Torah Portion of the Week
Building Character through the Themes of the Weekly Torah Portion
וַיִּהְיוּ חַיֵּי שָׂרָה מֵאָה שָׁנָה וְעֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה וְשֶׁבַע שָׁנִים שְׁנֵי חַיֵּי שָׂרָה׃
Va-yih-yu cha-yei Sa-rah me-ah sha-nah v’es-rim sha-nah v’she-va sha-nim sh’nei cha-yei Sa-rah.
And the life of Sarah was a hundred years and twenty years and seven years; [these were] the years of the life of Sarah.
Genesis 23:1
Chayei Sarah means “Sarah’s Lifetime.” It is the only section in the Torah which is named after a Matriarch—Sarah.
Timelessness
All of the years in Sarah’s life were equal in their perfection. Even though Sarah went through difficulties and struggles, she was continuously working towards excellence and reaching her fullest potential. Her actions gained merit for her generations after her.
Merit is timeless; it goes on forever. What we do today affects not only the present, but the past and future as well. Your life doesn’t end with you. Your children walk in and improve on what you’ve done.
When you are working on improving your life, it’s as if you are walking in perfection. As long as you are working towards excellence, your children are working towards excellence, because your matter is their matter, and your dust is their dust. No matter what you’ve done, and no matter what age you’re at when you begin to change what you’ve done—the moment you begin to make an effort to improve, God automatically straightens all of the previous years out and He makes for you a good name.
We think in “time”; God thinks in “timelessness.” We tend to look from the beginning to the end, but God looks at the end from the beginning. He has an advantage that we don’t have!
You Are Extraordinary
Sarah attained perfection in her actions, which retroactively perfected all of her former actions. This is the same concept found in repentance—that true repentance transforms sins of the past into successive merits that pass on from generation to generation. A great Torah scholar by the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said, “When a person turns himself around, regrets his past and does good, that is such a powerful act that his sins become merits.”
Maybe you don’t feel like the days or your life have measured up. But every day of your life can be equally perfect, just as Sarah’s were. Every day of your life is an opportunity to sow into your future. Influence your future by investing in it. Don’t underestimate what you can accomplish. You are extraordinary. Believe that whatever you invest into your future will be multiplied. In this way, time wasn’t wasted; it was transformed.
Pronunciation Guide for Transliterated Hebrew Words
| a | [a] as in arm |
| ai | [ai] as in Thailand |
| e | [e] as in red |
| ei | [ei] as in eight |
| i | [i] as in ski |
| o | [o] as in score |
| oi | [oi] as in oil |
| u | [u] as in rule |
| ui | [ui] as in gluing |
| ch/kh | [ch] as in the Scottish loch |
| g | [g] as in good (not as in giant) |
| tz | [ts] as in hats |
| ‘ | short “eh” or “uh” sound |
The Hebrew Scriptures in this text have been derived from the Westminster Leningrad Codex (WLC), and the English translation is based off of the JPS 1917 Tanakh.
Simchat Torah Beit Midrash®
