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Vayera (2026)

Shabbat Vayera

Dvar Torah – Living a Life of Gratitude
At the age of 90 and 100 respectively a miracle happens and Abraham and Sarah are blessed with a son – Isaac – patriarch of the Jewish people. In recalling these events the Torah tells the story over twice in two distinct narratives. The first (Gen. 21:1-4) is a chronicle of the fulfillment of God’s divine plan. Hashem remembers Sarah who conceives, she is blessed with a son, and Abraham fulfills the command to name him Isaac and circumcise him at 8 days old, thereby perpetuating the ancient Jewish custom to this day.

Immediately afterwards (Gen. 21:5-8) the story is told again, this time from the emotional response of Abraham and Sarah which comes in three distinct parts. First, Sarah recognizes the laughter that G-d has brought into her life. She is overwhelmed by her own joy of having a child. Next, she recognizes in amazement the natural wonder of having a child at such old age. She asks who would have possibly thought that Abraham and Sarah would be raising a child at such old age?! Yet, divinely blessed, here they are. Finally, we are told that later when Isaac was weaned Abraham held a Mishte Gadol a large feast to celebrate.

This is a narrative of Hakarat Hatov – gratitude. Sarah recognizing the laughter she has been gifted, amplifying the gratitude by recognizing the miraculous nature of the wider context, and finally proactively reinforcing that gratitude later on – not letting it slip into the past, but celebrating it.

Gratitude is thus deeply rooted in the origin story of the Jewish people and becomes a central Jewish idea. Hakarat Hatov, the fundamental awareness of living a life which is full of meaningful interactions Bein adam l’Makom (between man and God) and Bein adam l’chaveiro (between man and his fellow) is built from the bedrock of our story and inculcates us to live a life full of meaning.

 

Shabbat Candle Lighting/Havdalah times
Yerushalayim 16:12/17:28
Tel-Aviv 16:31/17:29
Rome 16:49/17:48
London 16:19/17:27
NYC 17:36/18:35
Vancouver 17:36/18:41
Sao Paulo 17:59/18:55

Shabbat Shalom!




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