HEBREW TEXTS  .  HEBREW LANGUAGE  .  JUDAISM

"They were Sarah's days..."

That's how this parashah begins, with an enigmatic start, contradicting the parashah's name, "The Lives of Sarah." Two immediate questions arise: Why "Lives," in plural, and why does it start with Sarah's death?

“Fueron los días de Sara” ... Así comienza esta Parasha, comienzo enigmático, que se contradice con el nombre de la Parasha, “Las vidas de Sarah”. Dos preguntas surgen de inmediato: Por qué “Las vidas”, en plural, y Por qué comienza con la muerte de Sara.

The book of Melachim begins with the story of the old King David. An image that shows a king who can no longer rule his kingdom, nor his own body: a young woman is brought to keep him warm when he cannot do so by himself. Meanwhile, his son Adoniah boasts of being the successor to the throne, although David had not passed away yet. In this context, Adoniah prepares a great banquet inviting all his followers and expressly leaves out his brother Shlomo and, among others, Nathan, the prophet—both very close to the old monarch.

El libro de Melajim, comienza con el relato del Rey David anciano. Una imagen que muestra un rey que ya no puede gobernar ni su propio cuerpo que necesita que le traigan el cuerpo de una joven que le dé calor cuando el propio no logra hacerlo. Mientras tanto, su hijo Adoniá, se vanagloriaba de ser el sucesor en el trono una vez que falleciera David, pero anticipándose a ésta.

"Those were the days of Sara" ... This is how this parashah begins, an enigmatic beginning, which is contradicted by the name of the parashah, "The lives of Sarah". Two questions immediately arise: Why "Lives", plural, and Why does it begin with Sara's death.