Genesis 24:67

וַיְבִאֶ֣הָ יִצְחָ֗ק הָאֹ֙הֱלָה֙ שָׂרָ֣ה אִמּ֔וֹ וַיִּקַּ֧ח אֶת־רִבְקָ֛ה וַתְּהִי־ל֥וֹ לְאִשָּׁ֖ה וַיֶּאֱהָבֶ֑הָ וַיִּנָּחֵ֥ם יִצְחָ֖ק אַחֲרֵ֥י אִמּֽוֹ׃

Isaac then brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he took Rebekah as his wife. Isaac loved her, and thus found comfort after his mother’s death.

Few in the Torah go through the kind of emotional ordeal that Isaac did. Between his near sacrifice at the hands of his father, Abraham, and now the death of his mother, Sarah, we can only imagine the grief he experienced. 

The last time Isaac saw his mother was the morning his father took him to be sacrificed. Was the shock of this too much for Sarah to bear? Did Isaac think he was in some way responsible for her death? Did he get the chance to say goodbye? The text doesn’t tell us. What the text does tell us is that Isaac found comfort in his relationship with Rebecca. The love they shared (and they are the first couple in the Torah to be in love) provided Isaac the means for healing.

Isaac’s story is a two-fold reminder. His grief remains unrecorded, a reminder of the way many of us carry around pain. Looking at another person, all may seem ok. Deeper down, at one time or another, we all carry the same emotions Isaac was holding: pain, guilt, and grief; feelings unrecorded in the Torah, feeling unexpressed outwardly by many of us. What is recorded is the promise that healing is possible. Through a loving relationship, Isaac finds some level of peace. Does he completely get over his grief? This we don’t know, but he does find a way to push forward. Love has profound healing power, and because of that, grief and pain do not last forever. In the Song of Songs, the poet writes “love is as strong as death.” This is the second reminder. As devestating as despair and grief are, love is the tool that can raise someone’s spirits up from the depths.