'411111011111011.111111.111111111111

Spirituality

TORAH PORTION

One's Good Deeds
Live On Forever

Shabbat Chayye Sarah:
Genesis 23:1-25:18; 1 Kings 1:1-31.

The crown of
Sarah's good name
remained with her
loved ones on Earth.

T

COME IN NOW AND

ADD NEW LIFE TO YOUR

HARDWOOD FLOORS.

DUSTLESS SAND AND REFINISH

OR SCREEN AND COAT.

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS

FAMILY OWNED AND OPERATED SINCE 1971

Ha el4

FLOORS
4101b44i0b.riP
iellm-
A ip.",.....00.."„ip...i... and

INTERIORS

HARDWOOD

REFINISHING

LAMINATE

MARBLE/GRANITE

VINYL

3021 ORCHARD LAKE ROAD

KEEGO HARBOR, MICHIGAN 48320

248.681.6460

WWW.HARBORFLOORS.COM

HOURS: M-F 8 AM - 6 PM, SAT. 9 AM - 5 PM

OR CALL TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT

CARPET

CERAMIC

CORK

AREA RUGS

Conversations

COMMERCIAL

Who in your own life has earned the crown of a good name? What
do you suppose others think of when they hear your name? Does a
person's reputation both precede and succeed him?

RESIDENTIAL

1550470

34

November 12 • 2009

he only thing that we take
crowns. That is, when we are con-
with us after we die is
cerned for others and engaged in a
our reputation, our name.
serious Jewish life, our good name
Everything else stays behind.
rises heavenward.
God does not want to know what
This is the key to the name of our
possessions we accumulated, but
Torah portion. It is called Chayye
what differences we made
Sarah, the life of Sarah.
in the lives of others.
The portion, though, is
Those differences become
really about the death of
our real name. If we have
Sarah. Why, then is this
helped others, we have a
not called the death of
good name, but if we have
Sarah?
hurt others, our name cre-
There is a tradition
ates negative associations.
that the righteous, even
In Pirkei Avot (Ethics of
in death, are considered
Our Fathers), it says that
as alive, because of the
there are three crowns
wonderful
reputation
Rabbi Aaron
— the crown of Torah,
and
memories
they
Berg man
the crown of priesthood
leave
behind.
The
crown
Specia I to the
and the crown of kingship.
of
Sarah's
good
name,
Jewis h News
I think this means that
because of her great
we have an obligation to
commitment to acts of
be involved in Jewish study, Jewish
kindness, accompanied her after she
ritual and community needs.
died, and still remained with her
We cannot isolate ourselves, pur-
loved ones on Earth.
suing only our own goals, needs
We constantly need to consider
and pleasures, but we have to take
what is our real name, the words
a serious interest in the welfare of
people think of when they hear our
others. If we do so, then we will have given name.
acquired a good name.
Let us always pursue a life of
The importance of a good name
kindness and commitment. Let us
is found in the second half of the
take the crown of our good name
Pirkei Avot statement. It is usually
with us throughout our entire lives,
translated as the crown of good
and when we give our accounting to
name is more important than the
God. Il
other crowns. I think a better trans-
lation would be that the crown of
Aaron Bergman is a rabbi at Adat Shalom
a good name rises upon the other
Synagogue in Farmington Hills.