פרשת חיי שרה

This week’s parsha begins by enumerating the years of Sarah’s life. “And the years of Sarah’s life were a hundred years and twenty years and 7 years; the years of Sarah’s life.” Chazal pick up on the unusual repetition of “years” in the verse to expound on Sarah’s purity and beauty. However, Rashi comments that the verse goes back to say “the years of Sarah’s life” to teach us yet something else; to emphasize that every year of Sarah’s life was equal in goodness. However, when one looks back in the Chumash and reflects on Sarah’s life, one can’t help but notice that Sarah went through a lot of difficult times. Sarah was barren until she was 90, spending most of her life longing for a child. She had to deal with the humiliation of her own maidservant becoming a co-wife and conceiving a child before she did. Sarah was also kidnapped twice by both Pharaoh and Avimelech, nearly being violated in the process. Furthermore, the Midrash Tanchuma at the end of Parshas Vayera says that Sarah’s very own death was tragic. She died from shock after hearing that Avraham had left with Yitzhak in order to slaughter him in the event of the Akeida. So how can Rashi claim that Sarah’s years were all equally good when she experienced so much misfortune?

Rav Hirsh says that Sarah’s years were not good because of the enjoyable nature of her experience on Earth. Sarah’s years were good because she made the best of what Hashem gave her. In every period of one’s life there are different circumstances, tests, and even the abilities of a person vary from era to era. When one is young they have the energy to accomplish and when one is old they have the wisdom to reflect and guide others on the path of life. Even when one is experiencing adversity, they still have the choice to decide whether they want to make the best of things and perform the optimal avodas Hashem that is desired from them at that very moment. The Zohar 121 says that every day has its own special mystical opportunity. A person shouldn’t think that their glory days have passed or that a more ideal time may await them in the future. A person should only be concerned with the present. The value of every moment is determined by whether we choose to take advantage of it, not by circumstances external to ourselves. We have to seize the moment and live every minute of our lives to its fullest. This is how Sarah lived her life. No matter what the situation was, Sarah always tried to serve Hashem the best way she could at that moment and this is why all the years of her life were equally good.

The Midrash in Breishis Rabba 58:3 recounts the story of how once Rebbi Akiva was giving a lecture to the general public and noticed that his audience was falling asleep while he was speaking. Attempting to regain their attention, Rebbi Akiva began to expound upon a different and more stimulating subject. “What merit did Esther have to rule over 127 provinces?” Rebbi Akiva asked the crowd. Rebbi Akiva himself answered, “It was only because she was the granddaughter of Sarah who lived for 127 years that made her rule over 127 provinces.” The Chiddushei HaRim teaches us that there is something we can learn from the fact that Rebbi Akiva chose this vort in order to wake his audience instead of any other exciting way he could have possibly grabbed their attention. Rebbi Akiva tried to intimate to all, the incredible power that we have in every moment. From Sarah we see that not only do we have the power to affect our own lives in so many ways. We even have the power to have an incredible impact on future generations. For every year of Sarah’s life, she merited dominion over an entire region! If we think about it, that means that for every day of Sarah’s life, she merited that her descendants should gain ownership over yet another street, another block, another neighborhood. Sarah, by living her life to the fullest, eventually merited having authority over a great country that ruled over the entire world. This, Rebbi Akiva thought, was the perfect message for those who sleep through Torah lectures and in truth, really sleep through life. Every moment is so precious. How can we let it slip through our fingers? We need to wake up and seize the incredible opportunity that Hashem has placed in front of us.

Rav Ovadia Yosef tz”l was not only the leader of all Sefardic Jewry for almost a century. Rav Ovadia was one of the most prominent examples in recent times of how great a person can become. Rav Ovadia was known as “Maran”, our teacher, by an entire generation, having influence in Halacha, politics, and society as a whole. Rav Ovadia trail blazed his own path in Halacha, writing numerous legal works that have guided and will continue to guide many Sefardim for many years to come. However, Rav Ovadia wasn’t only extremely gifted. He made sure to employ his talents constantly and make the most of his gifts by appreciating every moment as an opportunity to use them. Even as a child, Rav Ovadia was known to have tremendous diligence in his learning. When growing up, a young Rav Ovadia would even learn at the Shabbos table while his father sang “Shalom Aleichem.” Rav Ovadia took advantage of any chance he had to learn more Torah. Since Rav Ovadia’s family was very poor, it was very hard for the young Torah scholar to obtain new sefarim. In order to learn more, Rav Ovadia would ask the owner of the local sefarim store if he could just borrow a sefer for a night. After borrowing a new sefer, Rav Ovadia would stand by a streetlight and finish it overnight, absorbing the entirety of its contents by dawn. Later in his life, Rav Ovadia was known to set special learning sedarim for himself in certain locations (such as the time he spent riding in cabs). Even in such fleeting moments, Rav Ovadia would be able to make an entire siyum on Shas in these small seders that he set for himself. Rav Ovadia cared about every moment and seized every opportunity he could to learn and enlighten others with the light of the Torah whether it was giving a shiur to people in Dimona or protecting the Torah’s honor in front of the Knesset. May we all strive to emulate his ways and follow in his path.

May we all be zoche to utilize our time to the best of our ability while we’re still in this world!!!