Chaye Sarah
Gen.
23:1-25:18
Précis: The
parasha begins with the counting the days of the life of Sarah (Chaye 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. 23:1-2 “And the life of
Sarah was a hundred and seven and twenty years; these were the days of the life
of Sarah. Abraham arose from beside his dead,
and spoke to the Hittites, saying, ‘I am a resident alien among you; sell me a
burial site.’”
Rabbi Dan Moskovitz (10 Minutes of Torah, 1/18/19) focuses on one
particular phrase in this week’s reading: the term ger v’toshav, or
“resident foreigner.”
What does a
“resident alien” really mean? Our tradition suggests it is an individual with a
special status, living permanently among us, but without actual citizenship. The resident
alien had all of the protections of law, but was exempt from most citizenship
requirements. In other words, a ger toshav was a
protected visitor and honored guest.
Thirty-six times in Torah, we are commanded to “love the stranger.” In this
parashah, Abraham is not presented as the powerful, wealthy businessman he was
nor as a man who regularly talked with God. Instead, he is presented as a helpless
stranger. The Hittites violate their own law against selling land to outsiders
like Abraham. Why? Moskowitz suggests that it was because they saw themselves
in his shoes, and they imagined their own dead lying at their feet.
History in general, and Jewish history in particular, is replete with
experiences of being the outsider who does not fit into society. Indeed, in the
Islamic world, Jews were regarded as second-class citizens, even though usually
recognized as “people of the Book,” before they were expelled from most of
those lands. In Christian Europe, Jews rarely if ever were granted citizenship
prior to the late 18th century of the common era. So, the Torah
commands us to see to the welfare of the stranger among us, and our history reminds
us that it is a personal obligation.
Today, with millions of refugees from famine, war, disease, and climate change,
it seems time for us to recommit to the Jewish demand that we see to the needs
of the resident aliens among us, and welcome the stranger into our midst.
