Parashat Chaye Sarah
Genesis 23:1 through Genesis 25:18

Topics (click on any link)
Synopsis of the Torah portion
Spiritual insights into Parashat Chaye Sarah
Key verses
Creative Midrash for Parashat Chaye Sarah  

Synopsis                 return to top of page
This sedra opens with Sarah's death. Sarah died in the land of Canaan that was occupied by the Hittites at that time.  When Abraham offered to buy a burial site and they replied that God favors you so you may have the choicest of our burial sites. Abraham then purchased the cave of Machpeleh to bury Sarah.

Abraham was now old. He made his senior servant swear that he would not take a wife from among the daughters of the Canaanites and that he should go to the land of Abraham's birth to find a wife for his son, Isaac. But under no circumstances was he to allow Issac to return to Abraham's birthplace. The servant then set out for the city of Nahor. When he arrived he prayed that God should deal graciously with his master.

As he stood by the camel watering spring and knew that the maiden who offers him a drink and then draws water for the camels would be Isaac's betrothed. Rebekah who turns out to be Abraham's niece offers a drink to the servant and then proceeds to water the camels. She then introduced herself and offered the servant food and a bed for the night; Abraham's servant than knew that Rebekah was to be Isaac's wife.

Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban. He seemed kind and gracious and offered to feed the camels and set food before the servant, but the servant would not eat until he told his tale. "I am Abraham's servant", he began and went on to them how the Lord blessed his master and he became rich. He further told the the instructions he was given to find a wife for Isaac and how Rebekah was the one who fulfilled the requirements. Then he asked to be told if Laban will treat his master with kindness and comply with his wishes. To which Laban answered, "The matter was decreed by the Lord. Take Rebekah and go, let her be a wife to your master's son.
Isaac had just returned from a journey. He went out walking one evening and saw camels approaching. Rebekah looked up and saw Isaac. The servant told her that he was his master’s son. Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother as his wife. Isaac loved her and found comfort after his mother's death.

Parshat Chaye Sarah concludes with the death of Abraham and a genealogy of all the descendants of Abraham, including the children of his second wife

Spiritual insights into Parashat Chaye Sarah                 return to top of page
Chaye Sarah further develops the theme that was first introduced in Parashat Lech Lecha--that God will give the Land of Canaan to Abraham's offspring. This motif will be repeated many times and in many ways throughout the cycle of Torah readings.

Is this land a geographical location that exists in the present day Middle East, or does it represent the landscape of a spiritual space where we are all destined to enter? Don't forget, the Torah speaks in metaphoric language. To answer this we have to consider the Kabbalah's perspective that God created both an earthly Jerusalem and its heavenly counterpart--meaning that for every living thing that exists, a spiritual counterpart governs the earthly version. Sort of like the ancient declaration, "As above, so below". 

Symbols like "the Land" is prevelant all throughout Jewish tradition. Consider so many of our rituals that engage symbolic thinking, like bedikat chametz, removing chametz in the house the night before Passover or standing on our tip toes three times upon hearing the words in the synagogue, Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, symbolic of raising your consciousness just a bit higher. Symbols, metaphors, allegories and images are the spiritual teaching tools in Judaism. It would be helpful to keep your eyes and ears open and try to determine what every ritual action or imaginative text is trying to communicate.

In these chapters, Abraham reinforces in our minds the holiness of the "Land".  He instructing his servant Eliezer to find a wife for his son Isaac from Abraham's own family in Mesopotamia and not from the Canaanites, a godless people living in the land at that time. Also Isaac must not leave their precious "Land" to accompany  Eliezer to Abraham's homeland. Consider some events that have happened recently to you. Could everyone and every experience in your life is just a shadow of your heavenly counterpar, your Land of Canaan? Which version is real and which isn't? What governs your life, you or from the heavenly you?

Key verses               return to top of page
This page is not a commentary on the text, but a chance for you to express your own comments and feelings so that the Torah can help you gain deeper insight into your own life.

Genesis 23:6
Hear us, my Lord: you are the elect of God among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places.
Food for thought:
1. What personal qualities did Abraham possess to be the elect of God?
2. What qualities do you think any one should have to be favored by God?
3. What qualities do you possess that would impress God?

Genesis 23:19
And then Abraham buried his wife Sarah, in the cave of the field of Machpeleh, facing Mamre--now Hebron--in the land of Canaan.
Food for thought:
1. Why did Abraham bury his wife in the land of Canaan?
2. What does the land of Canaan represent today? What is the significance of that land to us today?
3. Do you think Canaan was just a geographical location or could it have more spiritual significance?

Genesis 24:3-4
Swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I dwell, but will go to the land of my birth and get a wife for my son Isaac.
Food for thought:
1. If the land of Canaan held such great esteem for Abraham, why wouldn't he want a wife for Isaac from there?
2. What was wrong with the Canaanites that Abraham would not want a wife for Isaac from among those people?
3. What conditions would be necessary for you to choose  a wife for yourself or one of your children?

Genesis 24:14
Let the maiden to whom I say, "Please, lower your jar that I may drink" and who replies, Drink, and I will also water your camels--let her be the one whom You have decreed for Your servant Isaac.
Food for thought:
1. This seems like a test of God. How could Abraham's servant dare create such a test for God?
2. Is there something special about the servant that entitles him to conduct such a test?
3. Do you create tests yourself, of another kind, for God nowadays?

Genesis 24:53
The servant brought out objects of silver and gold, and garments and gave them to Rebekah; and he also gave presents to her brother and her mother.
Food for thought:
1. What ancient rituals are being presented here? How do we perform this ritual today?
2. How come there are no commandments to perform this ritual?
3. Do we need commandments to carry out human instinctive needs?

Genesis 24:67
Isaac then brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he took Rebekah as his wife. Isaac loved her, and thus found comfort after his mother's death.
Food for thought:
1. What do you think was so appealing about Rebekah that Isaac immediately took her as his wife?
2. Would you call it love at first sight or could there have been some underlying deeper charm?
3. Could Isaac have simply found consolation in Rebekah after Sarah's death?
4. What qualities in a prospective mate would you need? Would they be the same as Isaac's?

Genesis 25:1
Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah. She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah
Food for thought:
1. We have seen genealogies in Parshat Noach.  We will find more genealogies as we progress through the Torah. What do they mean? Why are they included in the Torah?
2. In what ways does your own genealogy relate to ones in the Torah?
3. What do you think genealogies represent? How are they important to us today?

Genesis 25:5
Abraham willed all that he owned to Isaac; but to Abraham's sons by concubines Abraham gave gifts while he was still living, and he sent them away from his son Isaac eastward, to the land of the East.
Food for thought:
1. Why did Abraham make such a radical distinction between Isaac and the other sons?
2. Does "willed" mean after Abraham's death? If so why did the other sons get gifts while he was still living?
3. If Isaac was the favored son, why would Abraham will his gifts? Do you think that the gifts were something other than physical possessions? Could they have been more of a spiritual significance?

Additional questions to ponder:
1. What is it about the story, a verse, a word that seems to resonate with some aspect of your life?
2. Is there something about the story that rings a bell?
3. Can you recall experiences in your life when you have experienced something similar to this story?
4. How would you describe the characters in the story? Who do you know who's like them?
5. Can you personally identify with any one of the characters in the story? Which one?
6. Can you find a similarity between yourself and all the characters in the story?

Reflections:
The Rabbis of old would meditate on such questions, sometimes for weeks at a time, to help find deeper meaning in the
verses. You may wish to contemplate just one or a few of these questions at a time, rather than tackling them
all. In what ways were any of your responses to the questions personally meaningful?

Suggestion:
Some of the questions here are of a personal nature which in some cases could be emotionally upsetting. If so, try
relaxing your body as much as possible and takes long slow breaths of air. That usually helps to relieve anxiety.

We would like to know if you find this method of Torah study particularly helpful to you. Click here to let us know

Creative Midrash for Parashat Chaye Sarah       return to top of page
Genesis 23:5-6
And the Hittites replied to Abraham, saying to him, Hear us, my lord you are the elect of God among us.
Genesis 25:5-6
Abraham willed all that he owned to Isaac, but to Abraham's sons by concubines, Abraham gave gifts while he was still living, and he sent them away from his son Isaac eastward, to the land of the East.

The Rabbis of old would create parables, stories and narrative connections around such selected verses. What do you see between the lines, the sentences and the letters. The following questions can provide a launch pad upon which to create your own meanings of the Torah.

There appears to be something special about Abraham that the Hittites would call him the elect of God. How would you determine what that could be? Is it because of his hospitality? What qualities made Abraham the elect of God?

Abraham believed there  was something special about Isaac. What could we possibly know about Isaac that  that enabled him to inherit Abraham's special gifts? The Torah doesn't say very much about what made both Abraham and Isaac favorites of God. Could you surmise what it might be? Why do you think Abraham would send his sons by concubines away from Isaac? What was God trying to protect or preserve? What are some of your own personal qualities that would rate along with the qualities of  Abraham and Isaac?

Spend some time thinking about these questions. After you mentally process them for a day or two, it could be helpful to record your conclusions in a journal. In time this process can teach you to change many of your unproductive thoughts and beliefs for new ones that work more effectively.