Sara’s Death

Parshat חיי שרה has matters of death and burial as one of its central themes. I heard a story that took place in Chicago more than sixty years ago. A class of fourth graders were learning about how שרה אמנו died when she heard about עקידת יצחק. One little boy began weeping profusely. The teacher had trouble calming him down. But the boy cried as he felt it was “his” Mother, Sara. (The boy grew up to be a much loved rebbe, who died tragically at a relatively young age.) The קול התורה of Rabbi Munk, wrote that Satan had a role in this tragedy. First he posed as an unfed beggar at the great party of the weaning of Yitzchak. He was neglected which caused the עקידה. And later, it was Satan who challenged Hashem to test Avraham’s faith. There is great debate among the rabbis regarding the eulogy of the deceased. Some say that they are for the benefit of the deceased, while others felt that eulogies gave comfort to the mourners. In any case, we see how difficult it is to depart from a loved one. This was felt very strongly this week, as it is truly remarkable how Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, זצ״ל, had such a strong impact on so many people. May all of the mourners be comforted, and may we be victorious over the evil designs of the Satan that we are continuously fighting, to this day.