Chayei Sarah – Page 5 – Peninim on the Torah

ויהיו חיי שרה מאה שנה ועשרים שנה ושבע שנים שני חיי שרה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chayei Sarah, 5774

Sarah’s lifetime was one hundred years, and twenty years, and seven years; the years of Sarah’s life. (23:1)

The Midrash quotes the pasuk in Tehillim 37:18, Yodea Hashem yemei temimim, “Hashem attends the days of the perfect.” This refers to Sarah Imeinu, who was perfect in her actions. Horav Yeruchem Levovitz, zl, derives from Chazal the concept of, tamim b’maaseh, “acting perfectly.” This means that an activity is carried out in perfect harmony, focused on serving the Almighty. “Everything” means exactly what it implies: every aspect, all of the person’s organs, limbs, working together in perfection to serve Hashem. This was Sarah: tamim b’maasehah, “perfect in her actions.” The Mashgiach observes that, when Avraham Avinu addressed the needs…

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ויבא אברהם לספוד לשרה ולבכותה. ויקם אברהם מעל פני מתו.

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chayei Sarah, 5774

Avraham came to eulogize Sarah and to bewail her. Avraham rose up from the presence of his dead. (23:2,3)

Avraham Avinu eulogized his life’s partner: the woman with whom he had shared his spiritual goals; the mother of his son, Yitzchak; the first Matriarch of the Jewish Nation. This is a tall order. There must have been so much to say, so much to emphasize about a woman who had lived life so well, who was such a vital component of Avraham’s success as leader of the world, father of the Jewish People, paradigm of the morally perfect, ethically correct, spiritually replete individual. Yet, when one peruses the pesukim, not one word is mentioned concerning the eulogy Avraham must…

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ואברהם זקן בא בימים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chayei Sarah, 5774

Now Avraham was old, well on in years. (24:1)

The word zakein, old, implies that the individual has lived an increased number of days. Likewise, ba ba’yamim, well on in years, indicates that we are not talking about a young person. Zakein and ba ba’yamim are redundant to one another. Why are they both used in the same pasuk? Chazal explain that some people have experienced physical longevity, ziknah, but their days are incomplete. Likewise, there are those who age prematurely, although their length of days are actually short. Avraham Avinu’s ziknah, old age, was the result of a full life, well-lived in the service of the Almighty. The…

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ויגוע וימת אברהם בשיבה טוב

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chayei Sarah, 5774

And Avraham expired and died at a good old age. (25:8)

The Talmud Bava Basra 91a, relates that, on the day of Avraham Avinu’s passing, the leaders of the world lamented his death with the following eulogy. “Woe to the world which lost its manhig, leader/guide; woe to the ship that lost its kavarnit, captain.” In his Derech Tamim, Horav Avraham, Rav of Berezdiv, Western Ukraine, explains the meaning of what appears to be a double eulogy. Avraham was the manhig, leader, of the world. He guided and cared for each individual person, his needs: physical, material and spiritual. He saw to it that no one infringed on his fellowman. Whatever…

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ויבא אברהם לספד לשרה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chayei Sarah, 5774

And Avraham came to eulogize Sarah. (23:2)

The Midrash notes the word va’yavo, “And (Avraham) came.” “From where did he come,” the Midrash asks. “He came from the burial of Terach, his father, but did not the passing of Terach precede Sarah Imeinu’s death by two years? We must say that he came from Har HaMoriah.” The Midrash is obviously enigmatic. When Avraham left Har HaMoriah, he returned to Beer Sheva. If this is the case, Avraham Avinu was “coming” from Beer Sheva. Ramban explains that vayavo does not refer to Avraham’s physical act of coming, but rather, the place which inspired his eulogy of Sarah. Therefore,…

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ויהיו חיי שרה מאה שנה ועשרים שנה ושבע שנים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chayei Sarah, 5773

Sarah’s life was one hundred years, twenty years, and seven years. (23:1)

The Torah informs us that Sarah Imeinu lived to be one hundred twenty seven years old. We are now aware of the Matriarch’s longevity, but what about her life? Very little is recorded concerning her actual life, what happened, what she did, what type of person she was: simple questions whose answers would characterize the first Matriarch. We have some idea concerning her outreach activities. Chazal teach that Sarah converted the women, while Avraham Avinu converted the men. They derive this from the pasuk, V’es ha’nefesh asher asu b’Charan, “And the souls which they made in Charan” (Bereishis 12:5). Sarah…

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וישקל אברהם לעפרן את הכסף... ארבע מאות שקל כסף

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chayei Sarah, 5773

And Avraham weighed out to Efron the silver… four hundred Shekalim of silver. (23:16)

Avraham Avinu is confronted with one of the greatest challenges of his life. Perhaps it was not a spiritual challenge as much as it was emotional in nature. His wife- his partner in life- the mother of Yitzchak Avinu, had just died. The Patriarch had to deal with the funeral arrangements. It was not easy. He wanted a specific burial site, one which had already been used by Adam HaRishon and Chavah. He was determined to obtain this specific site. Efron owned it, and he was asking an exorbitant sum of money for its purchase. Avraham paid. No problem. It…

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ואברהם זקן בא בימים וה' ברך את אברהם בכל

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chayei Sarah, 5773

Now Avraham was old, well on in his years, and Hashem had blessed him with everything. (24:1)

Avraham Avinu was the mechanech, educator, par-excellence. He taught a pagan world the truth of monotheism. He inspired as he taught, thus serving as the vehicle for promulgating belief in the Creator. As the first educator, he set the standard for excellence in education. His goal was not simply to teach his generation, but to set the parameters and lay down the rules for the most appropriate manner in which to inculcate one’s beliefs in his students. When we study the educational approach of the first Patriarch, we are confronted with two questions which are pointed out by Horav Arye…

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ויקברו אתו יצחק וישמעאל בניו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chayei Sarah, 5773

His sons Yitzchak and Yishmael buried him. (25:9)

Rashi quotes Chazal in the Talmud Bava Basra 16b, who derive from the above pasuk which places Yitzchak before Yishmael that Yishmael repented his ways. The errant son told Yitzchak to precede him. This display of respect is an indicator of Yishmael’s spiritual well-being, resulting from his repentance. Apparently, the fact that Yishmael had come from a distance to attend the funeral was not a strong enough indication that he had changed. It was the fact that he allowed his younger brother, the one who “replaced” him as Avraham Avinu’s “son,” to precede him that serves as a proof of…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chayei Sarah, 5772

“Sarah died in Kiryat Arba…And Avraham came to eulogize Sarah and to bewail her.” (23:2)

In his commentary to Pirkei Avos, Rabbeinu Yona records the Asarah Nisyonos, ten trials, which Avraham Avinu endured and from which he emerged triumphant. He lists the Akeidas Yitzchak as the ninth trial and the burial of Sarah Imeinu as the tenth and most difficult challenge to overcome. Avraham was left alone after having spent the major part of his life with his beloved eishes chayil. His test arose when, upon Sarah’s sudden death, he had a difficult time procuring a burial site for her. Interestingly, in the Talmud Bava Basra 15b, Chazal cite Satan’s “endorsement” of Avraham Avinu’s faith based…

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ויהיו חיי שרה מאה שנה ועשרים שנה ושבע שנים שני חיי שרה

Sarah’s lifetime was one hundred years, and twenty years, and seven years; the years of Sarah’s life. (23:1)

ויבא אברהם לספוד לשרה ולבכותה. ויקם אברהם מעל פני מתו.

Avraham came to eulogize Sarah and to bewail her. Avraham rose up from the presence of his dead. (23:2,3)

ואברהם זקן בא בימים

Now Avraham was old, well on in years. (24:1)

ויגוע וימת אברהם בשיבה טוב

And Avraham expired and died at a good old age. (25:8)

ויבא אברהם לספד לשרה

And Avraham came to eulogize Sarah. (23:2)

ויהיו חיי שרה מאה שנה ועשרים שנה ושבע שנים

Sarah’s life was one hundred years, twenty years, and seven years. (23:1)

וישקל אברהם לעפרן את הכסף... ארבע מאות שקל כסף

And Avraham weighed out to Efron the silver… four hundred Shekalim of silver. (23:16)

ואברהם זקן בא בימים וה' ברך את אברהם בכל

Now Avraham was old, well on in his years, and Hashem had blessed him with everything. (24:1)

ויקברו אתו יצחק וישמעאל בניו

His sons Yitzchak and Yishmael buried him. (25:9)

“Sarah died in Kiryat Arba…And Avraham came to eulogize Sarah and to bewail her.” (23:2)

YEARS

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