חַיֵּי שָׂרָה
Chayei Sarah / Life of Sarah
Genesis 23:1-25:18
1 Kings 1:1-31
1 Corinthians 15:50-57
    Looking for a sign…
    Chayei Sarah, which is the life of Sarah, begins with her death.  Abraham approaches the Hittites to buy a cave for a burial site, Genesis 23:1-17.   The sign of ownership and deed is found in Genesis 23:17-18.  ‘ So Ephron’s field in Machpelah near Mamre—both the field and the cave in it, and all the trees within the borders of the field—was deeded 18 to Abraham as his property in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of the city.’
      In Genesis 24:1-4 Abraham instructs his servant to find a bride for his son, Isaac. Abraham request that the servant puts his had under the thigh. This practice of putting one’s hand under the thigh was also done in Genesis 47:29 ‘When the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “Now if I have found favor in your sight, please put your hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt…’
    In both of these instances, thigh is rendered as ‘loin’, the covenantal part of the binding agreement between Elohim and Abraham, and thus the oath was really by the holy covenant between Abraham and God, of which circumcision was the symbol. It was a sign of the covenant made by two individuals for a purpose. 
    In Genesis 24:12-14, the servant asks for a sign, ‘…Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink’—let her be the one that You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”  
    Genesis 24:15-21 shows us the sign that the servant was asking for, a sign for his success for ‘kindness for his master Abraham, specifically stated in Genesis 24:12. It was not for his own pleasure or sense of fulfilment, but rather for Abraham’s.
    This parsha ends with the death of Abraham, his burial and the lineage of Ishamel.
    Scriptures are full of signs.  A sign for healing: 2 Kings 20:8-11 ‘Now Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of the Lord the third day?” Isaiah said, “This shall be the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing that He has spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten steps or go back ten steps?” So Hezekiah answered, “It is easy for the shadow to decline ten steps; no, but let the shadow turn backward ten steps.” Isaiah the prophet cried to the Lord, and He brought the shadow on the stairway back ten steps by which it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.’
     A sign for good: Psalm 86:17 Show me a sign for good, that those who hate me may see it and be ashamed, because You, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me.’
     A sign for favor: Judges 6:17 ‘So Gideon said to Him, “If now I have found favor in Your sight, then show me a sign that it is You who speak with me.’
     A sign for authority: John 2:18 ‘The Jews then said to Him, “What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?”
    A sign for belief: John 6:30 ‘So they said to Him, “What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform?’
   A sign of strength: Exodus 7:3 ‘But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt…’
   A sign of greatness: Deuteronomy 6:22 ‘And the Lord showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes.’
    A sign for wonders: Joel 2:30 ‘And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke.’
   A sign for seasons: Genesis 1:14 ‘Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark the seasons and days and years’.  And Psalm 104:19.
   In Matthew 12:38-41, and Matthew 16:1-4 Yeshua was asked for a sign in order to test Him. A group of cynical religious leaders asked Him for a miraculous sign that might verify His authority. Knowing that their requests were disingenuous and not sincere, He answered with a quote from Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy 32:5.
     The last generation before the destruction of Jerusalem was a “wicked” generation.  Sources point to the vile hatred of the day, which erupted in slander, murder, and warfare between Jews. Josephus in his writings confirm Yeshua’s sentiments. Rampant political and religious corruption had brought about the decay of the people, which adopted Roman values and dealt in bloodshed, intrigue, and greed. Yeshua’s denouncement of the generation alludes directly to the Song of Moses, which describes the generation doomed to exile as “a perverse and crooked generation”. Yeshua knew the signs were there, to repent and enter the Kingdom or to go into exile as the Song of Moses warned.
    His explanation was a forewarning sign of who He was. The ‘sign of Jonah’ to which Yeshua referred was His three day and three nights in the grave. Just as Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, Yeshua must spend three days and three nights in the belly of the earth - a tomb.
   The Apostles performed signs and wonders for the glory of God: Acts 5:12, Acts 6:8, Acts 8:6, Acts 14:3, Acts 15:12, Hebrews 2:4.  And there will also be signs to deceive: Matthew 24:23-28 ‘Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand. 26 “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28 For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.’
    James 1:6 tells us that when we seek signs due to doubt, we live a life of faithlessness. ‘But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.’ 
    Yeshua in Matthew 14:31 explains to us the sign of His faithfulness: ‘Immediately Yeshua stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”
    In Acts 2, the teaching of the sign of speaking in tongues was birthed, and grew into an ideology of ‘spirituality’ within the Church. However, this teaching is misleading and not a true sign.  Acts 2:1-4 is the basis for this teaching of speaking in ‘tongues’.  Acts 2:5-12 explains exactly what the ‘tongues’ were. They were that of native languages, not of babbling sounds or uncontrollable ‘holy laughter’ or any other form of charismatic ideology. In Acts 2:13 the men were even accused of being drunk. 
   In Acts 2:14-23 Kefa/Peter takes the opportunity to quote the prophet Joel and give testimony to the signs and wonders performed by Yeshua, giving the glory to God.  Not the teaching or sign of speaking in ‘tongues’. 
    1Corinthians 14, is also quoted as the example of the sign to speak in “tongues’.  However, in Strongs and in the Hebrew language, the word for tongues is interchangeable for languages. Zephaniah 3:9 pure language/tongue. Ezra 4:7 ‘the Syrian’ tongue/language. Acts 2:6 dialect/ tongue/ language. Just because someone teaches it is a sign, doesn’t mean it is. 
    Signs were given to us for protection and truth. 
    Deuteronomy 13 is an example of the wrong kind of signs and wonders and the consequences. 
    But what is the difference between signs and wonders? Signs are intentionally designed to communicate something; like a traffic sign, a boundary sign or a company sign. Wonders are extraordinary events, which we call Biblical miracles. Miracles are proof of God's existence. Signs and wonders have their own purpose. As signs, they bring a message.  As wonders, they make signs significant and extraordinary.   
        Yeshua is the sign and the wonder of God. He is the communication, He is the miracle, He is The Way, He represents Torah, Life and God, He is the completeness of both signs and wonders. 

חַיֵּי שָׂרָה
Chayei Sarah / Life of Sarah
Genesis 23:1-25:18
1 Kings 1:1-31
1 Corinthians 15:50-57

     This parsha opens with Sarah's death, yet strangely called Chayei Sarah - the ‘life’ of Sarah. ‘Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. 2 So Sarah died in Kirjath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.’ Genesis 23:1. Or maybe it's not so strange. Because in this parsha people react to Sarah's death, a testament to how much power the dead have in those living. They seem to miss her deeply, as we witness in Genesis 24:67 ‘Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and he took Rebekah and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.’ Sarah obviously had a profound impact on the people around her.’
    Not only does this parsha mention the death of Sarah, but also Abraham in the last chapter of Chayei Sarah, Genesis 25:7 and Chayei Sarah closes with the death of Ishmael. 
     Between Sarah's death and Abraham's death, there are many signs of life. 
     In Genesis chapter 23, Abraham buys the burial site for his wife, Genesis 23:17-20 ‘So Ephron’s field in Machpelah near Mamre—both the field and the cave in it, and all the trees within the borders of the field—was deeded 18 to Abraham as his property in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of the city. 19 Afterward Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre (which is at Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20 So the field and the cave in it were deeded to Abraham by the Hittites as a burial site.’
     This is important because it was the first parcel of land owned by the Hebrews in the Promised Land. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebekah, and Leah are buried there. Interestingly, Ephron is intentionally misspelled without a ‘vav’ (“עֶפְרֹן because he promised much but did not do even a little” Rashi’s commentary).  
     In Genesis 24, Abraham sends his servant to retrieve a wife for Isaac.  A covenant between them is made in Genesis 24:2-3 ‘So Abraham said to the oldest servant of his house, who ruled over all that he had, “Please, put your hand under my thigh, 3 and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth…’ 
     Why under the thigh? The sages teach: “Since one who swears must take with his hand an article related to a mitzvah such as a Torah scroll or Tefillin, and circumcision was his first mitzvah, and he had fulfilled it with pain, it was dear to him; so he took it.”
     This practice of putting one’s hand under the thigh was also done in Genesis 47:29  ‘When the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “Now if I have found favor in your sight, please put your hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt…’
     In both instances, the thigh is rendered as ‘loin’, the covenantal part of the binding agreement between Elohim and Abraham. So this oath was the holy covenant between Abraham and God, which circumcision was the sign.
    In Genesis 24, Abraham's servant prays to Adonai for a sign. The miraculous answer to his prayer takes place in front of a well. Wells are signs of living water and are mentioned often in Scripture. 
    Isaac’s bride was found at a well, and so too, Rachel for Jabob, Genesis 29, and Zipporah for Moshe in Exodus 2. 

     In Genesis 25:17-18, Ishamel’s death is followed by a negative report regarding the lives they lived.  ‘Ishmael lived a hundred and thirty-seven years. He breathed his last and died, and he was gathered to his people. 18 His descendants settled in the area from Havilah to Shur, near the eastern border of Egypt, as you go toward Ashur. And they lived in hostility toward all the tribes related to them.
     We see a hint of the life Sarah lived, for when she died, Isaac grieved, for he was comforted by his wife, Genesis 26:67.  
     Genesis 25:7-11 states that Abraham was a good man of God through the life he lived. ‘Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years. 8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people. 9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, 10 the field Abraham had bought from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. 11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who then lived near Beer Lahai Roi.’
    Life and death and the time we are given between.  Our flesh has an earthly beginning and an earthly ending.  Spiritually, life and death take on different concepts and dynamics. 
     In the book of John, Yeshua reminds us: John 4:24 ‘God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.’ John 6:63 ‘It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.  
     God’s breath is the breath of life, Genesis 2:7.   We witness this again in John 20:21-22 ‘So Yeshua said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’
     In Isaiah 40:7 we see a remarkable parallel to breath, life, and death. ‘The grass withers, the flower fades, because the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass. 8 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.’
   Psalm 139:13-16 tells us that our life was known to God before we were born, and Job states: ‘The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.’ Job 33:4.
     
     

 חַיֵּי שָׂרָה
Chayei Sarah / Life of Sarah
Genesis 23:1-25:18
1 Kings 1:1-31
1 Corinthians 15:50-57

Passion…    This Torah portion is titled ‘The Life of Sarah’. However, it begins in the past tense, immediately recording her death. Genesis 23:1-2 ‘Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. 2 So Sarah died in Kirjath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.’
    What was the life of Sarah? Despite God’s repeated promise of many children, she was infertile, unable to have a single child, until her old age. So old that she laughed in the face of the promise. Before Isaac was born, she persuaded Abraham to take her handmaid, Hagar, and have a child by her - Ishmael. This only brought on great grief, jealousy and strife. She pretended to be Abraham’s sister in the face of abduction by Pharoah. Her only son was to be offered to God, causing great strife of the spirit. Yet, Sarah was passionate while she remained steadfast serving the God that called them away to a foreign place. She passed away at the age of 127 years after the Akeidah (the Binding of Isaac).  
     Abraham is passionate when he bargains for the cave of Machpelah. Genesis 23:12-13 ‘Then Abraham bowed himself down before the people of the land; 13 and he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, “If you will give it, please hear me. I will give you money for the field; take it from me and I will bury my dead there.’ He showed passion for his right to own the cave. 
        In chapter 24 Abraham sends his servant to find a bride for Isaac. After the conventional circumcision promise of placing one’s hand under the other’s thigh, Eleazar departs to find the bride. In Genesis 24:13-14 the servant requests of God that the young maiden to be Isaac’s wife show extraordinary strength and passion.  In Genesis 24:12, the servant also shows great passion for his master Abraham, ‘Then he said, “O Lord God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. ‘
      In Genesis 24:18-20 we see great passion as Rebekka works to water the camels. ‘So she said, “Drink, my lord.” Then she quickly let her pitcher down to her hand, and gave him a drink. 19 And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” 20 Then she quickly emptied her pitcher into the trough, ran back to the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels.”
     Chayei Sarah closes with the death of Abraham.
     What is it to have passion for Adonai?  Acts 17 describes several types of passion.  
     In Acts 17:1-4 Paul’s passion was to return to the synagogue to preach the Good News of Messiah, and a great multitude of people had the passion to join Paul and Silas:  ‘Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and demonstrating that the Messiah had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Yeshua whom I preach to you is the Messiah.” 4 And some of them were persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and Silas.’      
    In Acts 17:5 some of the Jews that were not persuaded had a passion to create chaos and hate, ‘But the Jews who were not persuaded, envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.’
    In the rest of Acts 17, we see Paul continuing to preach the Good News and the unrelenting, jealous sect of the Pharisees continuing in their quest to silence Paul. Two types of passion. 
   James 2:23 and Romans 4:3 shows the passion that Abraham had. 
   James 2:23 ‘And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God.’
    Romans 4:3 ‘For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.”
     Passion is a Greek word and in the Brit Chadasha often translates as ‘to suffer’ as in Matthew 16:21, 17:12, 27:19, and Acts 1:3.
     Passion in the Hebrew text is ‘to cleave’. Cleave is a powerful word which turns up in various places and in various ways throughout Scripture. A man cleaves to his woman in marriage, Genesis 2:24. The tongue cleaves to the roof of the mouth, Ezekiel 3:26. Tired bones cleave to the skin, Psalm 102:5. Deuteronomy is abundant with Scripture that say to ‘cleave to God.’ 
     To cleave is an action, and it implies a sticking to it and sticking with it that is key to passion.  One can cleave to good or evil. To cleave to anything is to adhere to the substance. When we cleave to God, we adhere to Him and His ways.  

Chayei Sara / The Life of Sarah
Genesis 23:1-25:18
HafTorah 1 Kings 1:1-31
Brit Chadasha 1 Corinthians 15:50-57
  

     The Life of Sarah as a title seems a little bit odd for this parsha since it begins with the recording of her death at the age of 127 years. After Abraham grieves for Sarah, he approaches the sons of Heth in nearby Hebron to negotiate the purchase of a field and a cave in Machpelah, where he wishes to bury her. This transaction represents the entire first chapter of this parsha. Why is this so important?
     When the Israelites came out of Egypt and entered Eretz Canaan and came to the territory of the Hittites – the “sons of Heth” - there was a legitimate claim to that land. Not only had God promised it to Abraham forever, but it had been legally purchased at an agreed-upon price in the presence of many witnesses by Abraham, thus belonging to his descendants. This also firmly establishes the rightful Jewish claim to that city, then and now, despite the turmoil that has surrounded Hebron over the last century, and despite the argument of other world leaders that it belongs to another group of people. Hebron, approximately nineteen miles south of Jerusalem, is now a Palestinian city.       
      Hebron was formerly known as Kiryat Arba “City of the Four” and is the second oldest inhabited city on earth. Excavations there revealed settlements dating to back 3,400 BC. The name Hebron is from the Hebrew word chaver from the root ḥbr, meaning to ‘unite, alliance, friend or companion’. Could this be because Abraham was called “the friend of God”- 2 Chronicles 20:7 and James 2:23. Sarah, Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, Leah, Ruth, and Jesse are buried there. David was also anointed there, and Hebron is considered the second holiest site of Israel.
    But possibly, the main part of this parsha is chapter 24, ‘A Bride for Isaac’. Abraham sends Eliezer, but first makes him swear the most solemn of oaths; ‘So Abraham said to the oldest servant of his house, who ruled over all that he had, “Please, put your hand under my thigh, 3 and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell; 4 but you shall go to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” Genesis 24:2-4. 
     Both the Canaanites and the Chaldeans worshiped false deities and Isaac was not to be re-introduced into any pagan society. Eliezer questions Abraham, wondering if the woman would even be willing to follow him back? He asks Abraham if he should seek a wife ‘back to the land which he came from’.  Abraham answers: Genesis 24:6-9 ‘But Abraham said to him, “Beware that you do not take my son back there. 7 The Lord God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, ‘To your descendants I give this land,’ He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. 8 And if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be released from this oath; only do not take my son back there.” 9 So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.’
     Eliezer comes to the city of Nahor and upon reaching a well, ‘makes the ten camels kneel by the well’ at the time of the drawing of water. He prays to God with the title of ‘Adonai of my master Abraham’ and asks for a sign, success and kindness towards Abraham in finding a wife for his son, Isaac. Genesis 24:10-14.
     Chayei Sarah ends with a brief statement regarding the marriage of Abraham to Keturah (which some say was Hagar), his death, burial and the families of Ishmael and Isaac.
     In Genesis 24:57-58 after Eleazer’s encounter with Rebekah at the well, she brought him to her father’s house where they discussed the proposed marriage between them. The following morning they called her and said, “Will you go with this man?” She said, “I will go.” Rebekah gave her consent – her “I do.” The Hebrew name for willing consent is daat. The same occurs to us in our spiritual walk with Yeshua. We are never forced to say ‘I do’ to Yeshua/ the Living Word, for God created us all with a free choice and a free will.
    There are two verses in the Brit Chadasha which should give clarity to our behavior: 2 Corinthians 11:2 states ‘For I am jealous for you with godly jealously. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to the Messiah.” Betrothed can mean engaged, united, and given to. Rabbi Shau’l continues in Romans 7:4: “Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Messiah, that you may be married to another – to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.” 
     Having given a get, we are redeemed to marry; God is allowing us that privilege if we give our willing consent, our daat, consenting to His ways and Covenant.  Our redemption is given to us by God. The Word became flesh and redeems us as we see in John 1:1-5 ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.’ And John 1:14 ‘And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.’
      Redemption is through the Living Word, the Living Torah:
     Isaiah 47:4 ‘Our Redeemer, the Lord of hosts is His name, The Holy One of Israel.’
     Psalm 19:14 ‘Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.’
     1 Chronicles 17:21 ‘And what one nation in the earth is like Your people Israel, whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people, to make You a name by great and terrible things, in driving out nations from before Your people, whom You redeemed out of Egypt?’
     Nehemiah 1:10 ‘They are Your servants and Your people whom You redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand.’
     Psalm 78:35 ‘And they remembered that God was their rock, and the Most High God their Redeemer.’
     Psalm 103:4 ‘Who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion…’
     Colossians 1:13-14 ‘For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.’
     Luke 1:68 ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people…’
     Romans 3:23-24 ‘for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Yeshua HaMashiach…’
     Would we be free to be betrothed to the King if we negate the Living Word? Would we be pure as spoken by Rabbi Shau’l in 2Corinthians 11:2? If we disallow the Torah, and cling to pagan ways, which are ways other than God’s and were the ways that Abraham was so against for his son’s bride – do we fit the qualifications of the redeemed bride?