When does life begin?
Mainstream America is locked in an ongoing debate about this question and has yet to decide still if it begins at birth or even earlier. The traditional Jewish answer is that it begins when the kids go to college or get their first job. Yet this week’s Torah portion takes it to a whole new level.
You see, the portion is named “The life of Sarah”, yet looking through the portion, you will actually find nothing about her life, if anything you will find plenty about her death and post death events. Despite this, for some reason, the Torah decides to call this portion, the one that is all about her passing and post death events, “The Life of Sarah”!
Defining “Life”
Perhaps if we define what we are trying to define about life, we might understand this a little easier.
Life has many components to it, Sushi, Music, Vacations, News, Social Media, human interactions, Relationships and so much more are all just some of the many parts of life. Yet within all of the above categories and beyond, life has an even deeper layer, which although it may be a little more elusive, it actually has a more eternal and permanent meaning to it.
Take Sushi for example which can be eaten for pure pleasure alone, it can be eaten to socialize, it can be eaten because we are hungry, and it could be eaten because our pallet just loves the taste of the Ginger and Soy Sauce mixing with the Sushi itself. Yet Sushi also has a long term and deeper dimension that is more profound than all of the above, and better yet, it will not detract from its taste.
There are several ways we connect with that deeper dimension of Sushi.
1. By saying a blessing over the food and showing our thanks and appreciation to G-d.
2. By using this as a food that will give us energy and nurture us to be able to continue with our G-d given mission in this world.
3. By sharing some of it with a poor person or someone else who could benefit from it.
4. And by several other ways that are beyond the space of this article.
When Sushi is used in any of the above manners, while still tasting the same, it is now connected to an enduring spiritual reality that will last a lot longer than the piece of Sushi itself or the pleasure that it provides. Instead, the action and choice of Sushi is wrapped up and part of a deeper spiritual process and action that is subtly changing ourselves and the world around us for the better, and in the process, the positive spiritual potentials of Sushi have been tapped into.
The same concepts that hold true for Sushi, hold true for every other action and activity in life.
Our lives as a whole can also be lived in various ways, they can be lived in a manner that our own pleasure and self-benefitting pursuits are our ultimate goal, or they can be lived in a manner that life is about connecting and affecting a deeper purpose and reality in the world around us.
Life in the first category is enjoyable and amazing in the moment, but beyond that, its spiritual life and potency is limited. Life in the second category, can be just as enjoyable, yet is lived and conducted in a manner that is part of a higher and broader spiritual reality, ensuring that each moment is lived with meaning, purpose, and part of G-d’s mandate to improve the world.
This week’s Torah Portion, which focuses on the timeframe after Sarah dies, is named “Chayei Sarah”, “The Life of Sarah”, despite it having almost nothing about her life itself in the portion. The message the Torah wishes to impart, is that Sarah’s life was lived to the fullest in every sense of the word. To call a portion, Sarah’s life, when she is still alive, would not support the idea, that her life had an enduring spiritual nature to it. Yet by calling the portion “The Life of Sarah” after she dies, it is strikingly clear that the Torah wishes to emphasize that Sarah’s life and legacy were an enduring one, which continued long after she passed away.
The commentaries point to the fact, that all the key stories in the portion are actually an expression of Sarah’s goals and accomplishments throughout her lifetime. The fact that they continued to occur and have influence even after she dies, is the greatest testimony to the fact that her “life” was indeed enduring in the fullest sense.
To summarize, life may begin when someone is born, yet the permanent spiritual imprint that one can make throughout life is something that can last forever if we live life in a focused and meaningful manner.
Each day of life and each action of the day presents us with opportunities in which we can act and interact on a deeper and more refined spiritual manner. Whether it is by focusing more on others, or by adding more self-improvement, or by adding more spiritual content, each of the above choices along with many others, present us with opportunities to add an element of spiritual longevity to our choices and actions, and truthfully to bring an aspect of eternity to the seemingly finite aspects of our lives.