D'var for Chayei Sarah

This week's d'var is written by Micah Rothkopf.

Shabbat Shalom,
    This week's parsha, Chayei Sarah, is monumentally known for being ironic. The second and third words of Chayei Sarah are Chayei Sarah themself, the life of Sarah. In the same first pasuk, the Torah tells us that she lived to be one hundred and twenty-seven years young. Nowadays, one might ask, “What is the secret to marriage?”
    The interesting part of Chayei Sarah is the fact that Rabbis and other Jews constantly write Divrei Torah regarding the paradoxical death that lives in life and vice versa. People cannot wrap their heads around the idea that you can name something one thing but explain the complete opposite.
    There is a wildly known phrase, “Don’t judge a book by its cover”. This can relate to Chayei Sarah just as well. Although we may read “the life of Sarah” in the title, when we read the book, it assesses her death.
    There are infinite fascinating things in life that we do not know. Some things we do know but can’t understand. One thing to learn from Chayei Sarah is that we should all be more open to others' ideas. Even though we may not understand something now, it does not mean we will never understand it. Sarah lived until one hundred and twenty-seven years. Today, we have Emma Morano, a 116 (117 on the 29th) year old woman. In 2008 there was a study about life expectancy. It said that most people will live about thirty years younger than Ms. Morano. Anything is possible with an open mind.
Have a great Shabbos.