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Chayei Sarah, Chaye Sarah, Hayye Sarah, or Hayyei Sara (—
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
for "life of Sarah
Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch and prophetess, a major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a piou ...
," the first words in the parashah), is the fifth weekly Torah portion
It is a custom among religious Jewish communities for a weekly Torah portion to be read during Jewish prayer services on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. The full name, ''Parashat HaShavua'' ( he, פָּרָשַׁת הַשָּׁבוּעַ), is po ...
(, ''parashah'') in the annual Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
cycle of Torah reading
Torah reading (; ') is a Judaism, Jewish religion, religious tradition that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Sefer Torah, Torah scroll. The term often refers to the entire ceremony of removing the scroll (or scrolls) fro ...
. It constitutes . The parashah tells the stories of Abraham
Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jew ...
's negotiations to purchase a burial place for his wife Sarah and his servant's mission to find a wife for Abraham's son Isaac
Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was the ...
.
The parashah is made up of 5,314 Hebrew letters, 1,402 Hebrew words, 105 verses, and 171 lines in a Torah Scroll (, ''Sefer Torah
A ( he, סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה; "Book of Torah"; plural: ) or Torah scroll is a handwritten copy of the Torah, meaning the five books of Moses (the first books of the Hebrew Bible). The Torah scroll is mainly used in the ritual of Tora ...
''). Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
read it on the fifth Sabbath
In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, commanded by God to be kept as a holy day of rest, as G ...
after Simchat Torah
Simchat Torah or Simhat Torah (, lit., "Rejoicing with/of the Torah", Ashkenazi: ''Simchas Torah'') is a Jewish holiday that celebrates and marks the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings, and the beginning of a new cycle. Simch ...
, generally in November, or on rare occasion in late October.
Readings
In traditional Sabbath Torah reading, the parashah is divided into seven readings, or , '' aliyot''. In theMasoretic Text
The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; he, נֻסָּח הַמָּסוֹרָה, Nūssāḥ Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Text of the Tradition') is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) in Rabbinic Judaism. ...
of the Tanakh
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''
A Midrash deduced from the words "Abraham ''came'' to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her" in that Abraham came directly from Mount 
The Gemara expanded on the conversation between God and Satan in to teach that Abraham's patience in receiving the Promised Land even in the face of the need to buy land to bury his wife in showed faith comparable to that of 
Similarly, Rabbi Jehudah taught that the three 
The Gemara read the words of , "And the Lord blessed Abraham with everything," to support the Sages' teaching that God gave three people in this world a taste of the 
The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer identified the unnamed steward of Abraham's household in with Abraham's servant Eliezer introduced in . The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer told that when Abraham left
in, e.g., ''Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer''. Translated and annotated by Gerald Friedlander, page 108.
Reading the report of the servant's travels in , the Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer taught that from Kiriat Arba to 
Reading of the servant's plan in , "At the time of evening, the time that women go out to draw water," 
Reading the servant's test in , "And she may say, ‘Drink,'" a Midrash asked why the servant made this the sign that would prove her to be the one (in the words of ) "whom the Lord has appointed for my master's son." The Midrash explained that the servant knew that if she answered that way, she would be a righteous woman, eager to show hospitality, just like Abraham and Sarah.
Rabbi Samuel bar Nahmani said in the name of 
Rabbi 
The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer taught that God saw that everything miraculously came together for Abraham's servant. A daughter of kings, Rebekah, who in all her life had never gone forth to draw water, went out to draw water at that hour. And the girl, who did not know who Abraham's servant was, accepted his proposal to be married to Isaac. The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer taught that this happened because she had been destined for him from birth.
Rav Nahman bar Isaac cited a Tanna that interpreted to teach that Rebekah was virgin between the ages of 12 and 12½ (a ''naarah'') when Abraham's servant encountered her.
Rabbi Isaac called Bethuel a wicked man. A Midrash identified Bethuel as a king.
Rava asked Rabba bar Mari from where people derived the saying: If you are aware of a derogatory matter about yourself, say it first before others say it about you. Rabba bar Mari answered that the source was what Eliezer said in , "And he said: 'I am Abraham's servant,'" immediately proclaiming that he was a servant.
A Midrash taught that when Rebekah’s family heard Abraham's servant say in , "I am Abraham's servant," they hid their faces in shame and fear, realizing that if this was the servant, how much more so would be his master. They reasoned that one could judge a lion from its welp and concluded that they could not overcome him. Thereupon, they removed the poisoned food that they had given Abraham's servant.
Rav in the name of Rabbi Reuben ben Estrobile cited Laban's and Bethuel's response to Abraham's servant that "The matter was decreed by the Lord" in as a proof text for the proposition that God destines a woman and a man for each other in marriage. Rabbi Joshua the son of
in, e.g., ''Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer''. Translated and annotated by Gerald Friedlander, page 109. Noting that reports that the next day, Rebekah's "brother and her mother said, ‘Let the maiden remain with us some ten days,'" the Rabbis asked where Bethuel was. The Midrash concluded that Bethuel wished to hinder Rebekah's marriage, and so he was smitten during the night. The Rabbis said that Abraham's servant did not disclose Bethuel's fate to Isaac.
Rav Hisda interpreted the word "days" (, ''yamim'') in to mean "a year." says, "And her brother and her mother said: ‘Let the maiden abide with us ''yamim'', at the least ten." The Gemara reasoned that if , ''yamim'', in means "days" and thus to imply "two days" (as the plural implies more than one), then would report Rebekah's brother and mother suggesting first two days, and then when Eliezer said that that was too long, nonsensically suggesting ten days. The Gemara thus deduced that , ''yamim'', must mean "a year," as implies when it says, "if a man sells a house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold; for a full year (, ''yamim'') shall he have the right of redemption." Thus might mean, "Let the maiden abide with us a year, or at the least ten months." The Gemara then suggested that , ''yamim'', might mean "a month," as suggests when it uses the phrase "a month of days (, ''yamim'')." The Gemara concluded, however, that , ''yamim'', means "a month" only when the term "month" is specifically mentioned, but otherwise means either "days" (at least two) or "a year." Similarly, the Mishnah taught that they allowed a virgin 12 months to prepare for her wedding after her fiancé told her to prepare.
Reading the servant's words to Laban in , "Do not hinder me, for the Lord has prospered my way," the Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer told that the servant rose early in the morning and saw the angel that had accompanied him standing and waiting for him in the street. The servant then told Laban and his friends the words of and that the man who came with him the day before to prosper his way was standing and waiting for him.
A Midrash noted that in , Rebekah's brother and mother determined to ask Rebekah if she assented to going with Abraham's servant to marry Isaac. The Midrash deduced from this that a fatherless maiden may not be given in marriage without her consent.Genesis Rabbah 60:12, in, e.g., ''The Midrash: Midrash Rabbah with an Annotated, Interpretive Elucidation and Additional Insights''. Edited by Chaim Malinowitz, volume 2, page 261.
In , Rebekah's brother and mother "called Rebekah, and said to her: ‘Will you go?'" Rabbi Uanina, the son of Rav Adda, said in Rabbi Isaac's name that Rebekah's brother and mother hinted to Rebekah (putting the question in a tone of surprise), "Will you (really) go?" "And she said: ‘I will go.'" Rebekah did not simply say "yes," but replied that she would go, in spite of her brother and mother, whether they wished it or not.
The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer taught that Laban and his family ate and drank at a bridal banquet for Rebekah. And then, like an officiant who stands and blesses a bride in her bridal canopy, they stood and blessed Rebekah their sister on her upcoming wedding to Isaac, as reports, "And they blessed Rebekah, and said to her, ‘Our sister . . . .'"
The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer taught that the servant left Haran at noon and took Rebekah and her nurse Deborah riding on the camels. So that the servant would not be alone with the maiden Rebekah by night, the earth once again contracted before them, and in three hours, they came to Hebron at the time of the afternoon prayer (that is, at 3 p.m.). Isaac had gone forth to say the afternoon prayer, as it is said in , "And Isaac went forth to meditate in the field towards evening."
Rabbi 
Rabbi José taught that Isaac observed three years of mourning for his mother. After three years he married Rebekah, and forgot the mourning for his mother. Hence Rabbi José taught that until a man marries a wife, his love centers on his parents. When he marries a wife, he bestows his love upon his wife, as says, "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and he shall cleave unto his wife."
A Midrash taught that as long as Sarah lived, a cloud (signifying the Divine Presence) hung over her tent. When she died, the cloud disappeared. But when Rebekah came, it returned. As long as Sarah lived, her doors were wide open. At her death that liberality ceased. But when Rebekah came, that openhandedness returned. As long as Sarah lived, there was a blessing on her dough, and the lamp used to burn from the evening of the Sabbath until the evening of the following Sabbath. When she died, these ceased. But when Rebekah came, they returned. And so when Isaac saw Rebekah following in his mother Sarah's footsteps, separating her challah in cleanness and handling her dough in cleanness (rereading the words of ), "Isaac brought her into the tent, (and, behold, she was like) his mother Sarah."
Rabbi Judan read to teach a rule of propriety: If a man has grown-up sons (and both the man and his sons wish to marry), he must first see that his sons marry and then take a wife himself. Rabbi Judan derived this from Abraham's example, for first says, "And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent," and after that, says, "And Abraham took another wife, and her name was Keturah."
A Midrash told that the Ishmaelites came before
Abraham ibn Ezra read the words “He will send His angel before you” in as a prayer. Ibn Ezra argued that if it were a prophecy, Abraham would not have said in , “And if the woman is not willing to follow you . . . .”
The ''
Reading ,
According to Maimonides and
chapter 5
of ''
The tomb of Sarah is located in the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron along with that of Abraham and the other Biblical Matriarchs and Patriarchs. Every year on the Shabbat in which Parashat Chayei Sarah is read in synagogue services, thousands of people visit the site. Known as Shabbat Hebron, the weekend can attract more than 35,000 people.
Ketubot 5:2
Kiddushin 4:14
Avot 5:19
Land of Israel, circa 200 C.E. In, e.g., ''The Mishnah: A New Translation''. Translated by38:1042:545:948:1655:6
58:1–62:5; 65:9; 66:4; 67:9; 68:2–4, 9; 70:12; 79:7; 85:7; 96; 97. Land of Israel, 5th Century. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Genesis''. Translated by
*Babylonian
Berakhot 18a26b61aShabbat 62b77aEruvin 18b53aPesachim 3aYoma 28bTaanit 4aMegillah 17aMoed Katan 18bYevamot 61b64aKetubot 57a–bNedarim 41bSotah 5a14aGittin 76aKiddushin 2a4b82aBava Kamma 92bBava Metzia 87aBava Batra 15b16b69b141aSanhedrin 46b59b91a95a107bShevuot 38bAvodah Zarah 7bZevachim 62bChullin 95b120aBekhorot 50a
*
16:199–200
Spain, 11th Century. Translated by David R. Slavitt, pages 28–29, 36–37. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
*
Genesis 23–25
*
* Nachmanides. ''Commentary on the Torah''. Jerusalem, circa 1270. In, e.g., ''Ramban (Nachmanides): Commentary on the Torah: Genesis.'' Translated by Charles B. Chavel, volume 1, pages 281–312. New York: Shilo Publishing House, 1971.
*''Midrash ha-Ne'lam (The Midrash of the Concealed)''.
*Avraham Yehoshua Heschel. ''Commentaries on the Torah''. Cracow, Poland, mid 17th century. Compiled as ''Chanukat HaTorah''. Edited by Chanoch Henoch Erzohn. Piotrkow, Poland, 1900. In Avraham Yehoshua Heschel. ''Chanukas HaTorah: Mystical Insights of Rav Avraham Yehoshua Heschel on Chumash''. Translated by Avraham Peretz Friedman, pages 65–69. Southfield, Michigan: Targum Press/Feldheim Publishers, 2004.
*Chaim ibn Attar. ''Ohr ha-Chaim''. Venice, 1742. In Chayim ben Attar. ''Or Hachayim: Commentary on the Torah''. Translated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 1, pages 185–200. Brooklyn: Lambda Publishers, 1999.
*Emily Dickinson. s:He touched me, so I live to know, ''Poem 506 (He touched me, so I live to know)''. 1862. In ''The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson''. Edited by Thomas H. Johnson, page 246. New York: Little, Brown & Co., 1960.
*Samuel David Luzzatto (Shadal). ''Commentary on the Torah.'' Padua, 1871. In, e.g., Samuel David Luzzatto. ''Torah Commentary''. Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 1, pages 217–40. New York: Lambda Publishers, 2012.
*Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter. ''Sefat Emet''. Góra Kalwaria (Ger), Poland, before 1906. Excerpted in ''The Language of Truth: The Torah Commentary of Sefat Emet''. Translated and interpreted by Arthur Green, pages 33–36. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1998. Reprinted 2012.
*Hermann Cohen. ''Religion of Reason: Out of the Sources of Judaism''. Translated with an introduction by Simon Kaplan; introductory essays by Leo Strauss, page 301. New York: Ungar, 1972. Reprinted Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1995. Originally published as ''Religion der Vernunft aus den Quellen des Judentums''. Leipzig: Gustav Fock, 1919.
*Alexander Alan Steinbach. ''Sabbath Queen: Fifty-four Bible Talks to the Young Based on Each Portion of the Pentateuch'', pages 14–17. New York: Behrman's Jewish Book House, 1936.
*Thomas Mann. ''Joseph and His Brothers''. Translated by John E. Woods (translator), John E. Woods, pages 11, 58, 93–94, 100, 127–28, 130, 133–34, 173, 185, 187, 203, 339–43, 353–54, 394–95, 476–77, 492–93, 496–98, 623, 779, 806. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. Originally published as ''Joseph und seine Brüder''. Stockholm: Bermann-Fischer Verlag, 1943.
*Manfred R. Lehmann. "Abraham's Purchase of Machpelah and Hittite Law." ''Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research'', volume 129 (1953): pages 15–18.
*Robert A. Kraft
“A Note on the Oracle of Rebecca (Gen. XXV. 23).”
''The Journal of Theological Studies'', volume 13 (number 2) (1962): pages 318–20. *Walter Orenstein and Hertz Frankel. ''Torah and Tradition: A Bible Textbook for Jewish Youth: Volume I: Bereishis'', pages 52–60. New York: Hebrew Publishing Company, 1964. *Delmore Schwartz
"Sarah."
In ''Selected Poems: Summer Knowledge''. New Directions, 1967.
*Martin Buber. ''On the Bible: Eighteen studies'', pages 22–43. New York: Schocken Books, 1968.
*R. David Freedman
“A New Approach to the Nuzi Sistership Contract.”
''Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society'', volume 2 (number 2) (1970): pages 77–85. *Wolfgang M.W. Roth. "The Wooing of Rebekah. A Tradition-Critical Study of Genesis 24." ''Catholic Biblical Quarterly'', volume 34 (1972): pages 177–87. *R. David Freedman. "‘Put Your Hand Under My Thigh'—The Patriarchal Oath." ''Biblical Archaeology Review'', volume 2 (number 2) (June 1976). *Seän M. Warner
“The Patriarchs and Extra-Biblical Sources.”
''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'', volume 1, number 2 (June 1976): pages 50–61. *J. Maxwell Miller
“The Patriarchs and Extra-Biblical Sources: a Response.”
''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'', volume 1, number 2 (June 1976): pages 62–66. *Christine Garside Allen. "Who was Rebekah?" In ''Beyond Androcentrism: New Essays on Women and Religion''. Edited by Rita Gross, Rita M. Gross, pages 183–216. Missoula, Montana: Scholars, 1977. *John Tracy Luke
“Abraham and the Iron Age: Reflections on the New Patriarchal Studies.”
''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'', volume 2, number 4 (February 1977): pages 35–47. *Nechama Leibowitz, Nehama Leibowitz. ''Studies in Bereshit (Genesis)'', pages 207–56. Jerusalem: The World Zionist Organization, 1981. Reprinted as ''New Studies in the Weekly Parasha''. Lambda Publishers, 2010. *Walter Brueggemann. ''Genesis: Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching'', pages 194–203. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1982. *Nahum M. Sarna. "Genesis Chapter 23: The Cave of Machpelah." ''Hebrew Studies'', volume 23 (1982): pages 17–21. *K.T. Aitken. "The Wooing of Rebekah: A Study in the Development of a Tradition." ''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'', volume 30 (1984): pages 3–23. *Pinchas Hacohen Peli, Pinchas H. Peli. ''Torah Today: A Renewed Encounter with Scripture'', pages 21–24. Washington, D.C.: B'nai B'rith Books, 1987. *Marc Gellman. "Rebekah and the Camel Who Made No Noise." In ''Does God Have a Big Toe? Stories About Stories in the Bible'', pages 53–56. New York: HarperCollins, 1989. *Nahum M. Sarna. ''The JPS Torah Commentary: Genesis: The Traditional Hebrew Text with the New JPS Translation'', pages 157–77, 395–97. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1989. *Raymond Westbrook. ''Property and Family in Biblical Law'', pages 24–35. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1991. *Elizabeth Bloch-Smith. "Burials." In ''The Anchor Bible Dictionary''. Edited by David Noel Freedman, volume 1, pages 785–94. New York: Doubleday, 1992. *Aaron Wildavsky. ''Assimilation versus Separation: Joseph the Administrator and the Politics of Religion in Biblical Israel'', pages 6–7. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers, 1993. *Judith S. Antonelli. "Milkah: Sarah's Sister." In ''In the Image of God: A Feminist Commentary on the Torah'', pages 48–59. Northvale, New Jersey: Jason Aronson, 1995. *Naomi H. Rosenblatt and Joshua Horwitz. ''Wrestling With Angels: What Genesis Teaches Us About Our Spiritual Identity, Sexuality, and Personal Relationships'', pages 204–27. Delacorte Press, 1995. *Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg. ''The Beginning of Desire: Reflections on Genesis'', pages 123–43. New York: Image Books/Doubelday, 1995.
*Ellen Frankel. ''The Five Books of Miriam: A Woman’s Commentary on the Torah'', pages 31–38. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1996.
*Gunther Plaut, W. Gunther Plaut. ''The Haftarah Commentary'', pages 44–53. New York: UAHC Press, 1996.
*Sorel Goldberg Loeb and Barbara Binder Kadden. ''Teaching Torah: A Treasury of Insights and Activities'', pages 33–38. Denver: A.R.E. Publishing, 1997.
*Susan Freeman. ''Teaching Jewish Virtues: Sacred Sources and Arts Activities'', pages 102–18, 165–78. Springfield Township, Union County, New Jersey, Springfield, New Jersey: A.R.E. Publishing, 1999. (;
53
. *John S. Kselman. "Genesis." In ''The HarperCollins Bible Commentary''. Edited by James Luther Mays, James L. Mays, page 97. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, revised edition, 2000. *Rona Shapiro. "Woman's Life, Woman's Truth." In ''The Women's Torah Commentary: New Insights from Women Rabbis on the 54 Weekly Torah Portions''. Edited by Elyse Goldstein, pages 70–74. Woodstock, Vermont: Jewish Lights Publishing, 2000.
*Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman. “Searching for the Patriarchs.” In ''The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts'', pages 27–47. New York: Free Press (publisher), The Free Press, 2001.
*Lainie Blum Cogan and Judy Weiss. ''Teaching Haftarah: Background, Insights, and Strategies'', pages 102–09. Denver: A.R.E. Publishing, 2002.
*Michael Fishbane. ''The JPS Bible Commentary: Haftarot'', pages 29–34. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2002.
*Tikva Frymer-Kensky. “The Hand that Rocks the Cradle: The Rivka Stories.” In ''Reading the Women of the Bible'', pages 5–23. New York: Schocken Books, 2002.
*Admiel Kosman
“The Story of a Giant Story: The Winding Way of Og King of Bashan in the Jewish Haggadic Tradition.”
''Hebrew Union College Annual'', volume 73 (2002): pages 157–90. *Robert Alter. ''The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary'', pages 113–29. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2004. *Jon D. Levenson. "Genesis." In ''The Jewish Study Bible''. Edited by Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler, pages 47–53. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. *Lieve M. Teugels. ''Bible and Midrash: The Story of "The Wooing of Rebekah" (Genesis 24)''. Leuven: Peeters (publishing company), Peeters Publishers, 2004. *''Professors on the Parashah: Studies on the Weekly Torah Reading'' Edited by Leib Moscovitz, pages 47–53. Jerusalem: Urim Publications, 2005. *W. Gunther Plaut. ''The Torah: A Modern Commentary: Revised Edition''. Revised edition edited by David E. Stern, David E.S. Stern, pages 153–71. New York: Union for Reform Judaism, 2006. *Suzanne A. Brody. "Rebecca's Goodbye." In ''Dancing in the White Spaces: The Yearly Torah Cycle and More Poems'', page 66. Shelbyville, Kentucky: Wasteland Press, 2007. *Terence E. Fretheim. ''Abraham: Trials of Family and Faith''. Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press, 2007.
*James Kugel, James L. Kugel. ''How To Read the Bible: A Guide to Scripture, Then and Now'', pages 97, 121, 133–55, 166, 400. New York: Free Press, 2007.
*''The Torah: A Women's Commentary''. Edited by Tamara Cohn Eskenazi and Andrea Weiss (rabbi), Andrea L. Weiss, pages 111–32. New York: Union for Reform Judaism, URJ Press, 2008.
*Rachel Brodie. “When Gender Varies: A Curious Case of Kere and Ketiv: Parashat Chayei Sarah (Genesis 23:1–25:18).” In ''Torah Queeries: Weekly Commentaries on the Hebrew Bible''. Edited by Gregg Drinkwater, Joshua Lesser, and David Shneer; foreword by Judith Plaskow, pages 34–37. New York: New York University Press, 2009.
*Reuven Hammer. ''Entering Torah: Prefaces to the Weekly Torah Portion'', pages 29–34. New York: Gefen Publishing House, 2009.
*Jonathan Sacks. ''Covenant & Conversation: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible: Genesis: The Book of Beginnings'', pages 121–44. New Milford, Connecticut: Maggid Books, 2009.
*John H. Walton. "Genesis." In ''Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary''. Edited by John H. Walton, volume 1, pages 99–104. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2009.
*Henrietta L. Wiley
“They Save Themselves Alone: Faith and Loss in the Stories of Abraham and Job.”
''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'', volume 34 (number 2) (December 2009): pages 115–29. *Karolien Vermeulen
“The 'Song' of the Servant—Gen 24:23.”
''Vetus Testamentum'', volume 61 (number 3) (2011): pages 499–504. *Calum Carmichael. ''The Book of Numbers: A Critique of Genesis'', pages 7, 19–20, 22, 37, 91–92, 99, 105–06, 109–10, 112–13, 115, 117–18, 120–22, 124, 141, 156, 162, 191. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012. *William G. Dever. ''The Lives of Ordinary People in Ancient Israel: When Archaeology and the Bible Intersect'', page 137. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2012.
*Shmuel Herzfeld. "The Prohibition of Intermarriage." In ''Fifty-Four Pick Up: Fifteen-Minute Inspirational Torah Lessons'', pages 24–28. Jerusalem: Gefen Publishing House, 2012.
*Jonathan Sacks. ''Lessons in Leadership: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible'', pages 23–26. New Milford, Connecticut: Maggid Books, 2015.
*“The Hittites: Between Tradition and History.” ''Biblical Archaeology Review'', volume 42 (number 2) (March/April 2016): pages 28–40, 68.
*Jean-Pierre Isbouts. ''Archaeology of the Bible: The Greatest Discoveries From Genesis to the Roman Era'', page 58. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, National Geographic, 2016.
*Jonathan Sacks. ''Essays on Ethics: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible'', pages 27–31. New Milford, Connecticut: Maggid Books, 2016.
*Shai Held. ''The Heart of Torah, Volume 1: Essays on the Weekly Torah Portion: Genesis and Exodus'', pages 40–48. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2017.
*Ekaterina E. Kozlova
“Abraham's Burial (Genesis 25.9): An Idyllic Burial or a Dispute over Inheritance?”
''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'', volume 42, number 2 (December 2017): pages 139–53.
*Steven Levy and Sarah Levy. ''The JPS Rashi Discussion Torah Commentary'', pages 15–17. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2017.
*Pekka Pitkänen
“Ancient Israelite Population Economy: Ger, Toshav, Nakhri and Karat as Settler Colonial Categories.”
''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'', volume 42, number 2 (December 2017): pages 139–53. *Jeffrey K. Salkin. ''The JPS B'nai Mitzvah Torah Commentary'', pages 21–25. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2017. *Liana Finck. ''Let There Be Light: The Real Story of Her Creation'', pages 209–35. New York: Random House, 2022.
Masoretic text and 1917 JPS translationHear the parashah chanted
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{{Book of Genesis Weekly Torah readings in Cheshvan Weekly Torah readings from Genesis Abraham
''
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...
), Parashat Chayei Sarah has three "open portion" (, ''petuchah'') divisions (roughly equivalent to paragraphs, often abbreviated with the Hebrew letter (''''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...
peh
Peh pronounced "Pe-h" is a village in Ukhrul District, Manipur, India. The village was earlier called 'Paoyi', which is a misconstrued derivative of the original name 'Pehyi' given by outsiders. Peh is approximately 35 kilometers north of ...
'')). Parashat Chayei Sarah has one "closed portion" (, ''setumah'') division (abbreviated with the Hebrew letter (''samekh
Samekh (Phoenician ''sāmek'' ; Hebrew ''samekh'' , Syriac ''semkaṯ'') is the fifteenth letter of the Semitic abjads, including the Hebrew alphabet.
Samekh represents a voiceless alveolar fricative . Unlike most Semitic consonants, the pro ...
'')) within the "open portion" division of the second reading. The long first open portion spans the first five readings. The second open portion coincides with the sixth reading. And the third open portion coincides with the seventh reading.
First reading—Genesis 23:1–16
In the first reading, Sarah lived 127 years and died inHebron
Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after East J ...
, and Abraham mourned for her. Abraham asked the Hittites
The Hittites () were an Anatolian people who played an important role in establishing first a kingdom in Kussara (before 1750 BC), then the Kanesh or Nesha kingdom (c. 1750–1650 BC), and next an empire centered on Hattusa in north-centra ...
to sell him a burial site, and the Hittites invited him to bury his dead in the choicest of their burial places. Abraham asked the Hittites to intercede for him with Ephron son of Zohar to sell Abraham the cave of Machpelah
, alternate_name = Tomb of the Patriarchs, Cave of Machpelah, Sanctuary of Abraham, Ibrahimi Mosque (Mosque of Abraham)
, image = Palestine Hebron Cave of the Patriarchs.jpg
, alt =
, caption = Southern view of the complex, 2009
, map ...
at full price. Before the Hittites at the town gate, Ephron offered to give Abraham the field and the cave that was in it, but Abraham insisted on paying the price of the land. Ephron named the value of the land at 400 shekel
Shekel or sheqel ( akk, 𒅆𒅗𒇻 ''šiqlu'' or ''siqlu,'' he, שקל, plural he, שקלים or shekels, Phoenician: ) is an ancient Mesopotamian coin, usually of silver. A shekel was first a unit of weight—very roughly —and became c ...
s of silver and Abraham accepted Ephron's terms, gave him the silver, and purchased the land. The first reading ends here.
Second reading—Genesis 23:17–24:9
In the second reading, Abraham thus established his title to the land through purchase, and he buried Sarah in the cave. Abraham was old, and instructed his senior servant to put his hand under Abraham's thigh and swear byGod
In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
that he would not take a wife for Isaac from the Canaan
Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...
ites, but would go to the land of Abraham's birth to get Isaac a wife. The servant asked if the woman did not consent to follow him to Canaan, should he take Isaac back to the land from which Abraham came? Abraham told him on no account to take Isaac back there, for God—who took Abraham from there and promised Abraham the land of Canaan
Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus Te ...
for his offspring—would send an angel
In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God.
Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...
before the servant and allow him successfully to get a wife for Isaac from there, and if the woman did not consent to follow him, he would then be clear of his oath. So the servant put his hand under Abraham's thigh and swore to him as Abraham had asked.. The second reading ends here.
Third reading—Genesis 24:10–26
In the third reading, the servant took Abraham's bounty and ten of Abraham's camels and traveled toAram-Naharaim
Aram-Naharaim ( he, אֲרַם נַהֲרַיִם ''ʾĂram Nahărayīm''; syc , ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, ʾAram Nahrayn; "Aram between (the) rivers") is the biblical term for the ancient land of the Arameans referring to the region along the great ...
, the city of Nahor. He made the camels kneel by the well outside the city at evening, when women come out to draw water. The servant asked God to grant that the maiden whom he would ask to draw water for him and who replied by offering also to water his camels might be the one whom God had decreed for Isaac. He had scarcely finished speaking when Rebekah
Rebecca, ; Syriac: , ) from the Hebrew (lit., 'connection'), from Semitic root , 'to tie, couple or join', 'to secure', or 'to snare') () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical ...
, the beautiful virgin daughter of Abraham's nephew Bethuel
Bethuel ( – ''Bəṯūʾēl''), in the Hebrew Bible, was an Aramean man, the youngest son of Nahor and Milcah, the nephew of Abraham, and the father of Laban and Rebecca.
Bethuel was also a town in the territory of the tribe of Simeon, west ...
, came out with her jar on her shoulder, went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up. The servant ran toward her and asked to sip a little water from her jar, and she quickly let him drink and when he had drunk his fill, she offered to draw water for his camels until they finished drinking. When the camels had finished drinking, the servant took a gold nose-ring and two gold bands for her arms, and asked her whose daughter she was and whether there was room in her father's house for him to spend the night. She identified herself and told him that there was plenty of straw and feed and room at her home for him to spend the night. The servant bowed low to God. The third reading ends here.
Fourth reading—Genesis 24:27–52
In the fourth reading, the servant blessed God for steadfast faithfulness to Abraham. Rebekah ran and told everything to her mother's household. Rebekah's brotherLaban Laban is a French language, French surname. It may refer to:
Places
* Laban-e Olya, a village in Iran
* Laban-e Sofla, a village in Iran
* Laban, Virginia, an unincorporated community in the United States
* 8539 Laban, main-belt asteroid
People
...
ran out to the servant at the spring, and when he saw the nose-ring and the bands on Rebekah's arms, and when he heard his sister tell the story, Laban invited the servant to their house, had the camels unloaded and fed, and had water brought to bathe the feet of the servant and his party. But the servant would not eat before he had told his tale. The servant told how God had greatly blessed Abraham with sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female slaves, camels and asses, and a son and sole heir. The servant told how Abraham made him swear to go to Abraham's kindred to get Isaac a wife, and that God would send an angel to make his errand successful. And the servant told how he met Rebekah at the well. The servant then asked whether or not they meant to treat Abraham with true kindness, and Laban and Bethuel answered that the matter had been decreed by God and Rebekah could go and be Isaac's wife. The servant bowed low to God. The fourth reading ends here.
Fifth reading—Genesis 24:53–67
In the fifth reading, the servant brought out silver, gold, and garments for Rebekah and presents for her brother and her mother. Then the servant and his party ate, drank, and spent the night. The next morning, the servant asked leave to return to Abraham, but Laban and her mother asked that Rebekah remain a period of time. The servant persisted, so they called Rebekah to ask her, and she agreed to go. So they blessed Rebekah—wishing that her children be thousands of myriads and seize the gates of their foes—and they sent off Rebekah and her nurse with the servant. Isaac had just come back from the vicinity of Beer-lahai-roi to his home in the Negeb and was out walking in the field toward evening when he looked up and saw camels approaching. Raising her eyes, Rebekah saw Isaac, alighted from the camel, and asked the servant who the man was. The servant said that Isaac was his master, so she covered herself with her veil. The servant told Isaac everything that had happened, and Isaac brought her into Sarah's tent and took her as his wife. Isaac loved Rebekah, and found comfort after his mother's death. The fifth reading and the long first open portion end here with the end of chapter .
Sixth reading—Genesis 25:1–11
In the sixth reading, in chapter , Abraham took another wife, namedKeturah
Keturah ( he, קְטוּרָה, ''Qəṭūrā'', possibly meaning "incense"; ar, قطورة) was a wife (1917 Jewish Publication Society of America translation). "And Abraham took another wife, and her name was Keturah...." and a concubine (191 ...
, who bore him Zimran
Zimran (; , ar, زمران), also known as Zambran, was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first son of the marriage of Abraham, the patriarch of the Israelites, and Keturah, whom he wed after the death of Sarah. Zimran had five other brothers, J ...
, Jokshan Jokshan ( ar, يقشان, ''yoqšān''). According to the Bible he was a son of Abraham (Avraham) and his wife or concubine Keturah, whom he wed after the death of Sarah. Jokshan had five brothers: Zimran, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah; as well ...
, Medan
Medan (; English: ) is the capital and largest city of the Indonesian province of North Sumatra, as well as a regional hub and financial centre of Sumatra. According to the National Development Planning Agency, Medan is one of the four main ...
, Midian
Midian (; he, מִדְיָן ''Mīḏyān'' ; ar, مَدْيَن, Madyan; grc-gre, Μαδιάμ, ''Madiam'') is a geographical place mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and Quran. William G. Dever states that biblical Midian was in the "northwest Ar ...
, Ishbak, and Shuah. Abraham willed all that he owned to Isaac, but to his sons by concubines he gave gifts while he was still living, and he sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the East. Abraham lived 175 years and died old and contented. Isaac and Ishmael
Ishmael ''Ismaḗl''; Classical/Qur'anic Arabic: إِسْمَٰعِيْل; Modern Standard Arabic: إِسْمَاعِيْل ''ʾIsmāʿīl''; la, Ismael was the first son of Abraham, the common patriarch of the Abrahamic religions; and is cons ...
buried him in the cave of Machpelah with Sarah. After Abraham's death, God blessed Isaac and he settled near Beer-lahai-roi. The sixth reading and the second open portion end here.
Seventh reading—Genesis 25:12–18
In the seventh reading, Ishmael had 12 sons, who became chieftains of 12 tribes. In the ''maftir
Maftir ( he, מפטיר, , concluder) is the last person called up to the Torah on Shabbat and holiday mornings: this person also reads (or at least recites the blessings overs) the ''haftarah'' portion from a related section of the Nevi'im (pro ...
'' () reading that concludes the parashah, Ishmael lived 137 years and then died. Ishmael's progeny dwelt in lands all the way from Havilah
Havilah ( ''Ḥăwīlāh'') refers to both a land and people in several books of the Bible; the one mentioned in , while the other is mentioned in .
Biblical mentions
In one case, Havilah is associated with the Garden of Eden, that mentioned in ...
, near Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
, to Asshur Ashur, Assur, or Asur may refer to:
Places
* Assur, an Assyrian city and first capital of ancient Assyria
* Ashur, Iran, a village in Iran
* Asur, Thanjavur district, a village in the Kumbakonam taluk of Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu, India
* Ass ...
. The seventh reading, the third open portion, and the parashah end here.
Readings according to the triennial cycle
Jews who read the Torah according to thetriennial cycle
The Triennial cycle of Torah reading may refer to either
* The historical practice in ancient Israel by which the entire Torah was read in serial fashion over a three-year period, or
* The practice adopted by many Reform, Conservative, Reconstruct ...
of Torah reading read the parashah according to the following schedule:
In inner-Biblical interpretation
The parashah has parallels or is discussed in these Biblical sources:Genesis chapter 23
Kiriath-arba, mentioned in , literally means “village of Arba.” explains that Arba was the great man among the Anakites. Similarly, reports that Arba was the father of Anak, and tells that Arba was the father of the Anokites. The 400 shekels of silver that Abraham paid Ephron the Hittite to buy the cave of Machpelah and adjoining land in far exceeds the 100 pieces of silver thatJacob
Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. J ...
paid the children of Hamor for the parcel of ground where he had spread his tent outside the city of Shechem
Shechem ( ), also spelled Sichem ( ; he, שְׁכֶם, ''Šəḵem''; ; grc, Συχέμ, Sykhém; Samaritan Hebrew: , ), was a Canaanite and Israelite city mentioned in the Amarna Letters, later appearing in the Hebrew Bible as the first cap ...
in ; the 50 shekels of silver that King David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
paid Araunah
Araunah (Hebrew: ''’Ǎrawnā'') was a Jebusite mentioned in the Second Book of Samuel, who owned the threshing floor on Mount Moriah which David purchased and used as the site for assembling an altar to God. The First Book of Chronicles, a la ...
the Jebusite
The Jebusites (; ISO 259-3 ''Ybusi'') were, according to the books of Joshua and Samuel from the Tanakh, a Canaanite tribe that inhabited Jerusalem, then called Jebus (Hebrew: ''Yəḇūs'', "trampled place") prior to the conquest initiated by ...
for Araunah's threshing floor, oxen, and wood in 2 Samuel
The Book of Samuel (, ''Sefer Shmuel'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the narrative history of Ancient Israel called the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books (Book ...
(but 1 Chronicles
The Book of Chronicles ( he, דִּבְרֵי־הַיָּמִים ) is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Chronicles) in the Christian Old Testament. Chronicles is the final book of the Hebrew Bible, concluding the third sect ...
reports cost 600 shekels of ''gold''); and the 17 shekels of silver that Jeremiah
Jeremiah, Modern: , Tiberian: ; el, Ἰερεμίας, Ieremíās; meaning " Yah shall raise" (c. 650 – c. 570 BC), also called Jeremias or the "weeping prophet", was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish ...
paid his cousin Hanamel for his field in Anathoth
Anathoth is the name of one of the Levitical cities given to "the children of Aaron" in the tribe of Benjamin (; ). Residents were called Antothites or Anetothites.
Name
The name of this town may be derived from a Canaanite goddess, `Anat. It ...
in the land of Benjamin
Benjamin ( he, ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel (Jacob's thir ...
in .
The cave of Machpelah in which reports Abraham buried Sarah later became the burial site for Abraham himself (as reported in ) and thereafter Isaac, Rebekah, Leah
Leah ''La'ya;'' from (; ) appears in the Hebrew Bible as one of the two wives of the Biblical patriarch Jacob. Leah was Jacob's first wife, and the older sister of his second (and favored) wife Rachel. She is the mother of Jacob's first son ...
, and Jacob (as reported in ).
Genesis chapter 24
The story of Abraham's servant's mission to get a wife for Isaac is told twice, once by the narrator in , and then a second time by Abraham's servant in .Isaac Abrabanel
Isaac ben Judah Abarbanel ( he, יצחק בן יהודה אברבנאל; 1437–1508), commonly referred to as Abarbanel (), also spelled Abravanel, Avravanel, or Abrabanel, was a Portuguese Jewish statesman, philosopher, Bible commentato ...
and other commentators noted a number of differences between the two recountings.
Abraham's servant's meeting (on behalf of Isaac) of Rebekah at the well in is the Torah's first of several meetings at watering holes that lead to marriage. Also of the same type scene A type scene is a literary convention employed by a narrator across a set of scenes, or related to scenes (place, action) already familiar to the audience. The similarities with, and differences from, the established type are used to illuminate deve ...
are the meeting of Jacob and Rachel
Rachel () was a Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban. Her older sister was Leah, Jacob's first wife. Her aun ...
at the well in and the meeting of Moses
Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...
and Zipporah
Zipporah, or Tzipora (; he, צִפּוֹרָה, ''Ṣīppōrā'', "bird"),, ''Sepphōra''; ar, صفورة, ''Ṣaffūrah'' is mentioned in the Book of Exodus as the wife of Moses, and the daughter of Reuel/Jethro, the priest and prince of Midi ...
at the well in . Each involves (1) a trip to a distant land, (2) a stop at a well, (3) a young woman coming to the well to draw water, (4) a heroic drawing of water, (5) the young woman going home to report to her family, (6) the visiting man brought to the family, and (7) a subsequent marriage.
In early nonrabbinic interpretation
The parashah has parallels or is discussed in these early nonrabbinic sources:Genesis chapter 23
The second century BCEBook of Jubilees
The Book of Jubilees, sometimes called Lesser Genesis (Leptogenesis), is an ancient Jewish religious work of 50 chapters (1,341 verses), considered canonical by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church as well as Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews), where it is ...
reported that Abraham endured ten trials and was found faithful and patient in spirit. Jubilees listed eight of the trials: (1) leaving his country, (2) the famine, (3) the wealth of kings, (4) his wife taken from him, (5) circumcision, (6) Hagar and Ishmael driven away, (7) the binding of Isaac, and (8) buying the land to bury Sarah.
Genesis chapter 24
Josephus
Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly d ...
reported that Rebekah told Abraham's servant, "my father was Bethuel, but he is dead; and Laban is my brother; and, together with my mother, takes care of all our family affairs, and is the guardian of my virginity."
In classical rabbinic interpretation
The parashah is discussed in theserabbi
A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
nic sources from the era of the Mishnah
The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Torah ...
and the Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
:
Genesis chapter 23
AMidrash
''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...
noted that recorded that "the life of Sarah was a hundred and seven and twenty years" rather than "one-hundred-twenty-seven years," and deduced that as the righteous are whole and unblemished by sin, so are their years reported whole in the Bible. Thus the Midrash taught that at the age of 20, Sarah was as at the age of 7 in beauty, and at the age of 100, she was as at the age of 20 in sin (the age below which Providence does not punish for sin).
Rabbi Haggai said in Rabbi Isaac's name that all of the Matriarchs were prophets.
Rabbi Abba bar Kahana interpreted the words, "The sun rises, and the sun sets," in ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...
Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes (; hbo, קֹהֶלֶת, Qōheleṯ, grc, Ἐκκλησιαστής, Ekklēsiastēs) is one of the Ketuvim ("Writings") of the Hebrew Bible and part of the Wisdom literature of the Christian Old Testament. The title commonly use ...
to teach that before God causes the sun of one righteous person to set, God causes the sun of another righteous person to rise. Thus a Midrash taught that before God allowed Sarah's sun to set, God caused Rebekah's sun to rise. Thus first says, "Behold, Milcah, she also has borne children . . . and Bethuel begot Rebekah," and after that, says, "and the lifetime of Sarah was a hundred years . . . ."
Once while lecturing, Rabbi Akiva
Akiva ben Yosef (Mishnaic Hebrew: ''ʿĂqīvāʾ ben Yōsēf''; – 28 September 135 CE), also known as Rabbi Akiva (), was a leading Jewish scholar and sage, a '' tanna'' of the latter part of the first century and the beginning of the second c ...
asked why Esther
Esther is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther. In the Achaemenid Empire, the Persian king Ahasuerus seeks a new wife after his queen, Vashti, is deposed for disobeying him. Hadassah, a Jewess who goes by the name of Esther, is chosen ...
deserved to reign over 127 provinces (as indicated by ). Rabbi Akiva taught that the reason was this: Let Esther, the descendant of Sarah, who lived 127 years (as reports), come and reign over 127 provinces.
Noting that reports that "Sarah died in Kiriat-arba," literally, "city of four," a Midrash taught that the city had four names—Eshcol, Mamre, Kiriat-arba, and Hebron. Midrash taught that it was called Kiriat-arba because four righteous men dwelt there—Aner, Eshcol, Mamre, and Abraham; four righteous men were circumcised there—Abraham, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; four righteous men were buried there—Adam
Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...
, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and four matriarchs were buried there—Eve
Eve (; ; ar, حَوَّاء, Ḥawwāʾ; el, Εὕα, Heúa; la, Eva, Heva; Syriac: romanized: ) is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the ...
, Sarah, Rebekah, and Leah.
A Midrash deduced from the words "Abraham ''came'' to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her" in that Abraham came directly from Mount Moriah
Moriah ( Hebrew: , ''Mōrīyya''; Arabic: ﻣﺮﻭﻩ, ''Marwah'') is the name given to a mountainous region in the Book of Genesis, where the binding of Isaac by Abraham is said to have taken place. Jews identify the region mentioned in Genes ...
and the binding of Isaac
The Binding of Isaac ( he, , ), or simply "The Binding" (, ), is a story from Genesis 22 of the Hebrew Bible. In the biblical narrative, God tells Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, on Moriah. As Abraham begins to comply, having bound Isaa ...
. The Midrash told that at the very moment in that the angel of the Lord stayed Abraham from sacrificing Isaac, the Satan
Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as Devil in Christianity, the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an non-physical entity, entity in the Abrahamic religions ...
appeared to Sarah in the guise of Isaac. When Sarah saw him, she asked what Abraham had done to him. He told Sarah that Abraham had taken him to a mountain, built an altar, placed wood upon it, tied him down on it, and took a knife to slaughter him, and had God not told him not to lay a hand on him, Abraham would have slaughtered him. As soon as he finished speaking, Sarah's soul departed. Similarly, reading , "And Abraham came to mourn for Sarah," the Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer
Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer (also Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer; Aramaic: פרקי דרבי אליעזר, or פרקים דרבי אליעזר, Chapters of Rabbi Eliezer; abbreviated PdRE) is an aggadic-midrashic work on the Torah containing exegesis and re ...
reported that Abraham came from Mount Moriah to find that Sarah had died. When Abraham set out from Mount Moriah in peace, the anger of Sammael (the Satan) was kindled, for he saw that his desire to frustrate Abraham's offering had not been realized. So Sammael told Sarah that Abraham had killed Isaac and offered him as a burnt offering upon the altar. Sarah began to weep and to cry aloud three times, corresponding to the three sustained notes (of the shofar
A shofar ( ; from he, שׁוֹפָר, ) is an ancient musical horn typically made of a ram's horn, used for Jewish religious purposes. Like the modern bugle, the shofar lacks pitch-altering devices, with all pitch control done by varying the ...
), and she gave forth three howlings corresponding to the three disconnected short notes (of the shofar), and her soul fled, and she died.
The Gemara
The Gemara (also transliterated Gemarah, or in Yiddish Gemo(r)re; from Aramaic , from the Semitic root ג-מ-ר ''gamar'', to finish or complete) is the component of the Talmud comprising rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah w ...
deduced from the use of the verb "came" in the account of , "And Abraham ''came'' to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her," that Abraham delayed Sarah's funeral until he could travel to where her body lay. The Gemara further taught that Sarah would have been pleased that Abraham delayed her funeral so that he could eulogize her.
Rav Ashi
Rav Ashi ( he, רב אשי) ("Rabbi Ashi") (352–427) was a Babylonian Jewish rabbi, of the sixth generation of amoraim. He reestablished the Academy at Sura and was the first editor of the Babylonian Talmud.
Biography
According to a trad ...
deduced from that as long as a person has the obligation to bury a body, it is as if the corpse lay before the person. says: "And Abraham rose up from before his dead," indicating that he departed from the presence of Sarah's body. And then says: "that I may bury my dead out of my sight," showing that Abraham still spoke as if Sarah's corpse were lying before him. (And this status affects a person's obligation to perform other commandments.) Similarly, Rabbi Johanan Yohanan, Yochanan and Johanan are various transliterations to the Latin alphabet of the Hebrew male given name ('), a shortened form of ('), meaning "YHWH is gracious".
The name is ancient, recorded as the name of Johanan, high priest of the Se ...
taught that we learn from the words, "And Abraham rose up from before his dead and spoke," in that one whose dead lies before him is exempt from reciting the Shema
''Shema Yisrael'' (''Shema Israel'' or ''Sh'ma Yisrael''; he , שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל ''Šəmaʿ Yīsrāʾēl'', "Hear, O Israel") is a Jewish prayer (known as the Shema) that serves as a centerpiece of the morning and evening Jewis ...
(as the verse implies that until Sarah's burial, Abraham did nothing but make arrangements for it).
The Gemara expanded on the conversation between God and Satan in to teach that Abraham's patience in receiving the Promised Land even in the face of the need to buy land to bury his wife in showed faith comparable to that of Job
Work or labor (or labour in British English) is intentional activity people perform to support the needs and wants of themselves, others, or a wider community. In the context of economics, work can be viewed as the human activity that contr ...
. begins: "Now one day the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came among them. And the Lord said to Satan: ‘From where do you come?' Then Satan answered. . . ." The Gemara taught that Satan then told God: "Sovereign of the Universe, I have traversed the whole world and found none so faithful as Your servant Abraham. For You said to him, ‘Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for to you will I give it,' and even so, when he was unable to find any place in which to bury Sarah until he bought one for 400 shekels of silver, he did not complain against Your ways." Only then did God say to Satan the words of , "Have you considered my servant Job? For there is none like him in the earth . . . ."
Rabbi Berekiah
R. Berekiah (or R. Berekhyah; he, רבי ברכיה, read as ''Rabbi Berekhyah'') was an ''Amoraim, Amora'' of the Land of Israel, of the fourth generation of the Amora era. He is known for his work on the Aggadah, and there are many of his statem ...
and Rabbi Helbo
Rabbi Helbo (רבי חלבו) was an amora who flourished about the end of the 3rd century, and who is frequently mentioned in both Talmuds.
It seems that Helbo lived at first in Babylonia, where he studied under Rav Huna, the head of the Academy ...
taught in the name of Rabbi Samuel bar Nahman that the Vale of Siddim (mentioned in in connection with the battle between the four kings and the five kings) was called the Valley of Shaveh (which means "as one") because there all the peoples of the world agreed as one, felled cedars, erected a large dais for Abraham, set him on top, and praised him, saying (in the words of ,) "Hear us, my lord: you are a prince of God among us." They told Abraham that he was king over them and a god to them. But Abraham replied that the world did not lack its King, and the world did not lack its God.
A Midrash taught that Abraham said (with the words of and ), "'Here I am'—ready for priesthood, ready for kingship" (ready to serve God in whatever role God chose), and Abraham attained both priesthood and kingship. He attained priesthood, as says, "The Lord has sworn, and will not repent: 'You are a priest forever after the manner of Melchizedek." And he attained kingship, as says, "You are a mighty prince among us."
Rav
''Rav'' (or ''Rab,'' Modern Hebrew: ) is the Hebrew generic term for a person who teaches Torah; a Jewish spiritual guide; or a rabbi. For example, Pirkei Avot (1:6) states that:
The term ''rav'' is also Hebrew for ''rabbi''. (For a more nuan ...
and Samuel
Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bibl ...
differed as to its meaning of "Machpelah"—meaning "double cave"—in . One held that the cave consisted of two chambers one within the other, and the other held that it consisted of a lower and upper chamber. According to one, the term "double cave" meant that it was the burial place of multiple couples—Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob and Leah.
Similarly, Rabbi Jehudah taught that the three Patriarchs
The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate (bishop), primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholicism, Independent Catholic Chur ...
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob made covenants with the people of the Land of Israel. In Abraham's case, this is how it happened: When the three angels visited him (as reported in ), Abraham ran to meet them and prepare for them a great banquet. He told Sarah to prepare cakes for them, but when Sarah was kneading, she perceived that the manner of women was upon her, so Abraham did not serve his visitors any of the cakes. Rather, Abraham ran to fetch a calf, but the calf fled from him and went into the cave of Machpelah. Abraham chased in after the calf, and found Adam and Eve lying there upon their beds. Lights were kindled above them, and a sweet scent was upon them. Abraham consequently sought to get the cave as a burial possession. He spoke to the sons of Jebus to purchase the cave from them. The men did not accept his request at first. He began to bow down and prostrate himself to them, as reports, "And Abraham bowed himself down before the people of the land." They told Abraham that they knew that in the future God would give all the land to Abraham and his descendants. Thus, they asked Abraham to make a covenant with them that Abraham's descendants would not take possession of the cities of the Jebusites, and they would sell him the cave of Machpelah as a perpetual possession. So Abraham made a covenant with them with an oath that the Israelites would not take possession of the city of the Jebusites (Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
) without the consent of the Jebusites and then bought the cave of Machpelah as a perpetual possession, as reports, "And Abraham hearkened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the hearing of the children of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant." The Jebusites made images of copper inscribed with Abraham's covenant, and set them up in the streets of the city. When the Israelites later came to the land, they wished to enter the city of the Jebusites (as reported in and ), but they were unable to enter because of the sign of Abraham's covenant, as reports, "And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem." When David reigned, he wanted to enter the city of the Jebusites, but they did not allow him, as reports, "And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land; who spoke to David, saying, ‘You shall not come in here.'" Although the Israelites were numerous, they were unable to capture the city because of the force of the sign of Abraham's covenant. David saw this and turned back, as reports, "And David dwelt in the stronghold" (not in the city). David's men told him that he would not be able to enter the city until he had removed all those images upon which Abraham's covenant was written. So David told his men that whoever would remove those images would be the chief. Joab
Joab (Hebrew Modern: ''Yōʼav'', Tiberian: ''Yōʼāḇ'') the son of Zeruiah, was the nephew of King David and the commander of his army, according to the Hebrew Bible.
Name
The name Joab is, like many other Hebrew names, theophoric - derive ...
the son of Zeruiah Zeruiah ( sometimes transliterated Tzruya or Zeruya) was a sister of King David. According to both and the Babylonian Talmud, Zeruiah was a daughter of Jesse and sister of Abigail, to whom reference is made in 1 Chronicles () and Samuel 2 (). Zer ...
did so and became the chief, as reports, "And Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first, and was made chief." Thereafter, David bought the city of the Jebusites for Israel with a deed for a perpetual possession, as reports, "So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold by weight."
The Gemara deduced from the use of the term "take" in that "taking" means by monetary exchange. And thus the Gemara deduced that money effects betrothal by noting the common use of "take" in and in , in the words, "If any man take a wife."
Contrasting the behavior of Abraham and Epron, Rabbi Eleazar taught that the righteous promise little and perform much; whereas the wicked promise much and do not perform even little. The Gemara deduced the behavior of the wicked from Ephron, who in said, "The land is worth 400 shekels of silver," but reports, "And Abraham hearkened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, 400 shekels of silver, current money with the merchant," indicating that Ephron refused to accept anything but centenaria (which are more valuable than ordinary shekels). And the Gemara deduced the behavior of the righteous from Abraham, who in offered, "And I will fetch ''a morsel'' of bread," but reports, "And Abraham ran to the herd," doing much more than he offered.
Rabbi Judan the son of Rabbi Simon cited Abraham's purchase of the cave at Machpelah as one of three places where Scripture reports purchases in the Land of Israel, thus providing a defense against the nations of the world who might taunt the Jews, saying that the Israelites had stolen the Land. The three instances are: the cave of Machpelah, of which reports, "And Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver"; Joseph's Tomb
Joseph's Tomb ( he, קבר יוסף, ''Qever Yosef''; ar, قبر يوسف, ''Qabr Yūsuf'') is a funerary monument located in Balata village at the eastern entrance to the valley that separates Mounts Gerizim and Ebal, 300 metres northwest of ...
, of which reports, "And he bought the parcel of ground"; and the Temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
, of which reports, "So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold."
The Mishnah attributed to Abraham a good eye (a magnanimous spirit in financial matters, based, for example, on Abraham's generous and ungrudging nature in his dealings with Ephron the Hittite in ).
Rabbi Haninah
Hanina(h) ben Ahi Rabbi Joshua ( he, חנינא בן אחי רבי יהושע), or Hananiah ben Ahi Rabbi Joshua ( he, חנניה בן אחי רבי יהושע), meaning 'Haninah/Hananiah son of the brother of Rabbi Yehoshua' was a Jewish Tanna s ...
taught that every time the Torah refers to silver coin (, ''shekel kesef'') without any qualification, it means a ''sela'' (shekel
Shekel or sheqel ( akk, 𒅆𒅗𒇻 ''šiqlu'' or ''siqlu,'' he, שקל, plural he, שקלים or shekels, Phoenician: ) is an ancient Mesopotamian coin, usually of silver. A shekel was first a unit of weight—very roughly —and became c ...
), except for the silver coin that cites in the transaction with Ephron. For although mentions the coinage without qualification, it means ''centenaria'' (worth 100 shekels each), because says: "400 shekels of silver current money with the merchant" (implying that wherever there were merchants, these shekels had to be accepted as such), and there is a place where they call ''centenaria'' "shekels."
Rav Judah said in the name of Rav that , which says, "So the field of Efron which was in Machpelah . . . and all the trees that were in the field that were in the border thereof," indicates that Abraham in buying the field acquired all the small trees that were identified by their surrounding boundary. But the purchase did not include those large, distinctive trees that did not require a surrounding boundary for people to know to whom they belonged. And Rav Mesharsheya deduced from that one who buys a field also gains title to the border strips and the trees on these strips surrounding the field.
Genesis chapter 24
The Mishnah andTosefta
The Tosefta (Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: תוספתא "supplement, addition") is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the late 2nd century, the period of the Mishnah.
Overview
In many ways, the Tosefta acts as a supplement to the Mishnah ( ...
deduced from that God blessed Abraham in his old age because (as the Mishnah deduced from ) he kept the entire Torah even before it was revealed. And the Tosefta deduced from the contrast between the plenty indicated in and the famine indicated in that God gave the people food and drink and a glimpse of the world to come while the righteous Abraham was alive, so that the people might understand how much they had lost when he was gone.
Rabbi Hama ben Hanina taught that our ancestors were never without a scholars' council. Abraham was an elder and a member of the scholars' council, as says, "And Abraham was an elder (, ''zaken'') well stricken in age." Eliezer
Eliezer (, "Help/Court of El") was the name of at least three different individuals in the Bible.
Eliezer of Damascus
Eliezer of Damascus () was, according to the Targums, the son of Nimrod. Eliezer was head of the patriarch Abraham's househo ...
, Abraham's servant, was an elder and a member of the scholars' council, as says, "And Abraham said to his servant, the elder of his house, who ruled over all he had," which Rabbi Eleazar explained to mean that he ruled over—and thus knew and had control of—the Torah of his master. Isaac
Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was the ...
was an elder and a member of the scholars' council, as says: "And it came to pass when Isaac was an elder (, ''zaken'')." Jacob was an elder and a member of the scholars' council, as says, "Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age (, ''zoken'')." In Egypt they had the scholars' council, as says, "Go and gather the elders of Israel together." And in the Wilderness, they had the scholars' council, as in , God directed Moses to "Gather . . . 70 men of the elders of Israel."
The Gemara read the words of , "And the Lord blessed Abraham with everything," to support the Sages' teaching that God gave three people in this world a taste of the World To Come
The world to come, age to come, heaven on Earth, and the Kingdom of God are eschatological phrases reflecting the belief that the current world or current age is flawed or cursed and will be replaced in the future by a better world, age, or par ...
—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Of Isaac, says, "And I have eaten from everything." And of Jacob, says, "Because I have everything." Already in their lifetimes they merited everything, that is perfection. The Gemara read these three verses also to teach that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were three people over whom the evil inclination had no sway, as Scripture says about them, respectively, "with everything," "from everything," and "everything," and the completeness of their blessings meant that they did not have to contend with their evil inclinations. And the Gemara read these same three verses to teach that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were three of six people over whom the Angel of Death had no sway in their demise—Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. As Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were blessed with everything, the Gemara reasoned, they were certainly spared the anguish of the Angel of Death.
The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer identified the unnamed steward of Abraham's household in with Abraham's servant Eliezer introduced in . The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer told that when Abraham left Ur of the Chaldees
Ur Kasdim ( he, ''ʾūr Kaśdīm''), commonly translated as Ur of the Chaldeans, is a city mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as the birthplace of the Israelite and Ishmaelite patriarch Abraham. In 1862, Henry Rawlinson identified Ur Kaśdim with ...
, all the magnates of the kingdom gave him gifts, and Nimrod
Nimrod (; ; arc, ܢܡܪܘܕ; ar, نُمْرُود, Numrūd) is a biblical figure mentioned in the Book of Genesis and Books of Chronicles. The son of Cush and therefore a great-grandson of Noah, Nimrod was described as a king in the land of ...
gave Abraham Nimrod's first-born son Eliezer as a perpetual slave. After Eliezer had dealt kindly with Isaac, he set Eliezer free, and God gave Eliezer his reward in this world by raising him up to become a king— Og, king of Bashan
Bashan (; he, הַבָּשָׁן, translit=ha-Bashan; la, Basan or ''Basanitis'') is the ancient, biblical name used for the northernmost region of the Transjordan during the Iron Age. It is situated in modern-day Syria. Its western part, now ...
.
The Tosefta reported that Jewish judicial proceedings adopted the oath that Abraham imposed in . And Rav Judah said that Rav said that the judge adjures the witness with the oath stated in , "And I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven." Ravina explained that this accorded with the view of Rabbi Haninah bar Idi, who said that Jewish judicial proceedings require swearing by the Name of God. Rav Ashi replied that one might even say that it accorded with the view of the Rabbis, who said that a witness can be adjured with a Substitute for the Name of God. They concluded that the witness needs to hold something sacred in his hand, as Abraham's servant did when in he put his hand under Abraham's thigh and held Abraham's circumcision. Rava said that a judge who adjures by "the Lord God of heaven" without having the witness hold a sacred object errs and has to repeat the swearing correctly. Rav Papa
Rav Pappa ( he, רַב פַּפָּא) (c. 300 – died 375) was a Babylonian rabbi, of the fifth generation of amoraim.
Biography
He was a student of Rava and Abaye. After the death of his teachers he founded a school at Naresh, a city near ...
said that a judge who adjures with tefillin
Tefillin (; Modern Hebrew language, Israeli Hebrew: / ; Ashkenazim, Ashkenazic pronunciation: ), or phylacteries, are a set of small black leather boxes with leather straps containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah. Te ...
errs and has to repeat the swearing. The law follows Rava, but not Rav Papa, as tefillin are considered sacred.
Rabbi Haggai observed in Rabbi Isaac's name that Abraham prophesied in when he said, “He will send His angel before you.” Rabbi Haggai taught in Rabbi Isaac's name that even though Abraham was capable of prophesy, he still needed God's kindness, as reports Abraham's servant praying, “And show kindness to my master Abraham.” Rabbi Haggai concluded in Rabbi Isaac's name that all need God's kindness.
Reading the report of , "And the servant took ten camels, of the camels of his master," a Midrash noted that mention that they were "of the camels of his master" is apparently superfluous. The Midrash explained that Abraham's camels were distinguishable wherever they went, because they were led out muzzled so as not to graze in other people's fields.Genesis Rabbah 59:11, in, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Genesis''. Translated by Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon, volume 2, page 522. And reprinted in, e.g., ''The Midrash: Midrash Rabbah with an Annotated, Interpretive Elucidation and Additional Insights''. Edited by Chaim Malinowitz, volume 2, Chayei Sarah, page 151.
Reading the report of that Abraham's servant had "all the goods of his master's in his hand," Rabbi Helbo explained that this was a deed of gift (made by Abraham of all his wealth to Isaac, so that a bride would be more eager to marry him). Similarly, Rabbi Simeon (or some say Rabbi Shemajah) taught that Abraham wrote a will that bequeathed all that he had as an inheritance to Isaac, as says, "And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac." Abraham took the document and gave to Eliezer, his servant, who reasoned that since the document was in his hand, all Abraham's money was in his hand, so that he might go and be recommended thereby in Abraham's father's house and with his family.Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer, chapter 16in, e.g., ''Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer''. Translated and annotated by Gerald Friedlander, page 108.
Reading the report of the servant's travels in , the Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer taught that from Kiriat Arba to Haran
Haran or Aran ( he, הָרָן ''Hārān'') is a man in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. He died in Ur of the Chaldees, was a son of Terah, and brother of Abraham. Through his son Lot, Haran was the ancestor of the Moabites and Ammonite ...
was a journey of 17 days, but Abraham's servant came to Haran in three hours. The servant was astonished that he had arrived on the same day, and said (as reported in ), "And I came ''this day'' to the fountain." Rabbi Abbahu taught that God wished to show loving-kindness to Isaac, and he sent an angel before Eliezer to shorten the way for him, so that the servant came to Haran in three hours. Similarly, Rabbi Berekiah taught in Rabbi Isaac's name that the words of , "And I came ''this day'' to the fountain," mean that Abraham's servant set out that day and miraculously arrived the same day. The Midrash thus counted Abraham's servant along with Jacob and Abishai the son of Zeruiah Zeruiah ( sometimes transliterated Tzruya or Zeruya) was a sister of King David. According to both and the Babylonian Talmud, Zeruiah was a daughter of Jesse and sister of Abigail, to whom reference is made in 1 Chronicles () and Samuel 2 (). Zer ...
as men who miraculously traveled long distances in a short time when the earth trembled, closing gaps and thereby speeding them along. And similarly, the Rabbis read the words "And I came ''this day'' to the well" in to imply that Eliezer had set out that day from Abraham's household and arrived on the same day in Aram-Naharaim. The Rabbis thus taught that the earth shrank to speed Eliezer's journey, as it would again for Jacob (as implied in ) and Abishai the son of Zeruiah.
A Midrash asked why, in , Abraham's servant stopped by the well. The Midrash explained that he thus followed the usual practice: Whoever seeks a neighbor sits at the water and find the neighbor there, as everyone eventually comes to the water. The Midrash noted that all the righteous who left their homes went to wells. In addition to Abraham's servant in , says of Jacob, "And behold a well in the field," and reports of Moses, "He sat down by a well."
Reading of the servant's plan in , "At the time of evening, the time that women go out to draw water," Rav Huna
Rav Huna (Hebrew: רב הונא) was a Jewish Talmud, Talmudist and Exilarch who lived in Babylonia, known as an Amoraim, amora of the second generation and head of the Talmudic Academies in Babylonia, Academy of Sura; he was born about 216 (212 ...
asked: When a man goes to take a wife and he hears dogs barking, can he then understand what they are saying? Rav Huna taught that there was just as little reason in the servant's plan, "At the time of evening, the time that women go out to draw water."
Reading the servant's test in , "And she may say, ‘Drink,'" a Midrash asked why the servant made this the sign that would prove her to be the one (in the words of ) "whom the Lord has appointed for my master's son." The Midrash explained that the servant knew that if she answered that way, she would be a righteous woman, eager to show hospitality, just like Abraham and Sarah.
Rabbi Samuel bar Nahmani said in the name of Rabbi Jonathan
Rabbi Jonathan (Hebrew: רבי יונתן, ''Rabi Yonatan'') was a '' tanna'' of the 2nd century and schoolfellow of R. Josiah, apart from whom he is rarely quoted.
Jonathan is generally so cited within
further designation; but there is ample re ...
that Abraham's servant Eliezer made an improper request when in he asked God to grant that the young woman whom he would ask to draw water for him and who replied by offering also to water his camels might be the one whom God had decreed for Isaac. Rabbi Samuel asked what would have happened if she had happened to be lame or blind, and concluded that Eliezer was fortunate that Providence answered him by sending Rebekah to meet him. Rabbi Samuel compared Eliezer's request to the improvident oaths that Saul
Saul (; he, , ; , ; ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel. His reign, traditionally placed in the late 11th century BCE, supposedly marked the transition of Israel and Judah from a scattered tri ...
made in 1 Samuel when he promised his daughter to the man who would kill Goliath
Goliath ( ) ''Goləyāṯ''; ar, جُليات ''Ǧulyāt'' (Christian term) or (Quranic term). is a character in the Book of Samuel, described as a Philistine giant
In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''gigas'', cognate giga-) a ...
and that Jephthah
Jephthah (pronounced ; he, יִפְתָּח, ''Yīftāḥ''), appears in the Book of Judges as a judge who presided over Israel for a period of six years (). According to Judges, he lived in Gilead. His father's name is also given as Gilead, ...
made in when he promised to sacrifice whatever came out of his house to meet him on his return. Similarly, a Midrash taught that Abraham's servant was one of four who asked improperly—Eliezer, Caleb, Saul, and Jepthah. The Midrash asked: What if a slave woman had done as Eliezer had asked? Yet the Midrash taught that God prepared Rebekah for him and granted his request in a fitting manner. And Rav cited Eliezer's request in along with the omen sought by Jonathan in as forms of improper acts of divination.
Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai
Shimon bar Yochai ( Zoharic Aramaic: שמעון בר יוחאי, ''Shim'on bar Yoḥai'') or Shimon ben Yochai ( Mishnaic Hebrew: שמעון בן יוחאי, ''Shim'on ben Yoḥai''), also known by the acronym Rashbi, was a 2nd-century '' tannai ...
taught that God answered three men even while their petition was still on their lips: Abraham's servant Eliezer, Moses, and Solomon
Solomon (; , ),, ; ar, سُلَيْمَان, ', , ; el, Σολομών, ; la, Salomon also called Jedidiah (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , Modern Hebrew, Modern: , Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yăḏīḏăyāh'', "beloved of Yahweh, Yah"), ...
. With regard to Eliezer, reports: "And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out." With regard to Moses, reports: "And it came to pass, as he made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground did cleave asunder." And with regard to Solomon, 2 Chronicles
The Book of Chronicles ( he, דִּבְרֵי־הַיָּמִים ) is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Chronicles) in the Christian Old Testament. Chronicles is the final book of the Hebrew Bible, concluding the third sect ...
reports: "Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven."
The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer taught that God saw that everything miraculously came together for Abraham's servant. A daughter of kings, Rebekah, who in all her life had never gone forth to draw water, went out to draw water at that hour. And the girl, who did not know who Abraham's servant was, accepted his proposal to be married to Isaac. The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer taught that this happened because she had been destined for him from birth.
Rav Nahman bar Isaac cited a Tanna that interpreted to teach that Rebekah was virgin between the ages of 12 and 12½ (a ''naarah'') when Abraham's servant encountered her.
Rabbi Isaac called Bethuel a wicked man. A Midrash identified Bethuel as a king.
Rava asked Rabba bar Mari from where people derived the saying: If you are aware of a derogatory matter about yourself, say it first before others say it about you. Rabba bar Mari answered that the source was what Eliezer said in , "And he said: 'I am Abraham's servant,'" immediately proclaiming that he was a servant.
A Midrash taught that when Rebekah’s family heard Abraham's servant say in , "I am Abraham's servant," they hid their faces in shame and fear, realizing that if this was the servant, how much more so would be his master. They reasoned that one could judge a lion from its welp and concluded that they could not overcome him. Thereupon, they removed the poisoned food that they had given Abraham's servant.
Rav in the name of Rabbi Reuben ben Estrobile cited Laban's and Bethuel's response to Abraham's servant that "The matter was decreed by the Lord" in as a proof text for the proposition that God destines a woman and a man for each other in marriage. Rabbi Joshua the son of Rabbi Nehemiah
Rabbi Nehemiah was a rabbi who lived circa 150 AD (fourth generation of tannaim).
He was one of the great students of Rabbi Akiva, and one of the rabbis who received semicha from R' Judah ben Baba
The Talmud equated R' Nechemiah with Rabbi Ne ...
in the name of Rabbi Haninah ben Isaac said that the decree with regard to Rebekah that Laban and Bethuel acknowledged came from Mount Moriah.
But the Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer taught that Laban and Bethuel said in , "The thing proceeds from the Lord: We cannot speak to you bad or good," only because since this word had come forth from God, they could not prevent it.Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer, chapter 16in, e.g., ''Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer''. Translated and annotated by Gerald Friedlander, page 109. Noting that reports that the next day, Rebekah's "brother and her mother said, ‘Let the maiden remain with us some ten days,'" the Rabbis asked where Bethuel was. The Midrash concluded that Bethuel wished to hinder Rebekah's marriage, and so he was smitten during the night. The Rabbis said that Abraham's servant did not disclose Bethuel's fate to Isaac.
Rav Hisda interpreted the word "days" (, ''yamim'') in to mean "a year." says, "And her brother and her mother said: ‘Let the maiden abide with us ''yamim'', at the least ten." The Gemara reasoned that if , ''yamim'', in means "days" and thus to imply "two days" (as the plural implies more than one), then would report Rebekah's brother and mother suggesting first two days, and then when Eliezer said that that was too long, nonsensically suggesting ten days. The Gemara thus deduced that , ''yamim'', must mean "a year," as implies when it says, "if a man sells a house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold; for a full year (, ''yamim'') shall he have the right of redemption." Thus might mean, "Let the maiden abide with us a year, or at the least ten months." The Gemara then suggested that , ''yamim'', might mean "a month," as suggests when it uses the phrase "a month of days (, ''yamim'')." The Gemara concluded, however, that , ''yamim'', means "a month" only when the term "month" is specifically mentioned, but otherwise means either "days" (at least two) or "a year." Similarly, the Mishnah taught that they allowed a virgin 12 months to prepare for her wedding after her fiancé told her to prepare.
Reading the servant's words to Laban in , "Do not hinder me, for the Lord has prospered my way," the Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer told that the servant rose early in the morning and saw the angel that had accompanied him standing and waiting for him in the street. The servant then told Laban and his friends the words of and that the man who came with him the day before to prosper his way was standing and waiting for him.
A Midrash noted that in , Rebekah's brother and mother determined to ask Rebekah if she assented to going with Abraham's servant to marry Isaac. The Midrash deduced from this that a fatherless maiden may not be given in marriage without her consent.Genesis Rabbah 60:12, in, e.g., ''The Midrash: Midrash Rabbah with an Annotated, Interpretive Elucidation and Additional Insights''. Edited by Chaim Malinowitz, volume 2, page 261.
In , Rebekah's brother and mother "called Rebekah, and said to her: ‘Will you go?'" Rabbi Uanina, the son of Rav Adda, said in Rabbi Isaac's name that Rebekah's brother and mother hinted to Rebekah (putting the question in a tone of surprise), "Will you (really) go?" "And she said: ‘I will go.'" Rebekah did not simply say "yes," but replied that she would go, in spite of her brother and mother, whether they wished it or not.
The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer taught that Laban and his family ate and drank at a bridal banquet for Rebekah. And then, like an officiant who stands and blesses a bride in her bridal canopy, they stood and blessed Rebekah their sister on her upcoming wedding to Isaac, as reports, "And they blessed Rebekah, and said to her, ‘Our sister . . . .'"
The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer taught that the servant left Haran at noon and took Rebekah and her nurse Deborah riding on the camels. So that the servant would not be alone with the maiden Rebekah by night, the earth once again contracted before them, and in three hours, they came to Hebron at the time of the afternoon prayer (that is, at 3 p.m.). Isaac had gone forth to say the afternoon prayer, as it is said in , "And Isaac went forth to meditate in the field towards evening."
Rabbi Joshua ben Levi
Joshua ben Levi (Yehoshua ben Levi) was an Amoraim, amora, a scholar of the Talmud, who lived in the Land of Israel in the first half of the third century. He lived and taught in the city of Lod. He was an elder contemporary of Johanan ben Napp ...
(according to the Jerusalem Talmud
The Jerusalem Talmud ( he, תַּלְמוּד יְרוּשַׁלְמִי, translit=Talmud Yerushalmi, often for short), also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century ...
) or a Baraita
''Baraita'' (Aramaic: "external" or "outside"; pl. ''Barayata'' or ''Baraitot''; also Baraitha, Beraita; Ashkenazi: Beraisa) designates a tradition in the Jewish oral law not incorporated in the Mishnah. ''Baraita'' thus refers to teachings "ou ...
in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yose the son of Rabbi Chaninah (according to the Babylonian Talmud) said that the three daily prayers derived from the Patriarchs, and cited for the proposition that Jews derived the afternoon prayer from Isaac, arguing that within the meaning of , "speak" meant "pray," just as it did in Psalm
The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...
. Thus, interpreting , Rav Huna taught that when Rebekah first saw Isaac, she saw his hand stretched out in prayer.
Rabbi José taught that Isaac observed three years of mourning for his mother. After three years he married Rebekah, and forgot the mourning for his mother. Hence Rabbi José taught that until a man marries a wife, his love centers on his parents. When he marries a wife, he bestows his love upon his wife, as says, "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and he shall cleave unto his wife."
A Midrash taught that as long as Sarah lived, a cloud (signifying the Divine Presence) hung over her tent. When she died, the cloud disappeared. But when Rebekah came, it returned. As long as Sarah lived, her doors were wide open. At her death that liberality ceased. But when Rebekah came, that openhandedness returned. As long as Sarah lived, there was a blessing on her dough, and the lamp used to burn from the evening of the Sabbath until the evening of the following Sabbath. When she died, these ceased. But when Rebekah came, they returned. And so when Isaac saw Rebekah following in his mother Sarah's footsteps, separating her challah in cleanness and handling her dough in cleanness (rereading the words of ), "Isaac brought her into the tent, (and, behold, she was like) his mother Sarah."
Rabbi Judan read to teach a rule of propriety: If a man has grown-up sons (and both the man and his sons wish to marry), he must first see that his sons marry and then take a wife himself. Rabbi Judan derived this from Abraham's example, for first says, "And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent," and after that, says, "And Abraham took another wife, and her name was Keturah."
Genesis chapter 25
Rabbi Judah said that Keturah was another name forHagar
Hagar, of uncertain origin; ar, هَاجَر, Hājar; grc, Ἁγάρ, Hagár; la, Agar is a biblical woman. According to the Book of Genesis, she was an Egyptian slave, a handmaiden of Sarah (then known as ''Sarai''), whom Sarah gave to he ...
.
Rabbi Judah, Rabbi Nehemiah, and the Rabbis differed about the meaning of , "And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac." Rabbi Judah said that Abraham gave Isaac the birthright. Rabbi Nehemiah said that Abraham gave the power of blessing granted to Abraham in . The Rabbis said that Abraham gave the privilege of being buried in the cave of Machpelah and a deed of gift. Rabbi Judah the son of Rabbi Simon, Rabbi Berekiah, and Rabbi Levi in the name of Rabbi Hama the son of Rabbi Hanina taught that Abraham did not bless Isaac, but gave him gifts. Rabbi Hama likened this to a king who had an orchard, which he entrusted to a steward. The orchard contained two trees that were intertwined, and one of which yielded life-giving fruit and the other a deadly poison. The steward thought that if he watered the life-bearing tree, the death-bearing one would flourish with it; while if he did not water the death-bearing tree, the life-bearing could not survive. On reflection, the steward decided that his position required him to do his duty, and whatever the owner of the orchard wished to do, he could do. In like manner, Abraham argued that if he blessed Isaac, the children of Ishmael and of Keturah would also be blessed; while if he did not bless the children of Ishmael and Keturah, he could not bless Isaac. On reflection, he decided that he was only flesh; he would do his duty, and whatever God wished to do, God would do. Consequently, when Abraham died, God appeared to Isaac and blessed him, as reports, "And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed Isaac his son."
A Midrash told that the Ishmaelites came before Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...
to dispute the birthright with Israel, accompanied by the Canaanites and the Egyptians. The Ishmaelites based their claim on , "But he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the hated," and Ishmael was the firstborn. Gebiah the son of Kosem representing the Jews, asked Alexander whether a man could not do as he wished to his sons. When Alexander replied that a man could, Gebiah quoted , "And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac." The Ishmaelites asked where the deed of gift to his other sons was. Gebiah replied by quoting , "But to the sons of the concubines, whom Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts." Thereupon the Ishmaelites departed in shame.
Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Haninah taught that shows God comforting the mourning Isaac, and thus demonstrates one of God's attributes that humans should emulate. Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Haninah asked what means in the text, "You shall walk after the Lord your God." How can a human being walk after God, when says, " e Lord your God is a devouring fire"? Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Haninah explained that the command to walk after God means to walk after the attributes of God. As God clothes the naked—for says, "And the Lord God made for Adam
Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...
and for his wife coats of skin, and clothed them"—so should we also clothe the naked. God visited the sick—for says, "And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre
Mamre (; he, מַמְרֵא), full Hebrew name ''Elonei Mamre'' ("Oaks/Terebinths of Mamre"), refers to an ancient religious site originally focused on a single holy tree, growing "since time immemorial" at Hebron in Canaan.Niesiolowski-Spano (2 ...
" (after Abraham
Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jew ...
was circumcised in .)—so should we also visit the sick. God comforted mourners—for says, "And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed Isaac his son"—so should we also comfort mourners. God buried the dead—for says, "And He buried him in the valley"—so should we also bury the dead. Similarly, the Sifre
Sifre ( he, סִפְרֵי; ''siphrēy'', ''Sifre, Sifrei'', also, ''Sifre debe Rab'' or ''Sifre Rabbah'') refers to either of two works of ''Midrash halakha'', or classical Jewish legal biblical exegesis, based on the biblical books of Numbers a ...
on taught that to walk in God's ways means to be (in the words of ) "merciful and gracious."
In medieval Jewish interpretation
The parashah is discussed in thesemedieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
Jewish sources:
Genesis chapter 24
Baḥya ibn Paquda taught that because humans cannot understand anything about God except for God’s Name and that God exists, Abraham associated God’s Name with heaven and earth when he said in , "And I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth."
Abraham ibn Ezra read the words “He will send His angel before you” in as a prayer. Ibn Ezra argued that if it were a prophecy, Abraham would not have said in , “And if the woman is not willing to follow you . . . .”
The ''Zohar
The ''Zohar'' ( he, , ''Zōhar'', lit. "Splendor" or "Radiance") is a foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah (the five ...
'' taught that when Abraham's servant reached Haran and met Rebekah (in the words of ) "at the time of evening," it was the time of the afternoon (, ''mincha
Mincha ( he, מִנחַה, pronounced as ; sometimes spelled ''Minchah'' or ''Minḥa'') is the afternoon prayer service in Judaism.
Etymology
The name ''Mincha'', meaning "present", is derived from the meal offering that accompanied each sacrif ...
'') prayer. Thus the moment when Isaac began the afternoon prayer coincided with the moment when Abraham's servant encountered Rebekah. So, too, Rebekah came to Isaac (as reported in ) at the very moment of Isaac's afternoon prayer.
Reading , Obadiah ben Jacob Sforno
Ovadia ben Jacob Sforno (Obadja Sforno, Hebrew: עובדיה ספורנו) was an Italian rabbi, Biblical commentator, philosopher and physician. A member of the Sforno family, he was born in Cesena about 1475 and died in Bologna in 1550.
Bio ...
distinguished what Abraham's servant did from divination. According to Sforno, Abraham's servant did not make what he said a sign whereby he might recognize Isaac's destined wife, because that would be divination; rather he prayed that it might occur the way that he described. If an individual says something not as a prayer, but in the nature of, "If such-and-such happens, then I shall do this," then the individual is guilty of divination.
The ''Zohar'' taught that Rabbi Simeon discoursed on , “A son honors his father, and a servant his master,” saying that Eliezer illustrated a servant's honoring his master by carrying out all Abraham's wishes and paying him great respect, as reports, “And he said, ‘I am Abraham’s servant; and the Lord blessed my master Abraham.’” Eliezer had with him silver, gold, precious stones, and camels, and was himself quite handsome; yet he did not present himself as Abraham’s friend or family, but openly declared, “I am the servant of Abraham,” in order to extol his master and make him an object of honor in the eyes of Rebekah's family.
Maimonides
Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...
cited Laban and Bethuel's words regarding Rebekah in , "Let her be a wife to the son of your master, as the Lord spoke," as an example of the proposition that Scripture ascribes to God events evidently due to chance.
Genesis chapter 25
Rashbam
Samuel ben Meir (Troyes, c. 1085 – c. 1158), after his death known as "Rashbam", a Hebrew acronym for RAbbi SHmuel Ben Meir, was a leading French Tosafist and grandson of Shlomo Yitzhaki, "Rashi".
Biography
He was born in the vicinity of Troye ...
identified the "concubines" to whom refers as Hagar and Keturah.
The Zohar, however, deduced from the plural of "concubines" in that Abraham had two concubines beside Sarah and Hagar and thus like Jacob had four spouses.
In modern interpretation
The parashah is discussed in these modern sources:Genesis chapter 23
ProfessorJohn Van Seters
John Van Seters (born May 2, 1935 in Hamilton, Ontario) is a Canadian scholar of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and the Ancient Near East. Currently University Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of North Carolina, he was formerly ...
of the University of North Carolina
The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...
argued that the Abraham cycle was a postexilic invention of the 5th century CE or later.
Genesis chapter 24
discusses a gold ring of half a shekel or a ''bekah'' () in weight and gold bracelets of ten shekels in weight. This table translates units of weight used in the Bible into their modern equivalents:Commandments
According to Maimonides and Sefer ha-Chinuch
''Sefer ha-Chinuch'' ( he, ספר החינוך, "Book of Education") is a Jewish rabbinic text which systematically discusses the 613 commandments of the Torah. It was published anonymously in 13th-century Spain. History
The work's enumeration o ...
, there are no commandments in the parashah.
The ''Kitzur Shulchan Aruch'' taught that people who have animals who are dependent on them for their food are prohibited from eating until they feed their animals, based on , "I will grant grass for your cattle in your field, that you may eat and be satisfied," which gives precedence to animals eating before people. But the ''Kitzur Shulchan Aruch'' noted that people came before animals with regard to drinking in , which says, "Drink and I will also draw for your camels," and which says, "And you will provide water for the congregation and their cattle."
In the liturgy
The parashah is reflected in these parts of the Jewish liturgy: Some Jews refer to the ten trials of Abraham in as they studchapter 5
of ''
Pirkei Avot
Pirkei Avot ( he, פִּרְקֵי אָבוֹת; also transliterated as ''Pirqei Avoth'' or ''Pirkei Avos'' or ''Pirke Aboth''), which translates to English as Chapters of the Fathers, is a compilation of the ethics, ethical teachings and Maxim ...
'' on a Sabbath between Passover and Rosh Hashanah.
In the Blessing after Meals (''Birkat Hamazon
Birkat Hamazon ( he, בִּרְכַּת הַמָּזוׂן, The Blessing of the Food), known in English as the Grace After Meals ( yi, ; translit. ''bentschen'' or "to bless", Yinglish: Bentsching), is a set of Hebrew blessings that Jewish l ...
''), at the close of the fourth blessing (of thanks for God's goodness), Jews allude to God's blessing of the Patriarchs
The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate (bishop), primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholicism, Independent Catholic Chur ...
described in , and .
The Sages deduced from Isaac's "meditation . . . toward evening" in that Isaac began the practice of the afternoon (, ''mincha'') prayer service.
The Weekly Maqam
In theWeekly Maqam
In Mizrahi and Sephardic Middle Eastern Jewish prayer services, each Shabbat the congregation conducts services using a different maqam. A ''maqam'' (), which in Arabic literally means 'place', is a standard melody type and set of related tunes. T ...
, Sephardi Jews each week base the songs of the services on the content of that week's parashah. For Parashat Chayei Sarah, Sephardi Jews apply Maqam Hijaz, the maqam that expresses mourning and sadness, because the parashah contains the deaths of both Sarah and Abraham.
Tomb of Sarah
The tomb of Sarah is located in the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron along with that of Abraham and the other Biblical Matriarchs and Patriarchs. Every year on the Shabbat in which Parashat Chayei Sarah is read in synagogue services, thousands of people visit the site. Known as Shabbat Hebron, the weekend can attract more than 35,000 people.
Haftarah
Ahaftarah
The ''haftara'' or (in Ashkenazic pronunciation) ''haftorah'' (alt. ''haftarah, haphtara'', he, הפטרה) "parting," "taking leave", (plural form: ''haftarot'' or ''haftoros'') is a series of selections from the books of ''Nevi'im'' ("Prop ...
is a text selected from the books of Nevi'im
Nevi'im (; he, נְבִיאִים ''Nəvīʾīm'', Tiberian: ''Năḇīʾīm,'' "Prophets", literally "spokespersons") is the second major division of the Hebrew Bible (the ''Tanakh''), lying between the Torah (instruction) and Ketuvim (wri ...
("The Prophets") that is read publicly in the synagogue after the reading of the Torah on Sabbath and holiday mornings. The haftarah usually has a thematic link to the Torah reading that precedes it.
The specific text read following Parashah Chayei Sarah varies according to different traditions within Judaism. Examples are:
:*for Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...
, Sephardi Jews
Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefar ...
, and Dardai communities: :
:*for Yemenite Jews
Yemenite Jews or Yemeni Jews or Teimanim (from ''Yehudei Teman''; ar, اليهود اليمنيون) are those Jews who live, or once lived, in Yemen, and their descendants maintaining their customs. Between June 1949 and September 1950, the ...
:
:*for Karaite Jews
Karaite Judaism () or Karaism (, sometimes spelt Karaitism (; ''Yahadut Qara'it''); also spelt Qaraite Judaism, Qaraism or Qaraitism) is a Jewish religious movement characterized by the recognition of the written Torah alone as its supreme au ...
:
:*for Italian Jews
Italian Jews ( it, Ebrei Italiani, he, יהודים איטלקים ''Yehudim Italkim'') or Roman Jews ( it, Ebrei Romani, he, יהודים רומים ''Yehudim Romim'') can be used in a broad sense to mean all Jews living in or with roots in I ...
:
Notes
Further reading
The parashah has parallels or is discussed in these sources:Biblical
* (courtship at the well). * (courtship at the well).Early nonrabbinic
*Apocalypse of Abraham
The ''Apocalypse of Abraham'' is a pseudepigraphic work (a text whose claimed authorship is uncertain) based on the Old Testament. Probably composed between about 70–150 AD from earlier writings and tradition, it is of Jewish origin and is usuall ...
. Circa 70–150 CE. Translated by R. Rubinkiewicz. In ''The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha: Volume 1: Apocalyptic Literature and Testaments''. Edited by James H. Charlesworth, pages 681–705. New York: Anchor Bible, 1983.
*Testament of Abraham The Testament of Abraham is a pseudepigraphic text of the Old Testament. Probably composed in the 1st or 2nd century AD, it is of Jewish origin and is usually considered to be part of the apocalyptic literature. It is regarded as scripture by Be ...
. Circa 1st or 2nd century CE. Translated by E. P. Sanders
Ed Parish Sanders (April 18, 1937 – November 21, 2022) was an American New Testament scholar and a principal proponent of the "New Perspective on Paul". He was a major scholar in the scholarship on the historical Jesus and contributed to the v ...
. In ''The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha: Volume 1: Apocalyptic Literature and Testaments''. Edited by James H. Charlesworth, pages 871–902. New York: Anchor Bible, 1983.
Classical rabbinic
*Mishnah
The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Torah ...
Ketubot 5:2
Kiddushin 4:14
Avot 5:19
Land of Israel, circa 200 C.E. In, e.g., ''The Mishnah: A New Translation''. Translated by
Jacob Neusner
Jacob Neusner (July 28, 1932 – October 8, 2016) was an American academic scholar of Judaism. He was named as one of the most published authors in history, having written or edited more than 900 books.
Life and career
Neusner was born in Hartfor ...
, pages 387–88, 498, 688–89. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988.
*Tosefta
The Tosefta (Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: תוספתא "supplement, addition") is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the late 2nd century, the period of the Mishnah.
Overview
In many ways, the Tosefta acts as a supplement to the Mishnah ( ...
: Sotah 7:3, 10:5; Kiddushin 5:17. Land of Israel, circa 300 C.E. In, e.g., ''The Tosefta: Translated from the Hebrew, with a New Introduction''. Translated by Jacob Neusner, pages 861, 876, 946. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 2002.
*Jerusalem Talmud
The Jerusalem Talmud ( he, תַּלְמוּד יְרוּשַׁלְמִי, translit=Talmud Yerushalmi, often for short), also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century ...
: Berakhot 43a; Orlah 9b; Shabbat 45b; Rosh Hashanah 12a; Ketubot 5a; Sotah 32a; Kiddushin 1a, 11b, 16b; Sanhedrin 62a. Tiberias
Tiberias ( ; he, טְבֶרְיָה, ; ar, طبريا, Ṭabariyyā) is an Israeli city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Fo ...
, Land of Israel, circa 400 CE. In, e.g., ''Talmud Yerushalmi''. Edited by Chaim Malinowitz, Yisroel Simcha Schorr, and Mordechai Marcus, volumes 1, 12, 14, 24, 31, 37, 40, 45. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2005–2018. And in, e.g., ''The Jerusalem Talmud: A Translation and Commentary''. Edited by Jacob Neusner and translated by Jacob Neusner, Tzvee Zahavy, B. Barry Levy, and Edward Goldman. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 2009.
*Genesis Rabbah
Genesis Rabbah (Hebrew: , ''B'reshith Rabba'') is a religious text from Judaism's classical period, probably written between 300 and 500 CE with some later additions. It is a midrash comprising a collection of ancient rabbinical homiletical inter ...
br>8:1358:1–62:5; 65:9; 66:4; 67:9; 68:2–4, 9; 70:12; 79:7; 85:7; 96; 97. Land of Israel, 5th Century. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Genesis''. Translated by
Harry Freedman
Harry Freedman (''Henryk Frydmann''), (April 5, 1922 – September 16, 2005) was a Canadians, Canadian composer, English hornist, and music educator of Polish birth. He wrote a significant amount of symphony, symphonic works, including the scores ...
and Maurice Simon, volume 1, page 63, 309, 347, 357, 386–87, 416, 485–86; volume 2, pages 509–55, 584, 594, 603, 613, 616–18, 621, 645, 732, 794, 931–32. London: Soncino Press, 1939.
*Leviticus Rabbah
Leviticus Rabbah, Vayikrah Rabbah, or Wayiqra Rabbah is a homiletic midrash to the Biblical book of Leviticus (''Vayikrah'' in Hebrew). It is referred to by Nathan ben Jehiel (c. 1035–1106) in his ''Arukh'' as well as by Rashi (1040–1105) ...
19:5; 20:11; 30:10; 37:4. Land of Israel, 5th Century. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Leviticus''. Translated by Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon. London: Soncino Press, 1939.
*Esther Rabbah
Esther Rabbah (Hebrew: אסתר רבה) is a midrash to the Book of Esther.
From its plan and scope, it is apparently an incomplete collection of the rich aggadic material which has been produced on the Book of Esther.
Structure
Except in the V ...
2:9. 5th–11th centuries. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Esther''. Translated by Maurice Simon, volume 9, page 40. London: Soncino Press, 1939.
*Babylonian Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
Berakhot 18a
Sasanian Empire
The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the History of Iran, last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th cen ...
, 6th Century. In, e.g., ''Talmud Bavli''. Edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr, Chaim Malinowitz, and Mordechai Marcus, 72 volumes. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006.
*Song of Songs Rabbah
Shir ha-Shirim Rabbah (Hebrew: שיר השירים רבה) is an aggadic midrash on Song of Songs, quoted by Rashi under the title "Midrash Shir ha-Shirim". It is also called Aggadat Hazita, from its initial word "Hazita", or Midrash Hazita. Simo ...
2:41; 3:8. 6th–7th centuries. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Song of Songs''. Translated by Maurice Simon, volume 9, pages 133, 153. London: Soncino Press, 1939.
*Ruth Rabbah
Ruth Rabbah (Hebrew: רות רבה) is an haggadic and homiletic interpretation of the Book of Ruth. Like the midrash on the four other "megillot", it is included in the Midrash Rabbot.
Structure and origin
This midrash is divided into eight chapt ...
4:3; 7:12. 6th–7th centuries. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Ruth''. Translated by L. Rabinowitz, volume 8, pages 51, 88. London: Soncino Press, 1939.
*Ecclesiastes Rabbah
Ecclesiastes Rabbah or Kohelet Rabbah (Hebrew: קהלת רבה) is an aggadic commentary on Ecclesiastes, included in the collection of the Midrash Rabbot. It follows the biblical book verse by verse, only a few verses remaining without commentary ...
2:30. 6th–8th centuries. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Esther''. Translated by Maurice Simon, volume 8, pages 17, 72, 124, 174, 232. London: Soncino Press, 1939.
Medieval
*Deuteronomy Rabbah
Deuteronomy Rabbah ( he, ) is an aggadah or homiletic commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy.
It does not contain running commentaries on the entire book of Deuteronomy. Rather, it consists of 25 complete, independent homilies (and two fragmenta ...
2:11; 9:4; 11:1. Land of Israel, 9th Century. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Deuteronomy''. Translated by Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon. London: Soncino Press, 1939.
*Exodus Rabbah
Exodus Rabbah (Hebrew: שמות רבה, ''Shemot Rabbah'') is the midrash to Exodus.
Contents
Exodus Rabbah is almost purely aggadic in character.
It contains 52 sections. It consists of two sections with different styles, dubbed "Exodus Rabba ...
1:32; 31:17; 32:9. 10th Century. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Exodus''. Translated by S. M. Lehrman. London: Soncino Press, 1939.
*Lamentations Rabbah
The Midrash on Lamentations or Eichah Rabbah (Hebrew: איכה רבה) is a midrashic commentary to the Book of Lamentations ("Eichah").
It is one of the oldest works of midrash, along with Bereshit Rabbah and the Pesiḳta ascribed to Rab Kaha ...
1:19. 10th century. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Deuteronomy/Lamentations''. Translated by A. Cohen, volume 7, pages 46, 85. London: Soncino Press, 1939.
*Solomon ibn Gabirol
Solomon ibn Gabirol or Solomon ben Judah ( he, ר׳ שְׁלֹמֹה בֶּן יְהוּדָה אִבְּן גָּבִּירוֹל, Shlomo Ben Yehuda ibn Gabirol, ; ar, أبو أيوب سليمان بن يحيى بن جبيرول, ’Abū ’Ayy ...
. ''A Crown for the King''16:199–200
Spain, 11th Century. Translated by David R. Slavitt, pages 28–29, 36–37. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
*Rashi
Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compre ...
. ''Commentary''Genesis 23–25
Troyes
Troyes () is a commune and the capital of the department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within the Champagne wine region and is near to ...
, France, late 11th Century. In, e.g., Rashi. ''The Torah: With Rashi's Commentary Translated, Annotated, and Elucidated''. Translated and annotated by Yisrael Isser Zvi Herczeg, volume 1, pages 241–70. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1995.
*Rashbam
Samuel ben Meir (Troyes, c. 1085 – c. 1158), after his death known as "Rashbam", a Hebrew acronym for RAbbi SHmuel Ben Meir, was a leading French Tosafist and grandson of Shlomo Yitzhaki, "Rashi".
Biography
He was born in the vicinity of Troye ...
. ''Commentary on the Torah''. Troyes, France, early 12th century. In, e.g., ''Rabbi Samuel Ben Meir's Commentary on Genesis: An Annotated Translation''. Translated by Martin I. Lockshin, pages 101–30. Lewiston, New York
Lewiston is a town in Niagara County, New York, United States. The population was 15,944 at the 2020 census. The town and its contained village are named after Morgan Lewis, a governor of New York.
The Town of Lewiston is on the western bord ...
: The Edwin Mellen Press, 1989.
* Abraham ibn Ezra. ''Commentary on the Torah''. Mid-12th century. In, e.g., ''Ibn Ezra's Commentary on the Pentateuch: Genesis (Bereshit)''. Translated and annotated by H. Norman Strickman and Arthur M. Silver, pages 228–47. New York: Menorah Publishing Company, 1988.
*Numbers Rabbah
Numbers Rabbah (or Bamidbar Rabbah in Hebrew) is a religious text holy to classical Judaism. It is a midrash comprising a collection of ancient rabbinical homiletic interpretations of the book of Numbers (''Bamidbar'' in Hebrew).
In the first prin ...
2:1, 26; 10:5; 14:10–11; 15:12; 19:32; 21:20. 12th Century. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Numbers''. Translated by Judah J. Slotki. London: Soncino Press, 1939.
*Maimonides
Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...
. ''The Guide for the Perplexed
''The Guide for the Perplexed'' ( ar, دلالة الحائرين, Dalālat al-ḥā'irīn, ; he, מורה נבוכים, Moreh Nevukhim) is a work of Jewish theology by Maimonides. It seeks to reconcile Aristotelianism with Rabbinical Jewish the ...
'', part 1, chapters 12, 19, 37, 41; part 2, chapters 19, 30, 48. Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
, Egypt, 1190. In, e.g., Moses Maimonides. ''The Guide for the Perplexed''. Translated by Michael Friedländer
Michael Friedländer (29 April 1833 – 10 December 1910) was an Orientalist and principal of Jews' College, London. He is best known for his English translation of Maimonides' '' Guide to the Perplexed'', which was the most popular such transla ...
, pages 24, 28, 53, 56, 188, 218, 250. New York: Dover Publications, 1956.
*Hezekiah ben Manoah Hezekiah ben Manoah, or Hezekiah bar Manoah, was a French rabbi and Bible commentator of the 13th century. He is generally known by the title of his commentary, Chizkuni ( he, חזקוני).
In memory of his father, who lost his right hand through ...
. ''Hizkuni''. France, circa 1240. In, e.g., Chizkiyahu ben Manoach. ''Chizkuni: Torah Commentary''. Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 1, pages 166–86. Jerusalem: Ktav Publishers, 2013.
* Nachmanides. ''Commentary on the Torah''. Jerusalem, circa 1270. In, e.g., ''Ramban (Nachmanides): Commentary on the Torah: Genesis.'' Translated by Charles B. Chavel, volume 1, pages 281–312. New York: Shilo Publishing House, 1971.
*''Midrash ha-Ne'lam (The Midrash of the Concealed)''. Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, 13th century. In, e.g., ''Zohar'', part 1, pages 121a–30a. Mantua
Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard language, Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, province of the same name.
In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture ...
, 1558–1560. In, e.g., ''The Zohar: Pritzker Edition''. Translation and commentary by Nathan Wolski, volume 10, pages 366–401. Stanford, California
Stanford is a census-designated place (CDP) in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is the home of Stanford University. The population was 21,150 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census.
Stanford is ...
: Stanford University Press
Stanford University Press (SUP) is the publishing house of Stanford University. It is one of the oldest academic presses in the United States and the first university press to be established on the West Coast. It was among the presses officially ...
, 2016.
*Zohar
The ''Zohar'' ( he, , ''Zōhar'', lit. "Splendor" or "Radiance") is a foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah (the five ...
part 1, pages 21a, 50a, 100b, 103a, 121a–34a, 135b, 141a, 142a, 181b, 187a, 223a, 224a; part 2, pages 39b, 236a; part 3, pages 103a, 148b, 158a; Raya Mehemna 60a. Spain, late 13th Century. In, e.g., ''The Zohar''. Translated by Harry Sperling and Maurice Simon. 5 volumes. London: Soncino Press, 1934.
*Bahya ben Asher
Bahya ben Asher ibn Halawa (, 1255–1340) was a rabbi and scholar of Judaism, best known as a commentator on the Hebrew Bible.
He is one of two scholars now referred to as Rabbeinu Behaye, the other being philosopher Bahya ibn Paquda.
Biogra ...
. ''Commentary on the Torah''. Spain, early 14th century. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbeinu Bachya: Torah Commentary by Rabbi Bachya ben Asher''. Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 1, pages 346–84. Jerusalem: Lambda Publishers, 2003.
*Isaac ben Moses Arama Isaac ben Moses Arama ( 1420 – 1494) was a Spanish rabbi and author. He was at first principal of a rabbinical academy at Zamora (probably his birthplace); then he received a call as rabbi and preacher from the community at Tarragona, and later ...
. ''Akedat Yizhak (The Binding of Isaac)''. Late 15th century. In, e.g., Yitzchak Arama. ''Akeydat Yitzchak: Commentary of Rabbi Yitzchak Arama on the Torah''. Translated and condensed by Eliyahu Munk, volume 1, pages 159–76. New York, Lambda Publishers, 2001.
Modern
*Isaac Abravanel
Isaac ben Judah Abarbanel ( he, יצחק בן יהודה אברבנאל; 1437–1508), commonly referred to as Abarbanel (), also spelled Abravanel, Avravanel, or Abrabanel, was a Portuguese Jewish statesman, philosopher, Bible commentator ...
. ''Commentary on the Torah''. Italy, between 1492–1509. In, e.g., ''Abarbanel: Selected Commentaries on the Torah: Volume 1: Bereishis/Genesis''. Translated and annotated by Israel Lazar, pages 129–46. Brooklyn: CreateSpace, 2015.
*Obadiah ben Jacob Sforno
Ovadia ben Jacob Sforno (Obadja Sforno, Hebrew: עובדיה ספורנו) was an Italian rabbi, Biblical commentator, philosopher and physician. A member of the Sforno family, he was born in Cesena about 1475 and died in Bologna in 1550.
Bio ...
. ''Commentary on the Torah''. Venice, 1567. In, e.g., ''Sforno: Commentary on the Torah''. Translation and explanatory notes by Raphael Pelcovitz, pages 114–29. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1997.
*Moshe Alshich
Moshe Alshich he, משה אלשיך, also spelled Alshech, (1508–1593), known as the ''Alshich Hakadosh (the Holy)'', was a prominent rabbi, preacher, and Bible, biblical commentator in the latter part of the sixteenth century.
The Alshich wa ...
. ''Commentary on the Torah''. Safed
Safed (known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as Tzfat; Sephardi Hebrew, Sephardic Hebrew & Modern Hebrew: צְפַת ''Tsfat'', Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation, Ashkenazi Hebrew: ''Tzfas'', Biblical Hebrew: ''Ṣǝp̄aṯ''; ar, صفد, ''Ṣafad''), i ...
, circa 1593. In, e.g., Moshe Alshich. ''Midrash of Rabbi Moshe Alshich on the Torah''. Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 1, pages 145–63. New York, Lambda Publishers, 2000.
*Avraham Yehoshua Heschel. ''Commentaries on the Torah''. Cracow, Poland, mid 17th century. Compiled as ''Chanukat HaTorah''. Edited by Chanoch Henoch Erzohn. Piotrkow, Poland, 1900. In Avraham Yehoshua Heschel. ''Chanukas HaTorah: Mystical Insights of Rav Avraham Yehoshua Heschel on Chumash''. Translated by Avraham Peretz Friedman, pages 65–69. Southfield, Michigan: Targum Press/Feldheim Publishers, 2004.
*Chaim ibn Attar. ''Ohr ha-Chaim''. Venice, 1742. In Chayim ben Attar. ''Or Hachayim: Commentary on the Torah''. Translated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 1, pages 185–200. Brooklyn: Lambda Publishers, 1999.
*Emily Dickinson. s:He touched me, so I live to know, ''Poem 506 (He touched me, so I live to know)''. 1862. In ''The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson''. Edited by Thomas H. Johnson, page 246. New York: Little, Brown & Co., 1960.
*Samuel David Luzzatto (Shadal). ''Commentary on the Torah.'' Padua, 1871. In, e.g., Samuel David Luzzatto. ''Torah Commentary''. Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 1, pages 217–40. New York: Lambda Publishers, 2012.
*Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter. ''Sefat Emet''. Góra Kalwaria (Ger), Poland, before 1906. Excerpted in ''The Language of Truth: The Torah Commentary of Sefat Emet''. Translated and interpreted by Arthur Green, pages 33–36. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1998. Reprinted 2012.
*Hermann Cohen. ''Religion of Reason: Out of the Sources of Judaism''. Translated with an introduction by Simon Kaplan; introductory essays by Leo Strauss, page 301. New York: Ungar, 1972. Reprinted Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1995. Originally published as ''Religion der Vernunft aus den Quellen des Judentums''. Leipzig: Gustav Fock, 1919.
*Alexander Alan Steinbach. ''Sabbath Queen: Fifty-four Bible Talks to the Young Based on Each Portion of the Pentateuch'', pages 14–17. New York: Behrman's Jewish Book House, 1936.
*Thomas Mann. ''Joseph and His Brothers''. Translated by John E. Woods (translator), John E. Woods, pages 11, 58, 93–94, 100, 127–28, 130, 133–34, 173, 185, 187, 203, 339–43, 353–54, 394–95, 476–77, 492–93, 496–98, 623, 779, 806. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. Originally published as ''Joseph und seine Brüder''. Stockholm: Bermann-Fischer Verlag, 1943.
*Manfred R. Lehmann. "Abraham's Purchase of Machpelah and Hittite Law." ''Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research'', volume 129 (1953): pages 15–18.
*Robert A. Kraft“A Note on the Oracle of Rebecca (Gen. XXV. 23).”
''The Journal of Theological Studies'', volume 13 (number 2) (1962): pages 318–20. *Walter Orenstein and Hertz Frankel. ''Torah and Tradition: A Bible Textbook for Jewish Youth: Volume I: Bereishis'', pages 52–60. New York: Hebrew Publishing Company, 1964. *Delmore Schwartz
"Sarah."
In ''Selected Poems: Summer Knowledge''. New Directions, 1967.
*Martin Buber. ''On the Bible: Eighteen studies'', pages 22–43. New York: Schocken Books, 1968.
*R. David Freedman“A New Approach to the Nuzi Sistership Contract.”
''Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society'', volume 2 (number 2) (1970): pages 77–85. *Wolfgang M.W. Roth. "The Wooing of Rebekah. A Tradition-Critical Study of Genesis 24." ''Catholic Biblical Quarterly'', volume 34 (1972): pages 177–87. *R. David Freedman. "‘Put Your Hand Under My Thigh'—The Patriarchal Oath." ''Biblical Archaeology Review'', volume 2 (number 2) (June 1976). *Seän M. Warner
“The Patriarchs and Extra-Biblical Sources.”
''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'', volume 1, number 2 (June 1976): pages 50–61. *J. Maxwell Miller
“The Patriarchs and Extra-Biblical Sources: a Response.”
''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'', volume 1, number 2 (June 1976): pages 62–66. *Christine Garside Allen. "Who was Rebekah?" In ''Beyond Androcentrism: New Essays on Women and Religion''. Edited by Rita Gross, Rita M. Gross, pages 183–216. Missoula, Montana: Scholars, 1977. *John Tracy Luke
“Abraham and the Iron Age: Reflections on the New Patriarchal Studies.”
''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'', volume 2, number 4 (February 1977): pages 35–47. *Nechama Leibowitz, Nehama Leibowitz. ''Studies in Bereshit (Genesis)'', pages 207–56. Jerusalem: The World Zionist Organization, 1981. Reprinted as ''New Studies in the Weekly Parasha''. Lambda Publishers, 2010. *Walter Brueggemann. ''Genesis: Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching'', pages 194–203. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1982. *Nahum M. Sarna. "Genesis Chapter 23: The Cave of Machpelah." ''Hebrew Studies'', volume 23 (1982): pages 17–21. *K.T. Aitken. "The Wooing of Rebekah: A Study in the Development of a Tradition." ''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'', volume 30 (1984): pages 3–23. *Pinchas Hacohen Peli, Pinchas H. Peli. ''Torah Today: A Renewed Encounter with Scripture'', pages 21–24. Washington, D.C.: B'nai B'rith Books, 1987. *Marc Gellman. "Rebekah and the Camel Who Made No Noise." In ''Does God Have a Big Toe? Stories About Stories in the Bible'', pages 53–56. New York: HarperCollins, 1989. *Nahum M. Sarna. ''The JPS Torah Commentary: Genesis: The Traditional Hebrew Text with the New JPS Translation'', pages 157–77, 395–97. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1989. *Raymond Westbrook. ''Property and Family in Biblical Law'', pages 24–35. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1991. *Elizabeth Bloch-Smith. "Burials." In ''The Anchor Bible Dictionary''. Edited by David Noel Freedman, volume 1, pages 785–94. New York: Doubleday, 1992. *Aaron Wildavsky. ''Assimilation versus Separation: Joseph the Administrator and the Politics of Religion in Biblical Israel'', pages 6–7. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers, 1993. *Judith S. Antonelli. "Milkah: Sarah's Sister." In ''In the Image of God: A Feminist Commentary on the Torah'', pages 48–59. Northvale, New Jersey: Jason Aronson, 1995. *Naomi H. Rosenblatt and Joshua Horwitz. ''Wrestling With Angels: What Genesis Teaches Us About Our Spiritual Identity, Sexuality, and Personal Relationships'', pages 204–27. Delacorte Press, 1995. *Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg. ''The Beginning of Desire: Reflections on Genesis'', pages 123–43. New York: Image Books/Doubelday, 1995.
*Ellen Frankel. ''The Five Books of Miriam: A Woman’s Commentary on the Torah'', pages 31–38. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1996.
*Gunther Plaut, W. Gunther Plaut. ''The Haftarah Commentary'', pages 44–53. New York: UAHC Press, 1996.
*Sorel Goldberg Loeb and Barbara Binder Kadden. ''Teaching Torah: A Treasury of Insights and Activities'', pages 33–38. Denver: A.R.E. Publishing, 1997.
*Susan Freeman. ''Teaching Jewish Virtues: Sacred Sources and Arts Activities'', pages 102–18, 165–78. Springfield Township, Union County, New Jersey, Springfield, New Jersey: A.R.E. Publishing, 1999. (; 53
. *John S. Kselman. "Genesis." In ''The HarperCollins Bible Commentary''. Edited by James Luther Mays, James L. Mays, page 97. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, revised edition, 2000. *Rona Shapiro. "Woman's Life, Woman's Truth." In ''The Women's Torah Commentary: New Insights from Women Rabbis on the 54 Weekly Torah Portions''. Edited by Elyse Goldstein, pages 70–74. Woodstock, Vermont: Jewish Lights Publishing, 2000.
*Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman. “Searching for the Patriarchs.” In ''The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts'', pages 27–47. New York: Free Press (publisher), The Free Press, 2001.
*Lainie Blum Cogan and Judy Weiss. ''Teaching Haftarah: Background, Insights, and Strategies'', pages 102–09. Denver: A.R.E. Publishing, 2002.
*Michael Fishbane. ''The JPS Bible Commentary: Haftarot'', pages 29–34. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2002.
*Tikva Frymer-Kensky. “The Hand that Rocks the Cradle: The Rivka Stories.” In ''Reading the Women of the Bible'', pages 5–23. New York: Schocken Books, 2002.
*Admiel Kosman“The Story of a Giant Story: The Winding Way of Og King of Bashan in the Jewish Haggadic Tradition.”
''Hebrew Union College Annual'', volume 73 (2002): pages 157–90. *Robert Alter. ''The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary'', pages 113–29. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2004. *Jon D. Levenson. "Genesis." In ''The Jewish Study Bible''. Edited by Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler, pages 47–53. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. *Lieve M. Teugels. ''Bible and Midrash: The Story of "The Wooing of Rebekah" (Genesis 24)''. Leuven: Peeters (publishing company), Peeters Publishers, 2004. *''Professors on the Parashah: Studies on the Weekly Torah Reading'' Edited by Leib Moscovitz, pages 47–53. Jerusalem: Urim Publications, 2005. *W. Gunther Plaut. ''The Torah: A Modern Commentary: Revised Edition''. Revised edition edited by David E. Stern, David E.S. Stern, pages 153–71. New York: Union for Reform Judaism, 2006. *Suzanne A. Brody. "Rebecca's Goodbye." In ''Dancing in the White Spaces: The Yearly Torah Cycle and More Poems'', page 66. Shelbyville, Kentucky: Wasteland Press, 2007. *Terence E. Fretheim. ''Abraham: Trials of Family and Faith''. Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press, 2007.
*James Kugel, James L. Kugel. ''How To Read the Bible: A Guide to Scripture, Then and Now'', pages 97, 121, 133–55, 166, 400. New York: Free Press, 2007.
*''The Torah: A Women's Commentary''. Edited by Tamara Cohn Eskenazi and Andrea Weiss (rabbi), Andrea L. Weiss, pages 111–32. New York: Union for Reform Judaism, URJ Press, 2008.
*Rachel Brodie. “When Gender Varies: A Curious Case of Kere and Ketiv: Parashat Chayei Sarah (Genesis 23:1–25:18).” In ''Torah Queeries: Weekly Commentaries on the Hebrew Bible''. Edited by Gregg Drinkwater, Joshua Lesser, and David Shneer; foreword by Judith Plaskow, pages 34–37. New York: New York University Press, 2009.
*Reuven Hammer. ''Entering Torah: Prefaces to the Weekly Torah Portion'', pages 29–34. New York: Gefen Publishing House, 2009.
*Jonathan Sacks. ''Covenant & Conversation: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible: Genesis: The Book of Beginnings'', pages 121–44. New Milford, Connecticut: Maggid Books, 2009.
*John H. Walton. "Genesis." In ''Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary''. Edited by John H. Walton, volume 1, pages 99–104. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2009.
*Henrietta L. Wiley“They Save Themselves Alone: Faith and Loss in the Stories of Abraham and Job.”
''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'', volume 34 (number 2) (December 2009): pages 115–29. *Karolien Vermeulen
“The 'Song' of the Servant—Gen 24:23.”
''Vetus Testamentum'', volume 61 (number 3) (2011): pages 499–504. *Calum Carmichael. ''The Book of Numbers: A Critique of Genesis'', pages 7, 19–20, 22, 37, 91–92, 99, 105–06, 109–10, 112–13, 115, 117–18, 120–22, 124, 141, 156, 162, 191. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012. *William G. Dever. ''The Lives of Ordinary People in Ancient Israel: When Archaeology and the Bible Intersect'', page 137. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2012.
*Shmuel Herzfeld. "The Prohibition of Intermarriage." In ''Fifty-Four Pick Up: Fifteen-Minute Inspirational Torah Lessons'', pages 24–28. Jerusalem: Gefen Publishing House, 2012.
*Jonathan Sacks. ''Lessons in Leadership: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible'', pages 23–26. New Milford, Connecticut: Maggid Books, 2015.
*“The Hittites: Between Tradition and History.” ''Biblical Archaeology Review'', volume 42 (number 2) (March/April 2016): pages 28–40, 68.
*Jean-Pierre Isbouts. ''Archaeology of the Bible: The Greatest Discoveries From Genesis to the Roman Era'', page 58. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, National Geographic, 2016.
*Jonathan Sacks. ''Essays on Ethics: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible'', pages 27–31. New Milford, Connecticut: Maggid Books, 2016.
*Shai Held. ''The Heart of Torah, Volume 1: Essays on the Weekly Torah Portion: Genesis and Exodus'', pages 40–48. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2017.
*Ekaterina E. Kozlova“Abraham's Burial (Genesis 25.9): An Idyllic Burial or a Dispute over Inheritance?”
''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'', volume 42, number 2 (December 2017): pages 139–53.
*Steven Levy and Sarah Levy. ''The JPS Rashi Discussion Torah Commentary'', pages 15–17. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2017.
*Pekka Pitkänen“Ancient Israelite Population Economy: Ger, Toshav, Nakhri and Karat as Settler Colonial Categories.”
''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'', volume 42, number 2 (December 2017): pages 139–53. *Jeffrey K. Salkin. ''The JPS B'nai Mitzvah Torah Commentary'', pages 21–25. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2017. *Liana Finck. ''Let There Be Light: The Real Story of Her Creation'', pages 209–35. New York: Random House, 2022.
External links
Texts
Masoretic text and 1917 JPS translation
Commentaries
Academy for Jewish Religion, California
{{Book of Genesis Weekly Torah readings in Cheshvan Weekly Torah readings from Genesis Abraham