* Translation by Yehoshua Siskin
Do you know people who are young in years but seem old? And people who are very old in years but seem young? This week's Torah portion opens with a reminder that our biological age is sometimes just a number:
“Sarah's lifetime was one hundred years, twenty years, and seven years; these were the years of Sarah's life”(Genesis 23:1).
Why is the age of our matriarch Sarah recorded in such unusual detail—as one hundred years, twenty years, and seven years? Our commentators explain that at one hundred, Sarah was like a twenty-year-old, and at twenty, she was like a seven-year-old. At every age and every stage of life, she maintained a fresh spirit. She never said, “That's it. I've already done my part.” She preserved her vitality, always remaining active and moving forward.
Rabbi Nachman of Breslov writes the following about our matriarch Sarah, and about us as well:
“This is the essence of perfection: to begin living anew time and time again. Even when you reach old age, you should still regard yourself as a baby, as though you had not yet begun to live or serve God at all. This was true of our matriarch Sarah and so we learn from her that however old a righteous person may become, in their own eyes they are still a baby, just starting out. And through this attitude, they continually revitalize and deepen their service of God.”
May we merit to remain young at every age.
