Author: Shlomo Bar-Ayal

The problem with Esau is that he wants instant gratification. Jacob is into delayed gratification. That is what sets off the entire fight between them. And this is why Esau really loses his birthright.

When Abraham dies, Ishmael and Isaac bury him together. They know that they cannot live together but are not fighting each other. By building boundaries they keep the peace between themselves.

The states that Isaac married Rebecca and then he loved her. What we are being taught that that our love for our spouse grows with time.

The conditions that Abraham lays down in what to look for in a wife for Isaac, he is showing that he is concerned about his grandchildren & their morality.

After burying Sarah Abraham realizes that the urgency of getting Isaac a bride. This shows us that Abraham knew that his time was up and now Isaac was the leader. That the mission was what was important, not him.

The Torah makes the point that Abraham bought the tomb in which Sarah was to be buried to stress that we have the title to the land. That even though God has promised us the land, we can show that we have a deed to it.

In this week’s portion we learn about the death of Sarah and the respect that we owe those who have passed away. This is one of the main issues in the Torah. No matter what the reason that a person dies we are required to respect their bodies.

The story of the binding of Isaac is about the trust that we should have in God. That no matter how bad the situation seems to be, we know that we are under God’s protection.

One of the most important lessons we can learn from the Torah is that we are not entitled to leadership. It has to be earned through our hard work and diligence.

Lot’s daughters thought that the world had been destroyed. They took action to repopulate the world. If they had waited a little, they would have discovered that they were wrong. We forget that humans have seen worse that what we are experiencing.