lived as what might be best described as resident aliens. He strikes an agreement with Ephron for the purchase of the caves of Machpelah and buries Sarah. According to Genesis, all the patriarchs and matriarchs except for Rachel would be buried there. After the pain of parting comes the happiness of healing, rediscovering life and self. Abraham rises up and initiates the search for a suitable wife for his son, Isaac. He sends his senior servant to carry out this directive. He sends him Nahor, the land from which God commanded Abraham to leave in order to make a new life. Upon arriving in the evening at the water-well, the servant prayed that things would turn out favorably. (Sound familiar?) He had scarcely finished his petition when, as God's will would have it, Rebekah comes on the scene to fill her water pitcher. (Rebekah is Bethuel's daughter, son of Milcah, the wife of Abraham's brother.) The rest, as they say, is history. This portion ends with the death of Abraham, our patriarch. His sons Isaac and Ishmael are able to come together to mourn and bury their father in the caves of Machpelah with Sarah. It has been my experience that there really are no coincidences. All things happen for reasons that are not immediately obvious but become apparent in retrospect. Keeping lines of communications open with God is critical to developing the trust that everything is just as it should be. Not an easy task especially when family and close relationships are involved. We can be worthy of our lives and all the good that is in them. Shabbat Shalom.
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