In this week's Parsha, Abraham sends Eliezer his faithful servant to find a wife for his son Isaac. The first time he meets Rivkah (Rebecca), she immediately offers him and his camels water from her own supplies. This kindness towards a complete stranger, showing her virtue, demonstrates her suitability to join the family of Abraham.

In Communist Russia there were "Good Citizenship" classes for the "proletariat", designed to educate them in the Marxist ideals. One time a peasant farmer had attended a series of classes. It was now time for the test.
"Tell me, Comrade" the instructor asked the farmer, "what would you do if you had a million rubles"
"That's easy", the farmer replied, "I'd share it with all the other Comrades"
"...a beautiful 20-storey skyscraper?"
"I'd share it with all the other Comrades"
"...a beautiful big 50 foot boat?"
"I'd share it with all the other Comrades"
"...a new pair of boots or a nice bottle of vodka?"
"Well that I'd keep for myself, obviously"

It is very easy to operate on a theoretical level - to share that which I cannot ever conceive of owning, to pledge that which will probably never require action. When it comes to everyday things which we appreciate and are able to put a value on, it is much harder to share and to accommodate others, yet this makes it all the more important to do so.

Abraham bought the cave of Machpela, located in Hebron, from Ephron as a burial place for his wife Sarah (and Adam and Eve, himself, Isaac and Rebecca and Jacob and Leah). Although he was offered the cave free he nonetheless insisted on paying for it. An early example of first-rate business ethics - plus this way nobody could claim he had no rights to the cave.

In the Torah scroll, Ephron's name is spelt without a 'vav' - one of the vowels is missing. Rashi, the classic commentator, explains this is because he said a lot but did little - hence the lacking in his name. As it says in Pirkei Avos, the Ethics of the Fathers, "Lo HaMedrash Ikkar Elah HaMaaser" - it is not talk which is the main thing, but the deed. Talk is cheap, action is what counts.

This week's Parsha is set after Sarah's death. We are told that she lived for "one hundred years, twenty years and seven years." The repetition of the word years tells us that every moment of her life was complete - in terms of good deeds - she did not waste a moment, using every opportunity to its fullest.

A Rabbi once asked somebody what time the morning Shacharit service started.
"Oh, 9:10 or 9:15am", was the reply.
"Which is it?" the Rabbi asked.
"What difference does it make?"
"You can accomplish a lot in five minutes."

Like Sarah, and the Rabbi in the story, may we all use and cherish each and every minute of every day to the fullest, and may our actions truly count!

Shabbat Shalom!