Bostoner Torah Insights: Bostoner ‘Chassidus’ in English and Hebrew: Parshas Chaye Sara – 24 MarChesvan 5786
Bostoner Torah Insights - Yerushalayim
Bostoner Torah Insights
Bostoner ‘Chassidus’ in English
Parshas Chaye Sara – 24 MarChesvan 5786
Bostoner Rebbe shlit”a – Yerushalayim
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The portion of Chayei Sarah opens with the memory of the two lives of our matriarch Sarah, “And the life of Sarah was one hundred years, and twenty years, and seven years” (Beraishis 23:1). Rashi comments: “Therefore, ‘year’ is written with every total, to tell you that each part is explained on its own: at one hundred, she was like twenty for sin; just as at twenty she had not sinned, since she was not subject to punishment, so too at one hundred she was without sin. And at twenty, she was like seven for beauty; the two lives of Sarah – all of them were equal for good.”
In the tractate Megillah (14a), we learned: “Yiska, that is Sarah. And why was she called Yiska? Because she saw (Socheh) with the Holy Spirit.” This raises a question: how can it be said that all of Sarah’s years were equal for good, since in the Midrash, both Abraham and Sarah recognized their Creator at the age of three? If so, why is Abraham considered the first to recognize his Creator? The answer is that Sarah was ten years younger than Abraham, as we learn from the fact that Abraham was one hundred years old at the birth of Isaac, while Sarah was ninety, as it is stated, “Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is a hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?” (Beraishis 17:17)
From here we learn that Abraham was ten years old when Sarah was b orn, and according to tradition, he was thirteen when he recognized his impulse; therefore, he preceded Sarah in this recognition. In this way, their destiny was fulfilled: Abraham converted the men to belief in the L-rd, and Sarah converted the women, and this was after their marriage, which is presumed to have occurred at the time of their departure from Abraham’s birthplace and travel to Haran. “And Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born unto him.” (Beraishis 21:5).
We meet Sarah again at the conclusion of the portion, after Isaac took Rivka as a wife, “And Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death” (Beraishis 24:67). Through his marriage, he received new comfort; Isaac’s mind was settled concerning his mourning for his mother.
Also in our portion, Eliezer, Abraham’s servant, is sent to find a bride for Isaac, and afterward the Torah relates about Isaac, “And Isaac went out to converse לשוח in the field toward the evening” (Beraishis 24:63). Rashi explains that this “conversation” is the Mincha prayer, and that each of the Patriarchs established one of the three daily prayers. For so we learned (Brachos 26b): “It was stated: Rabbi Yose bar Hanina said, The prayers were instituted by the Patriarchs. Rabbi Joshua ben Levi said, The prayers were instituted corresponding to the daily offerings. It was taught in accordance with Rabbi Yose bar Hanina: Abraham instituted the Shacharit (morning) prayer, Isaac instituted the Mincha (afternoon) prayer, Jacob instituted the Maariv prayer.” “This means that Isaac instituted the Mincha prayer and then Rivka was providentially made available to him, and this is what is written, ‘For this shall every godly one pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found’ (Tehillim 32:6), which is a wife, as it is written, ‘Whoso finds a wife finds a good thing’ (Mishlei 18:22).”
All the prayers were instituted while praying for the finding of a wife, and in this way, the Patriarchs taught us that everyone must pray to find their proper match. Isaac instituted Mincha in this portion and immediately met Rivka, and Jacob instituted Maariv on his way to Haran to the house of Bethuel to find him a wife, and one can guess that Abraham too, in instituting the Shacharit prayer, prayed for the couple of future generations, since the Shacharit prayer was after the previous night, during which he had already prayed for the people of Sodom. In the morning, he saw the fire rising from the destroyed Sodom. This morning was on the day after the night that Lot went up to the mountain to escape and had relations with his daughters, from whom Ammon and Moav emerged, thereby causing the kingdom of David to come through Ruth the Moabitess and the wife of HaMelech Shlomo, the mother of Rechavom. Therefore, it can be assumed that Abraham prayed at Shacharit that a source for the kingdom of the House of David would be created from the seed that was sown the previous night.
May it be the will that we merit to receive the face of the Messiah soon