Rabbi Daniel: Thoughts on Torah

Dear friends,

In 5786 we are reading the first triennial each week, which means starting each parsha at the beginning.  The second and third verses are:

וַתָּ֣מׇת שָׂרָ֗ה בְּקִרְיַ֥ת אַרְבַּ֛ע הִ֥וא חֶבְר֖וֹן בְּאֶ֣רֶץ כְּנָ֑עַן וַיָּבֹא֙ אַבְרָהָ֔ם לִסְפֹּ֥ד לְשָׂרָ֖ה וְלִבְכֹּתָֽהּ׃ וַיָּ֙קׇם֙ אַבְרָהָ֔ם מֵעַ֖ל פְּנֵ֣י מֵת֑וֹ וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר אֶל־בְּנֵי־חֵ֖ת לֵאמֹֽר׃

 Sarah died in Kiriath-arba—now Hebron—in the land of Canaan; and Abraham proceeded to eulogize Sarah and to bewail her.  Then Abraham rose from beside his dead, and spoke to the Hittites, saying,

The order of operations for end of life are presented in an interesting way in the beginning of this parsha.  Here at the beginning of the parsha we have the death of Sarah and in verse 2 we have the word "Lispod" which means to eulogize.  It is from this verse that we learn about eulogizing a loved one before burial.  The strange thing is that Abraham eulogizes Sarah and then arranges for her burial rather than the other way around.  According to one commentator, Abraham is allowed to arrange for burial at this point  because he is not yet a mourner

mourner (one becomes a mourner after burial).  Another commentator says that Abraham needed to get up from his mourning and arrange for the burial because a person deserves a quick burial.  We are fortunate to have generations of rabbinic codes to help navigate journeys like those of end of life.  The Torah provides a good map but not really good directions.  

In peace and honor, 
Rabbi Daniel