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The years of Sarah
Calling a parsha “chayeii sarah” makes very little sense. Not only is the phrase “the life or lives of” confusing because of the collective noun role of “chayiim”, but the parsha is not really about Sarah – she dies in the first posuk. The chochomim who established the parshiyot, instead of appending that fact to the parsha before, placed it in this position of prominence. What are we to take from Sarah and her ‘lives’ being the name of the parsha?. This is often answered by explaining that this parsha focuses on Sarah’s children and, as they are tantamount to a continuation of the individual, it is in their merit that she is honored by having her name entitle the parsha. The meforshim then struggle with two other issues in the first posuk: the phrase “vayehiyu chayeii sarah” (and the lives of Sarah were) and that the years of her life are listed backwards in three sections (100, 20 and seven years). Interestingly, the sum total of her life, 127, is also connected to the 127 provinces that Esther merited ruling over in the megillah (a connection made in Midrash Esther 1:8, Bereishit Rabbah 58:3). What, therefore, is curious is not what IS found here, but what ISN’T found elsewhere.
In the chumash’s description of the lifespan of yishma’el at the end of the parsha and ya’akov’s (47:28) both have their numerical sections listed discretely, and the rabbis explain why the listing is such. In the case of avraham, his 175 years are also listed as “chayeii” in the plural and yishma’el has the same word describing his life, but in none of these situations is there an assumption that the lifespan is supposed to reflect a later historical event. What is it about the lifespan description of Sarah’s that allows the medrash to tie it to an event over 1300 years later? I believe that the explanation comes from two other unique elements to the wording of this posuk.
The opening of the parsha is with the word “vayehiyu” – and THEY WERE. The plural here opens up the door for interpretation because, though she is described as having two lives, the sense would be expected to be metaphorical. Other uses of “chayeii” don’t call forth an associated plural verb – the plural is demanded by and adjacent to a word not found in the description of Sarah – yemei , ‘the days of.’ It appears that, because of her elevated spiritual place, Sarah’s life was not about the day-by-day events as described relating to the avot; her growth was not the struggle that daily choices would create. Her faith was strong enough that she was as sinless at each stage as she was at another. We know that her prophetic powers rivaled and in some ways outstripped avraham’s and she had hashem’s name as a yod in her name before she was renamed “sarah.” Her life could be counted in big chunks as she was not bogged down by the days
The plural of vayehiyu is explained by rashi as referring to the separate 37 years after the birth of Yitzchak, but it might be pointing to another anomaly. Along with the lack of “yemei,” the time description repeats the phrase “chayeii sarah” whereas by other death notices, the phrase is mentioned only once. In this posuk, it is listed before AND after the list of years, pointing to a life that continues beyond the scope of the timing detailed here. The plural “vayehiyu” which is not found in other cases, even where the person (like yishma’el) had distinct ‘separate’ lives, points beyond the stated, textual life and this might allow the medrash to find another life for Sarah through the position of Esther.
We earn our chance to make a difference in the world, and we earn more chances through our work at self elevation. Sarah imeinu earned something beyond that which the avot accomplished, and thus she has the honor of having the parsha named after her and her accomplishment – the lives of Sarah. Is this parsha about her? No, it is not called “Sarah.” Is it about her “life” specifically? No, only about the unique combination of those two elements; it is about our responsibility to earn that chance to touch the lives of others through our words and actions and go beyond the days and years of a single lifetime.
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