Serach: A Link to the Past

Who is Serach bat Asher, where does she appear in Tanach, and what do we learn from her?

A Long Life

Serach bat Asher went down to and came out of Egypt with the Jewish People¹, which means that she lived for at least 210 years. According to some, Serach bat Asher never died (Otzar Hamidrashim). The word ‘Serach’, when spelled with a ‘sameach’ (as opposed to a ‘sin’) means to ‘overhang’; this links with Serach bat Asher as she overhung in her years, reaching an age far beyond the normal life-span.

The first place that we find out about Serach bat Asher is in Bereishit chapters 46 and 42. After Yosef has been thrown in a pit, sold by his brothers, and became the viceroy in Egypt, his brothers have to break the news to their father that Yosef is still alive. The Midrash explains that Serach bat Asher is the one designated to gently break the news to Yaakov. She softly played a harp, gradually saying ‘Yosef lives’ more and more loudly (Sefer HaYashaar). When Yaakov realises Serach’s ingenuity in breaking the news to him so gently, he blesses her with longevity, and this can be understood as the source of her extraordinarily long life.

A Link in the Chain of Transition

When Moshe claimed to be the redeemer sent by Hashem, the Jewish People approached Serach Bat Asher to find out whether he was in fact the redeemer, or if he was an imposter. Serach Bat Asher responded that if Moshe and Aharon said the words “pekod pekadeti etchem”² meaning “I will surely redeem you”, then this would be a sign that they are truly messengers from Hashem. They did say these words which confirmed that they were, in fact, sent by Hashem³. Interestingly, after Yosef had died, Serach bat Asher was the one who told Moshe to put Yosef’s remains in a metal box and into the Nile river. Without Serach bat Asher, Yosef’s final request might never have been fulfilled. As we will see, not only does she change the future, but through sharing her personal experiences, she also gives greater insight into significant events of the past.

Each Midrash that we have explored happens at the centre point of a transition for the Jewish people. Serach bat Asher represents the oral tradition; she is a bearer of key information at each crucial transition, allowing history to progress.

Rabbi Yochanan was learning the section of the Torah which deals with the splitting of the sea, and he asks ‘in what way was the water like a wall?’. He answers that the walls were opaque. Immediately, Serach bat Asher appears and says ‘I was there, and I saw that they were transparent walls’⁴.

Each Midrash that we have explored happens at the centre point of a transition for the Jewish people. Serach bat Asher represents the oral tradition; she is a bearer of key information at each crucial transition, allowing history to progress.

A Connection to the Past

Why does Hashem construct history in such a way that it can only progress through the actions of Serach bat Asher?

Rav Soloveitchik⁵ explains that when referring to old scribes we use the term “the remnants of the scribes” because fundamental to their role is the fact that they are from the previous generation. We need this connection to the last generation as they are what allow for the continuation of Torah. We need to be linked to the past so we are not an isolated generation. The continual transition of Torah is a living, experiential continuation, and the link to the past impacts both our present and future experience of living with the Torah. This is the main idea of Serach bat Asher: a link to the past. She lived in the generation of Moshe who was the greatest prophet, and connects us to that time in history.

Rav Soloveitchik explains that there are two different types of memory: image memory and event memory. He explains that image memory, which involves recalling the past but not relating to it, is the sort of memory that belongs to the father. Event memory, on the other hand, which is about reliving the past, belongs to the mother. This is reflected in the relaying of Torah, as the continual transmission of Torah learning goes through the father, while the experience of living Torah is passed down by the mother. This is what Serach bat Asher represented, the transmission of the experience of living Torah.

We might think of the past, present, and future as separate entities, yet in Judaism there is an intertwining of the tenses (Rav Soloveitchik). In the present, we relive the past and anticipate the future. We see an example of this on Seder night when we remember leaving Egypt as if we are presently experiencing it, and at the same time we hope for the future redemption. This merging of the tenses is exemplified in the life of Serach bat Asher, who traverses a long period of time, uniting the past, present, and future.

Serach bat Asher, with her unusually long life-span, is the vital link at each juncture in the history of the Jewish People, acting as our link to the past to ensure a richer and more deeply connected present and future.

Many of these ideas were taught to me by Rebbetzin Sharon Isaacson of MMY Seminary 

¹ Seder Olam Raba

² Shemot 3:16

³ Pirkei Derabbi Elazar 48b

⁴ Pesikta deRav Kahana

⁵ In Divrei Hagut ve’Ha’aracha