Chayei Sarah: Bresheet (Genesis; 23:1 - 25:18) Part 2 Back to part 1
THE TRAILBLAZER OF THE TORAH'S PATH - Avraham's Divine service began "two millennia of Torah." As reflected in the expression, "The deeds of the Patriarchs are a sign for their descendants," the Divine service of the Patriarchs, and particularly of Avraham, the first Jew, began the preparations for the giving of the Torah. The giving of the Torah brought about a fusion between the material and spiritual realms. To quote the illustration given by the Midrash: To what can the matter be likened? To a king who made a decree: the inhabitants of Rome will not descend to Syria, and the inhabitants of Syria will not ascend to Rome.
In a similar way, when G-d created the world, He decreed: "The heavens are the heavens of G-d, and earth He has granted to man." When He desired to give the Torah, He nullified this initial decree, saying the lower realms will ascend to the higher realms, and the higher realms will descend to the lower realms.
The giving of the Torah generated the possibility for spirituality to be fused together with material existence through the observance of mitzvos. The preparations for joining the material and the spiritual began with the Divine service of Avraham our Patriarch. Bonding was evident in his efforts too. This can be seen in his personal development (zaken) and accomplishment (ba bayamim).
The righteous men who existed before Avraham in the two millennia of Tohu (the latter term means "void," for these two thousand years did not share any connection to the giving of the Torah) lacked this thrust towards fusion. Their Divine service encompassed only one of the two paths, either personal development or efforts within the world at large. There was no fusion between the two. This reflects the spiritual climate of the era of Tohu. As explained in Chassidus, the emotional attributes of the realm of Tohu were each revealed independently, without any interrelation between them. Each attribute did not allow for the expression of any other one.
To apply these concepts in terms of our Divine service: There were righteous men whose service focused only on the realm of personal development (zaken). To cite an example from a later period, Ben Azzai who did not marry, saying "My soul firmly desires the Torah." He devoted himself to Torah study without having anything to do with worldly matters. Similarly, before Avraham's times, there were others who devoted themselves solely to efforts with others (ba bayamim) without seeking personal development. Avraham was the first to fuse both thrusts together. To emphasize this dimension, the Midrash highlights the fact that Avraham possessed both of these qualities.
It's true that others, e.g., Yehoshua and David, as cited in the Midrash, also possessed both qualities. Avraham, however, was unique in that he was the first to fuse together these two paths of service. This was the beginning of the two millennia of Torah. For the purpose of the Torah is to unify different and even opposite tendencies, as the Rambam states: "In its entirety, the Torah was given to establish peace within the world." Peace implies the coordination and fusion of opposing tendencies, thrusts which require that peace be established between them. A Singe Path is not sufficient.
As are all the narratives of the Torah, the narrative which relates that Avraham was "Old, advanced in years," serves as a directive in our Divine service. There are some individuals who continuously seek to achieve in the world at large, without showing any concern for their own personal development. Others follow the other path, seeking to further their own spiritual development. This is an ongoing process. The further a person proceeds in his path of spiritual development, the more he realizes the endlessness of this journey and the need to proceed onward. "As one increases knowledge, one increases pain," i.e., the pain of knowing that there is an untouched frontier ahead. As one advances, one desires to advance even further, as reflected in our Sages' statement: "Whoever possesses 100, desires 200."
Involved as such, a person becomes in his desire for personal growth, he forgets about spreading light within his surroundings. Avraham's fusion of these qualities teaches us that every Jew must endeavor to achieve the levels of both zaken and ba bayamim, and establish harmony between the two. For as mentioned previously, the Torah is characterized by unity, harmony, and peace.
CREATING A DWELLING FOR G-D - Although there is the need for efforts in both paths described above, Chassidus places the emphasis on ba bayamim, on the efforts to refine the world at large. This thrust can be explained based on the chassidic interpretation of our Sages' statement: "One hour of teshuvah and good deeds in this world is better than all the life of theWorld to Come." The World to Come reflects the pleasure which man, a created being, will experience from the revelation of G-dliness.
Our Divine service of teshuvah and good deeds, by contrast, brings about pleasure for G-d. This Divine pleasure is incomparably greater than the pleasure experienced by man. For in no way can a created being and his pleasure be equated with his Creator and His pleasure. The teshuvah and good deeds we perform in this world surpass the pleasure we will experience in the World to Come.
In a similar vein, the Divine service associated with the quality of zaken, i.e., a person's own development, cannot be compared with the service associated with ba bayamim, illuminating the world at large. For it is the latter service which fulfills G-d's intent in creation, establishing a dwelling for Him in this world. This brings Him pleasure. For this reason, the Rebbeim always highlighted the importance of carrying out G-d's intention in creation, expressing that intent in the lowest levels of existence, including material entities that are subject to time and change.
The Divine service which fulfills the intent of transforming this world into a dwelling for G-d is more relevant in the present age, a time of darkness and concealment, than ever before. This is particularly true in America, where attention is focused on material things far more than before. Moreover, this desire for material things is subject to the vicissitudes of change. For example, with regard to clothes, every day one needs a different wardrobe. If a person does not follow this mode, it appears that he is lacking. It is in such an environment that it is necessary to transform these material entities which are in constant flux and change into a dwelling for He of whom it is said: "I G-d have not changed."
When One's Divine Service Fluctuates The Divine service associated with the quality ba bayamim is relevant, not only with regard to one's efforts in the world at large, but with regard to one's own self. Every Jew has certain mitzvos which he observes continually and habitually. For one person, it will be the mitzvah of charity which he will be more accustomed to fulfilling. For another, it will be the mitzvah of reciting the Shema which he continuously observes punctiliously, and for a third, it will be still another mitzvah.
Every person has, however, certain mitzvos which he does not observe with such uniform regularity. On the contrary, his observance of these mitzvos fluctuates from time to time, and he must apply more effort to observe these mitzvos as is required. The person might thus think: Why should I put effort into matters that will not become ingrained in my character? Seemingly, it would be more profitable to invest energy and effort in those matters which will be perpetuated. This would appear to be a more judicious use of one's energies.
Moreover, the fact that the observance of certain mitzvos comes more naturally to him, and are not subject to change indicates (apparently, and perhaps in truth), that they share a deeper connection to the essence of the soul, the fundamental Jewish spark which is above change that we all possess. As such, one might assume that it would be preferable to use one's energies which are more closely related to this essence. In this context, Avraham's service of ba bayamim serves as a lesson, teaching each of us the importance of having our Divine service encompass matters which are subject to change, for it is through such service that G-d's desire for a dwelling in the lower realms is accomplished.
As explained in the writings of the AriZal, and in Chassidus, every soul has a particular mitzvah, and a mission to achieve certain goals, which lead to the fulfillment of its descent into this world. The fact that difficulties arise with regard to certain matters indicates that the essence of his mission involves these matters. Since this is the fundamental duty with which he is charged, the yetzer hora (evil inclination) presents the greatest challenges to hinder its expression. It is demanded of every Jew, not to despair that certain dimensions of the Torah and its mitzvos are not thoroughly ingrained within his nature, and from time to time, he senses that their observance becomes weaker. He should concentrate his Divine service precisely in these areas where he feels fluctuation from time to time. When he does this, his efforts will surely be reinforced with help from above.
SARAH'S PERFECTION - On the above basis, we can understand the statement: "Just as they are perfect, so too their years are perfect." Even a person whose Divine service centers on one vector alone can be described as righteous, as mentioned previously with regard to the righteous men who lived during the two millennia of Tohu. Perfection, by contrast, implies that a person's Divine service is multi-faceted, that it is perfect in both thrusts of Divine service, following the heritage of with which Avraham initiated the two millennia of Torah. Because "they - the righteous - are perfect..., their years are perfect." Just as in their own Divine service they combine and unify two opposite tendencies, so too, "their years are perfect," the years (i.e., the changes they undergo) are perfect. They are able to manifest their spiritual perfection even in matters which are subject to change, making them also perfect.
For this reason, our Sages described Sarah at the time of her death as "perfect." For it was Avraham and Sarah who initiated the preparations for the giving of the Torah, and "the two millennia of Torah"; they began the path of unity and synthesis that brought together opposite thrusts. This concept also relates to the explanation given previously, that Sarah's years are described as perfect, despite the fact that she died before her time. Although "her soul expired" at the time of the akeidah, "her years were perfect." This reflects a fusion of two opposite thrusts. The expiration of a person's soul reflects a desire to rise above the limits of world. This runs contrary to the thrust of ba bayamim, involvement in the world. On the contrary, it relates more to the thrust of zaken, seeking one's own personal development. Therefore, the Midrash underscores the fact that despite this thrust, "her years were perfect," i.e., she also possessed the advantage of ba bayamim.
TORAH'S INNER DIMENSION - The above concepts share a special connection to this year, as reflected in the fact that this Torah portion is read on the Shabbos on which the month of Kislev is blessed. Kislev is the third month, the month in which Pnimiyus HaTorah, the inner dimension of the Torah is revealed. Pnimiyus HaTorah represents the ultimate fusion of opposite thrusts as the Zohar states: "There (in Pnimiyus HaTorah), there are no questions which stem from the side of evil, nor any differences of opinion which stem from the spirit of impurity." On the contrary, this approach is characterized by peace and synthesis.
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