The Zohar on Parshas Chayei Sarah teaches; “Chava came to the world and cleaved to the snake, which injected a spirit of impurity into her, bringing death into the world... Noach came into the world and it says that he drank wine, became intoxicated and uncovered himself. Sarah came and she descended and ascended and did not cleave to the snake. Through this, she merited supernal life, for herself and her descendants”.
With this, the Zohar explains the meaning of ויהיו חיי שרה, “and this were the life of Sarah”, alluding to the supernal life that she merited. The snake represents evil and sin, which brought death into the world. More specifically, it refers to the sin of the Eitz Hadaas, which according to some sources was a grape vine.
Chassidus explains that the sin of the Eitz Hadaas came about because of an “awareness of self” that is a manifestation of ego, which leads one to indulge their every desire in the pursuit of pleasure and joy. This is the antithesis of true life, which is subservience to Hashem’s will that comes from humility and surrender of self.
Noach was attempted to correct the sin of Adam and Chava by planting a vine. He became intoxicated, to lose his “self-awareness”. But this too was corrupted, because it was not an expression of humility, but rather on account of drunkenness.
Sarah corrected the sin of Chava, because she was the epitome of humility and subservience to the will of Hashem, not thinking about herself and her desires. This is the path to attain true joy and fulfillment. Through this she merited true life, which she passed on to all of her descendants who will emulate her ways.
