Chayei-Sarah: Lifetime Achievement

The textual parallel that dictated the choice of the Haftarah for Parshat Chayei Sarah is found in the first verse of the Haftarah:

וְהַמֶּלֶךְ דָּוִד זָקֵן בָּא בַּיָּמִים וַיְכַסֻּהוּ בַּבְּגָדִים וְלֹא יִחַם לוֹ

King David was old, getting on in years. He was covered in clothes, but couldn’t get warm.

The phrase, “old, getting on in years”, is not a common expression, appearing only four times in all of Tanach. One them is here in the Haftarah, another is in Chayei Sarah (Breishit 24:1) [1]:

(א) וְאַבְרָהָם זָקֵן בָּא בַּיָּמִים וַה’ בֵּרַךְ אֶת אַבְרָהָם בַּכֹּל:

Avraham was old, getting on years. Hashem blessed Avraham in every way.

Chazal see this as an opportunity to compare the lives of Avraham and David:

והמלך דוד זקן בא בימים. זהו שאמר הכתוב עטרת תפארת שיבה .היכן היא מצויה? בדרך צדקה תמצא. ממי את למד? מאברהם על ידי שכתוב בו ושמרו דרך ה’ לעשות צדקה ומשפט זכה לשיבה שנאמר בו בשיבה טובה וזכה לזקנה שנאמר ואברהם זקן בא בימים וכן אתה מוצא בדוד על ידי שכתוב בו ודוד עושה משפט וצדקה לכל עמו זכה לזקנה שנאמר והמלך דוד זקן בא בימים.

“King David was old, getting on in years”: It says “The crown of glory is gray hair.” How do you get it? Through righteousness. From whom do we learn this? From Avraham. Because it says about him “[his children] will follow the way of Hashem to do righteousness and justice”, he earned gray hair, and earned old age (as it says “Avraham was old, getting on in years”). So you find with David: because it says about him “David did justice and righteousness to the whole nation”, he earned old age, as it says “King David was old, getting on in years”. (Midrash Yalkut Shimoni, Melachim I 247)

According to this Midrash, gray hair is a crown, a reward of a lifetime of achievement. The Text recognizes two people with the accolade of old age: David and Avraham. Avraham’s greatest accomplishment was righteousness and justice; the hallmark of David’s reign was also righteousness and justice. Therefore, being “old, getting on in years” is the reward that one gets for bringing justice into the world.

In order to understand the Midrash’s logic, let’s look at the two verses it quoted:

(יט) כִּי יְדַעְתִּיו לְמַעַן אֲשֶׁר יְצַוֶּה אֶת בָּנָיו וְאֶת בֵּיתוֹ אַחֲרָיו וְשָׁמְרוּ דֶּרֶךְ ה’ לַעֲשׂוֹת צְדָקָה וּמִשְׁפָּט…

Breishit 18: 19) For I know him; that he will command his children, and his family after him; they will keep the way of Hashem, to do righteousness and justice

Hashem Himself tells us why Avraham was chosen and why Hashem expects him to change the world: Avraham will leave an enduring legacy of “keeping the way of Hashem”. And what is the way of Hashem, according to this verse? “To do righteousness and justice”.

Let’s take a minute to define these terms, so we can fully appreciate the value of Avraham’s legacy. Justice (“mishpat”), is the rule of law. People do what they’re supposed to do, and get what they’re supposed to get, for better or for worse. Laws apply evenly to everyone, rich or poor, powerful or friendless.

“Tzedaka”, in Biblical Hebrew, is not “charity”. It is not the help that you give to someone in need. Tanach uses “tzedaka” and “tzedek” interchangeably, and “tzedek” refers to the type of justice when the rule of law is applied with both fairness and kindness.

Sometimes, if laws are followed precisely, exactly according to the rules, what ends up happening is neither right nor good. Indeed, it can be quite the opposite. Laws applied precisely, unthinkingly, can wind up hurting the very people they are meant to protect. Whereas flexibility, taking context and circumstances into account, giving someone a second chance, might turn out to be the truly right thing to do – “righteousness” (“tzedaka”).

This was what Avraham brought into the world in G-d’s name: the idea that laws must apply to everyone equally, but that laws alone are not enough for a just, good society. G-d chose Avraham for his ability to transmit these values to the next generation, to make it the cultural norm.

So when King David, several centuries later, begins to rule as the king of all of Israel, with a capital in Jerusalem, he continues Avraham’s mission:

(טו) וַיִּמְלֹךְ דָּוִד עַל כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיְהִי דָוִד עֹשֶׂה מִשְׁפָּט וּצְדָקָה לְכָל עַמּוֹ:

15) David ruled over all Israel. David acted with justice and righteousness to the entire nation. (Shmuel II, 8)

What Avraham was able to do at the level of family, David was then able to do for the whole nation.  Justice became the defining characteristic of David’s government, and justice became the criterion that all future kings of his dynasty were measured against.

Avraham and David did not have much in common; their biographies and personality traits could not be more different. But the Text, in summarizing each of their lives, picked the one thing that mattered most to each of them, the one trait that symbolizes “the way of Hashem” – righteousness and justice.

Copyright © Kira Sirote 
In memory of my parents, Peter & Nella Rozenberg, z”l
לעילוי נשמת אבי מורי פנחס בן נתן נטע ואמי מורתי חנה בת זעליג ז”ל