Parshat Chayei Sarah -
By Jon Singer

This week's dvar torah is dedicated in honour of the memory of my Zaida Aron Singer z,l who passed away 17 years ago today, the 26th of Cheshvan.

Thank you to Reb Norman Meskin for suggesting the topic, and to Ben Shlimovitz for showing me the Maharal.

V'hiyu Chayei Sara Meah Shana v'Esrim Shana v'Sheva Shanim Shnei Chayei Sara

One of the most instantly noticeable and frequently discussed details in this week's parasha is the name: "Chayei Sara"-"The Life of Sara". The reason that it is particularly peculiar is that the beginning of the parasha deals with Sara's death; in fact, the only reference to Sara's actual life is the number of years that she lived. If one does not feel that the names of every parasha have particular significance, he could explain that each parasha is simply named after the first one or two significant words in the text. However, this does not explain why the Torah chose to use the words "Chayei Sara" rather than for instance "Shnei Chayei Sara-"The years of Sara". (The pasuk does actually end off with "Shnei Chayei Sara"-"the years of Sara's life", but this just further strengthens the issue since it could have easily just used that phrase exclusively. The apparently redundant usage of both phrases means there must be some independant lesson to be learned from the initial usage of "Chayei Sara".)


A similar issue is raised in an aggadic portion of Masechet Berachot:

[Samuel II 23:20 states] "...And Benayahu son of Yehoyada 'ben Ish Chai' (Son of the living man) was a soldier from Kabzeel who performed great deeds; he slew the two 'Ariel' of Moav and descended and slew the lion in the pit on the day of snow" The son of a living man? Doesn't everyone agree that he was the son of a dead man (ie his father had already died before this event)?!

This gemara is brought as a proof that righteous people even in death are referred to as "living". This could certainly apply to Sara; the commentators are overwhelmingly convinced that she was an incredibly righteous woman. Rashi even comments on Bereishit 21:12 that Abraham was second to Sara in matters of prophecy. But this still has not answered the question: Why are dead tzaddikim (and tzadikkot) referred to as "living"?


Perhaps no one answers this better than Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch, whose commentary on the first pasuk in this parasha would make a great dvar torah on its own. Rav Hirsch explains:

All these years are called Chayei Sara, she lived in all of them, the whole of her hundred and twenty seven years existence was a life, a lively, cheerful, important, good life, no moment of it that she would have had to wish not to have been there, and still the report concludes, this Chayei Sara was only Shnei Chayei Sara, years out of the life of Sara, only one period, only one part of her life, for life is not measure by the span of time which is give to us to live here...

So it seems from Rav Hirsch that "living" extends beyond our actual "lifetime". However, this does not seem to be an unconditional fact of reality. In order to acheive some kind of everlasting "life", one must actually "live" in his lifetime! The gemara in Berachot makes an additional point to the aforementioned one: the wicked, even in their lifetimes, are referred to as "dead". So it seems that "life" and "death" are not time-dependant states of being as we may perceive them. It is through our actions that we define whether any metaphorical vital signs remain.

Maharal explains in Netivot Olam that Torah and mitzvot maintain a person's existence, even beyond the grave, and can implant existence into a place of desolation. Alternatively, he uses the word HeAder (vaccuum) to describe evil, implying that evil does not have any form of lasting presence in the world and is rather a self consuming entity.

Additionally, in Middot Hareaya, Rav Kook describes how Tikkun Olam can be effectively accomplished. One must recognize that in every action, no matter how small, and even through nice speech, one raises his own spiritual level thus raising the spiritual level of those around him, creating a snowball effect that can fix the world. So it becomes clear that every good action leaves a legacy.

No matter how much we may deny or avoid the subject, man's physical existence on this earth is finite. The only way to escape the clutches of death is to leave a legacy. Therefore, one's instincts to survive, should necessitate him to use each and every act for good. To not do so, we see from the Maharal, does not even have a negative lasting effect on the world; it is merely irrelevant. By performing acts that are counterproductive to the goal of tikkun olam (even small ones as we can infer from the reverse of Rav Kook's statement) one has obliterated an element of their "living". (This is not to imply that evil actions do not effect the world at all, but through the tikkun that Hashem allows to happen, their impact eventually becomes totally negated whereas good actions leave a lasting impact for eternity. This could perhaps also explain how Hashem "punishes sins...upon the third and fourth generations...but showing kindness to the thousandth".)

Chizkuni comments that the gematria of V'hiyu is 37 which was Yitzchak's age at Sara's death. He continues with seemingly harsh words that the 90 years Sara had lived before his birth was not considered "life", since one who does not have children is considered as if they are dead. This surely is not meant to imply that one who is unable to give birth (chas veshalom) has wasted their life, but it merely brings home the idea that "life" is about legacy. If at the end of one's time in the physical realm, he has left nothing behind, did he ever live?

And so we find that not only does the parasha deal with Sara's life, its main focus is her life. The bulk of the parasha consists of Avraham's servant Eliezer journeying to find a wife for Yitzchak. A seemingly separate narrative from that of Sara's death, we now see that it is emphasized specifically because the reader must know how important it was that Sara's legacy be maintained. Thus, that particular narrative concludes by informing us "and Isaac brought her into the tent [of] Sara his mother, he married Rivka, she became his wife and he loved her; and thus was Yitzchak consoled after his mother." Yitzchak was then consoled not because he (chas veshalom) forgot about his mother now that he had a new wife, but rather since he actually saw a physical manifestation of his mother's legacy being continued through Rivka.

The Torah implores us to learn from Sara's example. Complacency and wasting time are not a way life, they are the antithesis of life. The power is in our hands to use every ounce of our being to do good deeds and to strive to perfect the world.

"I call upon the heaven and earth to witness against you this day:life and death I have given before you, blessing and curse, AND YOU SHALL CHOOSE LIFE so that you and your offspring shall live---By loving the the Lord your God, to heed his commands and cling to him for this is your life and the length or your days..." -Devarim 30:19-20

May we all merit to use all our efforts towards the betterment of the world, and thereby achieve a life that spans far beyond our 120 years on this earth!

Shabbat shalom