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The Two Lives of Our Matriarch Sarah
Sarah recognized Hashem - with Abraham - when she was thirty-eight, the thirty-eighth year being reckoned with the earlier period, of not knowing Hashem.
Our Parasha, though called חיי שרה: ‘The life of Sarah’, only devotes only one pasuk to this subject, stating:(23:1):’ויהיו חיי שרה..’:’And the life of Sarah was one hundred years, twenty years and seven years, the years of Sarah’s life’ - and, in the next pasuk, relates her death.
Rashi comments, on the opening pasuk:’The reason that that the word ‘years’ was written after every digit is to tell you that every digit is to be expounded upon individually::when she was one hundred years old, she was like a twenty-year-old regarding sin - just as a twenty-year-old has not sinned, because she is not liable to punishment, so too, when Sarah was one-hundred-years old, she was without sin. And when she was twenty, she was like a seven-year-old, as regards to beauty.’
The years of the life of Sarah’::All of them were equally good.
Abarbanel brings our Rashi, and his query: Why is ‘year’ said after each digit, and why does the Torah then conclude the pasuk, by saying: The years of the life of Sarah.
He expounds: Rashi gave his answer to these two queries, but they were by way of drush: homiletic.
Rambam already asked on Rashi’s commentary, noting that we find similar language used in regard to Yishmael, whose years were certainly not all equal in righteousness, as were those of Sarah, as Rashi concluded.
In my opinion, the drasha of our Sages concerning Sarah, was only because the Torah concluded, by way of repetition, at the end of the pasuk, with the words: ’The years of the life of Sarah’.
It would seem to me, that many times we find the words ‘year’ after integers, but there is in each instance, a reason for it.
In the case of Sarah, it was so, too - to teach that she was an young woman for one hundred years, as she gave birth to Yitzchak at the age of ninety, and weaned and raised him in the next ten years - this being till the age of one hundred, as a young woman in her deeds; and the ensuing twenty years, were years of ageing, but with her strength still intact.
The last seven years were years of frailty - these being the periods of man’s life, as Ibn Sira teaches.
As all these periods, in the case of Sarah, were ‘years in goodness’, they were encapsulated by concluding: ’The years of Sarah’s life’, as good years, as are those which merit the description, ‘life’ - unlike bad years and years of sorrow.
Rav David Hofstedter raises a fundamental query on the Rashi, that ‘all of Sarah’s years were equal in goodness’, asking: did she see only good years, were there not among them, also years of sorrow and of tribulation?
Indeed, when we consider the life of Sarah, we find many difficult years, as she shared many of Avraham’s trials - including their descent to Egypt, because of the famine, a place of the utmost depravity, which led to her being taken into the house of Pharoah.
Further, she was barren, regarding which the Midrash says: ’Whoever does not have a son, is as one who is dead’.
All of this was topped by the manner in which she was to hear, that her beloved Yitzchak had been offered on the altar.
We see that, regarded in a true light, we can answer that this in no way contradicts Rashi’s comment, that ‘all her years were equal in goodness.’
This because there is no greater goodness than to successfully withstand trials, as it is only through this that the life of a servant of Hashem is elevated - which is our purpose in this world, to continually ascend, and this can only be achieved by standing in trials.
The Ben Ish Hai has an intriguing interpretation on the concluding words of our pasuk: ’שני חיי שרה’, literally - as we have brought: the years of Sarah's life, but homiletically, he proffers: שני: as also meaning two - to allude to the two lives of Sarah.
He expounds: The righteous have two types of life: one, measured by the quantity of years, that he has existed - the second, the quality of those years, as we say:’And it is your life and the length of your days.
This is what this concluding pasuk comes to tell us, in the words שני חיי שרה: that she merited the two types of life, of quality, and in quantity - the word שני, alluding to two.
From this, we can also say that the words (24:1) ’And Avraham was old, advanced in years’:ואברהם זקן בא בימים: ב'ימים, meaning the two types, of quality and of quantify.
The Rav precedes this concluding exposition, by elucidating: It is known that the years which a person lives in righteousness, are called חיים: ‘life’ - and, if not, are not called ‘life’.
It is also known, that our Sages say that at the age of forty-eight Avraham recognized his Creator; and that Avraham wed her when she was a young girl, as the Gemara relates - also, that he was ten years older than her.
We know, therefore, that Sarah recognized Hashem - with him - when she was thirty-eight, the thirty-eighth year being reckoned with the earlier period, of not knowing Hashem.
The Torah comes here to teach us: do not think that that these first thirty-seven years of Sarah’s life - which have the same numerical value as the opening word of our pasuk: ויהיו, were of a lesser quality, and so, do not merit to be called חיים: life, but, rather, were also years of חיים: of righteousness, and equal in quality to the remainder of her years - all were ‘the years of Sarah’s life.’
Rav Yaakov Ettlinger similarly comments: The concluding words of our pasuk: ‘the years of Sarah’s life’, may appear to be superfluous - in the light of the earlier part of the pasuk - but it comes to teach us that all the one-hundred and twenty seven years of Sarah, were reckoned to her as חיים: ‘life, as not a day passed in which she did not perform mitzvot - so that every day and every year, were ‘days of her life’.
‘Every day that a person does no good deed in it, is not reckoned to him as ‘days of a man’s life’ - as he has not lived it, but only as a בהמה: an animal.’
The Be’er Mayim Chaim elucidates:’It is known that the principal reason for the creation of days on earth, was so that man would serve Hashem in a proper manner, with love and awe, in Torah and mitzvot, as then Hashem will shower him each day, with blessings and life - as the Psalmist says:(88:2)’ Blessed be Hashem, each day’, and our Sages add: ‘Give Him, as He gives you’ - meaning: see to it that you merit the brachot and influence of each day, that belong to that day’, as then this day will be filled with the light from the great and holy light, and from his treasury of His chassadim, and from it derive your life - as this was the purpose of your creation, that you should benefit from His goodness.
This is what is alluded to in the pasuk:(Mishpatim 23:26)’’And the number of your days, I shall fulfill’, that all the days are filled with the life of His light, and are all ‘life’, and are everlasting.
On this, it is written:(Breishit 1:5), ‘And Elokim called light: day’, as He only created day so that in it there is light and joy and bracha - but the dark, he called ‘night’, meaning: even if it was daytime, if that day was without the light from Above, that the blessings from Above that it needs to receive, were merited - it is called ‘night’ and not: ‘day’ - which is why the days of our galut in their entirety, are called ‘night’.
This is what the Torah came to teach us here, in praise of Sarah our Matriach, saying:’’ויהיו חיי שרה..’: that all these years were the ‘life of Sarah’ - that Sarah lived them, and there was not one moment of idle talk or deed that was not service of Hashem.
‘The Torah here concluded, saying that they were all ‘days of the life of Sarah’, that she infused each of them ‘life’.’
The Chatam Sofer graces us with his unique insights, opening by commenting on our Rashi:It is not possible that any person should truly be completely righteous - not even Moshe Rabbeinu.
Rather, every righteous person is called צדיק תמים: according to his standard - and he is one who every day adds to his level of completeness, so that yesterday is always less than today, until, on his last day on earth, before his departure, he has attained the peak of his righteousness.
Hashem then reckons all the years of his existence, from the day of his birth, as being ‘years of temimut, on the last day of his life, as all of them were like rungs of a ladder, on which he ascended to this last level.’
Rav Eliyahu Shlezinger, who brings this wonderful insight, adds: In simple terms, we cannot say regarding any person, that he was completely righteous throughout his life, as man is called הולךֶ: ‘walking’, in his quest to continuously ascend, from one level to the next level - only at the end of his days does he reach the peak of his completeness- it cannot therefore be said that, during his whole life, he was at the peak of completeness.
However, adds the Chatam Sofer, in fact, Hashem in his boundless mercy,, reckons’ to the person, all of his years, from the day of his birth, to be ‘complete’, as they were the rungs on which he ascended to this final level.
From this, as an introduction, the Chatam Sofer expounds, that that which the Torah relates: Sarah’s lifetime was one hundred years and twenty years and seven years, the years of her life’ - as from the day of her birth till she was ninety, she was called Sarai; however, when she was ninety, Hashem changed her name to Sarah - meaning, that then, when she was ninety, she reached the peak of completeness - then, as Rashi comments, became Sarah to the whole world, not only to Avraham.
We therefore find, that only for thirty-seven years of her life, was she called ‘Sarah, as only then had she reached completeness - however, since, in fact, in all the years of her life she ascended rung by rung, to reach completeness,- and but for her avodat Hashem in her youth, she would not have been able to attain completeness at the end of her days, Hashem reckoned as if all her days were equal in goodness.
This is the meaning of the comment: ’The days of Sarah were’, meaning - like the numerical value of והיו, which is 27, they being the years of her being ‘Sarah’.
‘Hashem reckoned all her one-hundred-and- twenty seven years, to be equally ‘the days of Sarah’, as they were retrospectively reckoned as if they were ‘days of Sarah’ and to this Rashi alluded, in saying:’The days of Sarah: All of them equal in goodness.’
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/417746
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