Parashas Chayei Sarah

Our Parsha this Shabbos is Parashas Chayei Sarah.Avraham has returned from the Akeidah where he took his son Yitzchak , only to find tragic news of the passing of his beloved wife Sarah.
The Parshah starts the telling of the passing of Sarah , by using the words 'Vayiheyu Chayei Sarah,' where the word 'Chai' means 'Life.' Is it not a strange way to describe the passing on of such a Holy Eishes Chayil? To say 'Chayei' - ' Life?'
HaShem has a reason for everything , for we don't see things in this World as they truly are . This World is just one level of Creation and such a minute part of it . Life and Death as it appears to people , is really not how it appears to be . From HaShem's perspective it is so different , as birth and life is a part of living,as is the passing of loved ones onto the next stage of spiritual travelling life . The soul within us all is connected to HaShem and thus is eternal,so though the human body stands as physical clothing to move around and interact with the rest of the physical Universe , the true impression of us , is within . So , when Sarah passed on,she was just going to a new stage of life - true life . We may not see that as we look with limited physical eyes and are unable to see the full reality,but the truth is that life continues onto stages that are meant to travel toward HaShem.
The letting go of the physical,is thus just a continuing stage into the transmigration of souls and existence . With each new stage,comes new enlightenment and so,with each new stage grows the potential to be closer to our Creator .

You will notice that in the very first verse, the words 'Chayei Sarah' appear at the beginning and at the end of the verse . This teaches that as life goes on, which includes the passing, even at the end of a life, it still is 'Chayei Sarah,' - ' The life of Sarah.'At the beginning of life,it is Chayei Sarah,' for even the birth of 'Sarah,' was part of that soul's continuing journey and the same for the passing of Sarah,which was the continuing of that soul's journey onto the next stage toward HaShem .

We notice that when Avraham came to eulogize his wife the word 'Livkotah' which means 'To Bewail Her,' has a small 'Kaf,' showing that it is as if the letter is not there thus leaving the word as 'Lebaitah,' - ' which means ' to go home,' for Sarah was going home to HaShem.All souls long for the Creator and when a soul joins with or comes closer to The Creator, it is the most beautiful feeling that ever can be . So although the ones left behind bewail and hurt for the person that has passed on,the real truth for that soul,that neshomah,is that it is headed toward home,toward HaShem or close to HaShem . Things are not as we see them.

If one looks at the first verse of this Parshah,one notices that the years of Sarah's life are split up into three ages,one hundred,twenty and seven to make a total of one hundred and twenty seven years for the age of Sarah. Would it not have been easier to just write it as one age complete.HaShem has a reason for everything.The ages of her life were split up to show that Sarah was as virtuous and pure at one hundred and twenty seven,as she was when she was a hundred and she was as virtuous and pure at a hundred,as she was when she was twenty and at twenty,she was as virtuous and pure as a seven year old who has not had the opportunity to do wrong.Out of respect for Sarah's holiness, HaShem told Moshe to write her age in this way for this reason.For such was the 'Life of Sarah,' pure and virtuous and a true Eishes Chayil (as Shlomo Hamelech wrote this for Sarah) worthy to be the Mother of the Holy Jewish People.

Sarah was so holy that from one Shabbos to the next, the candles continued to burn.When she passed on,the candles extinguished,HaShem's clouds of Glory vanished and the blessing of the dough stopped.
These three Blessings returned when Yitzchak brought Rivka into Sarah's tent for Rivka was a worthy person to continue the holy legacy of Sarah , as was Yitzchak , who continued from Avraham , who also passed away as is mentioned at the end of this Parshah.Both Avraham and Sarah were buried in the Cave of Machpelah Chevron which was a doorway to Gan Eiden.Our Midrash tells us that Avraham reburied Chavah (Eve) when he buried his wife,for it was only now that Chavah could gain peace from her feelings of guilt for making the Shechinah leave, as Sarah, had brought the Shechinah back to Earth.

The next generation of Yitzchak and Rivka now continued and they were a worthy couple to continue the eternal soul and light of Yiddishkeit that Avraham and Sarah had started.

We all have a task to do in this world and that task is to continue the work that Avraham and Sarah started , that continues through our ancestors till it reaches us today.We need to instill in the next generation,the beauty and holiness of Yiddishkeit so that the line of light can continue flowing into the future.It is our children that are to carry the torch into the future and it is our children who will keep Torah and Yidishkeit eternal . So many of our people died through the ages to ensure our Jewishness today and we owe it to HaShem and to every generation since Avraham and Sarah , to continue their precious work of HaShem.

Keep the Torah.Don"t turn away from the road HaShem put you on.Don't turn away from His Beautiful and Precious Light . Keep Torah within you and teach it to your children and grand-children so that the light of 'Chayei Sarah,' continues to burn within each one of us,her children , for the only life from where all light comes , is in HaShem .

With precious love,I wish HaShem with Love,a Beautiful Sweet Shabbos with love and to all,a beautiful sweet Shabbos with love.