C h ay e i S a r a h ● C H E S H VA N 2 4 5 7 6 9 ● N O V E M B E R 2 2 2 0 0 8

Chaya Miriam Clarice Shkedy Rabbi Eliezer Kessler

Nimchinsky The Small Chuf Shalom Zachor
The Temptation of
Money

be’ertorah wellspringoftorah

Editor Dvar Torah•Chaya Miriam Nimchinsky•Grade 12

I
n Parshat Chayei Sarah it
says, “And Avraham died
at a good old age, full
of years, mature and content, and he
was gathered to his people” (Pasuk 8).
The Ramban comments on the phrase
“old age, full of years”. He says that
Avraham ‘witnessed the fulfillment
of all the desires of his heart and was
sated with all good thing’. He didn’t
desire to have anything new added to
Student Dvar Torah•Clarice Shkedy•Grade 12
it; he didn’t yearn for more then what
he already had. Additionally, it is said
of Dovid HaMelech: “And he died
in a good old age, full of days, riches,
and honor.” This is a Chesed that
Hashem performs for the tzadikim,
that they die with their lives full. The
Torah is complementing Avraham for
being content with what he had, but
don’t we know that Avraham, as well
as Dovid, were wealthy, prestigious,
honored men. Why would it be dif-
ficult for someone with that status to
be satisfied? Would someone in that
standing even be upset with what they
had?
There is a story told of a
king who was very greedy. He loved
gold more then anything else in the
world. One day when he was counting
his gold coins, an angel told him, “You
are very rich.” The king responded,
Continued on page 4

I
n Parshat Chayei Sarah
it states, “Sarah died in
Kiryat-Arbah which is
in Chevron in the land of Cannan,
and Avraham came to eulogize
Sarah and to weep over her”. In
describing that Avraham wept, it
seems strange that the letter ‘kaf ’
in the word ‘livkotah’ is written
smaller than the rest of the letters
in the Torah. Many commentaries
try to determine what the Torah is
trying to teach us in doing this.
According to the gemara
in Bava Batra 16b, in addition to
having two sons, Avraham also had
a daughter named Bakol. When he
went up to Mount Moriah for the
Akeidah, Sarah and Bakol both
passed away. The word ‘livkotah’
without the small kaf spells “l’bita”,
which means ‘for her daughter’. Ac-
cording to the Mincha Betula this
small kaf shows us that Avraham
was mourning for both his daugh-
ter and his wife.
The Baal Haturim inter-
prets small kaf to be emphasizing
the fact that Avraham did not
mourn for very long. This interpre-
Continued on page 2

A Torah publication of the students, faculty and alumni of the Robert M. Beren Academy.
Student Dvar Torah•Clarice Shkedy•Grade 12
Continued from page 1
tation comes from the idea that
the Akeidah took place on Yom
Kippur. Since the Torah tells
us that in traveling to Mount
Moriah, Avraham saw the place
form afar on the third day of
his journey, we know that the
distance from Avraham’s house
to Mount Moriah was three
days. Thus, when Avraham re-
turned from the Akeidah, he
journeyed on the 11th,
12th, and 13th of
Tishrei, and
Sarah’s fu-
neral took
place on
the 14th
day of
Tishrei.
Since
accord-
ing to
Jewish law
shiva is not
observed over
a holiday even if
the seven day period
is not complete, Avraham
was only able to mourn for
Sarah for one day. he could have regretted follow-
The Kohelet Isaac un-
derstands this small kaf as in
indication that Avraham did
not weep excessively over Sar-
ah’s death. Why would Avra-
ham only cry a little bit over
the loss of his much-loved wife?
Rashi further strengthens this
question when he points out
that the juxtaposition of the
Akeidah and Sarah’s death is
hinting at the fact that when
she heard about the Akeidah
2 Be’er Torah Chayei Sarah
she was so overwhelmed that
she died. If Avraham knew that
it was his actions that were the
cause of his wife’s death, should
he not have cried even more?
We can find an answer in Avra-
ham’s motives. When Avraham
came back from the Akeidah
and saw that his wife was dead,
ing Hashem’s commandment.
After all, his willingness to
give up his son caused his wife’s
death. Despite this, Avraham
understood that if he regretted
performing this mitzvah, retro-
actively it would be invalidated
and future generations would
lose the ability to draw merit
from his actions at the Akei-
dah. Avraham only cried a little
bit over Sarah’s death to show
that he did not regret perform-
ing the mitzvah of Akeidah.
He believed that there are no
negative consequences to per-
forming mitzvot with full
intention, so he understood
that her death was natural.
This idea can be
applied to understanding a
puzzling passage we find in
Maariv, when we ask Hashem
to please “remove the Satan
from before us and from
after us.” What
does this prayer
mean? The
Satan is
the yetzer
hara that
c h a l -
lenges
our re-
lation-
ship with
Hashem.
The Satan
before us tries
to prevent us from
performing mitzvot
and listing to Hashem,
and the Satan after us wants to
undo the effects of the mitzvot
we have already performed by
getting us to regret our actions.
Avraham’s lack of regret of his
actions in the Akeidah was
yet another triumph over the
yetzer hara. May we all merit to
perform the mitzvot and to be
happy with them regardless off
the consequences. May our per-
formance of the mitzvot cause
us to be blessed with reward in
this world and the next.
Continued on page 4
 ever wonder why..
The Shalom Zachor: Welcoming The New Arrival
Rabbi Eliezer Kessler
O
ne of the most
joyous of all the
life cycle events is
the birth of a child. There are many
beautiful minhagim or customs as-
sociated with this joyous occasion.
Perhaps one of the most special of
these is known as the shalom zachor.
This is a distinctive celebration held
on the first Friday night after a baby
boy is born. The only thing that most
people know about this gathering is
that the parents are warmly congrat-
ulated on their new arrival and that,
chick peas, along with a whole lot of
other food and drink, is served. As
you can imagine, there’s a bit more to
it than that. Actually, the origin, his-
tory and significance of the shalom
zachor is quite interesting, as
we shall see.
This minhag of
shalom zachor seems
to be a very old prac-
tice indeed. The sefer
Terumat HaDeshen
by Rabbi Israel Isserlin
ben Petahiah (1390-
1460) relates that, in his
time, there was a custom to
gather on the first Shabbat night
after the baby was born. He quotes
the source for this as a certain gemara
which states that one should make a
meal in honor of and in appreciation
for the baby coming forth from the
mother’s womb. He explains that
this ended up taking place on Friday
night mainly for the practical reason
that everyone tended to be at home
at this time. Moreover, he adds that
because the purpose of the meal is to
give thanks to Hashem for the new
life He has brought into the world,
the meal, itself, has the status of a
seudat mitzvah.
Another reason for the
shalom zachor is offered by the Turei
Zahav written by David HaLevi
Segal (c. 1586–1667). The Gemara
writes that when a baby is in the
womb, he is taught the entire Torah.
However, as soon as he enters the
world, an angel comes and strikes
him on his mouth, causing him to
forget the entire Torah. Because the
baby forgot all the Torah he had
learned, he is likened to a mourner,
saddened by the loss of his loved
one. Just as we visit a mourner in
his home to comfort him during
the mourning period, so too, do we
visit the child at his shalom zachor, to
do the same. This is also the reason
why chickpeas, known as arbes, are
served at the shalom zachor, as they
are round and are therefore, like the
hard boiled egg, an appropriate food
for a mourner. It also explains why, if
the baby is not present for whatever
reason, the shalom zachor does not
take place.
The name shalom za-
chor, in and of itself, is imbued with
Be’er Torah Chayei Sarah 3
meaning. Certainly the basic mean-
ing of the words which translate as,
“welcome to the male child” is very
appropriate, but it can also have an
additional meaning. In some places
it was customary that whoever
would make a brit milah or marry
off a child would invite not only his
family and friends to the celebration,
but also his enemies, as well. The
idea behind this was that the gesture
might provide an opening for the
parties to reconcile their differences.
By inviting them to come eat and
rejoice with him, the baal simcha
would, hopefully, get his “former”
enemies to end up blessing him and
not cursing him. Hence, applying
this to our situation the name shalom
zachor would also mean “the male
brings shalom (peace).”
In the end, we see that
this custom of shalom zachor, like
so many others we’ve discussed, has
much more to it than first meets the
eye. Just like a beautiful diamond has
many facets, each of which reflects
the light in its own special unique
way, so too, does our tradition con-
tain many varied and rich minhagim,
each of which reflects its own special
unique meaning and significance.
Just as each facet of the diamond
contributes to its overall brilliance
and beauty, so too do all of our min-
hagim, when taken together, add up
to our rich and beautiful way of life.
 Editor Dvar Torah•Chaya Miram Nimchinsky•Grade 12
Continued from page 1
“I am not rich. I have very his belongings were gold. The some water in a bowl and told
little gold.” The angel King then decided to take a him to sprinkle it on every-
said, “You are not satis- walk outside. During his stroll thing that had turned gold.
fied with so much gold? he amused himself by turning The king sprinkled the water
How much more do daises, strands of grass, and on his daughter, the flowers,
you want?” The king an- even insects gold. As he was grass, insects, the table, chairs,
swered, “I want the power making his way back inside, food, and on all his clothes.
of contact, such that what- he spotted his daughter play- Everything reverted back to
ever object I touch, should the way it was before.
turn to gold.” The angel It is hu-
agreed, “Okay, from man nature to al-
tomorrow morn- ways want more
ing onwards, than what we
whatever have. Even
you touch a person
will be- w h o
c o m e has the
gold .” means
The next to ac-
morn- quire
ing, when a n y -
the king t h i n g
touched imaginable
a table and can still want
chairs, they in- more. It is said
stantly turned to that “He who loves
Editors gold. He was delighted. money shall not be sat-
Chaya Miriam Nimchinsky Soon he became very hungry isfied with money.” Anyone
Rachel Rolnick and thirsty. The servant ing with the flowers. She who desires more will never be
Rebecca Yoshor brought food and water saw him and came running satisfied, no matter how much
for him, but as soon towards him, holding her new ‘more’ they get. They will al-
as the King’s lips gold flowers, but the second she ways think that they can get
Faculty Editor
touched food and hugged him, she turned into a more, that they deserve more.
Rabbi Eliezer Kessler the water it became golden statue. The king was Avraham overcame the desire
gold. The king devastated and began to weep to want more. Therefore the
Copy Editors became upset very bitterly. Then the angel Torah is praising him on his
Dr. David Jacobson because he real- appeared. The king begged the accomplishments of overcom-
Lisa Kellerman ized he could no angel to take his ‘power’ back. ing the potential desire to be
longer eat. But his He said, “I do not want gold. greedy. From here we should
Robert M. Beren Academy love for gold soon Man can live without gold but learn to be happy with what
11333 Cliffwood Drive overtook his distress, he cannot live without a piece we have. All that we have
Houston, Texas 77035 and he carried on, touch- of bread and a glass of water, comes from Hashem; He has
713∙723∙7170
ing all of his possessions. and I cannot live without my the power to give to us, and he
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Soon his entire castle and all daughter.” The angle took has the power to take away.