To infuse a home with sanctity, Sarah showed, one must show reverence for all things holy
Biting winds, flurries of snow, and needles of rain — no wonder that in the jaws of winter our homes become a sanctuary. We leave only reluctantly, returning eagerly to the warmth and light, the scent of hearty soup, and the comfort that home provides. Our homes are our havens, playing the dual role of protection — sheltering us from the elements — and comfort, in that home is the place where we bask in warmth and light and acceptance.
If these two elements — protection and comfort — are ideally present in every house, let us return to the very first Jewish home to trace their origins. The tent of Sarah Imeinu may have been constructed of animal skins and rough woolen rugs instead of bricks and mortar, but she teaches us the essence of building a Jewish home. The Midrash tells us that the beautiful paean to the Jewish woman sung every Friday night, Eishes Chayil, was first said by Avraham Avinu in a eulogy to Sarah Imeinu. It’s endlessly profound layers praise each aspect of Sarah Imeinu’s spiritual work. The Midrash highlights the verse: “Darshah tzemer u’pishtim” — She seeks wool and flax (Mishlei 31:13), and broadens it beyond the demands of the spinning wheel.
The art of separating wool and flax, the Midrash explains, refers to the way Sarah separated wool — representing Yitzchak — from flax, the errant Yishmael. While Avraham, the quintessential man of chesed, did not see the need to banish his child, or the danger of allowing him to remain as part of the household, Sarah was able to identify the evil that dwelled, albeit disguised, among them. She had the clarity to recommend a definite course of action, which Avraham agreed to implement though it contradicted his basic essence. The consensus was to send away Yishmael and thereby protect the sanctity of their home.
In her actions, Sarah enacted the very basic level of the word: bayis. Looking at the makeup of the word, the beis represents the power of binah, intuitive understanding — of what to allow into one’s home and what must be banished. Yud, letter of holiness, represents the kedushah that should pervade a Jewish home. The letter taf means a sign: a sign to the outside world, showing us that the Jewish home impacts the world without. By sending away Yishmael, Sarah modeled for us the first and primary function of a bayis: a place where the walls, the mortar, bricks. and roof protect and shelter us from the bitter, unsavoury winds that blow rife through the world.
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