November 6th: Chaye Sarah
THIS WEEK IN THE TORAH
Rabbi David E. Ostrich
The seeming convergence of Akedat Yitzchak/The Binding of Isaac (Genesis 22.1-19) and the Death of Sarah (Genesis 23) raises some interesting questions. Are the two events related? Or are there many years between them—with nothing important enough for the Torah record during the intervening years?
Almost as soon as we finish the Akedah story (Genesis 22), we move on to Chaye Sarah—which means “The Life of Sarah,” but is actually her death announcement: “Sarah’s lifetime—the span of Sarah’s life—came to one hundred and twenty-seven years. Sarah died in Kiriath-arba—now Hebron—in the Land of Canaan; and Abraham proceeded to mourn for Sarah and to bewail her.” (Genesis 23.1-2)
Does the sequence or interval matter? If the Akedah happens, many years pass, and Sarah eventually dies, then we can maintain the seeming assumption of the story that Isaac is a child when his father almost sacrifices him. Old enough to walk, carry wood, and hike up the mountain, but a child. If, on the other hand, Sarah dies during or immediately after Abraham’s and Isaac’s trip to Mount Moriah, Isaac would be much older. Look at the numbers. The Torah says that Sarah is 91 when she gives birth to Isaac, and she is 127 years old when she dies. This means that, if she dies at the time of the Akedah, then Isaac not a child but a full-grown man of 36 years old. Rather than being the victim of his Dad’s religious zealotry, this would make Isaac a willing participant.
So, in addition to thinking about Abraham’s difficult choice—whether or not God has to right to ask such a sacrifice, whether or not Abraham should obey, the various ways that parents “sacrifice” their children, an adult Isaac scenario expands our discussion to consider Martyrdom. There are discussions about this in Jewish Tradition—and tragic cases where it has been chosen. So, if Akedah Yitzchak is about a father and an adult son, then we need to add to our weekly Torah studies the Talmudic and Rabbinic discussions about Kiddush HaShem, Giving Up One’s Life for the Sanctification of God’s Name.
Back to Sarah’s role in the story. Does she know of Abraham’s intentions for this excursion, or does he keep it from her? Does she ever find out—i.e., could the shock at finding out afterwards contribute to her death? Or could she, as one Midrash suggests, have a prophetic vision during the Akedah (Matriarchs are prophets, too!), and when she sees Abraham holding the slaughtering knife at Isaac’s throat, she drops dead. Whether Isaac is a child or a grown-up, her shock and grief would be the same.
If Sarah does not know, one Midrash asks how Abraham manages to get Isaac out of the house. Some may imagine that Sarah goes along with obeying God’s terrible instructions, but it seems more probably that she would never, not in any circumstances, allow her pious husband to make this particular sacrifice. In which case, Abraham would need to figure out a way to take Isaac away without arousing Sarah’s suspicions. Enter the Midrash with this suggestion: Abraham tells Sarah that he is taking Isaac for Torah study. Torah study! And, since every Jewish mother understands the importance of Torah study, Sarah enthusiastically sends them off.
Was there Torah Study back then--several centuries before the Torah is given at Mount Sinai? , As improbable as it seems, there is a series of Midrash speculations about pre-Sinai Torah Study—and at an ancient Yeshiva! The Rabbis could not imagine pious and wise Jews who did not study Torah, and so they taught that, even before the Torah Scroll itself is revealed, there is study of Divine wisdom and Torah in the broadest sense: Divine Wisdom that is imbedded in Creation and accessible to wise and perceptive observers. A center for this study is imagined to be at Mount Moriah—a place also called Salem and later called Jerusalem and the Temple Mount.
The Midrash imagines an ancient Yeshiva where, among others, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob study “Torah.” This Yeshiva legend is crafted from a number of Biblical clues. We begin with the amazingly long lifespans of Noah’s son Shem and of Noah’s great-grandsons, Eber. If you add up all the lifespans in the “begot’s” section of Genesis 11, both Shem and Eber are still alive in the lifetimes of the Patriarchs—Abraham, Isaac, and even Jacob. Another clue comes in Genesis 14 when Abraham encounters a mysterious figure, “King Melchizedek Salem” who is “a priest of God Most High (El Elyon).” Abraham worships with him and gives a tithe to Melchizedek’s shrine (or institution). The Midrash “explains” that this very holy individual is none other than Shem, Noah’s son, and that he and Eber teach “Torah” in that location. Again, think of the Rabbinic mindset: If one is to be a pious and learned Jew, then he needs to study Torah. And if this is true for even the Patriarchs, then it is true for everyone else as well. In other words, if Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had to go to Hebrew School, then you do too!
Another hint for this family of Midrashim is a detail from the end of the Akedah story. After the Angel of the Lord stops Abraham, and after Abraham sacrifices the ram instead of Isaac, and after the Angel blesses Abraham, we read: “Abraham then returned to his servants, and they departed together for Beer-sheba; and Abraham stayed at Beer-sheba.” (Genesis 22.19) Where is Isaac? One could assume that he is assumed to be accompanying his Father—or he could “realize” that he remains at the Mount Moriah Yeshiva to learn Torah and qualify himself to be a Patriarch.
The story and the Midrashim go round and round, and there are dozens of angles our Tradition has taken in trying to understand this ancient and troubling text. It is one of our most fertile Torah stories.
There is always more to learn, but let us close this session with an insight about education: When we seek to educate our children, we often end up learning something for ourselves. Teachers reflect on this all the time, and parents often delight in the wisdom they get from rediscovering the world through their children’s eyes. Sometimes, this relearning is even more profound than when we learn things the first time. When Abraham takes Isaac up to Mount Moriah for “education,” what do he and Isaac learn? When God sends Abraham and Isaac up to the mountain, what does God learn? And as we ponder the lessons they all learned, what kind of wisdom can we gather?