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October 14, 2025 |
Dear Friends,
This week’s Torah portion, Chaye Sarah, is filled with both challenges and hope for the future. And it all happens without the direct intervention by the Divine. The Kol (name for the Divine voice) is missing. We are left with stories of people doing the best they can, trying to recall what they have been taught to bring their best selves forward.
This is a story of fresh starts, even as it begins with death. In this week’s Torah portion, Chaye Sarah, the life of Sarah (Genesis 23:1 – 25:18), the name of the Torah portion implies that we are about to get a biography of Sarah but all we get is that she has died, leaving us to fill in the blanks. Let us leave filling in the gaps for another time.
The Torah portion continues with Abraham negotiating with the Hittites to buy a piece of property. Once the negotiation is complete, Abraham has an actual stake in the place where he lives. Buying a grave is a long term commitment that assume one’s family will be in one place for a while. My mother often said that the only property she owned was her burial plot. This becomes true for Abraham. The cave of Machpelah became the final resting place for much of the family.
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Having completed the third week of our class with members of Riverdale Presbyterian Church, I am struck by the deep and trusting conversation that has emerged as we come from our different faith communities and grapple with text together. Finding the capacity to hear one another when we hold different beliefs and come from different backgrounds can be challenging.The conversation has been spirited as we struggle to find meaning in texts that we have in common, but which we have read through a wide variety of lenses and points of view.
It has been a deep lesson for me as to what is possible when we are present for one another. We all knw that this is not always easy or simple. Our experience can be understood as one of curiosity, inquiry, mutual respect, and willingness to learn something we had never considered before.
I invite all of us to take these lessons with us as we continue to be in a world where there are multiple world views. It is crucial to remember that we honor multiple truths and “we seek to build bridges where others seek to build walls.” Let our community continue to be one that is caring, kind, and there for one another.
| Oseh shalom bimromav, hu ya'aseh shalom aleinu ve'al kol Israel, ve'imru, Amen. |
| May the One who makes peace in the heavens, make peace for us all and all the people of Israel. |
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