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What does Rashi (רש"י) mean that Sarah at twenty was like seven in beauty? The shiur explains that genuine innocence is the deepest form of beauty—sans cera, without makeup. Bar mitzvah (מצוה) should not mean leaving youth behind but bringing its sincerity and honesty forward into adult responsibility.
The shiur opens with a common misconception many bar mitzvah (מצוה) boys share: that reaching adulthood means leaving childhood behind and gaining new rights and privileges. Rabbi Zweig challenges this notion through a close reading of Rashi (רש"י) in Parshas Chayei Sarah. When the Torah (תורה) describes Sarah's death, it uses the word "vayiryu," and Rashi brings the Chazal that when Sarah was twenty, she was like seven in beauty. The Mizrachi poses the obvious difficulty: surely a twenty-year-old is more beautiful than a seven-year-old, so what does this comparison mean? Some changed the girsa in Rashi because of this question's strength. Rabbi Zweig offers an answer rooted in the concept of sincerity. While it is true that a twenty-year-old has greater daas (understanding) than a seven-year-old, that same daas gives the person the ability to be manipulative, to create situations, and to "dress things up" rather than being exactly who they are. A seven-year-old child, by contrast, is completely genuine—good or bad, that is exactly who they are. They are not marketing themselves or putting on a facade. The Torah is teaching that Sarah at twenty retained the purity, pristineness, and sincerity she had at seven. This innocence itself is a form of tremendous beauty.
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Bereishis 23:1, Rashi on "vayiryu"
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Why didn't Noach daven for his generation while Avrohom advocated for Sedom? Noach viewed each person as an independent island responsible only for their own teshuvah. Avrohom understood that all humanity is interconnected through shared perspective and values, making prayer for others both possible and necessary.
