וַיִּהְיוּ חַיֵּי שָׂרָה מֵאָה שָׁנָה וְעֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה וְשֶׁבַע שָׁנִים שְׁנֵי חַיֵּי שָׂרָה׃

And the life of Sara was one hundred and twenty seven years. These were the years of Sara’s life. (23:1)

The Midrash relates how the great sage Rabbi Akiva was giving a Torah lecture and the audience was dozing off (can you beleive that?!). In an attempt to rouse them he said, "Why was Esther seen fit to reign over one hundred and twenty-seven provinces (as related in Megilat Esther, the Book of Esther)? The answer is: Let Esther, who was a descendant of Sara, who lived one hundred and twenty-seven years, come and reign over one hundred and twenty-seven provinces."

Why would the numbers of years that Sara lived be a reason for Esther to rule over 127 provinces?

Let’s start with examining the last three words of the verse cited above:

שְׁנֵי חַיֵּי שָׂרָה – “These were the years of Sara’s life.” What more are these words adding after mentioning the number of years that Sara lived? Rashi explains that these words are coming to teach us כולן שוין לטובה, which translates as all her years were equal for good. What does that mean? An explanation given is that Sara tasted a lot of bitterness in her life. Nonetheless she never let that get her down. She accepted everything- the good and the bad- with joy and satisfaction. This is the meaning of all her years being equal for good. She accepted everything from Hashem with love and therefore her entire life was good.

Let’s now return to Rabbi Akiva’s comment in the Midrash. The merit for Esther did not come from the fact that Sara lived for 127 years. Rather it was because she truly lived each and every day of her life, even the very rough ones, to their fullest with joy and satisfaction because she accepted everything from Hashem with love. That’s truly a merit.

Now we need to explain why Rabbi Akiva chose this idea to arouse his drowsy audience.

Some suggest that dozing off during Rabbi Akiva’s teaching was a symptom of the state of the Jewish people at that time.The Jewish people were broken and depressed from the oppressive rulership of their Roman rulers and they lost their interest in studying Torah and doing mitzvos. That is what Rabbi Akiva was addressing. Rabbi Akiva was trying to impress upon them the importance of having a positive outlook on life even in the most downtrodden times. Take the lesson of our Matriarch Sara and see the reward that came about through her joyful acceptance of everything that Hashem brought into her life.

Shabbat shalom to the people of Israel and to the Jewish people around the world!
Yitzchak