Chayei Sarah — The Life of Sarah
Hebrew: חַיֵּי שָׂרָה | Book: Bereishit (Genesis)
Summary
Sarah’s death and burial in the Cave of Machpelah; the search for a wife for Isaac; the marriage of Isaac and Rebecca; Abraham’s death.
Chabad Chassidic Teachings
Sarah’s Life: All Equally Good
The Torah describes Sarah’s years as “one hundred years and twenty years and seven years” — and the Midrash comments that they were all equally good. No year was wasted; in each period she reached her fullest spiritual expression appropriate to that age.
Chabad teaching: every stage of life has its unique Divine service. The spiritual work of youth is not the same as that of old age, and both are needed. This is the meaning of “all equally good” — not that there was no change, but that each phase was complete in itself.
Rebecca: The Inner Dimension
Rebecca is described as drawing water from the well — she runs to give water to Eliezer’s camels without being asked. Chassidus sees this as the archetype of active chesed — not waiting to be asked but proactively seeking opportunities to give.
The well (be’er) in Kabbalistic symbolism represents the sefirah of Malchut — the receptive vessel that channels Divine energy. Rebecca at the well represents the soul in its capacity to receive and transmit Divine blessing.
Eliezer’s Mission: Finding the Soul’s Match
The detailed account of Eliezer’s mission to find Isaac’s bride is read in Chassidus as the story of every soul’s journey to find its spiritual match — the unique quality that completes and enables its Divine service.
Key Concepts
Sources Cited
Bereishit 23:1; Bereishit Rabbah 58:1