Love and Consolation: Parashat Hayyei Sarah

holdhands Torah Sparks
Genesis 23:1–25:18

Our Torah portion takes its name from the notice at its start that Sarah’s life—”Hayyei Sarah”—had come to an end. We are told that Abraham eulogizes her, cries over her and buries her. Then the story moves on to the next issues facing the family. Conscious of his own mortality, Abraham makes provisions for finding a suitable mate for Isaac. It is necessary to  move on, to deal with the future. Sarah’s part of the story is seemingly over.

Nevertheless, Sarah exerts an important influence for the rest of the portion. This influence is revealed after the lengthy section about the finding of Rebecca, Isaac’s intended wife, and her introduction to Isaac. We are told: “And Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah, his mother; and he took Rebecca and she became his wife and he loved her; and Isaac was consoled after his mother[‘s loss].” (Gen. 24:27)

This sentence begins and ends with reference to Sarah. We learn that “Sarah’s tent” was still standing, though it was some time after her death. And we learn that Isaac had been mourning his mother inconsolably all this time. This is remarkable since we have no previous record of any real relationship between Isaac and his mother. We know she found his very conception preposterous and publicly embarrassing. We know she suckled and weaned him. And we know that she was fiercely protective of Isaac, insisting that his older brother be expelled from the family along with her maidservant, the older boy’s mother.

Yet we have no record of any interchange between them. The Torah records the laconic and heartbreaking conversation between father and son as they ascend the mountain in order to bring an offering to God. But we have no record of any words exchanged between mother and son. He is not even mentioned as being present at her burial.

So this verse is revelatory in at least two ways: It shows us a glimpse of Isaac’s inner life, and it also shows us that there is so much more that the Torah did not elect to show us. In order to read the Torah we must move between those two revelatory poles, reminding ourselves that the Torah wishes to remind us that there are always hidden dimensions of its story and message. In that spirit it is meaningful to note other revelations we receive from this densely packed verse.

We get one more peek into Isaac’s heart. He is the first person in the Torah who is described as loving his spouse. Isaac is also the first person who is described by the Torah as being loved. He is loved by his father. We know this because, earlier, we had heard God say to Abraham that God knows that Abraham loves Isaac. The Torah apparently feels that it is important for us to immediately know about Isaac’s capacity to love. Perhaps we will understand more about this as the story of Isaac unfolds.

We also learn that it was Rebecca who consoled Isaac. What made for her consoling role? Did she do something to help Isaac get over his sorrow? Was it simply something undefinable about her persona? Was it Isaac’s newfound love for her? Or was it just a case of dispelling loneliness, by her simply being present? Or, perhaps, was there something about Rebecca that echoed some special quality of Sarah’s? Could it have been  Isaac’s sense that she, too, possessed a capacity for fierce devotion to any son she might bear?

image:  “ギュー” © Toshimasa Ishibashi altered and used with permission via Creative Commons License 2.0

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