D'Var Torah

My mother passed away over 34 years ago.  Although I think of her often and miss her in many ways, what has affected me the most is that my wife and children never had an opportunity to know her.  At least, I have my memories, many of them very vivid to this day.  But I know how much Nancy and the kids would have enjoyed spending time with my mother and how much she would have loved them, and I wonder how that void can ever be filled.

This week's parashah is Hayyei Sarah, the life of Sarah.  The portion opens with the death and burial of Sarah and there is no apparent description of her actual life.  The bulk of the parashah relates the story of Abraham's servant seeking a wife for Isaac and then Isaac's marriage to Rebekah.  The reading ends with the death of Abraham and other details of his second wife and children.  Barely a mention of Sarah throughout.

However, there is one moment in the parashah when Sarah's presence is felt intensely.  When Isaac first meets Rebekah, he takes her into Sarah's tent to consummate their marriage.  This is Isaac's way of remembering his mother and of making Rebekah, Sarah's daughter as well.  I suppose that each of us have our ways of remembering those who are no longer with us, and of passing along those memories to our loved ones who do not have memories of their own.  I hope that I have been able to follow Isaac's lead and given my wife and children even a small piece of my mother's memory.  They will be the better for it.

Have a restful Shabbat.