* Translation by Yehoshua Siskin
In this week’s parasha, known as Chayei Sarah or “The Life of Sarah,” both Sarah and Avraham pass away. But in a real sense, as the name of the parasha indicates, their values continue to live on.
This week I paid a shiva call to Rabbanit Tzili Schneider, founder of the Kesher Yehudi (Jewish Connection) organization. She recalled that in her childhood her mother often asked: “Tzili, if you had 10 shekels and you gave 2 for tzedakah, how many would you have left?”. Tzili answered as all of us would: “8 shekels.”
“Wrong” her mother would say. “You would have 2 shekels.”
“The 8 shekels still in your pocket will be used to buy candy and a fancy notebook or a game,” her mother explained. “But the 2 shekels you gave for tzedakah are yours forever. You did a mitzvah with them. You gave them to someone who needed help. These 2 shekels will always be yours. They will accompany you forever.”
This is a story that can revolutionize our thinking. From Avraham and Sarah, until us: we need to know what is truly ours, what truly remains, what is truly eternal.
