Chayei Sarah

Aren't You Too Old for That?

Adapted from Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson

Parshat Chayei Sarah begins with the death of our ancestral mother Sarah at the age of 127. After many years of travels and adventures, after becoming a mother at the age of 90, she completes her long life, and is deeply missed by those who were close to her. Her husband Avraham mourns her, and then arises to renew his life. He remarries, and establishes a new household and family.

The examples of Sarah and Avraham teach us that growth, learning, and challenge are present throughout the human life cycle. The time for exploring either world or self, for asking searching questions, and for establishing identity, is all the time.

In the midrash, our sages summarize this teaching with creative metaphors. Rabbi Eliezer says, "If you have sown in the early season, sow in the late season." Rabbi Yehoshua says, "If a pauper comes to you in the morning, provide relief; if in the evening, give aid again. You don't know when the help is more needed." And Rabbi Ishmael asserts that the encounter with God's wisdom through Torah study should accompany us at every stage of life.

Tehillim (Psalms) states, tzaddik katamar yifrach, the righteous shall flourish like the cedars of Lebanon. Stretching, thriving, branching into fullness, we too can brush the sky with our constant life-long growth.

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