Chaya Sarah

Sarah dies at the age of one hundred and twenty seven. Avraham was in Be’er Sheva and traveled to Hebron. He mourns and eulogizes Sarah and then purchases a burial plot from Ephron the Hittite. It consists of the Cave of Machpelah and an accompanying field.

Avraham is now concerned that his son, Yitzchak, have a suitable wife. He send his servant, Eliezer, back to Haran so that a wife may be selected only from Avraham’s native land and not from Canaan. Eliezer travels loaded with treasure to be given to the family of the prospective bride. He stops at a well and prays to Hashem that he be given a sign which girl is best for his master’s son. Eliezer prays when he asks a girl for a drink, she will reply that not only will she bring Eliezer water, but water for his camels also.

While Eliezer is praying, Rivka (Rebecca) comes to the well, and does exactly as Eliezer had prayed for. Rivka was the granddaughter of Nahor, the brother of Avraham. He goes with Rivka to her family and describes his mission. The family agrees to make Rivka the bride of Yitzchak and Eliezer returns to Avraham and Yitzchak with Rivka.

Yitzchak and Rivka are married and Avraham takes a new wife named Keturah. He has more children but all of his inheritance goes to Yitzchak. Avraham dies at the age of one hundred seventy five and is buried next to Sarah in Machpelah.

And the life of Sarah was a hundred and twenty and seven years

The opening words of the parsha seem puzzling. Why didn’t the Torah simply write “Sarah was one hundred and twenty seven years old when she died”?

Rashi writes:

“For this reason was the word “year” (shana) written after every item: to tell you that each term is interpreted individually. At one hundred: she was like twenty as regards sin; just as a twenty year old girl does not sin and is not liable for punishment, so at one hundred was Sarah without sin. And at twenty: she was like seven as regards beauty.”

The sages comment: Can a girl at age seven be more beautiful than a girl of twenty? No; this means that just as a girl of seven is innocent and does nothing immoral at age seven because of her beauty, so too Sarah at age twenty was very beautiful and was innocent and moral.

When Avraham heard the news about Sarah’s death, the Torah writes:

“And Avraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep(v’livko-tah) for her.”

The word used, v’livko-tah, is written in the Torah with a small letter kaf ( ). Rashi states that she died of a broken heart, since she thought that Yitzchak had been sacrificed. One interpretation by the sages is that the small kaf symbolizes the fact that Avraham did not mourn excessively for Sarah. She had led a long and full life and was, like Avraham, renown for her chessed.

I would suggest a similar interpretation based on the fact that with the small kaf, the word reads like “and to have a heart for her” since if we pretend the kaf is not there, we see the word “lev”, which means “heart”.

The question for us now is, “How does one measure the life of a person?” Sarah’s life is summarized by listing her age number by number. The sages use a homiletic interpretation to explain such a literary device. But the true measure of a person’s life is based on their deeds. The Talmud in Chullin writes: “The righteous are greater in death than in life”.

This is especially true when we consider the life of a devoted life and mother like Sarah. King Solomon writes, in the Book of Proverbs (Mishlei, 31: 10-31):

An accomplished woman, who can find?
Far beyond pearls is her value.
Her husband’s heart relies on her,
And he shall lack no fortune.
She repays his good, but never his harm,
All the days of her life.
She seeks out wool and linen,
And her hands work willingly.
She is like a merchant’s ships,
From afar she brings her sustenance.
She arise while it is yet nighttime,
And gives food to her husband and a ration to her maidens.
She envisions a field and buys it,
From the fruit of her handiwork she plants a vineyard.
With strength she girds her loins,
And invigorates her arms.
She discerns that her enterprise is good,
So her lamp is not snuffed out by night.
Her hands she stretches out to the distaff,
And her palms support the spindle.
She spreads out her palm to the poor,
And extends her hands to the destitute.
She fears not snow for her household,
For her entire household is clothed with scarlet wool.
Luxurious bedspreads she made herself,
Linen and purple wool are her clothing.
Distinctive in the councils is her husband,
When he sits with the elders of the land.
She makes a cloak to sell,
And delivers a belt to the peddler.
Strength and majesty are her raiment,
She joyfully awaits the very last day.
She opens her mouth with wisdom,
And a lesson of kindness is on her tongue.
She anticipates the ways of her household,
And partakes not of the bread of laziness.
Her children arise and praise her,
Her husband, and he lauds her :

Grace is false and beauty is vain,
A God fearing woman-she should be praised.
Give her but the fruits of her own hand,
And let her be praised in the gates by her very own deeds.

	Oceanside Jewish Center Weekly Parsha By Jonathan Wolf
	Chaya Sarah Sarah dies at the age of one hundred and twenty seven. Avraham was in Be’er Sheva and traveled to Hebron. He mourns and eulogizes Sarah and then purchases a burial plot from Ephron the Hittite. It consists of the Cave of Machpelah and an accompanying field. Avraham is now concerned that his son, Yitzchak, have a suitable wife. He send his servant, Eliezer, back to Haran so that a wife may be selected only from Avraham’s native land and not from Canaan. Eliezer travels loaded with treasure to be given to the family of the prospective bride. He stops at a well and prays to Hashem that he be given a sign which girl is best for his master’s son. Eliezer prays when he asks a girl for a drink, she will reply that not only will she bring Eliezer water, but water for his camels also. While Eliezer is praying, Rivka (Rebecca) comes to the well, and does exactly as Eliezer had prayed for. Rivka was the granddaughter of Nahor, the brother of Avraham. He goes with Rivka to her family and describes his mission. The family agrees to make Rivka the bride of Yitzchak and Eliezer returns to Avraham and Yitzchak with Rivka. Yitzchak and Rivka are married and Avraham takes a new wife named Keturah. He has more children but all of his inheritance goes to Yitzchak. Avraham dies at the age of one hundred seventy five and is buried next to Sarah in Machpelah. And the life of Sarah was a hundred and twenty and seven years The opening words of the parsha seem puzzling. Why didn’t the Torah simply write “Sarah was one hundred and twenty seven years old when she died”? Rashi writes: “For this reason was the word “year” (shana) written after every item: to tell you that each term is interpreted individually. At one hundred: she was like twenty as regards sin; just as a twenty year old girl does not sin and is not liable for punishment, so at one hundred was Sarah without sin. And at twenty: she was like seven as regards beauty.” The sages comment: Can a girl at age seven be more beautiful than a girl of twenty? No; this means that just as a girl of seven is innocent and does nothing immoral at age seven because of her beauty, so too Sarah at age twenty was very beautiful and was innocent and moral. When Avraham heard the news about Sarah’s death, the Torah writes: “And Avraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep(v’livko-tah) for her.” The word used, v’livko-tah, is written in the Torah with a small letter kaf ( ). Rashi states that she died of a broken heart, since she thought that Yitzchak had been sacrificed. One interpretation by the sages is that the small kaf symbolizes the fact that Avraham did not mourn excessively for Sarah. She had led a long and full life and was, like Avraham, renown for her chessed. I would suggest a similar interpretation based on the fact that with the small kaf, the word reads like “and to have a heart for her” since if we pretend the kaf is not there, we see the word “lev”, which means “heart”. The question for us now is, “How does one measure the life of a person?” Sarah’s life is summarized by listing her age number by number. The sages use a homiletic interpretation to explain such a literary device. But the true measure of a person’s life is based on their deeds. The Talmud in Chullin writes: “The righteous are greater in death than in life”. This is especially true when we consider the life of a devoted life and mother like Sarah. King Solomon writes, in the Book of Proverbs (Mishlei, 31: 10-31): An accomplished woman, who can find? Far beyond pearls is her value. Her husband’s heart relies on her, And he shall lack no fortune. She repays his good, but never his harm, All the days of her life. She seeks out wool and linen, And her hands work willingly. She is like a merchant’s ships, From afar she brings her sustenance. She arise while it is yet nighttime, And gives food to her husband and a ration to her maidens. She envisions a field and buys it, From the fruit of her handiwork she plants a vineyard. With strength she girds her loins, And invigorates her arms. She discerns that her enterprise is good, So her lamp is not snuffed out by night. Her hands she stretches out to the distaff, And her palms support the spindle. She spreads out her palm to the poor, And extends her hands to the destitute. She fears not snow for her household, For her entire household is clothed with scarlet wool. Luxurious bedspreads she made herself, Linen and purple wool are her clothing. Distinctive in the councils is her husband, When he sits with the elders of the land. She makes a cloak to sell, And delivers a belt to the peddler. Strength and majesty are her raiment, She joyfully awaits the very last day. She opens her mouth with wisdom, And a lesson of kindness is on her tongue. She anticipates the ways of her household, And partakes not of the bread of laziness. Her children arise and praise her, Her husband, and he lauds her : Grace is false and beauty is vain, A God fearing woman-she should be praised. Give her but the fruits of her own hand, And let her be praised in the gates by her very own deeds.