Parashat Chayei Sarah (5761)
With God's help. Eve of the holy Sabbath, Parashat Chayei Sarah, 5761
A Man and a Woman, Wisdom and Understanding
This week's portion begins with the death of Sarah, our first matriarch, and ends with the death of Abraham,
and his burial in the Cave of Machpelah. Isaac our patriarch begins to take the reins of that legacy and drive it forward.
In parallel, the prophetic reading describes the process by which the Davidic monarchy is continued, opening with the words
'King David was old, advanced in years' (I Kings 1:1), paralleling the description in our portion: 'And Abraham was old, advanced in years' (Genesis 24:1),
and continuing with the declaration, 'For your son Solomon shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead' (I Kings 1:30).
These are processes of succession and inheritance of a tradition that appear very similar, and they repeat themselves with a
surprising resemblance, almost like a chronicle known in advance. David chose Solomon over his other sons (Adonijah son of
Haggith, in this prophetic reading), just as Abraham chooses his son Isaac over Ishmael. Isaac too, in turn,
will choose (?) Jacob over Esau. In both of these cases the sons are born of different mothers,
and the mothers themselves are actively involved in the process of choosing the heir (=the spiritual successor).
This pattern repeats itself even with Jacob and Esau, who were the sons of the same mother. Sarah is active in the choice of
Isaac over Ishmael by asking Abraham to send away Hagar and Ishmael. Rebekah is active
in the choice of Jacob over Esau, through the 'maneuver' she carries out so that he receives the blessings, and in saving him
by sending him to Paddan-aram. Bathsheba too, in this week's prophetic reading, is active in the choice of Solomon over
Adonijah, by carrying out the 'maneuver' with Nathan the prophet.
In all these cases, the father, who currently holds the reins, appears as someone who does not fully recognize
the reality before him, and is unaware of the struggles over succession. The mother, who is well informed about the facts, takes advantage
of this situation and contrives one stratagem or another in order to ensure that her son will continue
the lineage. This recurring chain of events invites reflection. What is the meaning of it? Why does this pattern
recur so consistently?
It seems that we have here the case of a person possessed of great vision, whose familiarity with the reality that is
the object of his vision is nonetheless quite limited. The implementation of a vision depends upon knowledge of reality, and at times
upon fighting against those who oppose it (and every great vision has its opponents). For such a vision to be implemented, there must
be alongside that great person another person, one versed in the 'political' processes and able to read
well the reality surrounding him.
This seems to be the division of roles between the patriarchs and the matriarchs. Sometimes the politics takes place within
the home rather than in the marketplace, yet it is the woman who manages matters on the practical plane of reality. A woman
who remains at home is not necessarily lacking in influence. A dominant presence within the home exerts very great influence,
sometimes more than all those who make a great deal of noise in public politics (consider, for example, the
'First Lady' in the United States).
Deborah the prophetess acted differently. She sat under the palm tree (Judges 4:5); that is, she was
a spiritual-political leader who operated in the public square. She also directed the war against Sisera, and even so
the actual commander was Barak son of Avinoam. He received instructions from her, but he was the one
who in practice conducted the course of events. This is an exceptional case. Usually, in history, the woman
managed affairs from within; but, as noted, that does not mean that her influence was necessarily
lesser.
The male and female roles are similar even in the process of physical procreation. The man provides the seed, which is
the potential of the person who is about to be born—the vision—whereas the woman is the one who brings it
into actuality. Within her it takes on flesh and sinew and enters a tangible body in which it can
find expression and act in the real world.
In the mystical tradition, the man is characterized by the attribute of wisdom, whereas the woman, his mate, is characterized
by the attribute of understanding ('The Holy One, blessed be He, gave a woman an extra measure of understanding,' as the Sages put it; Niddah 45b). Understanding is what brings
wisdom from potential into actuality. Understanding means grasping one thing from another; that is, drawing out from
wisdom the content hidden within it and bringing it outward, into actuality. Even someone who knows all
the axioms of geometry (and who does not know that two parallel lines do not meet, or
that between two points there passes only one straight line), does not necessarily know that the sum of the angles in a triangle is
180 degrees. That information is hidden within the body of knowledge that exists within us (wisdom), but only
understanding, which is the power to grasp one thing from another, succeeds in actualizing that knowledge and giving it
real meaning.
As the psychologist Jung described, and as the mystical tradition had described long before him, there is, within every person as well,
a masculine side and a feminine side: the vision, and its actual realization through being given a concrete
real form. The dominant force in a man is the potential, theoretical force, whereas in a woman
the concrete force finds more dominant expression.
In the Jewish conception, every rule of Jewish law is meant to be implemented. Every theoretical principle must have a 'practical
consequence' (=a concrete implication in reality and in Jewish law). The Torah demands of us that we realize our visions.
On the one hand, we must act not only on the practical level, but with imagination and vision; on the other hand, we must not
remain on the theoretical plane, and we must bring the vision to realization in the world. Only the combination of
these two forces leads to the complete state, in which the theoretical vision is implemented in the real world, and in which
wisdom reaches its concrete realization, and in which the offspring is no longer a potential seed but a real human being.
At times such a role requires the use of 'political maneuvers,' but when there is no alternative one must not
recoil from this course and remain at the more 'pure' theoretical level.
Have a peaceful Sabbath
This may be submitted for respectful disposal in any synagogue or academy of Torah study. Comments and responses will be gladly received.
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