This week's Parsha deals with the passing of three individuals. The first is Sarah Imeinu, as the Torah tells us: ... And the life of Sarah was one hundred years and twenty years and seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. Next, the Torah discusses the passing of Avraham Avinu and says: ... And these are the days of the years of Avraham's life which he lived, one hundred and seventy-five years. Finally, at the end of the Parsha, the Torah discusses Yishmael’s death: ... And these are the years of the life of Yishmael... and he expired and died and was gathered to his people.
The Parsha opens with the words ... and it is known that the word signifies a language of sorrow, while the word signifies a language of joy. The question arises: why does the language of sorrow appear with Sarah Imeinu, but not with Avraham Avinu?
The Ohr HaChaim Hakadosh explains this in two ways. It can be explained according to what Chazal say in the Midrash (Tanchuma) that the cause of her death was when she was informed about Akeidat Yitzchak, and when she heard that he was almost slaughtered, her soul departed. According to this, Sarah's death was due to the news about Yitzchak, which is hinted at by the term indicating sorrow. Alternatively, it can be understood according to Chazal's statement that she died due to bad news, which suggests that if the event had not occurred, she would have lived longer. This is indicated by the word, meaning a new existence, different from the predetermined lifespan. Due to the event of Akeidat Yitzchak, her life was instead the amount stated.
There is a reality where a person comes into the world with an allotted lifespan but ultimately does not complete all the years allotted to them for various reasons. The Avot were supposed to each live 180 years; Avraham lived 175 years so as not to see his grandson Eisav turn to a bad path; Yitzchak lived his full allotted lifespan of 180 years; and Yaakov lived only 147 years. Why? Because he complained to Pharaoh and said: ... The days of the years of my sojournings are one hundred and thirty years; few and bad have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not reached the days of the years of the lives of my fathers in the days of their sojournings. The Da’at Zekainim explains: When Yaakov said, Hakadosh Baruch Hu said to him, "I saved you from Eisav and Lavan and returned Dinah and Yosef to you, and you complain that your life is few and bad? By your life, the number of words in your response to Pharaoh will be deducted from your years, so you will not live as long as your father Yitzchak.” In that portion of his response are 33 words, and thus his years were reduced from 180 to 147.
The second explanation by the Ohr HaChaim is that Sarah Imeinu lived exactly the allotted lifespan determined for her – no more, no less. The term indicates she died due to sorrow; the Pasuk tells us by saying that she completed the years allotted to her, but it was this event that caused her death.
These are also the words of the Midrash (Bereishit Rabbah, 58:1).
It says in Tehillim (37:18): The Lord knows the days of the perfect, and their inheritance shall be forever; just as they are perfect, so are their years perfect. If so, why is the term used? Why a term of sorrow? The Ohr HaChaim explains further: The Pasuk can be understood as saying: Sarah’s life of one hundred years was in sorrow, for in all of them she was in distress. Until ninety years, she was in the pains of childbirth, not having delivered a child for Avraham, and from ninety to nearly one hundred, Yishmael was pursuing Yitzchak to kill him, and she was distressed over this matter. Thus, one hundred years. And twenty years and seven years are considered the years of the life of Sarah, for then she trusted in her son, as Avraham had already expelled Yishmael.
Seemingly, how can it be explained that Sarah Imeinu departed from the world upon hearing the news of Akeidat Yitzchak, when it is known that Sarah was even greater than Avraham in prophecy? Some have suggested that Avraham Avinu prepared himself for this gradually, whereas Sarah received the news all at once. But in the holy teachings of Chazal, it is brought that the Satan came to her even before the Akeida and informed her that her son was going to be slaughtered. Chazal say (Yalkut Shimoni, Vayera 98): The Satan came to Sarah and said to her, "Where is your husband?" She replied, "At his work." "And your son?" She replied, "With him." He said, "Didn't you say you wouldn't let him go out the door?" She replied, "They went to daven." He said, "You won't see him again." She said, "Hakadosh Baruch Hu will do His will with my son."
There is a piyyut recited by the Sephardic communities from the second of Elul until Yom Kippur (Bnei Ashkenaz recite it only once, on the fourth day of the Aseret Yemei Teshuva) called אִם אָפֵס רֹבַע הַקֵּן. There, the paytan says: ... When the only one (Yitzchak) perceived that he was the lamb, he said to his father, the tested one, “Do with me as you would a lamb, have no pity and do not spare me. He has delight in me and desires me, to bare my heart to Him; should you refuse to sacrifice me, in the end my spirit and my soul will be gathered unto Him.”
Yitzchak said to his father, “Father! Gather courage and slaughter me! Hakadosh Baruch Hu desires me, my heart longs to reveal to Him! Father, if you think to refrain from this act, my spirit and soul will be gathered to Him in any event; we will return to Be'er Sheva, go to sleep, and in the morning, you’ll find me without air! If you don’t offer me now, Hakadosh Baruch Hu will take me anyway!"
Sarah Imeinu said the same things, What Hakadosh Baruch Hu wants to do – let Him do! There’s nothing here to discuss!" Therefore, it turns out that Sarah was mentally prepared for the Akeida, so how could it be that she departed from the world upon hearing the news?
Chazal in the Midrash (Kohelet Rabbah, 9:7; Vayikra Rabbah 20:2) present a completely different perspective. Avraham had a son at the age of one hundred, and in the end, Hakadosh Baruch Hu said to him, "Take your son etc.," and Avraham walked for three days. After three days, he saw a cloud tied to the mountain, and he asked his son, "Do you see what I see?" Yitzchak replied, "Yes, I see a cloud tied to the mountain." Avraham then asked Yishmael and Eliezer if they saw anything, and they said, "No." Avraham told them, "Since you do not see anything, and this donkey does not see anything either, stay here with the donkey, as two who are similar to a donkey." He proceeded to take Yitzchak, his son, and led him up mountains and down hills. He brought him up one of the mountains, built an altar, arranged the wood, set up the arrangement, and took the knife to slaughter him. If not for the angel calling to him from heaven, Yitzchak would have already been slaughtered. The Midrash then says: You should know this is true because when Yitzchak returned to his mother, she asked him, "Where were you, my son?" He replied, "My father took me, brought me up mountains, and brought me down hills, etc." She said, "Woe for my son, had it not been for the angel, you would have already been slaughtered." He replied, "Yes." At that moment, she cried six cries corresponding to six tekiyot of the shofar and then died.
If so, what exactly happened to Sarah that she ultimately died? The Midrash adds another piece. After the Akeida was over, Avraham Avinu returned with his two young men, and Avraham was contemplating in his heart and said, "Perhaps there was a flaw in my son and he was not accepted." A bat kol came out and said to him, "Avraham, Avraham, go eat your bread with joy, etc., for G-d has already accepted your deeds, G-d has accepted your offering." Sarah Imenu, however, did not receive this message of the bat kol; she was not told, "Go eat your bread with joy," etc. She thought there was indeed a flaw in Yitzchak, and from this sorrow, she died.
The sefer Netivot Da’at presents a wonderful idea.
In Parshat Vayigash, Yosef reveals himself to his brothers, and he sends them back to Eretz Yisrael with wagons to bring Yaakov, their father. As is known, it is forbidden to deliver a surprising message to an elderly person all at once, so at the age of 130, telling Yaakov that his son was still alive was a bit of an issue. So, what did they do? They called Serach bat Asher and asked her to deliver the news in a gentle manner. The Sefer HaYashar writes, the brothers instructed her play the harp softly and sang sweetly before Yaakov, "Yosef, my uncle, is alive and he rules over all the land of Egypt and has not died," and did as they instructed. Yaakov heard her words, and they pleased him. Joy entered his heart from the sweetness of her words, and he knew that they were true. Yaakov blessed Serach for speaking these words before him, and he said to her, "My daughter, death shall not rule over you forever because you have revived my spirit, but please speak before me again as you have spoken, for you have gladdened me with all your words." She continued to sing these words, and Yaakov listened, and it pleased him, and he rejoiced, and the spirit of Hashem rested upon him.
A certain Jew told me a story, that once an elderly man asked his son to send him a lottery ticket, and the numbers he chose won. The son did not know what to do – "How do I tell him he won, he is 102 years old, and if I tell him he won 50 million, he’ll die on the spot!" So, he instead told him, "Father, you won 1,800 shekels in the lottery!" And he kept doing so every week, throwing him some amount as if he had won. Similarly, this is how they informed Yaakov Avinu that Yosef was alive – initially through song, until it gradually sank in.
Yosef ordered his chariot and went to Goshen to meet his father Yisrael; he presented himself to him and, embracing him around the neck, he wept on his neck a good while.
Rashi comments, "And he wept on his neck more" is an expression of abundant weeping. However, Yaakov did not fall on Yosef's neck nor kiss him, and Chazal say it is because he was reciting the Shema.
The commentators ask: if it was time for Shema, why didn’t Yosef also recite it? The Siftei Chachamim explains that Yaakov was already in the midst of Tefillah, and Yosef refrained from interrupting him, since one may not pass before one who davens. After Yaakov completed the first Pasuk – the essence of accepting the yoke of Heaven – Yosef embraced him. Others add that Yosef was occupied with the Mitzvah of honoring his father, and one engaged in a Mitzvah is exempt from another.
The Maharal offers a deeper view. It was not even the time for Shema, but Yaakov chose to recite it then because although he did not undergo the ten tests of Avraham Avinu, he endured unbearably difficult life experiences. His life was filled with hardship from birth to exile and had now reached its emotional peak. In that moment of reunion, he turned overwhelming love and gratitude into Shema – channeling his joy into deveikut, the cleaving to Hakadosh Baruch Hu.
He was born with a twin – the wicked Eisav. Initially, they both went to the same yeshiva of Shem and Ever, and at the age of 15, their paths diverged; Avraham Avinu passed away, and people came to eat the meal of consolation. Among them was Eisav, and he was tired and hungry. Yaakov gave him to eat from the lentil stew, and Eisav, on his part, sold him the birthright. From the age of 15 to 63, there is no story about Yaakov Avinu; he sat in the yeshiva of Shem and Ever and persisted in Torah study until at the age of 63, his mother called him and said, "Look, today is Erev Pesach. It is your father's birthday – please go bring me two good young goats so I can make delicacies for him." Yaakov went and brought Rivka two young goats, and she prepared the delicacies which Yaakov then brought to Yitzchak, to receive the blessings.
Yaakov received the blessings and left. Immediately afterward, Eisav entered and realized that Yaakov had taken his blessings; he cried out with a great and exceedingly bitter cry and said to his father, "Bless me, me too, my father!" But Yitzchak replied, "Your brother came with deceit and took your blessing." Eisav proceeded to hate Yaakov because of the blessings he wound up receiving, and he said in his heart, "The days of mourning for my father are approaching, and I will kill my brother Yaakov." Rivkah was told of this intent, and she instructed Yaakov to flee to her brother Lavan in Charan, and to remain there a few days until Eisav’s wrath dissipates.
Before Yaakov goes to Charan, he makes a stop at the Yeshiva of Shem and Ever for 14 years to prepare for Lavan's house. At the age of 77, he sets out for Charan. On the way, he encounters Elifaz, the son of Eisav, who wants to kill him. Elifaz takes all his possessions, and Yaakov continues to Charan, where he discovers a place where everyone is deceitful – especially his soon-to-be swindler father-in-law! Yaakov then served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of his love for her. As is well known, after seven years, the deceitful Lavan gives him Leah instead of Rachel, and Yaakov is forced to work another seven years for Rachel, and then another six years before he could leave town. Yaakov Avinu had to work for Lavan for twenty years, with Lavan deceiving and tricking him at every step! Moreover, raising children in such a place of idol worshippers is no simple trial!
Yaakov Avinu returns to Eretz Yisrael, where he spends two years on the road, and just as he crosses the Yabok River, Eisav's angel confronts him and wrestles with him. After he overcomes him, he is informed that Eisav is coming to meet him with four hundred men! After he survives this encounter, upon entering Eretz Yisrael, Rachel Imenu is pregnant with a third child. Rachel gives birth but has difficulty in her labor and dies right after Binyamin is born. Rachel is buried on the way to Efrat, in Beit Lechem. Yaakov enters Eretz Yisrael and arrives in Shechem – and then what happens? His daughter is abducted! By none other than Shechem, the son of Chamor! From all these trials, one consolation remained – Yosef: ... The Baal HaTurim writes, indicates that he transmitted to Yosef all that he received from the elders, Shem and Ever. But at the age of 17, Yosef is taken from him and sold down to Egypt, and the brothers return to Yaakov with a coat stained with blood and say to him that Yosef is gone! Yaakov Avinu was the first in history to experience the ordeal of a missing child! 22 years without any information whether his beloved son is alive or dead!
A famine then strikes the land, and the brothers go down to Egypt to bring food. Yosef seizes them and accuses them of being spies – he takes Shimon as a hostage and sends the brothers back to bring Binyamin; Yaakov refuses to let them take his youngest son, however, telling them how Yosef is missing, Shimon is now imprisoned, and there is no way he'll risk losing Binyamin too!
Yosef eventually reveals himself to his brothers and sends them with wagons to bring Yaakov to Egypt. They return home and exclaim, "Father, we found Yosef! He is a king in Egypt – still with peiyos, a beard, and a hat – he remains righteous! And as proof, he sent you wagons!" Usually, a person does not remember the topic he studied 22 years ago; but here, Yosef sent him a hint that he still remembers the subject they parted with – the sugya of the eglah arufah!
Yaakov Avinu arrives in Egypt and sees Yosef approaching him; Yosef is already 40 years old, standing before his father Yaakov, and Yaakov recites Shema! What exactly was he thinking? The Maharal writes (Gur Aryeh): Indeed, one must understand the matter of reciting the Shema that he recited, and this will resolve why Yosef did not recite the Shema, for when Yaakov saw his son Yosef as a king, his heart was filled with love and awe of Hakadosh Baruch Hu, seeing how His attributes are good and perfect, rewarding those who fear Him. This is the way of the pious, who, when good happens to them, they cling to Hakadosh Baruch Hu for the good and truth He has done with them. This is the recitation of the Shema, where the unity of the kingdom of heaven and His love is mentioned, and it was fitting to recite the Shema when Yosef came to him after the great distress he had because of him, and now seeing him as a king, he loved Hakadosh Baruch Hu who did this for him, accepting His kingdom, love, and awe, and this is correct for one who understands.
Yaakov stands before Yosef and says: "Ribbono, Shel Olam, I have gone through periods of ups and downs. I have seen middah of Din and also of Rachamim. But now I know that everything is Mercy! Everything was for the good!" 22 years he did not see his beloved son and the heart says to embrace him! Yet, what does he do? He recites the Shema! Why? The Maharal tells us, to transfer that same elevated feeling of joy and love from Yosef to Hakadosh Baruch Hu!
The Netivot Da’at explains that the same was true of Sarah Imenu. We must understand how it could be that when she heard her son had been sacrificed at the Akeida, her soul departed from her – even though she was a righteous and prophetic woman, so great that Chazal said Avraham was secondary to her in prophecy (Rashi 21:12). Therefore, it is likely that when she heard that Hakadosh Baruch Hu chose her son to be an offering, she was not distressed at all, but rather rejoiced that he was ready to do the will of Hakadosh Baruch Hu and give his life for the sanctification of His name, and she also rejoiced to give the love of her son for the sake of His blessed name.
Some interpret that Sarah's soul departed from her out of immense joy, as it is the way of the righteous to connect their joy to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. When good comes to them, they cling to Him and thank Him for the goodness and kindness He has done for them. Similarly, when Sarah Imeinu saw the great devotion of Avraham and Yitzchak, who were ready and prepared to perform the Akeda, her heart filled with joy for having merited this, and she longed to dedicate this joy to Hakadosh Baruch Hu, and from this longing, her soul departed.
However, on the other hand, there are Midrashim of Chazal that imply Sarah indeed died from sorrow. The Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer (32) writes: When Avraham returned from Har HaMoriah, the Satan was angry that his desire to nullify Avraham's sacrifice had not succeeded. What did he do? He went and said to Sarah, "Oh Sarah, didn’t you hear what happened?" She replied, "No." He said to her, "Your old husband took the boy Yitzchak and offered him as a burnt offering, and the boy cried and wailed, unable to escape." Immediately, she began to cry and wail. She cried three cries corresponding to the three shofar blasts (tekiyot), three wails (yellalot) corresponding to the three sobs (yevavot), and her soul departed, and she died.
Another Midrash brought by Chazal (Bereishit Rabbah, 56:4) states: The Satan came to Avraham Avinu and said to him, "Old man, old man, you have lost your mind! The son given to you at a hundred years – you’re going to slaughter him?!" Avraham replied, "For this, I am prepared." The Satan said, "And if you are tested further, can you withstand it?" Avraham replied, "Even more than this." The Satan said, "Tomorrow, they will say you are guilty of shedding your son's blood." Avraham replied, "For this, I am prepared." When he saw he could not sway Avraham, he went to Yitzchak and said, "You poor boy, your mother Sarah is left alone at home, and he is going to slaughter you!" Yitzchak replied, "For this, I am prepared." The Satan continued, "If so, all those things your mother made for Yishmael, your enemy, will inherit your possessions, and you don't care?!" Yitzchak said, "Father, father," twice to evoke mercy.
It seems Yitzchak was ready to be slaughtered, so why did he hesitate when told Yishmael would take his toys?
Rav Chatzkel Levenstein explains that a person is ready to die as long as their possessions aren’t touched – as evidenced by the announcement to the people before going to war: Who is the man who has built a new house and has not inaugurated it, let him go and return to his house – and why? The Pasuk continues: lest he die in the war; not just that, but: lest he die in the war and another man inaugurate it.
Thus, the Satan tried to convince Yitzchak in this way – perhaps this would persuade him to tell Avraham, "Stop! Let's go home." If so, one might question how it is possible that the righteous Sarah was distressed that her son was dedicating himself to Hakadosh Baruch Hu?
The Netivot Da'at explains that when the Satan told her, "Your old husband," he meant to say that Avraham had lost his mind due to old age, and according to this, the Satan claimed that Avraham acted on his own accord, not by the command of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. This is also evident from his statement, "and the boy cries and wails, unable to escape," implying that Avraham acted on his own accord, for if it were a command from Hakadosh Baruch Hu, Yitzchak would not be resisting.
The Rada"l ...
