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PARSHAT VAYIGASH SERACH BAT ASHER - HER DAYS WERE TWINED AND MULTIPLIED Among the enumeration of the 70 souls of the house of Ya'acov who descended down to Egypt, Serach is the only granddaughter mentioned; she is also the only woman aside from Ya'acov's immediate family. "And the children of Asher… and Serach their sister" (Bereshit 46: 17). Her name appears again 250 years later among the families of Asher who were to receive a portion in the Land of Israel: "And the daughter of Asher was Serach" (BaMidbar 26:46). Rashi remarks, "Because she was still alive, she is counted here." Although Asher is blessed that his old age be like his days of youth (Devarim 33:24), the length of the life of Serach, his daughter, exceeds by far the life span of anyone else in her tribe. The meaning of her name is appropriate to her extraordinary longevity. "Serach" means to "twist," "traverse," "twine," "lace," "stretch," "spread out," "hang over" and "be dragged." Thus, our sages relate that she was called Serach because "sheserachu v'nitrabu yemeiha," her days were twined and multiplied. INVOLVED IN THE TRANSITIONS OF ISRAEL Serach played a key role in bringing the children of Israel down
to Egypt. Yoseph's brothers were concerned about how best to reveal
to their aging father that his favorite son was still alive, without
causing him damage by the shock of the astounding news. According
to our tradition, Serach the daughter of Asher solved their problem.
By gently playing the harp and singing, "Yoseph is still alive,"
she revived the spirit of Ya'acov, her grandfather. In this way,
she was instrumental in reuniting Ya'acov with Yoseph and bringing
his entire family to Egypt. Serach also had a central part in delivering
the Jewish people out of the Egyptian exile. She was the one to
assure that the children of Israel that Moshe was their true redeemer.
They had a tradition from Ya'acov that any redeemer who would come
and say, "Pacod Pacadeti Etchem," or "I have surely
visited you," is a true redeemer. Ya'acov handed this secret
over to his daughter Serach, who was still alive. Therefore, the
Jewish people immediately believed Moshe when he pronounced this
phrase. According to (Shemot Raba 5:13) The Maharzav comments that
Serach was still alive at the time of the redemption from Egypt
and that she will continue to exist in the future.
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