Date: November 17th 2022

Parshas Chayei Sarah begins with the passing of Sarah Imeinu. The commentary of Rashi explains that this episode is juxtaposed to the story of Akeidas Yitzchok to teach us that the incident of the Akeida led to the death of Sarah. When Sarah heard the news that her son had been prepared as a sacrifice and then at the last second he was spared, her reaction was so intense that she died as a result.

“And Avraham came to eulogize Sarah and to cry. And Avraham got up from the presence of his dead.” Why was it necessary for the Torah to tell us that Avraham got up from the presence of his dead? What was the significance of his doing so? The Medrash Rabbah (58:6) explains that this pasuk is alluding to an incident that happened while Avraham was involved in eulogizing Sarah. “This teaches us that Avraham saw the Angel of Death agitating against him,” and so he got up and involved himself in the burial process.

The commentary of the Matnas Kehuna further explains the Medrash that the goal of the Angel of Death was to cause Avraham to feel regret over performing the Akeida. He appeared to Avraham and told him, “It is because of you that Sarah died. If you hadn’t bound your son she would still be alive.”

In the words of Chazal much emphasis is given to the great effort and sacrifice that is required for the performance of mitzvos. There are also numerous descriptions of the Satan attempting to derail someone from the performance of a particular mitzvah. However, in the case of Avraham the Akedia was already performed. He had already passed the test with flying colors! What was the purpose of the Angel of Death appearing to Avraham to make him feel remorse over his triumph? Apparently, we see from here that both the significance and presumably the impact of a mitzvah is much farther reaching than that. The emotions and perspectives a person has towards his past mitzvos are also an integral part of his performance of them. It was for this reason that the Angel felt it worthy to appear even post facto to Avraham just to ensnare him in feelings of guilt and remorse.*

There is an additional lesson we can learn from this Medrash. The Akeida of Yitzchok was the greatest of the tests of Avraham’s life. He was commanded directly by Hashem in a prophetic vision to perform the Akeida and an angel appeared to him when he was about to perform the sacrifice and directed him not to go through with it. After he met the challenge with a whole and complete heart the Angel said, "Now I know that you fear Hashem.” The angel appeared a second time and told him of the great blessings he and his offspring would receive because of his performance of this incredible act of following Hashems command. In fact, Jews invoke this episode as one of the great merits of the Jewish nation to this very day. How could it be, that with all of his greatness and with the explicit affirmation of the angel that he had acted according to Hashems Will that Avraham could have felt guilty and blamed himself that Sarah died as a result of his actions? We see from this Medrash th
at there is an incredibly powerful tendency within a person to blame themselves for adverse or negative events that are generated from their actions even though they are totally blameless. If this is true by such a great person such as Avraham in a scenario where he has direct communication from Hashem both before and after his actions, how much more so could an average person be subject to this tendency in the often murky waters of facing difficult decisions and having to deal with the outcomes of their choices.

Feelings of guilt are an important part of personal growth and necessary for doing teshuva for our past aveiros. However, when it is not warranted, inappropriate feelings of guilt can cause a person to feel down and depressed or to have feelings of regret about Mitzvos and acts of kindness they have performed in the past. As in many areas of life, it is difficult to find the proper balance. Having an awareness of the strong human tendency to have such feelings of guilt even when it is perfectly clear a person was in the right is a vital component of ones ability to achieve the correct balance in this area.


*The Orchos Tzadikim in chapter 11 states that if a person has remorse of his good deed he loses his reward for that deed.


Have a wonderful Shabbos,

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