Weekly Reading – חַיֵּי שָׂרָה– Chaye Sara – Life of Sarah; Genesis 23:1-25:18; 1 Kings 1:1-31
What happens to a person as the years pass and their strength fades? A person who was accustomed to leading, making decisions, and bearing responsibility for others? How do they come to terms with the realization that the life they have built will continue even without them?
These questions arise in one of the most human and candid narratives in the Bible, concerning one of the most powerful men in Israel’s history: “Now King David was old and advanced in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he could not get warm.” King David, who defeated Goliath, waged wars, and built a kingdom, lies in his bed unable to get warm. His glorious history, his victories and achievements cannot give him the simplest thing his body now needs: warmth.
A similar description appears in the parasha Chaye Sara, following Sarah‘s death and burial: “Abraham was old and well advanced in years, and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all...
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