Haye Sarah: A
Summary of the Parsha
Following the death of Sarah, Abraham purchases a burial plot and sends his
servant to find a wife for Isaac.
By Nancy Reuben Greenfield
The following article is reprinted with permission from Jewish Family & Life!
Sarah dies at 127 years of age in Hebron in the land of
Canaan. Abraham mourns her, then asks property owners there to grant him burial
space so that he may bury his dead out of his sight. Knowing that Abraham is
ennobled by God, they are willing to give Abraham the choicest land, but
Abraham insists on paying for it. Only then does Abraham bury his wife in the
cave of Makhpelah in the land of Canaan.
Feeling old, Abraham decides to find a wife for his son
Isaac. He says to his eldest servant, “Swear by God, the God of heaven and earth,
that you will not take a wife from among the Canaanites, but that you shall go
to my homeland and take a wife from among my kindred.”
The servant says, “What if the woman will not want to follow
me into this land? Shall I have your son go there?”
Abraham responds, “Take heed that you do not bring my son
back there! God, Who took me from my father’s house, will send an angel before
you. If the woman should not want to go with you, then you will be free from
this oath.”
The servant swore to Abraham this oath and took 10 camels
and some of his master’s finest things and journeyed to the city of Nahor. He
made the camels kneel down outside the city by the water well at the time of
evening when the women come to draw water.
And the servant said, “Let it come to pass that the girl to
whom I say, ‘Please tilt your pitcher so that I may drink,’ will respond with,
‘Drink and I will give your camels water too.’"
The servant had hardly finished speaking when Rivkah, a
descendant of Abraham’s brother, came down to the well and filled her pitcher.
Abraham’s servant ran to meet her, saying, “Let me please sip a little water
from your pitcher.” “Drink,” she said. “Then I will draw water for your camels
too.” As she did so, the servant kept on gazing upon her in wonderment, holding
his peace to know whether God had caused his journey to prosper or not.
Only after the camels had finished drinking did the servant
take a valuable ring of gold and two golden bracelets and ask, “Whose daughter
are you and is there room in your father’s house for us to stay overnight?”
"Yes, come stay,” Rivkah said after she explained her
lineage.
The servant bowed his head and prostrated himself before
God, saying, “Blessed be God, the God of my master Abraham.”
Rivkah then ran and told her mother what had happened by the
well. Now, Rivkah had a brother, Laban, and Laban, seeing the gifts of gold on
his sister, went to greet the man and invited him to come into the house.
The servant of Abraham came in and explained his mission. “I
am a servant of Abraham. God has blessed my master exceedingly so that he has
become great. He is rich with animals and money and servants. Sarah, my
master’s wife, bore him a son, and to this son Abraham will give everything. He
asked me to leave Canaan to find a wife from among his kinsman. Abraham told me
that the God to Whom he is a servant will send an angel and help me find the
proper wife for his son.
“So I came to the well and waited to see if a woman might
give me water and offer my camels water too. Rivkah came immediately and
graciously did so. I blessed God for sending Rivkah to me and my master. Now,
tell me if you wish to deal in loving-kindness and truth with my master so that
I may know what to do.”
Laban and his father, Bethuel, said, “The matter has come
forth from God. Take Rivkah and go as God has spoken.”
When the servant of Abraham heard their words, he bowed low
before God and brought forth articles of gold and silver for Rivkah and
delicious fruits for her family. He stayed with the family overnight. The next
morning the family asked that Rivkah stay with them for a while, but Abraham’s
servant said to them, “Do not delay me, since God has caused my journey to
prosper.”
They then called for Rivkah and asked her if she would go
with this man. “I will go,” she said. Then they sent Rivkah away with a
blessing, “Become the mother of thousands of ten thousands and may your
offspring seize the gate of your enemies.”
Now Isaac was meditating in the field when he saw camels
coming. Rivkah took her veil and covered herself. The servant told Isaac all
that had occurred. Then Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother, Sarah.
He married Rivkah and he loved her, and only then was Isaac comforted by the
loss of his mother.
Abraham took another wife, Keturah. She bore him six sons,
and those sons begot more sons, but all that Abraham had, he gave to Isaac.
To the new wife’s children, he gave them gifts and sent them
away. Later, Abraham died satisfied at the age of 175. His sons Isaac and Ishmael
buried him in the cave of Makhpelah where his wife Sarah was buried.
It came to pass that after Abraham died, God blessed his son
Isaac. Isaac dwelt near the well of “The-Living-One-Who-Sees-Me.”
The descendants of Hagar, who bore Abraham’s son Ishmael,
are listed. Ishmael had 12 princes, listed according to their tribes. Ishmael
died at 137 years. His people lived near Egypt.
Questions For Discussion
1. Why did Abraham want to bury Sarah “out of his sight?”
Why do traditional Jews still bury people in graveyards today rather than
“within our sight?”
2. The servant of Abraham comes up with a test at the well
to find the wife for Isaac. Do you ever come up with tests for people to pass?
Give an example. What do your tests reveal about yourself and about them?
3. Why was it so important for Abraham to find a wife for
Isaac from his kinsmen in his father’s land rather than from the land of
Canaan? Is it still important to marry someone from the same tribe or religion?
Why or why not?
Nancy Reuben Greenfield is a free-lance writer who lives
in Carrollton, Texas, with her husband and two young children. She writes
frequently on Jewish themes and is finishing a book, co-authored with her
father, called The Golden Medina.
