Queen for the Day. 

It sounds like a royal treat. Everyone at your beck and call all day long. 

Queen for the Day was actually the name of a 1950’s television “reality” show that featured four women contestants who would share their tales of woe. The one whose hardships was the most heart rending would 

be showered with gifts. 

Not the path one would expect of a Queen. 

This week’s Torah portion is Chayei Sarah and it gives us some insight into our matriarch. 

The portion starts with a math word problem.  

We are told that 

“The life of Sarah was one hundred years, and twenty years , and seven years, the years of Sarah’s life.”

This sentence begs the question. 

Why 100+20+7? Why can’t we just say she was 127 years old when she died?

(I always did hate those math word problems!)

This bothers Rashi, the super commentator on the Torah, and he gives a number of explanations one of which is 

 to Sarah all her years were equal in goodness. 

How could Rashi make such a statement? 

Sarah’s life was full of trial, tribulation and disappointment. 

She was barren for 90 years, she was abducted by two powerful kings, she had to deal with Hagar and Yishmael and...

Sarah could have won Queen for the Day hands down. 

Yet Rashi teaches us that Sarah saw every episode of her life as “good”. 

There is an interesting Midrash that speaks of the famous Rabbi Akiva who was lecturing to his students and he saw they were dozing off in class. In order to wake them he shared a fascinating tidbit. 

Just as Sarah lived 127 years, so too did Queen Esther rule over 127 provinces. 

Interesting!

But not mind blowing. 

How was this supposed to stimulate the students to wake up and pay attention?

It seems that the students of Rabbi Akiva were not actually sleeping, rather they were in a stupor. They were living through a very bleak period of history where there seemed to be no hope for the future. 

(Perhaps a pilot for King for the Day)

Rabbi Akiva was exhorting his students to wake up. 

He challenged them to look at people who had rebuilt their lives after crisis, those who don’t lose hope despite the overwhelming adversity and continue to find meaning and purpose despite the challenge. Rabbi Akiva used Sarah and Esther as those role models. Women who prevailed and changed history. 

The name Sarah indicates royalty. It’s root word is Sar or ruler. Sarah was truly a Queen because she ruled and had dominion over herself, not allowing her circumstances to dictate her reality, and keeping faith no matter the challenge. 

This is reflected in the unusual choice of the counting of her days, breaking the 127 into smaller units to reflect the value of each day. 

Sarah viewed each day as a gift. She capitalized on each moment to achieve her potential. This self control  gives birth to an Esther who then has actual dominion over 127 provinces. 

Rabbi Akiva was telling his students not to sleep away their lives, but rather make every moment count even if it’s difficult and he pointed to these Queenly examples for inspiration. 

We may think time keeps on slipping into the future, but we can make meaningful choices to bring value to each moment. 

There is a parable about a person who visited a cemetery and was surprised that the headstones showed those interred there had lived very short lives. One tombstone read 20 years and 9 days, another 17 years and 5 hours. He asked the townspeople if there had been a plague. Why had so many died so young. 

The answer shocked him. 

Each person had lived a normal lifespan of 70 + years, but what was marked on the headstone was the length of the days they had actually used for a purpose. 

We can make each day count with acts of purpose and meaning! 

We can begin each day with an attitude of gratitude by saying Modeh Ani, a sentence which expresses our appreciation of having the opportunity to make a difference in the day ahead. 

We can do small acts of loving kindness or master impatience and anger despite trial and tests. There are so many paths to meaningful moments. 

At the end of such a day we can then see the glimmer of our matriarchs within ourselves, the daughters of Sarah, who are in reality the Queens of our days. 

Shabbat Shalom and so much love!