Features - The Great Mothers of Israel - 5 CD Gift Set
Individual lectures:
Sarah - Like Chava, mother of
all living, Sarah is the paradigm of motherhood, but achieving that was no
simple matter. Rabbi Wein will thrill and chill you as he narrates her
extraordinary life - from the present-day echoes of her conflict with Hagar to
the inspiring verses in praise of her, the original Aishet
Chayil.
Rivka - Raised in a house of trickery while
meriting to marry the holy Yitzchak, Rivka is the consummate baalas teshuva. Yet
precisely because of her family background, she was able to spot Eisav’s faults
long before her husband. With the insights of Chazal, Rabbi Wein paints a human
portrait of our dynamic foremother who took responsibility for the good and bad
in her sons as only a Jewish mother can.
Leah - The most
enigmatic of the Imahos, Talmudic opinion about Leah is varied and even
contradictory. Were her eyes beautiful or weak? Did Yaakov really dislike her or
did he just love her less than Rochel? Was the mandrake incident positive or
negative? Rabbi Wein tackles these questions from all sides, weaving together a
picture of the unsung heroine who became mother to more than half of the Jewish
people.
Rochel - The beloved wife of Yaakov is also our
most beloved mother, the one to whom we address our prayers, and the one who
cries for us in the exile. But her exemplary life of selflessness was marred by
personal tragedy. Rabbi Wein gives a fresh, new look at Rochel Imenu,
emphasizing the very relevant lesson of choosing our words
carefully.
Bilhah and Zilphah - Though Bilhah and Zilpah
each mothered two tribes of Israel, sources regarding them are scarce. Rabbi
Wein culls together later commentaries of such giants as the Netziv, showing how
the rivalry between Leah, Rochel, and their children carried over to
maidservants and how their children comforted Yaakov in his years of separation
from Yosef.