BY: Ayelet Menche
Following the happy ending of the Akeidah, the binding of Isaac, this week’s Torah portion continues the story of our forefathers with the death of Sara. In fact, the parasha title “The life of Sara” seems misleading, as the portion begins and ends with death- first Sara and then her husband, Avraham. Yet despite this morose sandwiching of the parasha, the title does allude to the legacy of the life of Sara, the consequence of her life that is played out in this week’s narrative through the search for a wife for Isaac. Still, the timing of Sara’s death seems strange. The Midrash Raba explains that the Satan (the messenger that guides humans towards their evil inclination) was sent to deter Avraham from resolutely carrying out God’s commands. However, after realizing that Avraham was not to be dissuaded, the Satan targeted Sara and told her that Hashem had asked Avraham to give her son as a sacrifice. Referencing the midrash, Rashi explains that Sara immediately died upon hearing this news.
There are a number of unsettling questions about this conventional interpretation of the midrash. Why would Sara pass away suddenly at this news? Rashi extrapolates from the verse, “כל אשר תאמר אליך שרה שמע בקולה”-“in all that Sara tells you, listen to her”(Bereishit 21:12)- that God must have told Avraham to listen to everything that Sara tells him, because Sara not only also had prophetic abilities but her ability was superior to Avraham’s. Why then was Sara so surprised when the Satan came to her, and even if she did not know about the Akeidah, why was she lacking the faith and strength of Avraham? Furthermore, why would suffering and pain be Avraham’s reward for passing his tenth and final “test” and carrying out God’s will with unwavering faith?
In response to the first issue, Dr. Aviva Zornberg quotes the Maharal[1] in her book The Beginning of Desire: Reflections on Genesis. The Maharal explains that Sara panicked, “upon realizing that only a small thing separated one from such a fate.” Sara did not die from the shock of the horror of sacrifice but, as Dr. Zornberg puts it, from the shock of being in a state of “radical doubt,” which she explains as the state of doubt of the continuity of one’s own existence. The news that her son was on the brink of death brought the transience of Sara’s own life to the fore. Her momentary doubt of self was so powerful, it caused Sara to pass away.
Along a different vein, Rabbi Shalom Noach Berezovsky[2] in Netivot Shalom goes back to the narrative of the binding of Isaac to address these questions. He notices that throughout the story it is written three times “וילכו יחדיו,” “and they [Avraham and Isaac] walked together.”
1. ויקח בידו את האש ואת המאכלת וילכו שניהם יחדיו
And he took in his hand a fire and a knife, and the two of them walked together[3]
2. ויאמר אברהם ה יראה לו השה לעולה בני וילכו שניהם יחדיו
And Avraham said, God will show us the sheep to be sacrifice, my son, and the two of them walked together
3. וישב אברהם אל נעריו ויקמו וילכו יחדיו
And Avraham returned to his boy, and they stood up, and they walked together
Netivot Shalom notes that we pray every day during Maariv, ,"והסר שטן מלפנינו ומאחרינו"for God to remove the Satan, our evil inclination, from before us and behind us. The Netivot Shalom elaborates that each time a person does a mitzvah, a Divine commandment, the Satan attempts to deter us both from starting to carry out the mitzvah and from completing the mitzvah with the correct mindset and good intentions. From the Akeidah’s narrative, it is Avraham and Isaac who teach us that one must be mindful throughout the whole process of carrying out a mitzvah. The reference to Avraham and Isaac walking together connotes the strength and attributes each drew from the other in order to pass this test and overcome the Satan. Avraham typically embodies the attribute of Love and Chesed, or piousness. Isaac, on the other hand, is emblematic of yirah, awe, and gevurah, courage and restraint.
The first reference of Avraham and Isaac walking together, Avraham knew what was about to transpire but Isaac was still left in the dark. At that point Avraham realized in order to combat the Satan who was attempting to distract him from starting the mitzvah, he needed to adopt the attributes of his son. Therefore the Torah writes “and they walked together.” The second time this phrase is mentioned, Isaac becomes aware of what is happening and comes to the realization that he will not be able to cope with the situation with his attributes alone. Together Avraham and Isaac learn from each other and are able to stand up to the Satan from distracting them on the onset. The third mention of this phrase connotes the necessity for Avraham and Isaac to once again combine their attributes to deter the Satan, however, this time it is to protect their elevated status of having successfully completed God’s commandment.
The Satan saw that he was not going to be able to overpower the wills of Avraham and Isaac so he decided to turn to Sara. He knew that it was Sara’s time to die anyway and he thought that by visiting Sara and telling her about the Akeidah before her death, Avraham would regret his mitzvah thereby detracting from its greatness. Using this read of the Midrash, the Netivot Shalom explains that Avraham was mourning the natural death of an old woman. He was not fooled by the Satan’s trickery and he executed the entire task in complete, unfaltering faith. Sara’s death was not a reaction to the Satan’s story but an unrelated event that was only used by the Satan as a last attempt at deceiving Avraham.
The Netivot Shalom’s explanation emphasizes the natural progression of the narrative of our ancestral family. The family was not scarred by the tests of faith they underwent. On the contrary, these tests strengthened their familial bonds and ensured they would be passed down from generation to generation. Parshat Chayei Sara recounts the transference of leadership from Avraham and Sara to Isaac and Rebecca. Rebecca is also put through a test of character. She is deemed worthy of becoming a matriarch because of her unquestioning generosity, kindness, love and piety. These attributes allow her to carry on the legacy of Avraham and easily transition into Sara’s tent. Our forefathers teach us that a mitzvah is not complete after we finish the action because our intentions after the mitzvah are equally as important as the action itself. Like Avraham, Sara, Isaac and Rebecca we need a combination of both love and restraint in order to fully realize our potential and follow God’s commandments.
No comments:
Post a Comment