Chayye Sarah
Gen. 23:1-25:18
Précis: The parasha begins with the counting the days of the life of Sarah (chayye Sarah) and with her death. It continues with a detailed description of the purchase of the cave of Machpela by Abraham for a family burial site. Abraham orders his servant to go to Abraham’s ancestral home to obtain a wife for Isaac, and after a series of fulfilled signs, the servant finds Rebecca. Rebecca returns with the servant; she and Isaac meet, fall in love at first sight, and become man and wife. The parasha ends with the death of Abraham, and his burial by Isaac and Ishmael in the family plot.
Gen. 25:28-9 “Abraham breathed his last, dying at a ripe age, old and content; he was gathered to his kin. His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpela…”
Erica Brown has written (Weekly Jewish Wisdom, 11/13/14) about the theme of mortality in this week’s reading. Sarah dies at the beginning, and Abraham dies at the end. She notes that the text often includes Abraham’s age at different junctures of his life (when he leaves for Canaan, when Ishmael is born, when Isaac is born, and at his death here at 175). This must have some significance.
Abraham, she suggests, is a model of aging spiritually, with great faith in the future, putting into place a plan of succession for his ideals. One Midrash suggests that the Hebrew word used to describe Abraham as “old” (zakein) is an acronym for zeh kanah kokhman: this one has acquired wisdom, and it suggests that Abraham was the first person in history to grow wiser as he grew older (Gen. Rabbah 59:6).
Abraham shows us the ability to age successfully; it is incumbent on all of us to continue to live our lives to the fullest, and not retreat. We might not start new families at an age passed 100 like Abraham, but we can be open to new ideas and new experiences for as long as we live. By living in the world, by remaining engaged, we offer others the opportunity to gain from our experience and abilities.
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