Parshas Chayei Sorah - I Had a Thought, But It Wasn't Thought Through 24 Cheshvan 5783
11/18/2022 09:19:23 AM
Author | |
Date Added |
Ever find yourself in a position when you did not want to do something, and you ended up not doing it? Have you ever found yourself in a position when you did not want to do something, but you did it anyway? Perhaps you had a situation that you wanted to do something, but you ended up not doing it? Or maybe you had a situation which bothered you and you wanted to do something about it, and you ended up doing it? These four scenarios are common real-life experiences which we may or may not take the time to reason through. I am sure there are times we struggle with making the decision to act upon or to ignore something and other times when we just allow our emotions to set the pace and course in our day-to-day lives. Life is full of decision making, ranging from insignificant to major decisions that will alter the path of our lives forever. Many decisions in life may only affect us for the moment while others can affect ourselves and others, causing a ripple effect for years and even generations to come. Truth be told, every decision has a potential effect on more people than we can imagine. Decisions and actions play a role in our lives and on the lives of our families and others around us. Someone who works in an office and shares space with other employees influences others - whether they choose to do so or not. A simple illustration: a co-worker who has an upbeat demeanor, choosing to view situations from a positive angle, will bring a positive vibe to the workplace, while a co-worker who tends to view situations and others from a negative perspective creates negative vibes in return.
What motivates a person to decide what to do? Certainly a few reasons pop up: making money, attaining fame, reaching out to others. Some decisions are driven by lust and temptation, and sometimes we act without even thinking about the consequences or repercussions. Acting without thinking is a natural reflex, working on raw instinct, a gut reaction essential in certain high-pressure, split-second life-threatening situations. On the other hand, if a person has time to contemplate doing or not doing something and just responds instinctively, he is debasing himself, ignoring his ability to reason, choosing instead to act on the level of an animal. A human being is blessed with intellect, with the ability to make informed decisions and think about the consequences of his actions. In fact, it is the Yetzer Hora, the evil inclination, that does not give us opportunity to think about whether we should do X or Y, encouraging us to act on impulse. So how do we train ourselves to process and respond in the correct manner? The answer is to make the effort to learn mussar, to educate ourselves about how to act appropriately, to be disciplined in our behavior, elevating our ethical standards and spiritual paths. Mussar teaches us how to think and contemplate before we act. Once we reach the level of appreciating the beauty of humility, clarity of thought, and empathy, we will have the innate discipline to “just act” in a way that is clearly on the highest level a person can be. This is what Eliezer saw in Rivka as he was charged by Avraham to find a wife for Yitzchok. The following illustrates the level that Rivka was on which earned her the place in Jewish history to be one of the mothers of Klal Yisrael.
In this week’s Parshas Chayei Sorah the Torah states in Bereishis 24:22 "ויהי כאשר כלו הגמלים לשתות ויקח האיש נזם זהב בקע משקלו ושני צמידים על ידיה עשרה זהב משקלם" “When the camels finished drinking, he took a gold ring weighing half a shekel, and two gold bracelets, weighing ten gold shekels, for her arms.” It interesting to note that it was only “when the camels finished drinking” - only then did Eliezer take a gold ring weighing half a shekel. *Ovadia ben Yakov, in his commentary to the Sforno, explains: Eliezer wanted to see if Rivka was a worthy mate for Yitzchok. He wanted to see if she had the qualities that was famous in the house of Avraham, namely the midah of chessed, the character trait of kindness. That being the case, why did Eliezer wait until the camels finished drinking, apparently at the very moment when Rivka said to Eliezer, “Drink and also your camels should drink” would have been a good enough sign to recognize her righteousness and give her the jewelry right then and there. Why wait until the camels literally finished drinking? The Sforno explains that Eliezer waited until Rivka gave water to all the servants and the camels to see if after she completed giving the water, she might ask for something in return. Perhaps she might ask for a favor or wait for a tip for services rendered. Perhaps, give her a gift that was not so expensive, giving instead a little something of recognition for her being there at the right time and the right place for Eliezer and his entourage. But that was not to be the case, Rivka acted in more than a dignified manner; immediately upon finishing her chores, she quickly turned to go home as if she had done nothing that would deserve any type of reward, even a basic acknowledgement. Her act of chessed/kindness was performed naturally, in humility and empathy as if she had done nothing special and simply went about her business.
Ah Gutten Shabbos
Rabbi Avraham Bogopulsky
*Obadja Sforno (Hebrew: עובדיה ספורנו) was an Italian rabbi, Biblical commentator, philosopher, and physician. A member of the Sforno family, he was born in Cesena about 1475 and died in Bologna in 1550.
Doing the Right Thing
Fri, December 13 2024
12 Kislev 5785
UPCOMING EVENTS
-
Sunday ,
DecDecember 15 , 2024
Sunday, Dec 15th 12:00p to 3:00p
Join your Beth Jacob family for some old fashioned fun as we prepare for Chanukah by dipping our own candles at Toby’s Candles and then enjoy a lovely day picnicking in Old Town! Meet at Toby’s Candles at 12pm | Not a Drop-off Event Each Child Will Get One Basic Candle To Dip (non-members, $4) BYO Picnic OR Optionally Pre-Order Pizza Online and We'll Bring It (from La Mesa Pizzaworks) -
Sunday ,
DecDecember 15 , 2024
Sunday, Dec 15th 8:00p to 10:00p
Bring a wrapped gift (between $10-15) to swap! The theme is kitchen and self-care gifts! Soup, bread and cider will be served. -
Thursday ,
DecDecember 26 , 2024
Thursday, Dec 26th 5:00p to 7:00p
-
Sunday ,
DecDecember 29 , 2024
Sunday, Dec 29th 5:30p to 8:00p
Family friendly Chanukah Event with Dinner Dreidel Competition, Kids Grab bag, Kids Talent Show
General Davening Schedule
Week of 12/2 and beyond:
Weekday Shacharis
Monday-Friday - 6:15am
Shabbos Shacharis - 8:45am
Sunday Shacharis - 8:00am
Daily Mincha/Maariv -per Shkiah (Approximately 20 minutes before Sunset)
Shabbos Mincha - 4:10pm
Sunday-Thursday Mincha/Maariv - 4:25pm
* Please view The Weekly link above for Afternoon times and/or special davening times.
Sign up For or manage Your Email Subscriptions
Zmanim for San Diego
Alos Hashachar | 5:24am |
Earliest Tallis | 5:54am |
Netz (Sunrise) | 6:42am |
Latest Shema | 9:12am |
Zman Tefillah | 10:03am |
Chatzos (Midday) | 11:43am |
Mincha Gedola | 12:08pm |
Mincha Ketana | 2:38pm |
Plag HaMincha | 3:41pm |
Candle Lighting | 4:27pm |
Shkiah (Sunset) | 4:45pm |
Tzais Hakochavim | 5:24pm |
More >> |
- HOME |
- Donate
- | CONTACT US
Privacy Settings | Privacy Policy | Member Terms
©2024 All rights reserved. Find out more about ShulCloud