Readings for Saturday, November 23, 2024
Chayei Sarah
(The Life of Sarah)
23:1 - 25:18 Bereshit (Genesis)
Chayei Sarah is the fifth sedrah in Bereshit (Genesis) and the third sedrah in the Abraham cycle. The sedrah takes its name from the second and third Hebrew words in the first sentence of the reading. “And the life of Sarah (Chayei Sarah) was a hundred years and twenty years and seven years; (these were) the years of Sarah’s life.
From Bereshit through Va-yayra we have been treated to a torrent of action including: Creation, Flood, a journey to a new land and a new deity, Earthquakes, a miracle birth and a mountain climbing expedition leading to a heightened level of spirituality. With Chayei Sarah, we enjoy a brief moment of tranquility where we can catch our breath before continuing on our journey through the Torah. The sedrah divides into three parts. First, there is the death and burial of Sarah. Second comes the quest for Isaac’s wife and his marriage to Rebecca. Last, there are the final days of Abraham complete with his death and burial. Yet in this apparent sea of Torah tranquility there are many lessons to be learned.
The Death and Burial of
Sarah (23:1-20)
What do we learn from the fact that the sedrah begins with the death of Sarah but that is called “The Life of Sarah?” Jews recognize that people have no control over the conditions of their birth. But, they do have control over how they lead their lives. We measure people by their accomplishments and we only know what they are when a person passes away. Jews do not celebrate the memory of the departed on the anniversary of their birth. Instead we observe their yahrzeit.
How did Sarah die? The commentaries speculate that her death was somehow connected with the Akedah; that somehow she had been misled to believe that Isaac had been killed and she died of shock or a broken heart. However, the text only says, “Sarah died….” Maybe this is a reminder of another Jewish view of life. All lives end in the same place. How they end is less important than how we spent the time getting to our final destination.
In Abraham’s quest for a burial site for Sarah we see a precursor of many later Jewish customs related to death. Jews bury our dead in a respectful manner. We do not leave them by the side of the road. Traditional Jews do not even allow cremation. According to the Jerusalem Talmud, “You have to bury the whole body, not just part of the body in order to fulfill the entire commandment of burial.” Escorting the dead to the cemetery is considered to be an “ultimate” Mitzvah because the dead cannot repay us for what we have done. Jews are not buried with non-Jews.
Abraham’s quest for a burial site is another reminder that his life was a strange mixture of grand spiritual promises contrasted against the reality of daily existence. God promised Abraham that he would be the father of a great nation. But he had to wait until he was an old man before he finally had a son. God promised him that his children would possess a great land, but in fact he was a landless nomad who had to pay an exorbitant price to secure a burial plot for his wife and himself. Centuries later, the Zionists would create the Jewish National Fund to buy land from the Arabs just as Abraham bought the Cave of Machpelah from the Hittites.
The Quest for Isaac’s
Wife and the Marriage to Rebecca (24:1-67)
(The story line is pretty straight forward and, thanks to the fact that Eliezer repeats the details, we get to “hear” it twice. The following are a few highlights that you may find worth noting.)
Sarah is dead. Abraham knows he is getting close to death. He wants to ensure that Isaac will have a proper helpmate to carry on the tradition begun by his parents. He does not want his son to marry a Canaanite. The text does not say why. Possibly he is afraid that by marrying a local girl, Isaac will be assimilated into the Canaanite culture and lose his identity. Abraham also does not want Isaac to leave Canaan to go looking for a wife. The fact that he is adamant that Isaac not leave the Promised Land may have something to do with a practical fear that if Isaac leaves, he will not return. And the promise of the Promised Land is a key part of the Covenant.
When we meet Rebecca at the well, we see an almost idealized creature. She “was very beautiful.…” She is strong enough to draw water for all of the camels. In tending to Eliezer’s needs, including bringing him to her home, we see her as kind and hospitable. And in deciding to leave immediately with Eliezer we see her as moral and decisive. We also meet Laban for the first time. Here he has the manner of a trickster and a petty thief. By the time we see him again with Jacob we will see a much more sinister character. And in the Haggadah, Laban is described as being worse than Pharaoh. The marriage between Rebecca and Isaac was arranged. Such was the norm in those times. Note how this section ends “…and he took Rebecca as his wife. Isaac loved her, and thus found comfort after his mother’s death.” Compare this with the modern concept of love, which sometimes is little more than passion, that is the prerequisite for marriage. For some Jews, marriage is seen as the joining of two people with common values whose relationship will deepen as they develop a joint pathway on the road of life.
The Final Days of
Abraham (25:1-18)
Sarah is dead. Abraham is alone. So, “Abraham took another wife.…” In Judaism, a man without a wife is seen as being incomplete, even Abraham. Who was this woman? The Torah calls her Keturah. Some commentators say that this was Hagar by another name. At a very human level, this does not make any sense. Abraham loved Sarah. Hagar had so insulted and mistreated Sarah that Sarah had demanded she be banished. It is hard to see Abraham elevating the status of a woman whom his beloved Sarah had had such a negative view. Regardless of who the partner was (and there are those who claim she was merely a concubine) apparently this marriage was pleasurable because it produced several children and because Abraham died “at a good ripe age, old and contented.…” Isaac is Abraham’s chosen successor. Abraham provides his new offspring with material gifts, but he sends them away from Isaac and the Promised Land. In a touching moment of filial devotion, Isaac and Ishmael (note Isaac is mentioned first) come together and bury their father in the Cave of Machpelah. There is no animus or anger between the two sons. This will not be the last graveside reconciliation of which we will read. The sedrah actually ends with a recitation of the descendants of Ishmael and the announcement of Ishmael’s death. It is as if an era has come to an end. Sarah is dead. Abraham is dead. Ishmael is dead. The way is now clear for Isaac to assume his responsibilities as the leader of the next generation.
Themes:
Death
The Sedrah is permeated with death. It begins with death and ends with death. As depicted here, for the Jew, death is a part of the life cycle. It is neither feared not embraced. Rather, it is accepted.
Sarah
The
question is “Who was Sarah?” It is of
major importance since she was the first Matriarch and is a role model for
Jewish women. Sarah is unique in many
ways. Apparently, God saw her as being
special. She is the only woman in the
Torah whose name is changed by God. She
is the one who will provide the child who will follow in Abraham’s footsteps (
Long Life
Moshe
will live to be 120 years old and that is supposed to be the ideal number of
years for the righteous. Yet Sarah dies
at 127. Ishmael dies at 137. And Abraham lives to be 175 years. When completing the Hallel on Rosh Chodesh,
one always says a verse that is first found in this sedrah, “Now Abraham was
old, well on in years and the Lord had blessed Abraham with everything.”
(24:1). There are several commentaries
on the formula used to describe the length of Sarah’s life. Instead of saying she was 127 years old, the
Torah breaks it down into three parts, 100 years, 20 years and seven
years. Most of these commentaries have
to do with the tri-partite nature of perfection. In his discussion on the subject, Rabbi
Schneerson includes the following thoughts:
“…when a man finds himself in an environment detrimental to his
standards, there are three ways in which he can preserve his integrity:
1. He can strengthen himself inwardly not to be
influenced by his surroundings. This is
an incomplete victory because; if he were to relax his self-control he would
capitulate and lower his status.
2. He can separate himself from those around
him. This victory is also incomplete
because he has not met temptation head-on and is as prone as ever to lower his
status.
3. He can set out to influence his environment and raise it to his own level. This is a complete triumph over one’s surroundings - the dangers have not only been avoided, they have been removed entirely.”
Meaningful
Life
From Abraham we learn that it is not just important to lead a long life. A long life is only a blessing when it is filled with meaning. As Rabbi Schneerson wrote, “Time in this life is granted to us not merely to achieve a certain amount of good works, but also so that time itself be sanctified by our actions. A day filled with Mitzvoth is a day which has been made to fulfill its purpose.”
Burial
Site
Yes, the Hebron mentioned in this sedrah is the same Hebron you read about in the newspapers today. Our claim to it is even more ancient than the claim to Jerusalem. In purchasing the Cave of Machpelah, Abraham bought not just the cave, but the land around it. So when the Israelis agreed to partition in 1947 and the Oslo Accords they were willing to give up a very real piece of real estate and our tradition for a real peace.
The
Nature of Prayer
In The Bedside Torah, Rabbi Stanley Artson points out that this week’s reading contains a valuable insight into the nature of prayer. When most of us think of prayer, we think of the stylized world of ritual and the Siddur. We forget that prayer is, in one sense, a sincere and often spontaneous conversation between the individual and God. When Eliezer arrives at the well and starts looking for a wife, he really is not sure if he will be successful. So he prays. Not some set blessing, but a spontaneous, heartfelt plea for Divine guidance. Even when we are following the set rituals of prayer, it is not supposed to be some rote mumbling. Like Eliezer’s prayer at the well, our prayers, either spontaneous or from the rich well of tradition, should be heartfelt and sincere.
Minchah
“And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the approach of evening; and he raised his eyes and saw, and behold, (there were) camels coming. And Rebecca raised her eyes, and saw Isaac…” (24: 63 & 64). In other words, Isaac and Rebecca saw each other for the first time in the late afternoon after the Patriarch had just finished praying. Each of the Patriarchs is connected with one of the three daily services. Because of this verse, Isaac is tied to Minchah, the afternoon service which is traditionally performed in a time frame that starts 2.5 hours before nightfall and sunset.
The Children of Abraham
There is an interfaith group styled The Children of Abraham that seeks to find the common ground between Judaism, Christianity and Islam. While a case might be made that the common ancestor is Adam and thus the effort should be styled The Children of Adam, it is a bit of stretch to say that Christians and Muslims are Children of Abraham since each of them claim to have come to supplant Abraham’s heir, Isaac. However, this sedrah does provide us with a chance to examine the common expressions of faith found in the TaNaCh and the Koran. In the spirit of open dialogue that is the true measure of Torah Study, consider the following commentary by David Curzon, an Australian Jew living in New York City.
The Ones Cut Off
Today when I read in the portion of Chayei Sarah of Abraham's purchase of the cave at Machpelah, the massacre at that site in February 1994 intrudes on my thoughts. Its intrusion forces me to see the theme of reconciliation that exists in the Jewish tradition concerning Chayei Sarah. In the text itself we have Abraham bowing to the Hittites and describing himself as a stranger among them who wants to purchase a permanent claim to a small part of their land. Abraham is portrayed as willing to ignore the advantage taken of him by the seller in order to have the privilege of owning some of this land.
Later in the Torah portion, at Genesis 25:1, we are told that at the end of his life "Abraham took another wife, and her name was Keturah." In the Midrash of Breshit Rabbah we find the flat assertion, attributed to Rabbi Yehudah, that Keturah was none other than Hagar. This Midrash implies that Abraham kept in touch with Hagar and Ishmael after he expelled them from his home, which was also their home. As the late Yeshayahu Leibowitz commented, in remarks on Israel's Army Radio: "We can see from the Midrash and Aggadah to what extent this incident bothered pious Torah scholars." In the midrash's version of events, Abraham must have made secret trips to see Hagar and Ishmael during the intervening years before he married Hagar, like the secret meetings held over many years between Israeli prime ministers and King Hussein.
At the portion's end, after Abraham's death, there is the surprising reappearance of Ishmael, apparently mourning his father Abraham in harmony with his estranged brother Isaac: "And Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah" (Bereshit 25:9).
My eye is also caught by a midrash on Abraham, also in Bereshit Rabbah, in which the anonymous darshan, or exegete, quotes the first phrase of the first psalm, “Happy is the man," comments "This is Abraham," and then shows, phrase by phrase, the application of the psalm to Abraham's life. The texts the darshan uses to prove his assertion are, of course, drawn from the Torah. In the spirit of reconciliation, I will follow this midrash, using verses on Abraham from the Koran as my proof texts:
Happy is the man: This is Abraham, as it is said in the Koran, Sura 4, "And God took Abraham for a friend."
that walks not in the counsel of the wicked, as it is said in the Koran, Sura 21, with God speaking in the royal plural, "We gave Abraham his rectitude."
nor sat in the seat of the scornful, as it is said in the Koran, Sura 11, "Our messengers came to Abraham with good tidings; they said, 'Peace!'"
He shall be like a tree planted by streams of water, that brings forth fruit in its season, as it is said in the Koran, Sura 2, "Abraham said, 'My Lord, make this land secure and provide its people with fruits.’''
and in whatever he does, he shall prosper, as it is said in the Koran, Sura 21, referring to the midrashic story of Abraham being cast into the fiery furnace by Nimrod, "We said, 'O fire, be coolness and safety for Abraham.'''
For the Lord regards the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked shall perish, as it is said in the Koran, Sura 108, "Surely those who hate are the ones cut off."
This dictum, "Those who hate are the ones cut off," is both a psychological truth of the inner life of the individual and a political policy essential for peace.
As it was said by Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, speaking of Baruch Goldstein, the murderer of the Cave of Machpelah and as we rightly require the leaders of the children of Ishmael to say about each of their terrorists and murderers: You are not part of us.
In the name of the collaborative effort needed to maintain peace, as it is said at the close of Chayei Sarah: "And Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried Abraham in the cave of Machpelah."
Cave of Machpelah and Hebron
The Cave of Machpelah described for the first time in this portion becomes the burial place of the patriarchs and the matriarchs with the exception of Rachel. By describing it as being located at Hebron, this ancient city takes on a special significance for the Jewish people which has lasted into modern time. But this connection might be read as an etiological tale designed to give a special importance to Hebron by King David and his heirs. As we are reminded in Kings 2:11, David’s 40 year reign began with a seven year stint in Hebron before moving on to Jerusalem. By tying his first capital to the patriarchs, later generations were giving it a special importance. Furthermore, Leah, the mother of Judah, the tribe of David, is buried in Machpelah at Hebron. And Rachel, the mother of the “Joseph tribes” who rebelled against the House of David is not buried at Hebron.
The Cave of Machpelah
and Hebron II
Jews have lived at Hebron since Biblical times. There have been periodic expulsions, the first one probably coming at the time of the destruction of the First Temple. But the Jews have always returned. The most recent expulsions were as a result of violent Arab riots in the 1920’s and 1930’s and the failed Arab attempt to destroy Israel at the moment of its birth in 1948. As is the case with so many other sites sacred to Jews, other religions have laid claim to Hebron and then sought to deny it to the Jewish people. Deploring the murderous behavior of Baruch Goldstein does not mean that Jews have to give up their connection to the ancient burial place of the patriarchs and matriarchs. After all, the Bible clearly states that Abraham paid an exorbitant price for the cave and the land that surrounds it so that nobody could contest the right to ownership.
Aging and
the End of the Life Cycle
As the Boomers begin to hit their fifties and sixties, we are now hearing more and more about this topic. Think of it - seventy-plus year old Henry Winkler (Fonzi) is selling Reverse Mortgages for a safe and secure retirement. Seventy-year old Donald Trump defeated sixty-nine year old Hillary Clinton for the Presidency of the United States. The lives of the Patriarchs offer us three views of this point in the life cycle. In Isaac’s case, he spent his last days in a state of physically infirmity. “His eyes were too dim to see” and his mobility must have been limited since he had to have Esau catch, prepare and serve “the dish he likes so much.” But even worse we can assume he spent his last twenty or more years in a house overhung with sorrow and remorse. Esau was angry with him for having given the blessing to Jacob and Rebecca must have been consumed with an overwhelming sadness at not being able to see her beloved Jacob. Talk about doom and gloom. In Jacob’s case there is no need to assume. The Torah is very specific about how the Patriarch felt in his final years. When Pharaoh asked “How many are the years of your life?” “Jacob replied, ‘The years of my sojourn are one hundred and thirty. Few and hard have been the years of my life.” But he does not stop there. The blessings for Ruben, Simeon and Levy read almost like curses. There is no mistaking the undercurrent of anger he feels for each of them. Even at the moment of death he cannot let it go. And then there is Abraham. The death of Sarah does not put an end to his active life. First he conducts the very detailed and successful negotiations for the purchase of the burial ground. This is certainly not the behavior of somebody suffering from diminished capacity. Then he arranges the search for his son’s wife. He actively works to ensure that the next generation will be able to fulfill the commitments of the Covenant. Last but not least his “second family” shows that he is not diminished physically or financially since he has able to “give gifts” to his sons and their children “while he was living” and before “he sent them away from his son Isaac.” In Abraham we see the ideal - a person who remains active, engaged in life, until the end of days.
Haftarah
1:1-31 1 Kings
The Book: “The Books of Kings is the fourth book of the
Former Prophets section of the Bible. In
Jewish tradition, Kings is a single book.
The division into two books, I Kings and II Kings, comes from the
Septuagint according to which the Books of Samuel and Kings are a single unit
divided into four books. The name of
this book of the TaNaCh (Bible) is derived from its contents, which deals with
Kings of the United Kingdom and the separate royal houses that provided the
Kings of Israel and Judah. The book of
Kings deals with a period of time from the end of King David’s reign (970
The Message: The prophetic portion describes a scene just prior to the death of King David. Adonijah, David’s fourth son, is in the process of naming himself king while his father lives and without his father’s blessing. Adonijah thinks he is in line for the throne, in part, because his three older brothers are dead. Two of them have died as a result of attempts to replace David. In the midst of this intrigue we find Bathsheba. She enters, reminding David of his promise to name their son Solomon as king. Her pleadings are reinforced by the prophet Nathan, the voice of morality in the kingdom. At the end of the reading, David keeps his promise and names Solomon. The haftarah stops at this point, but further reading of 1 Kings will show violence and intrigue reminiscent of the Godfather or other such lurid tales.
Theme-Link: There are two links between the sedrah and the haftarah. In both instances, the events in Chayei Sarah stand in stark contrast to those described in the first chapter of 1 Kings. The first link has to do with the selection of an heir. In the sedrah it is Isaac. In the haftarah it is Solomon. The violence and intrigue certainly stands in stark contrast with the peaceful way in which Isaac assumes the mantle of leadership from Abraham while his other children accept their inheritance and depart in peace. The second is the difference in the atmosphere of the lives of the two leaders - Abraham and David - as they face death. There is a fascinating juxtaposition between the death of Abraham and approaching death of David. Abraham was a nomad dwelling in his tents at the edge of civilization. He tried to lead a decent life free from guile and deceit. And he died old and contented. David was the mighty warrior king. He died a powerful potentate in his palace. But his last moments on earth were ones of intrigue and anguish as befits a man who cut more than one moral corner in his life. This is not meant as criticism of King David. Rather this scene is a reminder of the price one must sometimes pay for power and for being an active player in the world.
Chronicles v Kings: There are two descriptions of Solomon gaining the throne of his father. The first is found in Kings, the opening round of which we read this morning. It is filled with the kind of intrigue we find in the succession of the Caesars or the English monarchs in the days of Henry VIII. The second description is found in First Chronicles. “Now David was old and full of days; and he made Solomon his son king over Israel.” (23:1). “And they made Solomon the son of David king the second time…Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king instead of David his father.” This is not the only time that the version of events in Chronicles varies with that found in the Torah or in Neviim. With all due respect to the commentators, the version in Chronicles sometimes seems to be a “sanitized” version of events. From the point of view of literature, the version found in Chronicles usually lacks passion and color.
Copyright; November, 2024; Mitchell A. Levin
11/19/24