So Sarah dies at the age of 127 in Kiriat – Arba, now known as Hevron. Abraham buys the burial site there – the cave of Machpelah – from the Hittites.
In time, Abraham decides that a wife should be found for his son Isaac. Abraham directs his senior servant, Eliezer, to search for this Wife, cautioning hi not to take a Canaanite woman. The servant travels to Aram – Naharaim to the city of Nachor, the land of Abraham’s kin. Upon arrival the servant prays to God to direct him to the woman chosen for Isaac. Rebaccah, the daughter of B’tueil who is the son of Nachor, Abraham’s brother, comes to the well. Through her words and deeds, Eliezer knows that she is the answer to his search The servant is welcomed into B’tueil’s house and after conferring with B’tueil and his son Lavan, it is agreed that Rebecca will go to Canaan to become Isaac’s wife.
Abraham takes another wife, Keturah, who bears him six children. Before dying, he wills all his possessions to Isaac and gives gifts to his other children. When Abraham dies, Isaac and Ishmael bury him in the Cave of Machpeilah beside Sarah.
The section closes with the naming of Ismael’s twelve sons. Ishmaeil dies at the age of 137.
The Haftarah for this section is found in First Kings 1:1-31.
In the sedrah, Abraham is old and dying. In the Haftarah, David is old and dying. The once mighty and agile David is unable to keep himself warm or care for himself. Similarly, the once well-traveled Avraham must send a servant to find a wife for Isaac; he can no longer travel. The comparison between the two is underscored further because the same expression for “old advanced in years” is used both in Genesis 24:1 and First Kings 1:1.
Both texts provide examples of the failure of the law of primogeniture (the right of the eldest child to inherit the leadership role in the family) in biblical times. Solomon assumes the kingship even though he is not David’s oldest living child. Similarly, Isaac takes over his father’s position even though Ishmael is Avraham’s oldest living child.
I asked Myra Rosenthal to offer some perspective on her preparations and presentation of last week’s Torah study so that those of you who are interested in preparing a session in honor or in memory of a loved one may do so.
“Actually there are two great resources, the cantor and the internet. The cantor, will email or give you a handout called Teaching Haftarah. It contains a synopsis of the Haftarah, insights from tradition, strategies for analyzing the text, and, importantly, connects the text to the sedra. Actually, there's a lot more, but that's basically all you need.
There are some great resources on the internet (not that what the cantor gives you isn't great). The Fuchsberg Center for Conservative Judaism in Jerusalem offers a commentary on the Haftarah at uscj.org.il/haftarah. The Reform Movement's web page, Family Shabbat Table Talk, offers commentary and discussion questions. It goes back ten years, so there's a lot to mine. You can find that on uahc.org/shabbat.
I have fun just typing in the Torah portion and the Haftarah portion names on the internet and seeing what comes up. That's how I got the fascinating information on Kings 1 and 2. You have to weed through the information; some is good and others not.
There are lots of good books which offer terrific information. Deane Thompson has a library full of them. The library also has lots. Some TANACHIM have great commentaries you could use.
The process isn't hard. You read the Torah portion and the Haftarah portion and oftentimes the rest fall into place. Once you finish summarizing each, the group can take over and search the connection. The cantor and the rabbis are there to help you out so you are not alone. It's a great way to remember or honor someone. And it's a great way to learn the Torah and Haftarah.
This Shabbat we study Parashat Toldot, Genesis 25:19 – 28:9 beginning on page 48 in the JPS TANACH and Malachi 1:1 – 2:7 found beginning on page 1405 in the JPS TANACH.
Cantor Eichaker
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