Years That Truly Existed Light Our Darkness

1aLet us add to what we said above, based on the words of the holy Zohar on this parshah (Zohar I:127a): “‘And the life of Sarah was’: they truly were, for they were created and endured above.” The Zohar's words are explained by the teaching of the great Maggid, R' Dov Ber of Mezritch, zt"l, on the words of the Saba in the Zohar (Parshas Mishpatim): “She adorned herself with ornaments that are not.” All mitzvos and good deeds have permanence and real existence. But the matters of this world, such as eating and drinking, are called “things that are not,” for they have no real existence of their own. When a person does them for the sake of Hashem, as he should, with the right intention, he brings permanence and real existence into them too. From these are made the ornaments of the bride, the Shechinah, which are “the delights of the King.” It is like a king who rejoices with his son after the son had been far from him, held in captivity for a long time. So Hashem delights in a small spark that has been raised up through a physical act. This delight comes only from human beings, not from angels and seraphim.

1bThis is the meaning of the Midrash quoted above: “‘And their inheritance shall be forever’: as it says, ‘And the life of Sarah was.’” Sarah's years had real existence and permanence, because all her deeds were done wholeheartedly. Even her physical acts had permanence and real existence, for they were all done only for Hashem. And so those years have permanence and real existence forever, “so that they may endure many days” (Yirmiyahu 32:14). May they serve us now as a time of favor, “in the days of our affliction and wandering” (Eichah 1:7). May they lift up our own years too, which have no permanence or real existence because our minds are confused: by “the leaven in the dough,” the yetzer hara (Berachos 17a), by subjugation to the nations and by the darkness of the exile. May that time of hers stand for us now, to give us light out of the darkness, and may we merit the eternal light. This is like R' Akiva's teaching in the Midrash quoted above (section 1; Bereishis Rabbah 58:3). The time of Sarah's life, which had real existence, was of benefit long afterward: for the number of her years, Esther reigned over the same number of provinces. So may it stand for us, for our salvation and for lifting up our strength soon.

2We can explain this further through the three dimensions of olam, shanah and nefesh — space, time and soul [cf. Sefer Yetzirah]. The tzaddikim sanctify their place, which is the dimension of space, as the Midrash explains (Shir HaShirim Rabbah 1:2). Chazal also say of Avraham that “his two kidneys became like two teachers and taught him wisdom” (Bereishis Rabbah 61:1). This came from his great refinement and holiness, and it is the dimension of soul. That remains forever: “The tzaddik shall be an everlasting remembrance” (Tehillim 112:6). So too the days of their lives, the dimension of time, remain forever to give light out of the darkness, as it says, “A light shines in the darkness for the upright” (Tehillim 112:4). Their years endure forever for our sake. When the world is dark and there is no one to illuminate the time and draw down the proper order of day and night, may their merit stand for us. (From the author's handwritten manuscript.)