Liat Granot – Year 8

Chayei Sarah

This week’s parashah, Chayei Sarah, is less exciting in comparison to some of the recent parshiyot. For example, in parashat Vayera, Ishmael is banished and almost killed and in the ‘binding of Yitzchak‘ he is almost killed as well. So there have been a lot of ‘fun times’ happening in the bible at the moment. 

But let’s get back to this parashah. The first main thing that happens is that Sarah dies at the ripe old age of 127. Yep 127. But it was biblical times so this is totally plausible. Anyway, the second main thing that happens is that Avraham sends his servant to find a wife for Yitzchak and while he does this there is a midrash that Yitzchak secretly goes and finds a wife for Avraham. Now what’s really sweet and nice about this is that both men, grieving for the loss of their mother/wife, go and find a woman for the other to love. 

Now although that isn’t a very modern way of dealing with grief or marriage, it does give us some insight into human nature itself. We as humans are very social creatures who need a lot of love, communication and affection to keep us sane. Their first instinct is: “I need to find my father/son someone to love and take care of him”. Yitzchak marries Rachel and Avraham marries a woman named Keturah. They have six sons together and they all live happily ever after. 

Although Avraham and Yitzchak’s relationship wasn’t very strong after Avraham ‘kind of’ tried to sacrifice him, they each tried to comfort one another in a difficult time and I think that is really beautiful. 

I would like everyone to just close their eyes and think about one thing – what can you do this week to bring more love and peace into the world? If we all work together to be more like Avraham and Yitzchak and bring more love into this world, imagine how much happier this world could be.