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September 19, 2023 – 8:31 pm | 59 views

Get your head in the game is a common refrain among athletes. Distraction is the last thing athletes can afford. It interferes with their rhythm, disturbs their focus, and wreaks havoc on their stamina. Coaches are often overheard telling players to get their heads in the game.
Judaism is no different. …

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Articles in Chayei Sara

Chayei Sarah: The White Beard

October 23, 2021 – 11:31 pm | 1,321 views
beard-innerstream.ca

 
The white beard and old age seem to go together. It is not surprising that they share the same cognate in Hebrew; a beard is zakan and old age is zaken. The Torah tells us that Abraham became zaken. Our sages combined the two meanings by saying that until that …

The Passing of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks

November 12, 2020 – 6:18 pm | 22,204 views
rabbi-jonathan-sacks

It has been around a year since the world has lost a great leader with the passing of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks. Who will be his successor?
There will be millions beginning with me and you.
Rabbi Sacks was a unique and leading voice among rabbis in our generation. His keen intellect and …

Chayei Sarah: Personal Agenda

November 7, 2020 – 9:19 pm | 1,216 views
agenda-innerstream.ca

Did you ever do a favor for another while harboring a personal agenda? If yes, would you ever admit it?
Abraham sent his servant Eliezer to Mesopotamia to seek a bride for Isaac among his relatives. Eliezer asked what to do if perchance the bride refused to return with him to …

Chayei Sarah: Consistency in Education

November 17, 2019 – 4:01 pm | 1,265 views
consistency-innerstream.ca

Consistency is the most important part of education. Children need to hear the same message from their teachers, parents, coaches, and peers. When we expose our children to multiple streams of thoughts and conflicting values so they can make educated choices, we only succeed in confusing them. Children don’t need …

Chayei Sarah: The Good Life

October 27, 2018 – 10:34 pm | 1,694 views
good-life-innerstream.ca

Our sages derived from the opening of this week’s Torah reading that Sarah lived a good life. The Torah says, “And the years of Sarah’s life were a hundred years, and twenty years, and seven years. The years of her life.” The last sentence is superfluous. Our sages taught that …

Chayei Sarah: Why We Bury

November 4, 2017 – 10:34 pm | One Comment | 5,837 views
bury-innerstream.ca

After the binding of Isaac, Abraham discovered that his wife Sarah had passed, and he hurried from Jerusalem to Hebron to eulogise, mourn and bury her.  This is the first description of a burial in the Torah, which gives us an opportunity to discuss the question of why we bury.
Many …

Chayei Sarah: In the Moment

November 19, 2016 – 9:17 pm | 2,490 views
in-the-moment-innerstream.ca

The selfish Doctrine
Most of the Western world today is consumed with entitlements. The primary question is how many of my rights am I getting and to how many more am I entitled? When we see others enjoying prosperity, power, fame, happiness, family or good health, all we can think about …

Chayei Sarah: Every Jew

October 31, 2015 – 11:58 pm | 2,631 views
every jew - innerstream.ca

Who Came first?
Do you remember when Al Gore took credit for inventing the Internet? You have to love it when people come along decades after something is in place and claim to have discovered it. Christopher Columbus “discovered” America, right? Wrong. Natives lived here for thousands of years before Columbus …