R. Tali Adler on Parashat Hayyei Sarah: Unfulfilled Promises

At the end of this week’s parashah, Avraham—who has been promised time and time again ownership over all the land of Canaan—owns nothing but a grave.

When we read Avraham’s journey carefully, this ending may not surprise us.  From the very beginning of Parashat Lekh Lekha, Avraham’s life is marked by fantastic, unbelievable promises, shortly followed by obstacles that make their fulfillment seem impossible.  Told by God to leave his home behind, Avraham arrives in Canaan, where God gives him the first promise: Your children—the children who don’t exist yet—will inherit this land.  Avraham sacrifices to God in gratitude—and then, almost immediately, the dream turns to ashes.  There is a famine in the land—the land that God just promised to Avraham’s descendents—a famine so devastating that Avraham and his family, newly arrived, go to Egypt in order to survive.