B"H
Usual story - full text of Midrash Tanchuma is here
1) Bereishit 24:1
וְאַבְרָהָם
זָקֵן, בָּא בַּיָּמִים; וַיהוָה בֵּרַךְ אֶת-אַבְרָהָם בַּכֹּל
2) Bereishit 25:1
וַיֹּסֶף
אַבְרָהָם וַיִּקַּח אִשָּׁה
3) Bereishit 18:11-12
וְאַבְרָהָם
וְשָׂרָה זְקֵנִים, בָּאִים בַּיָּמִים; חָדַל לִהְיוֹת לְשָׂרָה, אֹרַח
כַּנָּשִׁיוַתִּצְחַק שָׂרָה, בְּקִרְבָּהּ לֵאמֹר: אַחֲרֵי בְלֹתִי הָיְתָה-לִּי
עֶדְנָה, וַאדֹנִי זָקֵן
4) Midrash Tanchuma, Chayei Sarah,
Chapter 2
סימן ב
ואברהם זקן, א"ר
יהושע בר נחמני מפני ארבעה דברים הזקנה קופצת על אדם מפני היראה, ומפני כעס בנים,
ומפני אשה רעה, ומפני המלחמות.... אבל
אברהם אשתו מכבדתו וקוראתו אדני שנא' ואדני
זקן, ועליה נאמר אשת חיל עטרת בעלה (משלי יב) לפיכך
כתיב ביה וה' ברך את אברהם בכל:
5) Midrash Tanchuma, Chayei Sarah, Chapter 4
סימן ד
זש"ה אשת חיל עטרת בעלה (משלי יב) זה אברהם שהיה מקונן על שרה...וכתיב
ואברהם זקן בא בימים וגו', כשמתה שרה כתב עליו שברכו למה שלא יהיו
באי עולם אומרים לא נתברך אברהם אלא מחמת שרה, אלא הריני מברכו אחר מיתתה, לכך נאמר וה' ברך את
אברהם
6) Midrash Tanchuma, Chayei Sarah,
Chapter 5
סימן ח
ויוסף אברהם, מה
כתיב למעלה מן הענין ויביאה יצחק האהלה מכאן אתה למד שאם מתה אשתו של אדם ויש לו בנים שלא ישא אשה עד שישיא את בניו ואחר כך ישא
אשה לעצמו שכך עשה אברהם אחר מיתת שרה
השיא את יצחק ואח"כ נשא אשה לעצמו מנין ממ"ש ויביאה יצחק ואחר כך ויוסף אברהם
First of all, please don't worry about the number of sources above, as in
most cases these will only be used as reference points! Full translations are
therefore not crucial, but if these would be useful please ask :-)
Sometimes, it's instructive to take a step back for a change and ask why the
Midrash focuses on certain verses of the parsha. This is especially so
for Chayei Sara as the Midrash Tanchuma only focuses on two verses from
the whole parsha - both concerning Avraham! What is even odder about
this is that the major event of the parsha itself after Sara's death is
Eliezer's mission to bring back Rivka as Yitzhak's wife - yet, at least in this
collection of midrashim, this is only mentioned in passing.
The two verses focused on by the Midrash are v'Avraham zaken, ba ba'yamim
- 'Avraham grew old, advanced in years' and va'yosef Avraham vayikach
isha - 'and Avraham [increased]* and took a wife' (see sources 1) and 2)
above). Both of these verses occur as 'punctuation marks' in the parsha - the
first, between Sara's death/burial and Avraham's commissioning Eliezer to fetch
a wife for Yitzhak. However, why does the Midrash consider these to be so
important?
If we look at source 3) above - v'Avraham v'Sara zaknim, ba'im bayamim - we can see an interesting link between these verses. Source 3) uses exactly the same phrase as source 1), but in the plural for both Avraham and Sara as a couple to whom the visitors announce Yitzhak's birth. However, in source 1) this phrase is used to describe Avraham alone as he is about to embark on another stage of parenting - finding Yitzhak a wife. This repetition emphasises Avraham's changed status following Sara's death as someone is no longer part of a couple - at least, until he takes another wife as in source 3), thereby repairing some of what he has lost.
So, after taking our step back to see this link, does the Midrash itself have anything to say about it? Perhaps. Chapter 2 of Midrash Tanchuma cites Sara as being an eishet chayil and therefore the source of G-d's blessing to Avraham after her death (see sources 4) and 2) above), while Chapter 4 (source 5) expands on this to interpret the famous 'Eishet Chayil' passage sung on Friday nights and other occasions through Sara's attributes and events in the life of both Sara and Avraham**. Intriguingly, this passage appears to contradict Chapter 2) above by stating that G-d only blesses Avraham after Sara's death because otherwise one may have thought that Avraham was being blessed in her merit rather than in his own, showing us both Sara's high reputation and the perceived unity of Avraham and Sara as a couple.
But what of Avraham's remarriage? While the midrash doesn't say this explicitly, we could perhaps also read G-d's blessing Avraham after Sara's death as a form both of comfort and of reassurance to Avraham that he still retains some identity as an individual beyond the former union of Avraham v'Sara. However Yitzhak, he product of that union, is not 'comforted' for Sara's death until he marries Rivka and brings her into Sara's tent - and, as pointed out by Chapter 5 of the Midrash Tanchuma (source 6 above), it is only after this that Avraham remarries.
While Yitzhak's marriage to Rivka may not appear as the main focus of the Midrash Tanchuma, in fact it serves to close off the narrative that began with the announcement of Yitzhak's birth to Sara and Avraham when they were united by being zaknim ba'im bayamim. Now that Yitzhak has been comforted and his future made more secure by marriage to Rivka, Avraham can finally move on and rectify the loss sustained through Sara's death by entering into another union - with, according to the midrash - Hagar/Keturah who was the mother of Avraham's firstborn son Ishmael and who therefore closes another circle by going on to bear Avraham further children.
Shavua tov!
RPT
*My translation - JPS and Midrash Tanchuma translate this verse as 'Avraham took another wife' and 'Avraham again took a wife', but I'm not sure how they get here from va'yosef Avraham va'yikach etc... can anyone explain?
** While the whole midrash is too long to go into in-depth here, it is well worth reading if you have the time.
So, after taking our step back to see this link, does the Midrash itself have anything to say about it? Perhaps. Chapter 2 of Midrash Tanchuma cites Sara as being an eishet chayil and therefore the source of G-d's blessing to Avraham after her death (see sources 4) and 2) above), while Chapter 4 (source 5) expands on this to interpret the famous 'Eishet Chayil' passage sung on Friday nights and other occasions through Sara's attributes and events in the life of both Sara and Avraham**. Intriguingly, this passage appears to contradict Chapter 2) above by stating that G-d only blesses Avraham after Sara's death because otherwise one may have thought that Avraham was being blessed in her merit rather than in his own, showing us both Sara's high reputation and the perceived unity of Avraham and Sara as a couple.
But what of Avraham's remarriage? While the midrash doesn't say this explicitly, we could perhaps also read G-d's blessing Avraham after Sara's death as a form both of comfort and of reassurance to Avraham that he still retains some identity as an individual beyond the former union of Avraham v'Sara. However Yitzhak, he product of that union, is not 'comforted' for Sara's death until he marries Rivka and brings her into Sara's tent - and, as pointed out by Chapter 5 of the Midrash Tanchuma (source 6 above), it is only after this that Avraham remarries.
While Yitzhak's marriage to Rivka may not appear as the main focus of the Midrash Tanchuma, in fact it serves to close off the narrative that began with the announcement of Yitzhak's birth to Sara and Avraham when they were united by being zaknim ba'im bayamim. Now that Yitzhak has been comforted and his future made more secure by marriage to Rivka, Avraham can finally move on and rectify the loss sustained through Sara's death by entering into another union - with, according to the midrash - Hagar/Keturah who was the mother of Avraham's firstborn son Ishmael and who therefore closes another circle by going on to bear Avraham further children.
Shavua tov!
RPT
*My translation - JPS and Midrash Tanchuma translate this verse as 'Avraham took another wife' and 'Avraham again took a wife', but I'm not sure how they get here from va'yosef Avraham va'yikach etc... can anyone explain?
** While the whole midrash is too long to go into in-depth here, it is well worth reading if you have the time.
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