While the Parsha is called The Life of Sarah, it discusses her death. That is because if we follow in her footsteps and practice what she stood for then she is not dead but alive through our actions.

Parshat Chayei Sarah — Keeping the Righteous Alive

Good morning, and now for a quick Dvar Torah.

This week’s parsha is Chayei Sarah, which literally means The Life of Sarah. Now, that’s a rather strange title when you think about it, because the parsha begins with Sarah’s death!

So why is it called The Life of Sarah rather than The Death of Sarah?

The answer is that, in a very real sense, Sarah never died.

You see, in Judaism, when we speak about the great tzaddikim, the righteous people who came before us, we don’t simply remember that they lived. We study their lives, their middot, their character traits, and their deeds, and we try to emulate them.

And as long as we continue to live by their teachings and follow their examples, they remain alive through us.

There’s a wonderful story that illustrates this idea.

A rabbi was once being considered for a rabbinical position in a small town in Eastern Europe. The townspeople were very anxious to convince him to become their rabbi.

They said to him, “Rabbi, you must come to our town! Do you know who is buried here? The Taz, the Magen Avraham, and Rabbi Akiva Eiger! Three of the greatest Torah scholars!”

The rabbi was tremendously impressed. Imagine living in a town where such great tzaddikim were buried! He accepted the position.

But when he arrived, he made a rather startling discovery.

None of these great rabbis was actually buried there!

The Taz was buried in Lemberg, Rabbi Akiva Eiger in Posen, and the Magen Avraham in Kalisz.

The rabbi was furious.

“You lied to me!” he told the townspeople. “You said these great rabbis were buried in your town, but none of them is buried here!”

The townspeople answered, “Rabbi, we didn’t lie to you.

“In Lemberg, where the Taz is buried, they study his Torah. His teachings are alive there.

“In Kalisz, they study the Magen Avraham. His Torah is alive there.

“And in Posen, they study the teachings of Rabbi Akiva Eiger. He, too, is alive through his Torah.

“But here in our town, nobody studies their teachings. Nobody follows their example.

“So, Rabbi, in our town, they really are dead and buried!”

Now, that’s a very powerful lesson.

If you want to keep a great person alive, study their teachings and put those teachings into practice.

And that’s exactly the message of Chayei Sarah.

Sarah Imeinu, our mother Sarah, may have physically died, but her life continues through us.

Every time we practice chesed, loving-kindness, every time we demonstrate concern for others, every time we follow the values that Sarah lived by, we are keeping her alive.

And the same is true of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Rebecca, Rachel, Leah, and all our great forefathers and foremothers.

We don’t study their lives simply to learn history. We study their lives to learn how we should live our own lives.

And as long as we emulate their good deeds, their values, and their middot, they continue to live through us.

That is why the parsha is called Chayei Sarah — The Life of Sarah. Because Sarah’s life didn’t end with her death. Her life continues in every generation that follows her example.

And perhaps that’s something we should all think about. What will keep us alive after we’re gone? Not our possessions, not our wealth, but the good deeds we performed, the values we taught, and the example we left for others.

Something to think about.