Israel. A Heartbreak, A Mystery, and a Romance
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| from our Torah Scroll: "and he cried for her" |
Today’s Parasha portion, is “Chayei Sarah”, “The Life of Sarah”.
It is three thingsA heartbreak
A Mystery
and a Romance
A Torah scroll takes a year to pen by hand. It has exactly 304,805 letters. And when the scribe gets to this story about Sarah’s death, he has to intentionally embed a mystery in the typography. There is no explanation for it but there are differing opinions as to why.
It says here that Sarah lived for 127 years. Abraham and she had a brilliant marriage, with failings of course, we know all about them. The couple completely changed the direction of their lives, set a course for the unknown and in the end, had no greater desire than to see what God entrusted them with come to pass. Many of you have had moments like that, where you hear from God and you changed everything.
It says:
אברהם לספד לשרה ולבכתה
“Abraham mourned for Sarah AND HE WEPT FOR HER”.
And therein lies the mystery. The “CAF” in the middle of the word “AND HE CRIED OVER HER” is tiny as shown in the photo from our Torah scroll at top.
Why?
Some say it is because Abraham was forever diminished by the loss of his Sar’i, his little princess as her given name means, and so the “Caf” is smaller. I will say, as one who lost a special wife, that was bound to have been true. He was diminished. But he had important things to do.
Abrahams First Important Task
Others say the “C” is small because Abraham mourned for Sarah but cut it short because he had important work left to do: to buy Sarah a burial site, immediately.
This is the first land purchase by his clan in the Land. First, to establish a claim to the Land in which God promised to make him a great NATION. Abraham is offered the site for free, but he chose to pay a small fortune for the cave burial site so that no one would ever question his claim. He pays 400 Shekels (a weight measure, not a coin) of silver. King David paid 600 shekels of gold for the entire site of the future Temple Mount (1 Chronicles 21:25)
This is the site, you can visit it today in Hebron today, well not “today”, just 10 days a year with heavy military protection… God forbid the PLA should have run an apartheid state
Abrahams Second Important Task
was to marry off his late blooming 40 year old son, Isaac wot carry on this project God gave him, TO MAKE OF HIM A GREAT NATION, A BLESSING TO THE WHOLE EARTH. Or else there would be no nation, no heir, no blessing. An heir to a fortune, unmarried? You think he didn't have serious prospects that he had turned aside?
So he gave very specific instructions to his servant, sent him off to find a bride for Isaac, and promised that an angel (Genesis 24.8) would go with him. Abraham was well acquainted with angels. An angel had saved his son Ishmael’s life. An angel had called out and saved his son Isaac’s life. Abraham was no stranger to angels and promised his servant that the woman he found back in his home of Haran would capture Isaac's heart.
Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening; and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, camels were coming. Rivka (Rebekah) lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac she dismounted from the camel. She said to the servant, “Who is that man walking in the field to meet us?” And the servant said, “He is my master.” Then she took her veil and covered herself. Genesis 24:63-65
This portion we just read is a profound romance. Isaac, this contemplative and kind man, is walking in the fields meditating. The fields are waving in the breeze. The sun is setting and it says they both “lifted their eyes” to each other at a distance. She is so smitten, she falls off her camel. I know your translation says she “dismounted”. The word “ליפול = li’pol” is used hundreds of times in scripture… it never means “to dismount”. She FELL for him.
A Love Based On Care
In the first part we read, we are told specifically that Sarah was buried in the land of Cana’an… Canaan. Scholars say the word for the place comes from the word “koneh” which means “to buy”. Cana’anim were traders, buyers and sellers, they made their living in negotiations. A woman as a bride was property. My sense is that Abraham did not much respect his neighbors,with whom he had many conflicts. His whole family were shepherds. They made their living by taking and giving care to their flocks. Rivka (Rebekah) had been riding for nearly a month thinking and maybe fearing who Isaac would be. Cruel? Harsh? Homely?
And here, as the sun sets, she sees a thoughtful, gentle man meditating in the field. And she knows she is safe. She is a magnificent wife. She endures attacks, thefts, famine, being chased from their home and never a cross word. And she SAVES the entire promise to mankind by getting her husband to switch the birthright from Esau, her lunkhead son, to Jacob, whom God renames “Israel”. She literally GIVES BIRTH TO ISRAEL.
A heartbreak, a mystery, and a romance
Genesis 23.1-2
ויהיו חיי שרה מאה שנה ועשרים שנה ושבע שנים שני חיי שרה
Sarah’s lifetime—the span of Sarah’s life—came to one hundred and twenty-seven years.
ותמת שרה בקרית ארבע הוא חברון בארץ כנען ויבא אברהם לספד לשרה ולבכתה
Sarah died in Kiriath-arba—now Hebron—in the land of Canaan; and Abraham proceeded to mourn for Sarah and cried for her.
ויצא יצחק לשוח בשדה לפנות ערב וישא עיניו וירא והנה גמלים באים
And Isaac went out walking in the field toward evening and, looking up, he saw camels approaching.
Genesis 24.62-66
ותשא רבקה את־עיניה ותרא את־יצחק ותפל מעל הגמל
Raising her eyes, Rivka saw Isaac. She alighted from the camel
ותאמר אל־העבד מי־האיש הלזה ההלך בשדה לקראתנו ויאמר העבד הוא אדני ותקח הצעיף ותתכס
and said to the servant, “Who is that man walking in the field toward us?” And the servant said, “That is my master.” So she took her veil and covered herself.
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