This is a particularly interesting and subtle parashah. It begins: “And Sarah was a hundred and twenty-seven years old: these were the years of Sarah’s life. Sarah died in Kiryat Arba, also known as Hebron.... Abraham came to eulogize Sarah and to weep for her” (Bereisheet 23:1–2). There are different ways to interpret this. It is a little strange, for it says, “And Sarah was a hundred and twenty-seven years old: these were the years of Sarah’s life.” But when we interpret it from the point of enlightenment, it makes sense. The point is that the days of Sarah’s life equal the days she actually lived. In other words, it is saying Sarah was in the divine presence all the days of her life. She knew the secret of being present. Some people would say that when she was 100 she was as virtuous as a girl of twenty, and at twenty as innocent as a child of seven (Midrash Bereisheet Rabbah 58:1). This is a result of her being present through every phase of her life. It has to do with intention, or kavanah. It is the intention to be in the presence of the Divine in every moment that brings joy on the spiritual path. This is of one of the most important teachings of the Ba’al Shem Tov: to be intently focused on the presence of the Divine in every moment, and always being in the process of turning the mundane world into a holy world and thus bringing spirit into the mundane. This is what we call yechudim, or unifications. Rabbi Gabriel Cousens, MD Torah as a Guide to Enlightenment (Parsha Chayay Sarah)
Posted on: Sat, 15 Nov 2014 02:56:43 +0000
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