In the story of Purim, the miraculous salvation of the Jewish people came about through Queen Esther, who ruled over 127 provinces. The Midrash comments: “Why would Esther merit to rule over 127 provinces? As Esther was the granddaughter of Sarah, who lived 127 years, let her come and rule over 127 provinces.”
The correlation between Sarah and Esther is certainly not only a numerical parallel; the matching numbers indicate that Sarah’s life and the miracle of Purim have something in common.
Rashi’s interpretation of the words “the years of the life of Sarah” at the beginning of Parshas Chayei Sarah hints to the common feature between Sarah and the miracle of Purim. Rashi wonders: after we read that Sarah lived for 127 years, why is it necessary to recap that “these were the years of the life of Sarah”? He concludes that this phrase comes to summarize all 127 years, saying, “They all were equally good.” Now, no person’s life is unmarked by change; yet remarkably, the Torah attests to Sarah having experienced all 127 years of her life as equally good.
4. Bereishis Rabbah 58:3.
When we encounter the same number, 127, in the book of Esther, the Midrash understands that this serves to draw our attention to Sarah’s life, based on which we can understand why the Jews merited that miracle of Purim. During the Persian exile, the Jewish people lived scattered across 127 different lands. Each place was unique in climate, culture, language and character. Inevitably, outside of their Torah observance, the lifestyles of the Jews in these diverse locations varied tremendously. Yet when the decree to annihilate the Jews reached each province, not even one Jew considered the option to renounce his Judaism and be spared!
Like the 127 years of Sarah that were astonishingly “all equally good,” the Jews of 127 different “varieties” were identical in their steadfast belief and devotion to G-d. They therefore merited, says the Midrash, “that the granddaughter of Sarah” would “come and rule over 127 provinces.”
—Sichos Kodesh 5730, vol. 1, pp. 638–639
5. See Torah Ohr 91b.
