The Silent Hero
D’var Torah for Chayei Sarah
By Rabbi Boaz D. Heilman
November 16, 2022
This week’s Torah portion is Chayei Sarah (“The Life of Sarah,” Genesis 23:1—25:18). It’s a neatly put together portion, featuring symmetry, a love story and some of the most beautiful imagery one could hope for in an ancient scroll.
Chayei Sarah begins and ends with a death and a funeral. As the portion begins, Sarah dies and is buried by Abraham in the Machpelah Cave in Hebron. At the end of the portion, Abraham dies and is also buried in the same sacred burial space.
There are two detailed business negotiations in Chayei Sarah. In the first, Abraham purchases the plot of land that would serve as the final resting place for three generations of his family. The second is the negotiation not for land, but for a wife for Isaac.
The love story features Isaac and Rebecca—the first example of romantic love in the Torah. Their first meeting takes place as Isaac is taking a walk on a late afternoon, enjoying the cooling breeze as the sun is setting behind him. Lifting his eyes, he sees a far-off camel caravan and recognizes that it is bearing a beautiful woman. At the same instant, Rebecca sees Isaac and is informed that he is indeed her intended groom. Veiling herself—as was the custom at the time—Rebecca glides gracefully down from the camel’s back. When the couple finally meet, it is love at first sight. For the first time since his mother Sarah’s death, Isaac finds comfort and consolation, and he brings Rebecca home to his mother’s tent, where they live out their lives as a married couple.
There is a missing piece, however, in this otherwise beautifully constructed and told story. There’s a lot of talking in this portion: Abraham negotiates for the burial plot; then he gives specific and detailed instructions to his servant, Eliezer regarding finding the right person for Isaac. The servant negotiates at some length with Rebecca’s family. And finally Rebecca is asked whether she is willing to part with her family and marry Isaac. But through the entire portion, we don’t hear even one word from Isaac himself.
In fact, Isaac is a silent hero in his own story. The last words we heard from him were when he and his father, Abraham, were walking up the mountain where Isaac realizes that he, and not some lamb, is the intended sacrifice. The next words we hear from him will be spoken towards the end of his life—the blessing he had intended to give Esau but is tricked into giving to Jacob (next week’s portion, Toldot).
Isaac’s silence is mystifying. Is it anger? Resentment? The trauma he must have suffered at the top of the mountain, seeing the glinting knife poised above his chest? And later, why is he silent as Abraham instructs his servant, Eliezer, to find a wife for Isaac? Unlike Rebecca, Isaac was never asked. His approval was taken for granted.
Throughout his life, Isaac was a willing accomplice to whatever befell him, never complaining, never asking why. Perhaps he had the same kind of faith that characterized his father, Abraham. Even when Isaac is tricked by Rebecca and Jacob, he accepts his fate and does not withdraw his blessing. Deep in his heart, he must have known all along that there were greater forces at play than he could perceive or argue with.
This acceptance of his fate became Isaac’s trademark. For some, the faith he demonstrated throughout his life was even greater than that of his father. Isaac becomes the model of the suffering servant, willing to undergo whatever God had intended for him.
His silence in the face of trauma and tragedy are not the signs not of a timid or oppressed spirit, but rather of his heroism and courage. It’s a trait that not many of us are blessed with, but one which proves Isaac worthy of being a patriarch of a long-suffering nation. With his silence, he earns the respect of people, angels and even God.
© 2022 by Boaz D. Heilman
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