The Honor of the Dead

The Jewish community and the entire world recently lost living Torahs, Rav Dovid Feinstein and Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks. This week’s Torah reading Chayei Sarah discusses the first ever Jewish burial and Avaraham’s care for his deceased wife, Sarah.  I believe that it is appropriate to discuss the mitzvah of burial and respect for the deceased.  The earliest mention of burial is found in Genesis, when G-d speaks to Adam: ...

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Expensive Real Estate Indeed – Hebron and the Cave of Machpelah

One of the earliest recorded purchases of land was Abraham’s purchase of the Machpelah cave and field in Hebron for the burial of his wife, Sarah.  The Torah provides us with the details of his protracted negotiations with the Hittites, Abraham’s insistence on paying “full price,” and his concern that the elders of the Hittites should agree to and witness the purchase because this was the beginning of G-d’s promise ...

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Rabbi Mordechai Becher’s VLog – Tragedy, Yes. Kristallnacht, No! – Chayei Sarah 5779

On October 27, 2018, a deranged man entered a synagogue in Pittsburgh, PA, and murdered 11 innocent Jews. Rabbi Mordechai Becher noticed that many people have been comparing this tragedy to the infamous "Kritallnacht" which occurred in Germany 9–10 November 1938, however, he takes exception to this comparison and explains why in this video. View this video directly on Vimeo.

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The Soul, Mourning and the Afterlife

In this week’s parsha, Abraham mourns the passing of his wife, Sarah, and we, in the Jeiwsh world also are mourning the tragic deaths of eleven innocent Jews, gunned down by a rabid anti-Semite in Pittsburgh.  I felt that it would be appropriate, for both ancient and current mourning to discuss some ideas about the soul, death, and the afterlife.  The Jewish view of the human being encompasses both physical ...

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