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Parshat Chayei Sara: Beautiful Badeken Summary by Channie Koplowitz Stein Based on a Naaleh.Com Shiur by Mrs

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Parshat Chayei Sara: Beautiful Badeken Summary by Channie Koplowitz Stein Based on a Naaleh.Com Shiur by Mrs Dedicated in memory of Rachel Leah bat R' Chaim Tzvi Volume 10 Number 35 Brought to you by Naaleh.com Parshat Chayei Sara: Beautiful Badeken Summary by Channie Koplowitz Stein Based on a Naaleh.com shiur by Mrs. Shira Smiles When Rivka is about to set off to marry However, if they could delay Rivka’s departure, just as Moshe Rabbenu was equivalent to all Yitzchak, Lavan blesses her, "Our sister, may perhaps the attribute of justice would find a of Bnei Yisroel. The Kli Yakar ties the two you come to be thousands of myriads, and way to abort this match. Eliezer understood halves of the blessing together. First, he notes may your offspring inherit the gate of its foes." their tactic and responded, "And Hashem has that inheriting the gates of the enemy is part of This blessing is customarily given to a bride made my journey successful. By adding "And," Hashem's blessing to Avraham as well as part before she enters her own wedding canopy. Eliezer was hinting that they would not be of Lavan's blessing to his sister. Then the Kli The Shvilei Pinchas asks, why choose the successful. With similar reasoning, writes the Yakar states that Avraham Avinu made many blessing of the evil Lavan? In fact the Midrash Sheveli Pinchas citing Ohr Lashamayim, the friends because of the extent of his chesed. notes that Rivka remained childless specifi- bride's face is covered so that the "evil eye" Because of that, if he would ever be in danger, cally so people would not attribute her having should not fall upon her. Breaking the glass is his friends would come to his aid and he would children to Lavan's blessing. What was this perhaps another attempt to foil the Accusers. inherit the gates of his foes. Similarly, Rivka blessing about? The Chatam Sofer z”l posits was also full of chesed. She too would that Lavan's emphasis was on "our sister." He Aleinu Leshabayach contends that Lavan's therefore have many who would love her and hoped that her children would be evil, like blessing did come true, for Rivkah did become come to protect her if she would be in danger. him. That explains why this blessing has been a matriarch of myriads and thousands. The Through her chesed to those myriad others, adopted by rabbis and sages, who will wish lesson here is that we should never discount she herself is the equivalent of myriads. the bride to have righteous children as the blessing of anyone. In fact, writes Rabbi themselves. Meislish, this is the source for giving blessings "And be a blessing" is both a destiny and a to a chatan and kallah. Everyone's blessing mission, writes the Birkat Mordechai. To Rabbi Wolbe z”l notes that when the aron has power. The Ginzei Chayim explains that a enable Avraham to fulfill this, Hashem blessed kodesh was being returned to the Mishkan blessing mentions the positive attributes of the Avraham bakol/with everything he would need. after Bnei Yisroel traveled in the desert (and recipient and thereby arouses the Giver of all Being a blessing to others was Avraham's today in shuls after each Torah reading), the blessings to expand on this attribute and give essence as it would be Rivkah's. It is this congregation recites, "Return Hashem to the him further blessings. It is analogous to turning blessing that we bestow on a bride at her myriad thousands of Israel." From this verse, on a light switch which then illuminates wedding. You too be a blessing to others. The our sages extrapolate that God's presence everything else. One compliment, one acts that you do have the power to impact rests upon Bnei Yisroel when there are 22,000 affirmation of a positive attribute in another, multitudes of people and fill the world with present. The prayer is that this marriage leads to additional compliments. It gives the chesed. In fact, the power of a single Jew to produce righteous children that will bring the receiver confidence and validation, and a impact the world is so great that the halacha Shechinah down and with it His many gifts. desire to continue to achieve on that level. The states that if an enemy force lays siege to a Ramchal urges us to find opportunities to bless city and demands one Jew in exchange for Our Sages tell us that making a match is as other people. Not only does it bring blessings sparing the entire city, they may not deliver the difficult as splitting the Red Sea. At the Red to them, but it also trains us to have a "good victim for we do not know the worth of any Sea, the negative angels approached eye", a more positive outlook on the world. If individual. Hashem and asked why He was redeeming we look for opportunities, we could be giving the Israelites who were idol worshippers, blessings all day long. Commenting on Lavan's brachah teaches us that anyone can while condemning the Egyptians to death. anything positive or even saying a simple good give a powerful brachah. It tells us that a Similarly, when attempting to make a morning can change someone's day. sincere brachah can impact not only the shidduch, the negative angels try to thwart it. individual we are bestowing it upon, but also In this situation, Betuel and Lavan attested to "You be myriads and thousands." Rabbi many generations to come. May all our the fact that this match was engineered by Schwadron z”l interprets this -you yourself will blessings to others be for the good. Hashem and no negative force could stop it. be the equivalent of myriads and thousands Help support Naaleh by searching the web! For more information visit www.iGive/Naaleh.com & www.iSearchiGive/Naaleh.com visit us online at: www.naaleh.com | for questions, suggestions, or dedication opportunities, email [email protected] 1 Dedicated in memory of Rachel Leah bat R' Chaim Tzvi Volume 10 Number 35 Brought to you by Naaleh.com Builder of Her Home Respect Sum Up Part I Based on a Naaleh.com shiur by Rebbetzin Tziporah Heller In Bereishit Rabbah, the Midrash tells us that that his sin caused him to lose. The Remak One of the ten names of the neshama is women were given precedence in lighting explains that just as a physical blockage kavod. The kavod that defines the neshama is Shabbat candles because Chava prevents the blood from flowing to a limb or the kavod that is eternal. Traits such as extinguished the soul of Adam. It says in organ which may cause it to die, so too sin is integrity, dedication, and compassion are Mishlei, “Hashem’s candle is man’s soul.” Just an impediment that makes the soul wither. attributes that a woman might find in her as the nature of a candle is to rise, the soul Adam’s sin engendered an immense blockage. husband if she only looks. She has to be able yearns to ascend. The neshama can never be A woman’s task is to rectify this by helping her to zero in on them and make her husband eradicated but it could lose its sensitivity. The husband rediscover his soul. She can do this, know what is in him that deserves kavod. This physical side of a person can shout so loud not by being contemptuous, not by feeling that is why one of the ten names of the soul is that it drowns out the voice of the soul. Chava his lack is his definition. She can ignite his soul kavod. It is the part of the person that didn’t let Adam hear his neshama. She was by having a relationship based on kavod. deserves acknowledgement and appreciation insightful enough to know how to influence Kavod means acknowledgement, validation, for its eternal nature. Every woman can give him and how to make him hear one voice over and appreciation of what’s genuinely good in her husband a sense of his own eternity. another. Everything that is true about Adam the other person. It says in Mishlei, “A woman There’s no gift better than that. Kavod is the and Chava is true about all their descendants. of grace will support kavod.” She will be the only thing that gives a person an enduring Every woman has the ability to ignite a soul. pillar that makes his inner light shine. And it sense of importance and meaning. When the By lighting the Shabbat candles, the woman is will be mutual. He’ll mirror it back to her. wife gives the husband kavod, his sensitivity to meant to give back to Adam the spirituality his neshama returns. Men and Women: The Goal of Humanity Part I Based on a Naaleh.com shiur by Rebbetzin Tziporah Heller In Bereishit we read how Hashem tells the says give forth has to conquer the female says- I’ll make him one who helps, who’s angels, “Let us make man in our image in our element, which is the part that says receive parallel to him. Targum Yonoson adds on to form…” The image of Hashem are His middot, and build. Building out of nothing brings Unkeles, I’ll make him a wife to be a supporter the attributes we share in common such as destruction. Our desire to serve Hashem, the parallel to him. An androgynous person with chesed, gevurah, tiferet… The likeness is our female element of malchut, has to follow the male and female elements, as Adam originally intellectual faculties which are divine like.
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