The Fountain of Youth & a Tale of Two Horses

The Uniqueness of Sarah

Sarah’s passing is reported briefly in the beginning of this week’s parsha in the following manner:

“And these were the days of Sarah, one hundred years, twenty years and seven years…”

Rashi raises the obvious question, why doesn’t the Torah consolidate the three components of Sarah’s life by stating that she lived: “One hundred and twenty seven years?” Why does it separate the twenty years from the hundred and the seven years from the twenty?

Rashi’s answer is that the Torah wishes to express the uniqueness of Sarah, that when she was a hundred years old she was as righteous as she was at the age of twenty, and that she was as beautiful at the age of twenty as she was at the age of seven.

A Hundred like Twenty

Commentators are puzzled at Rashi’s comparison of a hundred year old to a twenty year old with regard to sin. Shouldn‘t it have stated that when she was twenty — at the peak of her youth — she was just as righteous as she was at the age of 100. Aren’t twenty year old people more prone to sinning than 100 year old people?

To answer this question we should examine the dynamics of the aging process as it pertains to human development.

The older we become the more difficult it is for us to change.

Furthermore, even when we do change, the change is not as radical as the changes we can experience in our youth. Consequently, the older we get, the more ingrained are our negative traits, albeit with less intensity and youthful zeal.

As our body ages and cannot keep up with the pace of activity, the negative traits become more ingrained, even as on the surface it appears as if we have become more docile and refined. The refining process is unfortunately only on the surface By contrast, a younger person might express his or her negative traits more energetically, but beneath the surface there is more fluidity. This enables young people to change their negative ways with relative ease.

A Ba’al Shem Tov Story

A story is told of the Ba’al Shem Tov (Another version of this story I heard was told in the name of the third Lubavitcher Rebbe, the Tzemach Tzedek), who was once invited to a family celebration. The hosts sat him next to a distant relative who was brilliant, but had strayed from the path of Judaism. This young rebel braced himself for a sermon from the Ba’al Shem Tov about his errant behavior. But to his surprise the Ba’al Shem Tov said nothing the entire meal.

Before parting, the Ba’al Shem Tov startled his relative by asking him the following question:

“Which, in your opinion, is better, a young, strong and healthy horse or an old, sick and lame horse?”

The young rebel was puzzled at the Ba’al Shem Tov’s bizarre question and replied:

“What kind of a question is that? Of course, a healthy horse is preferable to a lame one?“ “But,”

the Ba’al Shem Tov persisted.

“Isn’t a lame horse better, because if it were to stray off the path, it can’t go too far?”

“On the contrary,” the young rebel contested, “A healthy horse, even if it strays, will be able to return just as quickly.”

The Ba’al Shem Tov, concluded, “Aha, so a healthy horse can always return to the right path more quickly…”

Sarah’s Moral Agility

Thus, Sarah’s greatness was that when she was 100 years old, her underlying character was still as fluid as it was when she was twenty. Not only was she righteous in terms of her behavior, but even the subconscious dimension of her personality was as vibrant as it was at her prime. If she had any spiritual “weaknesses” lying beneath the surface, she was as morally “agile” when she was 100, in her ability to change and even grow.

Most people at that age would be like the “lame horse” that couldn’t stray very far, but couldn’t change for the good and improve either. Sarah, conversely, was like the “healthy horse,” always capable of racing, changing and growing.

The prophet Isaiah (65:20) declares that in the Messianic Era, “a youth will die at the age of 100.” In addition to the promise of longevity inherent in this prophecy, this verse wishes to convey a deeper spiritual message as well:

In the Messianic Era, all of us will experience the same youthful characteristic of Sarah. Even as we age, our inner spirit for change and growth will not be stifled. Even the hundred year old person, will still be a youth at heart.

From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Chayei Sarah by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.