Heter-Yiska

ט' בסיון תשס"ז

Rabbi Pinchas Winston at Neveh Zion on the life of Sarah Imeinu:

(You might be wondering, "What does 'heter-yiska' mean?" It is a play on words, the real term being "Heter-Iska," a technical process used in business to avoid breaking the Torah prohibition of earning and collecting interest. As Rashi revealed at the end of Parashas Noach, one of Sarah's names was "Yiska," and being the righteous woman that she was, she opened many spiritual doors for generations of women to come, permitting them ("heter"), so-to-speak, to strive for greatness.)

The life of Sarah was one hundred years, and twenty years, and seven years ... (Bereishis 23:1)

The time has come, once again, to focus on Sarah Imeinu--Sarah, Our Mother. She was born in the year 1958 from creation, or 1803 BCE, ten years after Avraham was born. As we learn from the end of Parashas Noach, her name was also "Yiska," from a word that means "to look," because she could see the future, and, because everyone looked at her beauty. The name "Yiska," as Rashi also explains, refers to princely dignity, which is also indicated by the name "Sarai" and "Sarah" as well.

We are told that when Shlomo HaMelech composed "Aishes Chayil," which we sing before Kiddush on Friday Nights, he had Sarah Imeinu in mind. The stanzas follow the Aleph-Bais, from "aleph" to "tav," because Sarah fulfilled the Torah from "aleph" to "tav" (Shochar Tov, 112a). From the Midrash, we learn that she was so righteous that she even had angels at her command (Lekach Tov).

Avraham married Sarah when he was twenty-five years old, which would have made Sarah only fifteen years old at the time. We know this because, according to the Yalkut (Lech-Lecha, 78), and Tanna d'Bei Eliyahu (Chapter 18), Avraham and Sarah went childless for seventy-five years. Since we know she gave birth to Yitzchak when she was ninety years old, she had to have been fifteen years old when she married.

As the Talmud points out, Sarah's barrenness was the result of a physical reason, namely, that her body lacked the physical capacity to bear children (Yevamos 72a). In other words, the miracle of the birth of Yitzchak was not just that Sarah finally had a child after waiting for so long; it was a miracle that her body was able to conceive and carry a child altogether!

Of course, it didn't have to be that way. G-d could have easily had Sarah born with all her physical necessities and capable of having children, whenever He deemed it appropriate. What was gained by making Sarah physically incapable of having a child, only to give her one later on in her life?

In a sense, her situation mirrored what was accomplished with Avraham through his life, and then finally, with Bris Milah. Why didn't Avraham perform Bris Milah much earlier in life? Why did G-d wait for so long before commanding Avraham to do what, seemingly, should have been done long before?

The answer is Yitzchak, or rather, Ya'akov. In order for Yitzchak to be the father of Ya'akov, who, in turn, could be the father of the Twelve Tribes, a certain spiritual environment had to be built and nurtured, so that it could remain pure from the influences of the outside world. In other words, Yitzchak's birth had to be in a miniature Gan Aiden, with the holiness of Gan Aiden, which is what Avraham and Sarah achieved by the time Yitzchak was conceived and born.

Being such a spiritual "environment," Yitzchak's birth had to be supernatural, the way it would have been in Gan Aiden. This was achieved with the help of Bris Milah, usually performed on the eighth day which symbolizes the supernatural, and in a womb that could only conceive supernaturally.

This is why the three miracles that occurred for Sarah represented rectifications that brought the home of Avraham and Sarah into the realm of Gan Aiden. The "Cloud of Glory" that encircled her tent was like that in the desert that elevated the Jewish people into a supernatural reality--free of the dangers and needs of the desert. The miracle of the "challah" symbolized the rectification of Chava's sin, as did the Shabbos candles burning from week to week.

No small feat for one woman. Unless, of course, that woman happens to be Sarah Imeinu.

Sarah HaTorah - Princess of the Torah

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