buried there and they were his original ancestors.
Another reason is the fact that it was “kaful” or double. Rav and Shmuel disagree about what “double” means. Rav said i=t means two levels and Shmuel said it meant double couples on each floor. (Eruvin, page 53B) Either way, Avraham was interested in its two floors because it would allow more room for family after he died.
After the burial, Avrohom tells his servant to go find Yitzchak a wife He saw that he needed to continue the family. He said that the wife must be from his family. The servant asks Hashem for a way to figure out how he will know who is right for Yitzchak. Hashem gives a test says the woman would not only feed him water but offer the is camels a drink too. The servant finds Rivka, ho passes the test. She was Avraham’s niece, staying inside the family. He brings her home she marries Yitzchak. (24:2-67)
At the end of the parsha, Avraham remarries Ketura and has six children. Before he died, he left Ketura’s children gifts and sent them away, but Yitzchak, who was descendant of his own family, got the belongings. There are people who are not shomrei Torah Umitzvos but light the candlesticks left by their ancestors every Friday night. That shows why belongings are also so important. (My Dad)
Avrohom dies at the age of 175 and is buried next to Sarah in Maarat Hamachpeila. (Bereishit 25:8) A full generation passes from the beginning of the parsha until the end.
I learned in Chayei Sarah that families are so important that even from the days of Avraham, Jews were concerned about who their children marry and what will stay in the family. I think about how important my family is to me but now I also think about how I have to make sure it continues.
People say that the Jewish people are getting smaller and smaller. The main reason is because they married non-Jews and didn’t make their families continue as Jews. Family continuity is what makes Jews go on and on and has made the Jewish People the longest lasting people in the world.
D'var Torah:
Vayera
by Gabrielle Broome, 8G
On a typical desert day, two boys play in the field. A women walks by and grabs one of the boys by the arms, “We are not wanted here anymore, pack your bag and come with me,” said the women to her son while staring accusingly at the other boy. The boy looks longingly at the place where he had lived and follows his mother away. He walked in the shade of his mother’s shadow wondering, “Who could have been so mean to send him away?” This was Sarah who sent them away! How could she be that mean? You might want to look a little closer because everything is not as it seems.
Parshat Vayera is one of the more interesting parshas. It starts off when three angels disguised as guests come to Avraham on the third day of his circumcision. One of them announces that Sarah is going to have a son, and she laughs. Meanwhile, Hashem is planning on destroying Sodom, so Avraham pleads with Hashem on their behalf. The other two angels head towards Sodom planning on destroying it. Lot invites them in to his house and shortly after, the wicked people of Sodom come to Lot’s house demanding for him to hand over his guests. He refused, and when the people of Sodom were about to hurt him, the angels struck all the people with blindness. They then revealed to Lot why they had come - - to save him and his family. Lot’s wife got turned into a pillar of salt when she looked back after being specifically told not to. Lot and his two daughters take refuge in a cave. They are convinced that the world is going to end. In order to give birth, they get their father drunk and lie with him. Moav and Amon are born.
Hashem hears the cries of the dying boy. Hashem answers Yishmael not Hagar. Rashi learns from here, that the prayers of a sick person are more effective then the prayers of others on their behalf. At this point in time, he didn’t do anything that bad yet so Hashem saves him even though he would do many bad things to Bnei Yisrael in the future. Hashem only judges us on the deeds that we do in the present time, not with the deeds that we are destined to do. We didn’t hear about Yishmael’s crying because it focuses on Hagar crying when her son was in more pain then she was. Hashem shows her a well of water and instructs her to pick up her son and hold his hand. This should be a natural instinct for her. Hashem says to her,
קוּמִי שְׂאִי אֶת הַנַּעַר וְהַחֲזִיקִי אֶת יָדֵךְ בּוֹ כִּי לְגוֹי גָּדוֹל אֲשִׂימֶנּוּ:
“Rise, pick up the lad and grasp your hand upon him, for I shall make him into a great nation.”(Gen. 21:17-18). Hashem needs to teach her how to be a mother. Yishmael grows up and becomes an archer. If we compare Yishmael’s behavior to Yitzchak’s, we see how much the parents affect what you become. The parsha ends when Hashem tests Avraham and commands him to sacrifice his son. We would think that Yitzchak resisted but on the contrary he did it willingly. This shows how special Avraham and his son are. They both have complete trust in Hashem- blind trust. If Avraham could trust Hashem when he tells him to sacrifice his only son, then we should be able to trust Hashem in things that effect us much less. Avraham raises his knife but a call from heaven stops him, and a ram is offered in his place. This is known as Akedet Yitzchak.