Chayyei-Sarah: Unifying Heaven and Earth¹
According to the Hasidic masters, it’s to become an embodied bridge between Heaven and Earth.
We find a blueprint for this in Avodat Yisrael, an 18th-century Hasidic commentary on Parashat Chayyei-Sarah:
R. Yisrael Hopstein², Sefer Avodat Yisrael, Chayyei-Sarah, s.v. V’haMelekh David zaken ba bayamim
with the… Zohar’s teaching regarding the verse “Abraham, Abraham” (Gen. 22:11): [one Abraham] above and [one Abraham] below.⁴ᐟ⁵
[Reb Barukh explained]: For every tzaddik (i.e., a person grounded in higher consciousness) below (i.e., on this material plane) has a root and a quarrying-place for their soul within the hidden treasuries on High. In truth, this is the inner place they cleave to, while abiding in this temporal world only as a passing visitor. Through their holy deeds and virtuous ways, they draw holiness from the root of their soul, which transcends this temporal world.
This then is the intent of “Abraham was now old (zaken),” for he was really from the concealed world, which is called ‘ancient (zikna).’ “Advanced in years (ba bayamim),” suggesting that he drew this timeless essence into this temporal world, which is delimited by days and time.
Why does the Torah repeat Abraham’s name? Reb Barukh teaches that we inhabit two identities: a temporal one and a spiritual one.
Our temporal identity is bound to time and change—our body, feelings, personality, beliefs, roles, and ego. It allows us to function and act in this world with a sense of agency and efficacy.
Our spiritual identity transcends time and space. It is our primordial essence, eternally bound to its Divine root and untouched by worldly shifts and sorrows. This is the source of our deepest wisdom and spiritual awareness—the root of true “eldering” (ziknah).
When we ground ourselves in this higher awareness, we realize our true identity is the soul, and we move through the temporal world without being enslaved by ego, attachment to outcomes, or personal honor.
Yet the ultimate goal isn’t to remain cloistered away in high spiritual states. It is “ba bayamim”—to draw that timeless essence down into our daily, time-bound existence.
How do we do this? Not by fleeing ordinary life, but by infusing it with presence. Every time we take a mindful breath, listen deeply to another person, bring loving awareness to a simple daily task, or bear witness to our busy minds, we perform “ba bayamim.” We inhabit time from a grounding in timeless presence—becoming the bridge where Heaven meets earth, right here and right now.
¹ This piece was composed in dialogue with an AI assistant. The ideas are all original. In a couple of small instances, some of the language for articulating them was developed by AI and then edited by Sam Feinsmith.
² Rabbi Yisrael Hopstein (1737–1814), known as the Kozhnitzer Maggid and by the title of his classic work, the Avodat Yisrael, was one of the primary founders of Hasidism in Poland alongside the Seer of Lublin. A master Kabbalist and renowned advocate for the Jewish people, his commentary blends deep mystical insight with a profound emphasis on fervent prayer and finding divine light within every soul.
³ Referring to Reb Barukh of Medzhybizh (1753-1811, Ukraine), grandson of the Ba’al Shem Tov. Reb Barukh established a courtly estate in his grandfather’s hometown and claimed thousands of followers at the time of his death.
⁴ Based on Zohar Noach 58a, which reads as follows (translation adapted from sefaria.org):
“Why ‘Noah, Noah’ (Gen. 6:9), written twice? [Because] each and every righteous person in the world has two spirits, one in this world and the other in the heavenly realm. And so we find that the Holy and Blessed One named all the righteous twice: ‘Moses, Moses’ (Ex. 3:4), ‘Jacob, Jacob’ (Gen. 46:2), ‘Abraham, Abraham’ (Gen. 22:11), ‘Samuel, Samuel’ (I Sam. 3:10).”
It’s noteworthy that in response to being called by God twice by name, with the exception of Noah, all of these figures respond Hineni (“I am present”).
⁵ Though our teacher uses hierarchical language of “above” and “below”, the Zohar itself speaks of a soul that operates in the temporal plane and another soul that abides in the World to Come.