12:00pm Tefillah Class on Zoom; 6:00pm Kabbalat Shabbat Services on Zoom
Sat.
Nov 14
9:00am Spanish Shabbat Services on Zoom; 10:00am Veterans DayShabbat Services on Zoom
Sun.
Nov 15
9:00am Davening on Zoom; 9:30am Maimonides Class on Zoom; 10:00amReligious School; 4:00pm TBS-EV/Sisterhood Book Club
Wed.
Nov 18
12:00pm Mishnah Class on Zoom; 4:30pm Religious School
Thu.
Nov 19
12:00pm Mishnah Class on Zoom
Fri.
Nov 20
12:00pm Tefillah Class on Zoom;6:00pm Family Kabbalat Shabbat Services on Zoom
Sat.
Nov 21
9:00am Spanish Services on Zoom; 10:00am Shabbat Services on Zoom
Sun.
Nov 22
9:00am Davening on Zoom; 9:30am Maimonides Class on Zoom; 10:00am Religious School; 4:00pm Happy Hour Event on Zoom
In Parshat Hayyei Sarah, the majority of the action centers around the search for a wife for Isaac. Abraham sends his senior and most trusted servant back to his old homeland to find his son a bride and demands a formal oath that he follow Abraham’s instructions to the letter. Doing so, the servant is successful and returns with Rebekah, a clever and beautiful woman who will be an outstanding companion to Isaac and offer great comfort to him after the loss of his mother Sarah.
What stands out to me in this narrative is that the servant goes unnamed during the entire account. The rabbis infer the identity of this servant from other sources- he is almost certainly Eliezer, Abraham’s chief servant mentioned previously. There is almost no other option for who this servant could be, and so I am instantly drawn to the question of why neither the narrator’s voice nor Eliezer himself offers his name up at any point in the search for Rebekah.
Rabbi Elizer Zalmanov, a contemporary Chabad rabbi in Indiana, offers the following interpretation: “By his [Eliezer’s] name not being mentioned, we learn that this was not about Eliezer the person; this was about the mission. Eliezer was so dedicated to Abraham that at no time did his own self-interest get in the way of fulfilling that mission. He was a mere servant—an extension of Abraham’s hand.” Only by anchoring his entire identity and purpose to his master Abraham was he able to meet the incredible challenge before him of finding a suitable wife for Isaac.
As we honor those among us who have committed themselves to military service in our defense, I think this notion of self-abnegation is all the more relevant. Giving of oneself fully to a higher purpose- be it national defense, protection of family, or pursuing the vital needs of those we love and care for - is a source of incredible strength. But doing so requires courage and conviction, a willingness to put the needs of others ahead of one’s own, a recognition that we as individuals are responsible for more than just our own needs and wants.
Like our veterans, Eliezer is a model of this kind of sacrifice and selflessness. Just as Abraham led us to service of God by example so too did Eliezer lead us by example to service of each other, an example set again and again by the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines who have and are giving of themselves for our future and freedoms. May all who put their people and country before their own wellbeing merit the blessings of Abraham and his servant Eliezer now and forever.
Prayers are needed for Chaim Laib ben Esther, brother of Walter Berkey; Alexander Moshe HaLevi ben Rivkah, father of Regina Fischer; Brenda Carson, sister of Rebecca Toledo;Donnie Carson, brother-in-law of Rebecca Toledo; Roberta Rosenberg (Rivkah Fradel bat Sara);Shimson ben Etel, father of Florence Wibel; Irene Simpkins (Yocheved bat Miriam); Barbara Tricoci (Baila bat Rifka); Elazear ben Dreisyl; Eric Taylor; Sid Brodsky (Zundel Be'er ben Esther); Linda Heartquist;Allen Simon (Aaron Hirsch ben Ceil);Carol Osman Brown, friend of Linda Radke; Rijon Erickson; Chano Ruven ben Shaina Chaya; Matthew Werdean, friend of Regina Fischer; David ben Sarah, father of Rabbi Aberson; Jack Heller; Liba Yetta bat Tova; Ilana bat Bella, sister of Ruti Keren; David Ramirez, brother of Louis Ramirez; Pasha bat Fayge, friend of Gloria Windmiller; Moshe ben Hana, brother-in-law of Ruti Keren; HaRav Haim Baruch ben Chana; Raphael ben Rebekah, friend of Alan Sapakie; Jack Rosenberg (Ya'acov Avram ben Sarah Ruchel); Walter Berkey (Yossel Velvel ben Esther); Sarah Caliandro (Sarah Nechama bat Leah); Ingrid Gallegos; Chaim Shneur Zalman Yehuda ben Hinda Yocheved; Alex Shekhel;Mordechai Shimon ben Sarah, brother of Roberta Rosenberg; Chana Nassia bat Civia; Aharon Shmuel bat Tzinyah; Lynne Lieberman (Leah bat Meir HaCohen); Yedidah Sarah bat Shayna Bracha, friend of Scott and Mara Jaffa; Juliette Harvey (Zarie bat Esther), Annie Jimenez; Sophie Tening, friend of Helen Jaffa; Tracy McClellan; Rachel Yehudit bat Rifkah; Nechama bat Malka, mother of Barbara Gold;Phillip Skirboll.
Jesse Newman, grandfather of Lisa Adamsen Shirley Rose Schreiner, mother of Jack Rosenberg Joseph Simon, son of Allen Simon Alexander Heller, father of Jonas Heller Mollie Wilson, mother of Barry Wilson Frieda L. Farkas-Pollack, wife of Bill Pollack Sheila Schnee, mother of Scott Schnee Sara Fishman, mother of Miriam Libman Irving Tatelbaum, father of Geoffrey Tatelbaum Max Savetsky, father of May Schneiderman Flora Mary Abrams, mother of Al Abrams
HaMakom yenakhem etkhem b'tokh she'ar avelei Tzion Virushalayim.
May God comfort you together with all the other mourners of Zion and Jerusalem
