Par'shah Chayei Sarai

[alon]

Next week’s reading schedule:

Name of Par’shah- Tol’dot

Par’shah- Genesis 25:19-28:9

Haftara- Hosea 12:13 (12)-14:10 (9), 11:7 - 12:12 (11)

Brit Chadashah-

This week’s readings:

Date of reading: 11 Nov, 2017; 22 Cheshvan, 5777

Name of Par’shah- Chayei Sarai

Par’shah- Gen 23:1 – 25:18

Haftara- 1 Kings 1:1-31

Brit Chadashah- Matthew 8:19-22, 27:3-10, Luke 9:57-62

D’rash: There is a common theme here; Deuteronomy 26:5a (ESV) “And you shall make response before the Lord your God, ‘A wandering Aramean was my father.’”

The “Wandering Aramean” is of course Avraham, who in our Par’shah bought the field and cave at Machpela to bury Sarai. However he was himself later buried there, along with Isaac, Rebekah, Ya’akov and Leah. It was in Hebron, which was later the first seat of the Dovidian kingship:

2 Samuel 2:1-4a (ESV) After this David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah?” And the Lord said to him, “Go up.” David said, “To which shall I go up?” And he said, “To Hebron.”  So David went up there, and his two wives also, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel.  And David brought up his men who were with him, everyone with his household, and they lived in the towns of Hebron.  And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah.

The beginnings of Melech Dovid’s lineage and that of Yisro’el itself planted roots in the same place the first righteous king of Yisro’el established his kingdom. So how was he a “wanderer” at the time of His death? He was after all almost completely bedridden and in the palace in Yerushalayim? Well, we can apply a couple of Hillel’s rules of exegesis here:

2. G’zerah Shavah (equivalence of expresions) An analogy is made between two separate texts on the basis of a similar phrase, word or root

4. Binyab ab mishene kethubim (building up a "family" from two or more texts) A principle is established by relating two texts together: The principle can then be applied to other passages.

Avraham at the time of our Par’shah held a dual status in the land where he found himself at Sarai’s death. He was a wanderer with no standing in the Hittite community. He had to go before a council of elders before even being allowed to approach someone about buying a burial place for his wife. However he was recognized even by these men as the “elect of G-d.” What a contrast!

Ancient Jews always thought themselves simply wanderers here on this present earth; wayfarers in a strange land, even when in Yisro’el. Christianity borrowed this concept, but without giving credit to their Jewish brethren. So we have Melech Dovid in all his kingly splendor about to make the journey “home.” As all men are, simply wayfarers here. But especially this applies to the elect of Melech ha’M’lechim, our King of Kings (Rev 19:16). And this brings us to our B’rith Chadasha reading.

We see the promise of this heritage, HaMoshiach of the lineage of Avraham and Dovid, Himself a wanderer in His ministry. We hear Yeshua Himself say to one prospective follower “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

A second asks to bury his dead. It sounds heartless to us that Yeshua would deny him this, however it was not the simple request of a burial as we understand it. Burials of that time were done in two stages; the interment of the body, and a year or more later after the flesh has rotted away the interment of the bones in an ossuary or in a pit with those of the ancestors of the deceased. Yeshua only had about three years to be with His talmidim, so if this request was for a year off it makes sense it was denied.

The third request is to say goodbye to “those at home.” Again, we have to set aside our own concepts of a call home or even just saying goodbye to our parents. The term used here in the Greek is “oikos,” and can mean everything from one’s dwelling to all your relatives. It can even mean the entire family of G-d from Adam to the return of Yeshua HaMoshiach. Given the context and response of that same Yeshua, I doubt it was either extreme. But there may have even been the implication of fulfilling some familial obligations or completing some task for his family; or possibly just saying ‘goodbye’ to everyone.

So based on the similarities here of Melech Dovid who was established in his reign in the same region where his ancestors established roots in ha’eretz, then coming full circle to Ad-nei HaAd-nim, the L-rd of L-rds (Deuteronomy 10:17), Himself a wanderer in the same land; by these comparisons we can establish the same principle of all G-d’s elect being just sojourners here, even the Elected One Himself. However we know our wanderings will one day cease and our trials here will be over:

2 Corinthians 4:14 (ESV) knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence.

Baruch HaShem!

Resources: JPS Study TNK, Blue Letter Bible ‘Outline of Biblical Usage’

[Elizabeth]

The concept of sojourner and wanderer is another deeply woven concept in scripture; from Adam and Eve, Cain, Babel, and on. 

It's sad that the temporality of this world is source of strength because it speaks to
how helpless we are. G-d is wise and knows how to keep us dependent on Him. When believers are too comfortable we forget Him. It's just a sad commentary on our limits and desperation, but it shows His wisdom and faithfulness.

I am so glad we have His Spirit that unites us all to Him and gives us hope. I can't imagine people trying to live this life without Him. Thank you G-d we have something more to live for and an eternal home. He shares so much. I hope people feel welcomed and by us at least.

[Elizabeth]

G-d is very tender. I think when we hear Yeshua say, "let the dead bury their own dead" it just sounds too harsh to come to terms with.

Meanwhile the title of this week's reading, in which we hear of Sarah's death, is the life of Sarah. The implication, as I understand it, is that Sarah's life gave so much blessing that it extends beyond her few earthly years to an eternal and generational outcome. We also know that "G-d is not the G-d of the dead but of the living." ( Mark 12:27) Yeshua came here to die for the sake of life. He had a mission, and love for life was the motivation. In some way I think there is a revealing irony of this man choosing to use his time to turn around for the sake of people already dead at the expense of those still alive. G-d tells us to choose life.

Maybe this is also a glimpse of Yeshua's deity and role as judge. He knew this man and where his heart was. I seem to remember you talking about people participating in pagan burial rituals during this time as a possible issue. Anyway, G-d is tender and loving but He is also very serious for the sake of us. Like you said he had three years. Though G-d is not constrained by time it's telling of His character that He chose to allow Himself to endure the demands of a finite amount of time and it teaches us how to use ours. It reminds me of what He tells us about dusting our shoes off and moving on.

The truth is this man was given the opportunity to literally walk with G-d. That's the entire point of our eternal existance. He looked back and, to what given it is Almighty G-d who was standing before him giving Him a blessing and a command? I pray my kids would go and I know all of us here would because that is the heart of the followers of Yeshua. What's G-d's belongs to G-d, and what's mine belongs to G-d. Perhaps his refusal was an indication of something deeper, like Lot's wife looking back.

G-d is loving and gracious but He is also wise and all-knowing. He knows how to invest the time He gives us on earth and the blessings He bestows. This man must have not been prepared on some level or he would have went. I am sure Messiah's words to him were clear and on the mark. Hopefully it served the purpose of preparing for the Kingdom and we can know that that's the only purpose Yeshua's words would have spoken to.

G-d distinguishes and draws lines. His words seem harsh to us, but this man needed to draw a line for his own life's sake. I am just speaking to my recent realization that satan will exploit our goodwill and desire to love like Yeshua in a way to miss direct it and basically waste it. These kind of passages just remind me that G-d does draw lines and force choices. He gives you the freedom to choose, but the snare the ungodly have set for themselves is that eventually they will have to choose.