November 22nd: Hayeh Sarah
THIS WEEK IN THE TORAH
Rabbi David E. Ostrich
This week’s portion, entitled The Life of Sarah, is really about her death and its aftermath. It begins, “The life of Sarah—the span of Sarah’s life—came to one hundred and twenty-seven years. Sarah died in Kiriat-Arba—now Hebron—in the land of Canaan; and Abraham proceeded to mourn for Sarah and to bewail her.”
The ancient Sages notice that this story of her death comes just after the story of the Binding of Isaac, and they speculate a connection. Unaware of Abraham’s intentions on Mount Moriah, Sarah suddenly has a moment of prophetic vision and sees her husband holding a slaughtering knife over their son’s throat. Shocked beyond comprehension, she drops dead—not knowing that God is just testing Abraham and that Isaac will be saved.
If this Midrash is true—that Sarah has no idea what Abraham is planning, then what does Sarah think is going to be the purpose of the Father-Son excursion? The Sages imagine her asking Abraham about his plans and receiving the following answer: “I am taking our son to a place of religious education.” From Sarah’s point of view, this is great news, and she readily agrees.
And, for what it’s worth, there is an indication that Abraham is telling the truth. Note the end of Akedat Yitzchak, after God stops Abraham from sacrificing Isaac, and after Abraham sacrifices a ram in Isaac’s stead: “Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they departed together for Beersheba; and Abraham stayed in Beersheba.” (Genesis 22.19) Despite the fact that Isaac is saved, there is no mention of Isaac joining his father and the servants for the return trip. Where is he? The Sages suggest that Abraham leaves Isaac there at Mount Moriah/Jerusalem—at the Academy of Shem and Eber. It is the yeshiva where the ancients study God’s ways.
As in all Midrashic speculation, this suggestion is based on a few koshi’s, anomalies in the Torah’s text. The story of Shem and Eber’s ancient yeshiva begins with the koshi of Genesis 11’s incredibly long life-spans—with people living for hundreds and hundreds of years. If such longevity is true, then some of these pre-Abrahamic people are alive long enough to know their great-great-great-great-etc. grandchildren. In particular, Abraham and Isaac and Jacob could know 600 year old Shem, the son of Noah, and 400 year old Eber, his great-grandson!
Then, there is a mysterious passage in Genesis 14, where Abraham goes to a place called Salem and gives a tenth of his war proceeds to a priest of God Most High named Melchizedek. There is no further explanation of who he is or what he is doing operating a place of worship. But, putting these two anomalies together, the Rabbis identify this Melchizedek as none other than Shem, the son of Noah, and the place of worship is identified as an ancient religious center where people worship and learn Torah. The fact that the place is called Salem—which sounds a lot like Jerusalem—seals the deal. It is obvious that Jerusalem is a religious center long before King David, and that this is the place where Abraham brings Isaac for the test and for religious education.
As with all Midrashic speculation, the koshi's’ “answer” is only an entrée to the moral lesson—in this case the importance of education. Learning is so important that even the greatest of our ancestors need it too. How else, the Sages ask, could someone grow up to be a Patriarch? They need to study God’s ways somewhere, and the anomaly of Shem and Eber’s long life spans AND the mystery of a priest of God Most High (El Elyon) in Salem are used to teach us that all generations need a Torah education.
While the Torah speaks more of Abraham and less of Sarah, we all know the importance of women and mothers in families AND the role they play in educating their children to be moral and curious and hard-working. Notice the way the Rabbis focus on Sarah’s permission in the Midrash: without it, Abraham cannot take Isaac—regardless of God’s command. It stands to reason that Sarah has a lot to do with Isaac’s development as a pious and righteous man—a man who can become a Patriarch. And, we have a Scriptural clue of how precious Sarah is to Isaac. Toward the end of this week’s portion, after Rebekah has been chosen by Abraham’s servant to be Isaac’s wife, and after Rebekah has agreed to the marriage, the servant brings her back to Canaan where she meets her future husband. “Isaac then brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he took Rebekah as his wife. Isaac loved her, and thus found comfort after his mother’s death.” (Genesis 24.67) Imagine the devotion of a son who keeps his deceased mother’s tent intact—despite the fact that they are semi-nomadic shepherds who move around following their flocks to pasture land. It seems that he has her tent moved and reassembled every time they make camp—as a sign of how important she is in his life.