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Shabbat Shalom. I am back in Davenport after a whirlwind trip to San Francisco for the wedding of my dear friends from Boston. I love weddings. Like my mom, who cries at every wedding and every Bar/t Mitzvah, even for strangers, I am the same. I was crying joyous tears watching my friends celebrate their deep and profound love.
This week’s parsha, Chayei Sarah, is a love story. While the root for love, אהב, first shows up in the sacrifice of Isaac, the first time it is used between adults is with Isaac and Rebecca. While Isaac and Rebecca’s marriage is arranged, we learn that when Rebecca first sees Isaac, she fell off her camel. Some commentators suggest she was so modest and chaste, but to me here the simple reading, the p’shat, is the best: Rebecca saw Isaac and fell off her camel in astonishment of the good-looking gent before.
In the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, I think it is easy to forget that initial spark between us and our partners, that electrifying feeling that makes us fall of our camels. I was so grateful to be able to witness that electric spark at my friend’s wedding. I also found it inspiring. I leave every wedding profoundly grateful to be with my own spouse and life partner (don’t worry I told her as much and she also reads these emails). I want to encourage us all to help cultivate that spark, invest in your loved ones, so that you may rekindle that electric feeling of a first friend crush or a more-than-friends crush. Shabbat Shalom.
-Rabbi David Magazine Malamud
email: rabbidavidmm@gmail.com
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