D'VAR TORAH "Vayavo Avraham lispod l'Sarah"--"And Avraham came to eulogize Sarah" (Bereishis 23:2). The lamed prefix in front of Sarah's name seems extra and unnecessary. The Torah could have simply written "lispod Sarah", why does it instead say "lispod l'Sarah"? The Avnei Chein suggests the following explanation. People tend to exaggerate when eulogizing others. While some exaggeration is acceptable according to Jewish law, often times people have a tendency to go beyond even that. This is really an injustice, both to the deceased and the listeners, since no one really believes that which has been said. The Torah therefore teaches us that Avraham did not praise Sarah indiscriminately. He eulogized her by offering an authentic character portrait of who she was. He eulogized to Sarah, for the description he gave accurately described who she was.

Good Shabbos!

Rabbi Arie M. Isaacs