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    Life of Sarah - A Spiritual Role Model

    Posted by Lev/Christopher on November 21, 2008 at 6:57am
    in Torah Studies

    Not all the views in this article are those of MLT

    Shabbat Shalom Kol Yisrael. It is our pleasure to present this week's Torah Parsha commentary by Nazarene Yisraelite Rabbi T. (Mordecai) Mitchell, Rabbi and Rosh Zaken of B'nai Yeshurun Nazarene Yisraelite Synagogue, Kittanning, Pa., and board member of the Union of Nazarene Yisraelite Congregations. It is our sincere hope and prayer that these commentaries encourage, inspire, and strengthen the body of Messiah in Kol Yisrael. This week our Parsha is Chai Sarah (Life of Sarah) Bereshith 23:1 – 25:18. Our Haftarah portion is Melakim Aleph (1 Kings) 1:1-31 Our suggested Brit Chadasha readings are: MattithYahu 8:19-22; 27:3-10; Luke 9:57-62. Please read Tehillim (Psalms) 23.




    Bereshith 23:1 And Sarah lived one hundred and twenty seven years, the years of the life of Sarah.




    The translation of this verse from the Hebrew, while accurate enough to convey the idea of Sarah's age at death, fails, as do most translations, to convey some of the hidden treasures in the Inspired Word of Yahweh.




    A literal, word-for-word translation of the Hebrew may not make for smooth reading in English. However, let us consider such literal translation to see if there is more to the reading than we may understand from what we have in our English Bibles.




    23:1 And-they-were lives-of Sarah hundred year and-twenty year and-seven years years-of lives-of Sarah.




    From this literal reading it is obvious that Sarah's age at her death, 127 years, is written purposely as 100 years, 20 years, and seven years. What possible messages could be hidden in the division of these years?




    Sarah is the only woman in the Bible whose age is mentioned at her death. When we encounter such one-of-a-kind occurrences we must always ask why and begin to look deeper. What is Yahweh trying to call our attention to that will escape the attention of the casual reader? For one answer we may turn to the tool of Gematria.




    First, we have “100,” which in Hebrew is “mee-ah” that is Mem, Aleph, and Hey. We are considering at this point the Gematria value of the number 100, and not the word “one-hundred.”




    One recurring theme in Gematria for 100-related words is “Redeemed.” In Shemoth (Exodus) 21:8 we have have the word “v'hafdah” meaning “and he shall let her be redeemed.” We have the same word translated as “and redeemed” in Vayyiqra (Leviticus) 19:20 and in Vayyiqra 25:48 y'ga-al-nu” translated as “may redeem him.”




    What relation can there be between the concept of redemption and the life of Sarah?




    One thought that occurred to me was that of family relationships. For Avinu Avraham, Sarah was the ideal “soul-mate,” and together, they established a “family” if you will (disregarding for the time Avraham's relationship with Hagar) consisting of Avraham, Sarah and their only son, Yitshaq. When there is harmony and cooperation between husband and wife, when they work together to have serving Yahweh as a common goal, that effort can produce what we might term “household salvation.” This is not saying that every member of a family will automatically be “saved” because their parents are righteous people. However, it does mean that everyone in a family may be inspired to live the lifestyle of the redeemed because of the instruction of the parents. While fathers have their own special role of providing leadership and sustenance for the family, mothers also have their special roles as the organizers of household affairs and the person to whom children turn to for comfort, solace and righteous advice. Here, Sarah was a shining example. She was a true “Asheth Hayil” (Ideal or Worthy Woman) of Mishle (Proverbs) 31:10-31.




    Perhaps one of the best examples of “household” salvation (Redemption) is found in Acts 16:14-15.




    14. And a certain woman named Ludia, a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, worshiping Elohim, was hearing, whose heart the Master did open to pay attention to what Shaul said.

    15. And when she was immersed, and her household, she begged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be believing in the Master, come to my house and stay.” And she urged us.


    Here, we notice that Ludia (Lydia), a prominent and wealthy woman, a “...seller of purple, set an example that was followed by her household. Therefore, under her guidance, her household lived the lifestyle of the redeemed and were believers in Yahshua.




    As a side note of interest, Lydia is described as a seller of purple. She was in the business of extracting purple dye from a small snail found in the waters of the Mediterranean called a “chilazon.” Even today, the minuscule amounts of dye extracted from the chilazon sell for exorbitant prices. Therefore we can assume that Lydia was a wealthy woman indeed. This purple dye had one primary purpose and that was to dye the “Techellith” or blue string, part of the Tzith-tzioth that were tied on the Tallith and Tallith Katan.




    While we could belabor the point, suffice it to say that righteous Hebrew women play a role in family co-cohesiveness, instruction and leadership that is not often given the consideration it deserves. Some Jews today say that the Shabbat on which Chai Sarah is read is the “Jewish Mother's Day.” Perhaps well it should be.




    Another example of a household unified in the faith is found in Acts 10:1-2, although this time the implied family unity is attributed to the father who was an army captain. Verse 2 says that he was: “...dedicated, fearing Elohim with all his household.”




    We may also assume that the “Tabitha” of Acts 9:36-42 was a woman whose example of righteousness served to bolster the faith of many including those not of her own household.




    If we move on to the next significant number in the age of Sarah, twenty, let us also consider the Gematria of this number. A Gematria value of 20 is found in the word u'zahav, meaning “and the gold.” found in Bereshith 2:12. Gold of course, is symbolic of Divinity. Gold is a treasure. Our real treasure is being able to walk in The Light of Yahweh. “Gold” also appears in Bereshith 24:35. In Shemoth 13:4 we have the word for spring, ha'Aviv, (The Aviv) or name of the month of Green Ears. “Aviv” (commonly called Nisan) symbolizes rebirth, regeneration, a time when new life springs forth from the earth, or fruitfulness.




    As I'm sure we all know, sometimes things are not what they seem. Although Avraham and Sarah had only one child, Yitshaq, in giving birth to Yitshaq they gave birth to an entire nation, for Yitshaq became the father of Ya'aqob who in turn fathered the tribes of Yisrael. Therefore, because of their faithfulness and commitment to Almighty Yahweh, Avraham and Sarah were indeed fruitful, as the month of Aviv symbolizes fruitfulness.




    A final consideration of the number 20 is “Cha-zeh, in Shemoth 29:27, meaning “breast.” A “breast” suckles infants. It is therefore symbolic of nurturing. Sarah not only nurtured Yitshaq, but also nurtured the loving relationship between her and Avraham. Moreover, the memory of her life remains as a nurturing for Kol Yisrael.




    The Gematria of the number seven is found in the word “Bah” (Beit, Hey) meaning “in her.” Avraham, according to the meaning of his name, means “Father of Many Nations.” In Sarah was the seed of Kol Yisrael.




    Before moving on we must note a final observation regarding Sarah's age. The Hebrew word for “age” is “ge'yil,” Gimel, Yod and Lamed. In our day and age relatively few live past 100. Those who do live to a proverbial “ripe old age” are often shuttled off to a nursing facility or care home. The aged are generally ignored, or worse, ridiculed or sometimes, just “tolerated.”




    However, in Hebrew culture, old age was equated with wisdom. The aged were respected and sought out for their advice. Interestingly, we get the impression that “growing old” was not dreaded then as it sometimes is now. We say this because the Hebrew word for age, “ge'yil,” is the root of “gili” (Gimel, Yod, Lamed, Yod) meaning “rejoice.” Therefore, reaching old age, or being “old” was a cause for rejoicing, not lament, regret or dread. The entire life of Sarah is very important to us because, like her husband, she was a channel for The Light. How do we live our lives? Are we, or can we be, channels for that same Light through the example of how we live and how we conduct our family affairs?




    After a short period of mourning for Sarah, Abraham looked for a place to bury his beloved wife. Eventually he purchased a field with a cave. Although it cannot be proven from Torah, the Jewish extra writings, such as the Zohar, tell us that this was also the burial place of Adam and Havah (Eve). Avraham's careful selection of a burial site should show us that as we must be careful in choosing a place in which to live, we should also try to be careful to make preparations to be buried in a proper place, a positive place that will bring us and our loved ones comfort and blessings. Avraham was careful not only to own this burial place outright, but also careful that he did not obtain it for nothing, but for a price. Once a deal was struck Avraham was beholding to no man.




    Of late, the economy is the big story on the evening news and in major newspapers. The U.S. Economy is on the verge of collapse. One of the traps that the common populace has been lured into is the credit trap. For many, credit cards, high mortgage payments and payments on new vehicles is the norm. We may recall a TV commercial in which a fellow proclaims (with somewhat of a smile) “I'm in debt up to my eyeballs.”




    I found the wording of this line quite revealing. Many people today are in debt up to their “eyeballs.” It occurred to me that many of us are slaves to impulse buying, to one degree or another. We “see” something and then we think we need it or want it. So, whether we can afford it or not, we buy it. Buying what we “see” often leads to “eyeball” height debt. We have to realize that such buying habits feed the ego. Therefore, such buying habits are based on the desire to receive for self alone. Even when people buy expensive gifts for others, like it or not, it is often done to satisfy their own ego.




    Opposite of this is the desire to receive in order to share. Such worthy spiritual desire virtually rules out material buying.




    Following the exhortation of Yahshua in MattithYahu 6:19-21 will never lead us into debt: 6:19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where theives break in and steal. 20. but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21. For where your treasure is, there your heart shall be also.”




    This is not to say that it is wrong to have a nice home, nice furniture, nice automobiles or trucks or other things that can make us content. But problems arise when we live beyond our means, for then, unlike Avraham, we are beholding to men — creditors — who will, one way or another, exact their due. Unlike Avraham, we are in economic bondage.


    After burying Sarah, Avraham tends to the next order of business, seeking a proper mate for his son Yitshaq. Here, Avinu Avraham is teaching us yet another lesson. This portion shows us that care and effort must go into encouraging our children to marry within the faith. I cannot emphasize this enough. Our children's choice of a life mate must not be haphazard or left to chance. Personally, I do not believe in arranged marriages. However, I do believe in “suggested” marriages. That is to say that in this day and age there is absolutely nothing wrong with parents saying to marriageable age children, or to children who are approaching marriageable age, “Have you considered this or that person,” then encouraging a proper introduction to a potential suitable mate.




    In Bereshith 24:3 Avraham made it crystal clear that Yitshaq was not to marry a Canaanite woman. This was not a matter of racial or ethnic prejudice. Avraham understood the danger of marriage between someone raised in the fear and admonition of Yahweh and a partner who was steeped in Ba'al worship. (Please read of this prohibition in Debarim [Deuteronomy] 7:2-4). Prohibited marriages, that is marriages between believers and non-believers, will most often result in the believer departing from or compromising his or her faith. Either way, the results lead to a spiritual disaster.




    Avraham commands his servant in Bereshith 24:3 “So that I make you swear by YHWH, the Elohim of the heavens and the Elohim of the earth, that you do not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Kena'anites, among whom I dwell.”




    The result of the servant faithfully carrying out his mission was that Yitshaq had a fitting and proper wife. Rivqah (Rebbecca) like Sarah, became a respected and honored mother in Israel. We note that Rivqah was able to “comfort” Yitshaq who was grieving after the death of his mother.




    As we will read at the beginning of next week's Parsha commentary, Tol'dot (Generations) Yitshaq was 40 years old when he married Rivqah. Their “marriage ceremony” as recorded in Scripture was simple and quite unelaborate.




    As Yitshaq is about to meet Rivqah for the first time,. She covers herself with a veil. This is because although she is an extremely beautiful woman, she does not want Yitshaq's first impression of her to be that of seeing her physical beauty. She no doubt wants him to hear her voice, hear the wisdom and eloquence of her answers to his questions, and how she can also ask questions with wisdom and purpose. All too often today, marriages are made on the basis of physical attraction. Consequently, we have one of the highest divorce rates in history. We also have one the the highest rates of domestic violence.




    The marriage ceremony is described in 24:67 And Yitshaq brought her into his mother Sarah's tent. And he took Rivqah and she became his wife, and he loved her. Thus Yitshaq was comforted after his mother's death.




    Although on the surface this simple coming together might seem like a casual arrangement, it was an arrangement taken with the utmost of serious intention to commit to one another for a lifetime. We may notice too that this verse says that Yitshaq “...loved” Rivqah after she became his wife.




    Few people truly understand the meaning of love today, hence, our skyrocketing divorce rate and incidences of domestic abuse, some of which turn deadly.




    Sad to say, when most people proclaim they're “...in love,” what they really mean is they're in a state of physical attraction, or perhaps they've “fallen in lust” rather than “in love.”




    Another personal note is in order here and some may find a bit of humor in it, but it is none-the-less true. Although the thought of what I'm about to reveal brings a smile to my face when ever I think of it, it is written with serious intent for the benefit of all.




    Before we were married my wife to be told her mother of our mutual attraction and confided that she was “in love” with me. Her mother, a wise woman who feared Yahweh and who lived by Torah, smiled and told her simply that she was not “in love.”




    She told her daughter that she would not “fall in love” until she had been married for at least five years, more likely ten. The reason, she explained, was that after a period of several years, a couple gets to know what each other is really like. While dating, even while first married, both strive to make a good impression on the other. They both “put their best foot forward,” so to speak. After a time a comfortable familiarity sets in and the usual guards are let down. If the burning passions of “love” survive this period, then the couple is truly in love.




    The Rabbis, writing in the Pirke Avoth (sayings or Ethics of the Fathers) say that “Love based on physical attraction lasts – for as long as the physical attraction may last.”




    We must pray that our women will strive to be “worthy women” like Sarah, and like Rivqah. We read a description of such a “worthy woman” every Friday evening at the outset of Shabbat as husbands read Mishle (Proverbs) 31:10-31 as a tribute, even as a love sonnet, to their wives. This passage is known as the “Asheth Hayil” or “Worthy Woman.”


    We have said much about the role of women in the family and their obligations and expectations. Now we should ask, what about the men? Interestingly, In Ephesians 5 we have three verses of instruction and admonition to wives, verses 22, 23 and 24. However, there are nine verses (three times as many) of instruction to husbands, verses 25-33. It is difficult to pick just one verse as representative of all nine, however, in verse 28 we read: In this way husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife, loves himself.




    Please read this entire passage, Ephesians 5:22-33, in addition to the suggested Brit Chadasha readings.




    Again, I feel led to drive home the idea of the Scriptural prohibitions against marriage with unbelievers. One final verse, this one from the Brit Chadasha, that is in total harmony with Debarim (Deuteronomy) 7:2-4, is 2 Corinthians 6:14-15




    Do not become unevenly yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership have righteousness with lawlessness? And what fellowship has Light with darkness?

    And what agreement has Messiah with Beliya'al? Or what part does a believer have with an unbeliever?


    Some who have entered into an unadvised marriage that ended in divorce or is headed that way may question their status as believers and eligibility to re-marry if they so choose. Divorce and re-marriage are topics of hot and sometimes bitter debate among believers. It is not uncommon for some over-zealous (sometimes self-righteous) believers to end up self-appointed judges over others because of a divorce or divorce and remarriage situation.




    For what it's worth, here is our (Congregation B'nai Yeshurun's) halacah on the matter. It is not our intention to debate this issue. We simply present our halacha for consideration then leave others to decide for themselves to accept or reject our view.




    In cases of adultery, most agree that the innocent party has the right to remarry. But what of other reasons for the dissolution of a marriage?




    In 1 Corinthians 7:15 Rav. Shaul writes: And if the unbelieving one separates let him separate himself. A brother or a sister has not been enslaved (is under no obligation) in such matters. But Elohim has called us to peace.




    Suffice it to say there are just reasons for divorce, and in most cases, the believer, or innocent party is free to remarry.




    In cases where the guilty party was divorced while in an unconverted state, living an anti-antinomian or Torah-less lifestyle, and later comes to a knowledge of truth and Light, the possibility exists that they too, after true repentance for their past sins, can remarry. Each case must be judged on its own merits and circumstances.




    Chai Sarah is meant to give us both an example and a hope for a better, more cohesive and Torah centered way of family life. May we all be blessed as we follow the examples of Avraham and Sarah to work to guide our children and grandchildren in the fear and admonition of Almighty Yahweh, teaching them to live the lifestyle of the redeemed.




    Questions or comments regarding this week's commentary may be addressed to Rabbi Mitchell via e-mail at: yoel@arm-tek.net.


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