Parashat Chayyei Sarah 5782

by Rabbi Ellen S. Wolintz-Fields

In Parashat Chayyei Sarah, deals with the deaths of both Sarah and Abraham, and takes place in Abraham’s tent, which he is old and dying, described as “old in advanced years” (Genesis 24:1), and is not able to travel himself to find a wife for his son Isaac, so he sends his servant instead to choose a wife. A young woman is sought to become Isaac’s wife, and again bring life back into Sarah’s tent. The servant knows how daunting a task it will be to choose a wife for Isaac. The servant creates a type of rubric, for the eligible woman will complete, in order to be a worthy wife for Isaac. Abraham is concerned about which of his sons will succeed him as leader of his family and inherit his fortune. Abraham hopes for an orderly transfer of his fortune and leadership. Our Torah Reading depicts a failure of the law of primogeniture, the right of the eldest child to inherit the leadership role in the family. Isaac, not the first born, takes over Abraham’s position, and not the first born son, Ishmael.

In the Haftarah that goes b’yachad, together with Parashat Chayyei Sarah, from I Kings 1:1-31, takes place in the King’s palace, when King David is old and dying, described as “old in advanced years” (I Kings 1:1), and his impending death is inevitable. King David can no longer do things for himself, like keeping himself warm. A young woman is sought to bring comfort to King David, as he lies on his deathbed. There is a very daunting task to fulfill in the Haftarah – appointing a successor to King David. This task is actually a divine mission, which will be undertaken by Nathan and Bathsheva, and they worry that they will not succeed, but they do create a plan, and carry it out, without waiting for Divine intervention. King David wants an orderly transfer of his fortune and leadership to his son Solomon and arranges for Solomon to be anointed king before David dies. The Haftarah is an example in the Bible which shows the failure of the law of primogeniture.