Chayei Sarah -חַיֵּי שָׂרָה - Genesis 23:1 - 25:18 Making Torah Personal ~Hishtadlut - Effort

Studying selected verses of the parsha through the lens of Mussar---exploring the character trait of Hishtadlut / השתדלות / Effort, Striving

Probably the hardest question in life for the believing Jew is how much Hishtadlut, how much effort, should I invest? If everything is preordained, the future is already known to G-d, הכל צפוי (Avot 3 15) – then what efforts should I put into it all, to achieve the desired outcome? ~Yosef Farhi

Hishtadlut is an expression of our human efforts, and is reflective of Free Will. Bitachon works in concert with this middah. What is the balance I need to achieve? The answer varies from individual to individual. Being able to listen to your 'inner voice' will help determine the right course of action. ~RS

This parsha offers us beautiful glimpses into the ebb and flow of life cycle events. It's the first time we read about: lives lived well, grieving a loved one ---burial and its obligations, finding a mate, intense love and reconciliation, and more.

Bullet Points /key concepts:

• Abraham purchases the cave of Machpelah in order to bury his wife Sarah. (23:1-20)--the first reference in the Torah of a burial.

• Abraham sends his servant to find a bride for Isaac. (24:1-9)
• The spontaneous prayer by {Eliezer?} is a first example in the Torah (24:12)
• Rebekah shows her kindness by offering to draw water for the servant's camels at the well. (24:15-20)
• The servant meets Rebekah's family and Rebecca agrees to go with him to meet Isaac.
• Rebecca and Isaac meet {love at first sight?} and wed; Rebecca moves into Sarah's tent. (24:23-67)
• Abraham takes another wife, named Keturah.
• At one hundred and seventy-five years, Abraham dies, and Isaac and Ishmael bury him in the cave of Machpelah. (25:1-11)

Quickly after the birth of Isaac, then his binding, we are entering a new stage of Isaac's life. The parsha is entitled "Chayei" (the life of) Sarah, but opens with her death at 127, the first death and burial among the Jewish people noted in the Bible. Abraham, in the midst of mourning, purchases a field from the Hittites with a cave (Ma’arat HaMachpelah) in order to bury Sarah. He then instructs his servant {Eliezer?}, to find a wife for his son Isaac. Abraham remarries, has more children, and dies a 175-year-old man. The parsha ends with Isaac and Ishmael coming together to bury their father.

Everything is in the hands of God except for the fear of God" ~Talmud, Brochot, 33b

R’ Aaron Rakeffet quoted R’ Yisrael Salanter as saying that one needs Bitachon as if there is no Hishtadlus, and at the same time needs to do Hishtadlus as if there is no Bitachon. ~www.EmunaDaily.com

Bitachon and Hishtadlus: How does one balance these two seemingly contradictory ideas? It all depends on the person’s spiritual level. The closer a person is to perfection in his belief in Hashem, the more he is expected to rely on Hashem, and his level of hishtadlus (effort) must drop accordingly. Until a person reaches that level he may — and must — work, to achieve whatever he needs to function and sustain himself and his family. As his belief and trust in Hashem grow — and he must work on this mitzvah constantly, to reach ever higher levels of bitachon (trust) —he must adjust his level of hishtadlus and rely more on Hashem. -from Torah Thought for the Day, p.56

Why does the Torah split up the tally of her years into three parts (“one hundred years,” “twenty years” and “seven years”)? To tell us that every day of her life was the equivalent of them all. ~Midrash HaGadol

"Now as then, the divine promise does not mean that we can leave the future to G-d. That idea has no place in the imaginative world of the first book of the Torah. To the contrary: the covenant is G-d’s challenge to us, not ours to G-d. The meaning of the events of Chayei Sarah is that Abraham realised that G-d was depending on him. Faith does not mean passivity. It means the courage to act and never to be deterred. The future will happen, but it is we – inspired, empowered, given strength by the promise—who must bring it about." ~ Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, zt"l

Rashi: All Good Years

Why doesn’t Torah just say, “Sarah lived one hundred and twenty seven years?” The wording is repeated to indicate that all of her years were equally good.

R. Yehudah Aryeh Leib of Ger (Gerer Rebbe)

There must be differences, variations, and changes during a person’s lifetime. There are special times during a person’s youth and special times during a person’s old age. But the ones who are truly righteous find fulfillment in all their days. . . Fulfillment, wholeness, completion—these can be found in every place and at every time. Thus, ‘They were all equally good.’”

Commentary on S’fat Emet (Lawrence Kushner and Kerry Olitzky):

Our teacher accepts Rashi’s explanation but wonders how Rashi came to the understanding...It is not merely that the years of Sarah’s life were equally good. Rather, each and every one of them was good—even amid the seemingly regular disillusionments and disappointments we all must face. The S’fat Emet teaches us that we must live our lives trying to emulate Sarah.

While his heart was filled with sadness, Avraham knew that he had to accept Sarah’s death and move forward with planning her burial and the challenges of his life. Grief is not endless. We too must get up and move forwards, with our loved ones in our hearts and continue to honor their lives. Rabba Melissa Scholten-Gutierrez, Yeshivat Maharat

Said Rabbi Elazar: The righteous promise little and perform much—Abraham promised his guests “a morsel of bread” (Genesis 18:5) and then “ran to the herd and fetched a calf tender and good, and he hurried to prepare it” (ibid., v. 7).

On the other hand, the wicked promise much and do not perform even a little. Initially Ephron proclaimed, “A piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver, what is that between me and you?” But in the end, “Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver which he had named in the hearing of the sons of Heth—four hundred shekels of silver in negotiable currency.” ~Talmud, Bava Metzia 87a

As per Leviticus 27:16, a field the size of a beit kor, which is the equivalent of 75,000 square cubits, represents a value of 50 silver shekels. Thus, the size of the field which Abraham purchased for 400 silver shekels was eight kor, or 600,000 square cubits.

A square cubit (approx. 20 inches by 20 inches) is the space occupied by a single person. This means that Abraham purchased a plot of land that provides an individual “space” for each of the 600,000 souls of Israel. ~ Paane’ach Raza

When a person is moser nefesh - when he makes a great sacrifice, exerting himself beyond his capabilities to do a mitzvah - then Hashem gives him extra assistance to accomplish his goals. ~ Ha’amek Davar

When Abraham aged, he did not merely pass through the days of his life: he accumulated them. Each day was fully utilized, so that they were fully possessed by him. ~ Zohar

As the first Jewish marriage described by the Torah, the union of Isaac and Rebecca is the prototype of all subsequent Jewish marriages, both in the literal sense of building a home in Israel and in the broader sense of uniting the physical world with its cosmic soul, thereby fulfilling the divine purpose in creation of making the world a dwelling place for G‑d. In this endeavor is invested everything that Abraham possesses: all the resources—spiritual and material—with which the Almighty endows His people to the end of realizing His purpose in creation. ~The Lubavitcher Rebbe

Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah (25:1) This is Hagar. She is called Keturah because her deeds were now as pleasing as the ketoret (the incense offered in the Holy Temple) ~ Midrash Rabbah; Rashi