“And the life of Sarah was 100 years and twenty years and seven years, the years of the life of Sarah”.
It would be easier to say she died at the age of 127. But we would miss an important message. The text seems to ask us to examine Sarah’s life, not that it was over, but that it was lived- there were distinct phases to her life, each of which is worth examining and celebrating and using as a guide for us to navigate our lives.
Parshah Chayei Sarah goes on to share the story of her death and burial. But the opening is a peek into the life of an extraordinary person, our Matriarch.
We also have distinct phases in our lives. For example, each of us has a childhood, young adulthood, and that period known as middle-age. But each of us is unique. Sarah’s three phases are written at the end of her life. So, we look back and see how her story unfolded and the legacy she leaves for the generations to come. There is another implication to this as well; we can start a new chapter in our lives. It takes courage to change course midstream deliberately, but it can be done. We are not bound to follow a path. We can make changes that will bring more profound meaning and connection. Some changes are subtle, some are more radical, perhaps not as drastic as Sarah giving birth at 90, but radical none-the-less.
We can look forward to what might be rather than only looking back at what was. Sarah scoffed at the idea of becoming a mother at her age. But she was a protective nurturer of the next leader of our people, her son Isaac. The future possibilities seemed incredible when they were presented, but it became her reality. So too, with us. May we have the courage to reach beyond what is easily within our grasp, and perhaps we also will realize what had only been a dream and make it real.