Making The Most Of Each Day
This Week’s Torah portion is entitled Hayyei Sarah, The Life of Sarah. As the portion opens, we read of Sarah’s death at the age of 127 and Abraham’s purchase of a burial plot for her in Hebron (the Cave of Machpelah). As the narrative of our first patriarch and matriarch comes to a close, we learn that Abraham’s servant is sent to find a wife for Isaac. Eventually, after her kindness and compassion are discovered, Rebekkah is chosen to marry Isaac. The portion closes describing Abraham’s second marriage to Keturah and his eventual death and burial next to Sarah in the Cave of Machpelah.
It is towards the very beginning of the portion, immediately after Sarah’s death, when we read that:
Abraham was now old, advanced in years, and the Lord had blessed Abraham in everything. (Genesis 24:1)
The commentators wonder why Abraham is described as “old” and “advanced in years” specifically at this point. Perhaps it is because he just lost his beloved Sarah. Perhaps it is because he is confronting his own mortality and concerned with finding a wife for his son, who he nearly sacrificed. But perhaps it is also because of the way in which he lived his life each and every day.
In describing the term “Advanced in years,” one commentary offers an insightful suggestion that can be useful to us as we walk through the blessings and struggles of our daily lives. The commentary teaches:
[The Hebrew words mean something like “He was coming along in days”] He came with all his days. Not one of all the days of his life was wasted, not one was empty. Each day with its new insights, with its activities, and with its good deeds-all of them were taken into account. (Itturay Torah)
According to this teaching, Abraham was blessed in everything because he did not waste any of the precious moments that he was given each day. He made sure to live each day with the recognition that it was a gift, never missing an opportunity to learn something new or do something good for another person.
With this in mind, I invite you to think about the following. How do you spend each day? Are you conscious of the preciousness of each moment? In what ways are you blessed and who have you thanked for those blessing today?
It is my hope and prayer that this reflection will cause you to live each day with a thoughtful sense of gratitude for the gifts of your life so that you too may walk through your years filled with blessing.