This week’s Torah portion is Chayei Sarah, “the life of Sarah,” and it begins by announcing Sarah’s death. It’s a jarring beginning and many commentators want to know what happened, especially since last week’s Torah portion ends with Abraham almost sacrificing Isaac. We all want to know: how did Sarah die? Did she know what Isaac went through?
Many midrashim try to answer these questions. One story suggests that right when Abraham was about to sacrifice Isaac, Isaac turns to him, and asks him not to tell his mom about his death while she is standing near a well or on the roof. He’s worried that she might fall out of shock and die. And in this midrash, even though Isaac’s life is saved at the last minute, Satan gets to Sarah first. According to the story, Satan is furious that his plans for Isaac don’t come to fruition so he sets out to find a new victim in Sarah… telling her where Abraham took Isaac and why. Predictably, she cries out in anguish, like the sound of the shofar, so much that her heart literally breaks and she dies.
It is such a tragedy… the anguish a parent experiences when they hear about the suffering of a child. And so very real today. The story is also striking in the way that Isaac, who is about to be murdered, is worried about his mother. He is like a chaplain, thinking about the emotional impact of minor details, like the physical setting of where a person is told difficult news.
Chaplains in hospital systems provide important patient support that impacts overall care. This is particularly true in a world where mass numbers of people identify as “spiritual but not religious” and who do not have a personal clergyperson to call in.
This month, the Fairview system announced significant layoffs in their chaplaincy staff, eliminating 10 of 13 chaplain positions (see article in comments). It isn’t too late to make your voice heard - to contact Fairview via “patient relations” and your local representatives to make your voice heard to support the critical work of chaplaincy.
