Tehillim 37 – 127 Years of Sarah Imeinu, Megillat Esther and Rabbi Akiva

Tehillim 37 – 127 Years of Sarah Imeinu – Megillat Esther and Rabbi Akiva

Tehillim 37:18 יוֹדֵ֣עַ יְ֭הוָה יְמֵ֣י תְמִימִ֑ם וְ֝נַחֲלָתָ֗ם לְעוֹלָ֥ם תִּהְיֶֽה׃ “Yode’a Ha-Shem yemei temimim ve-nahalatam le-olam tihyeh” — (the L-rd knows the days of the blameless; their inheritance will endure forever). The Midrash Rabbah says that this refers to Sarah. Our Sages reveal the meaning of the Torah verse: “And the life of Sarah was one hundred years, and twenty years, and seven years” through Tehillim: The words of Tehillim, “The L-rd knows the days of the blameless; their inheritance will endure forever,” mean that just as they themselves were blameless, so too were their years blameless. She—Sarah—at twenty was as beautiful as a seven-year-old; and at one hundred, she was as free of sin as a twenty-year-old. Another interpretation of the Midrash is: “The L-rd knows the days of the blameless”—this is Sarah; “and their inheritance will endure forever”—“And the life of Sarah was…” The conclusion of the verse, “the years of Sarah’s life”—“shnei chayei Sarah”—can be understood as “the two lives of Sarah”: in this world and in the World to Come. In this sense, Sarah “will endure forever.” But there is another allusion to why “her inheritance will endure forever.” The first verse of Parashat Chayei Sarah states that Sarah Imeinu lived to the age of 127, while in Megillat Esther we read that Achashverosh ruled over more than 127 provinces. The Midrash Rabbah relates that once, while Rabbi Akiva was teaching a class, his students began to fall asleep. To awaken them and energize them, Rabbi Akiva interrupted his shiur and asked his students: “Why did Esther rule over 127 provinces? Let the descendant of Sarah, who lived to the age of 127, come and reign over 127 countries.” Esther came to power over 127 provinces through the merit of our matriarch Sarah, who lived to the age of 127. The Alter of Ger (Chiddushei HaRim) explains that Rabbi Akiva was gently rebuking his students for sleeping in class and wanted to demonstrate the value, potential, and significance of every moment of life. If we translate 127 years into 127 provinces, then each year is an entire province, each month a region, each week a city, each day a district, each hour a street, each minute a building, and each second the entire room. Through this example, Rabbi Akiva wanted to show his students how important it is to value and use every minute properly. It is interesting that the Torah divides Sarah’s years into 100, 20, and 7. The Vilna Gaon finds a similarly divided number, 127, in Megillat Esther. It is stated that King Achashverosh ruled over 127 provinces. “It came to pass in the days of Achashverosh”—this was Achashverosh, who ruled from Hodu to Kush over 127 provinces. There is a Midrash that states that 100 of Achashverosh’s provinces were located on the mainland, while the remaining 27 were islands in the seas. “And King Achashverosh imposed a tax on the land and the islands of the sea”— The Vilna Gaon explains that the gematria of the word מס “mas”—tax on the land—is 100, while the gematria of the word ואיי “ve’iyei”—the islands of the sea—is 27. Chazal conclude that it was precisely through Sarah’s righteousness that Esther—her legacy—came into being. (Translated from the article “Daily Halacha” by Rabbi Eli Mansour, “Gal Einai” by Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh)