Video Study for Parasha Chayei Sarah

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Shalom My JTF Friends,

I apologize for the late posting of the video study of the week. It has been a troubling week considering the loss of the election and the current downward spiral which it seems our country is taking. But for the moment let us concentrate on studying the lessons which the Torah teaches us, as expounded by a variety of Rabbis with a variety of outlooks.

This week the portion is called 'Chayei Sarah' which is translated as 'The Life of Sarah' which is odd considering that the first sentence of the portion describes the death of Sarah. Why call the portion the life of Sarah when her main involvement with the portion is her death?

The main thrust of this portion is the search for a wife for Isaac by Abrahams trusted servant Eliezer. Here we learn a lesson about relying on miracles or signs, that while Eliezer was looking for a sign that the girl was right for Isaac he should not have done so. There are many midrashim which explain exactly what was going on here and I hope some of the Rabbis will delve into this aspect.

In the end of the portion we learn that Abraham marries a new wife (whom we learn from the sages actually was Hagar).

Here is the Parasha in a nutshell from Chabad:

Sarah dies at age 127 and is buried in the Machpelah Cave in Hebron, which Abraham purchases from Ephron the Hittite for four hundred shekels of silver.

Abraham’s servant Eliezer is sent, laden with gifts, to Charan, to find a wife for Isaac. At the village well, Eliezer asks G‑d for a sign: when the maidens come to the well, he will ask for some water to drink; the woman who will offer to give his camels to drink as well shall be the one destined for his master’s son.

Rebecca, the daughter of Abraham’s nephew Bethuel, appears at the well and passes the “test.” Eliezer is invited to their home, where he repeats the story of the day’s events. Rebecca returns with Eliezer to the land of Canaan, where they encounter Isaac praying in the field. Isaac marries Rebecca, loves her, and is comforted over the loss of his mother.

Abraham takes a new wife, Keturah (Hagar), and fathers six additional sons, but Isaac is designated as his only heir. Abraham dies at age 175 and is buried beside Sarah by his two eldest sons, Isaac and Ishmael.

Rabbi Richman of the Temple Institute:




Here he discusses the fact that Abraham purchased the Cave of Machpelah:



Rabbi Yakov Nagen of Otniel:


Rabbi Yehuda Moses:

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This is the latest video posted by Rabbi Richman:


Rabbi Joel Finkelstein:


Rabbi Weisblum on the portion:


Rabbi Mendel Kaplan:

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Rabbi Ginsburg talks about why the Parasha is called 'The Life of Sarah' when it starts with her death...



Rabbi Trugmans 1hr talk on the Parasha:

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For a more mystical outlook Rabbi Chaim Miller talks about the Parasha:



Rabbi Simon Jacobson:

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Here is the animated G-dcast parasha... While most of these animated portions are accurate I have found some which don't portray the events accurately. That is why I didn't post the animated parasha last week...

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I hope that some readers have applied for free membership to Naaleh.com because they have tons and  tons of great shuirim on many great Jewish topics.... But they have only posted 3-5minutes of these shuirs on Youtube. I will post these and hope that some of you can watch the entire talk...