Sara Imeinu. 
My mother.
My Matriach.
My role model.
Whom I try to emulate.
Not that we met
Although our souls may have.
Not that I tasted her loaves
Fresh from the previous week.
Not that I watched her light her candles
Ushering in the Shabbos Queen.

But,
She continues to inspire me.
For from who else can I learn
what it means to be selfless?
From who else can I learn
To follow blindly
in the way of G-d,
Believing He has paved a path for me.
From who else can I learn
the act of giving?
Giving for a higher purpose.
Giving for the Will of G-d.
Wholeheartedly.

For how much longer
Could she watch
Avraham childless?
G-ds plan must be fulfilled
She said
My significant role
In this story
Is to Not play a significant role.
Quietly,
With poise
Like a true mother
A devoted Aishes Chayil
She placed the load
on her own shoulders
Giving Hagar a place in the home.

It wasn’t fair.
It was her place.
It was her right.
She wanted to give Abraham a son.
She didn’t know
That she would bear Yitzchak
And become a mighty nation.
She didn’t know
What G-d had in store for her.
She didn’t know
What the future would bring.
Yet she selflessly
Transcended.
Put herself aside.
Gave up
Her dreams
And played Her role
In G-ds script.

As the mother of our nation,
She guides us.
To trust.
To believe .
As we struggle to actualize our mission,
Our dreams,
She shows us
That there may be another solution.
Not to get distracted
By our vision
The way we
-little beings-
think things should happen.
There is a way to realise
The promises of G-d.
We learn from Sarah
Our significant role
When at home
When in view
She gives us the strength.

As Jewish girls
WE are the future.
The mother’s to be.
And from Sara we learn
How to be a mother.

A mother loves
Unconditionally
A mother imparts
Lessons.
And a mother gives
Selflessly.
I thank you Sarah,
For showing me
How.

 

—Sorole Golomb, Age 17
OYY High Manchester
Sheffield, South Yorkshire, United Kingdom