Parashat Chayyei Sarah 5783

by Rabbi Ellen S. Wolintz-Fields

It always seems surprising that the name of this week’s Torah reading is Parashat Chayyei Sarah, the life of Sarah, and our matriarch Sarah is actually deceased. The Torah reading begins with Abraham acquiring a burial plot for Sarah. Later, we read about Abraham’s servant searching for an appropriate spouse for Isaac, so that she can take the matriarch’s place in Sarah’s tent. The lesson that the name of the Torah reading is teaching us, is that even when we die, how we lived is most important, and so the parashah is called the life of Sarah, not the death of Sarah. Additionally, although Sarah was no longer physically in the tent, her values, and outlook on life, continued to live in her tent, and so it was very important to have a wife for Isaac, who would carry on Sarah’s legacy. May we realize that how we live is important, even when we pass from this world, to the world to come. Chazak v’Ematz – Be Strong and Courageous!