HAYEI SARAH: Sarah lived

The name of our potion is Hayei Sarah, usually translated as “The Life of Sarah!” Strangely enough, the potion begins with the story of her death. If we look at this name of the potion as a beginning, it seems very strange that it discusses the end. On the other hand if we view the name of this potion as the end, then it is a remarkable beginning.

As the beginning of the potion the words “The Life of Sarah” introduce her death. But if the title is a reminder to look back, or look deeper before we continue, then the power punches through the potion. Sarah the quiet, Sarah the brave, Sarah the giving, is passing on. One might even translate the words as “Sarah Lived!” Indeed she did. She is our fore-mother. She was a wife who elevated the path of her people. Her influence, as with the influence of most of the feminine in Torah is ethereal, light, flowing, muted, gentle, understated and sometimes hidden. It is our challenge to gaze through the gauze of the Mehitzah and glean the glow of their teachings.

Hayei Sarah, Sarah lived. Sarah gave life, not just to her son Yitzhak but to her husband Avram. And she is mother Sarah who gives life to us all. Her husband eulogizes this Aishet Hayal, this valorous woman. Her son Yitzhak takes no comfort until he can marry “a girl just like the girl that married dear old dad.” Sarah lived: Sarah gave life to a people, she gave succor to her husband and she laughed with G. This potion begins with her passing from this realm and into our soul journey. And Torah is our journal of the journey.