Page 24 - HaMizrachiChayei Sarah AUS 2020

THE PEOPLE AND THE LAND

Mrs. Shira Smiles

Sleepy Sermon

nce, when Rabbi Akiva was Rabbi Yehuda told his students that connection between Esther and Sarah
teaching his students, they in Egypt, one woman gave birth to is stronger than external sovereignty,
Oappeared to be lethargic, 600,000 children at once. Who was for Sarah, as her name suggests, also
almost dozing. Rabbi Akiva aroused this woman? Yocheved, who gave ruled. (ה ָ ר ָ ׂש means a female officer or
his students by referring to Parshat birth to Moshe Rabbeinu. Because of minister.) Both maintained mastery
Chayei Sarah, which begins by relat- his role in saving the Jewish nation, over themselves and over their faith,
ing that Sarah lived “100 years and 20 Moshe is equivalent to the 600,000 in whatever circumstances they found
years and 7 years.” He then said that people who left Egypt under his themselves. They always believed they
Queen Esther merited ruling over 127 leadership. were where G-d wanted them to be at
lands of the Persian Empire because Both Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Yehuda the moment and that G-d was with
of her ancestress Sarah. Aside from were dealing with the sense of them.
the bloodline, what other connection despondency and hopelessness of The righteous ones are temimim,
can we establish that would explain their generation after the destruc- whole, complete, with integrity to
why Esther merited such greatness? tion of the Beit HaMikdash. By citing their entire being. G-d knows this
First, we must understand that these these models – Sarah, Moshe and integrity as it is intertwined with time.
students were not ordinary students Esther, they were trying to inspire Time is itself a product of G-d’s cre-
ation, and just as each of us is recre-
prone to boredom. Among them were hope in their disciples and rally them ated each day, so is time. Therefore,
the great Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, to rebuild, to fire up their brothers each moment is unique and must be
Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Yehuda – giants and bring the assimilated Jews back used appropriately. Each moment
whose work enabled Judaism to con- to Torah. That was their mission, and needs to be integrated into one’s life
tinue after the destruction of the that is what they accomplished, as did toward fulfilling one’s spiritual poten-
Beit HaMikdash, says Rabbi Druck our great post-Holocaust Rabbis of tial. Otherwise, one is killing time
in Dorash Mordechai. However, that the previous generation. rather than letting it live on to eter-
was exactly the point. Rabbi Akiva Rashi says the Torah adds “these were nity. Both Sarah and Queen Esther
lived during a period of destruction the years of Sarah” to tell us that all used their time fully, whether “creat-
and devastation for the Jewish people. her years were equally good. Why ing souls” in Charan or maintaining
There was work to do. were they all equal and good? Rabbi Jewish identity during a time when
Sacks explains that in spite of her G-d hid His face from us.
Both Sarah and Esther were founders very difficult challenges, (even being
of a new nation, Sarah at the point imprisoned in a foreign king’s palace), This was Rabbi Akiva’s message to
of our inception, and Esther at our Sarah never lost hope to do good. his disciples. Just as Sarah Imeinu
rebirth from imminent annihilation. Similarly, Esther also went through affected so many lives in her gen-
Despite these challenges and respon- challenges and trials, even being in a eration, so can you affect lives in
sibilities, each maintained their temi- foreign king’s palace (albeit as queen), this generation. Wake up from your
mut, their wholeness and purity, at but she always remained as stead- lethargic despondency and make your
every stage of their lives. fast in her faith as she had been as a time count.
ward in Mordechai’s home. Rabbi
Rabbi Menachem Zion Sacks, a Holo- Akiva could easily have given up, but
caust survivor, adds another dimen- by citing the examples of Esther and
sion to our discussion by citing a Sarah, he bolstered his own faith and
complementary source from Shir spurred his disciples to action.
Hashirim Rabbah. Here too, a great Mrs. Shira Smiles is a sought-after interna-
Rabbi’s students needed to be roused While Queen Esther ruled over 127 tional lecturer, a popular seminary teacher,
from their lethargy. lands, Rabbi Alpert maintains that the and an experienced curriculum developer.

24 |