The Medrash brings on the words of ויהיו חיי שרה the passuk יודע ה' ימי תמימים ונחלתם לעולם תהיה describing Sarah Imeinu as belonging to the group of those who live a life of תמימים whole and complete. What is this title mean and how does one achieve it? The sefer Sarei Alafim by Rav Efrayim Twersky explains this with an interpretation that Rav Hutner ztl said on the gemarah Baba Basra 4 during a Purim Tisch תשל"ח. Hurdos's (Herod) construction of the Second Beis Hamikdash is praised in Bava Basra 4a, as it states: "He who has not seen the Temple of Herod has never seen a beautiful building". Similarly, in Sukkah 51b: "He who has not seen the Beis Hamikdash in its full construction has never seen a glorious building in his life. Which Beis Hamikdash? –Abaye, or it might be said, Rav Chisda replied, The reference is to the building of Hordus".
In Sukkah 51b, it provides a description of the stones used in Hurdus's construction of the Beis Hamikdash. According Rava "It was with stones of green-gray marble and white marble [marmara]." Others said: "It was with stones of blue marble and white marble. The rows of stones were set with one row slightly protruded and one row slightly indented, so that the plaster would take better." The passuk adds that Hurdus "thought to plate the Temple with gold, but the Chachamim said to him: Leave it as is, and do not plate it, as it is better this way, as with the different colors and the staggered arrangement of the rows of stones, it has the appearance of waves of the sea.
What was so special for the Beis Hamikdash to appear like waves of the sea over glittering gold? Rav Hutner explained that the Zohar says that when Hashem divided the upper and lower waters with the creation of the רקיע firmament on the second day of creation, the lower waters began to cry because no longer were they in the presence before the King. Even though Hashem tried to console them, they still until today don't give up to surrender to their fate. The rising waves of the see demonstrate that the waters still yearn to one day return to their close proximity before the King that they lost.
Their steadfastness in refusing to give up hope is praised by Hashem as Dovid Hamelech writes in Tehillim 89,10 אתה מושל בגאות הים בשוא גליו אתה תשבחם When they lift up their waves as they charge towards the shore even though they know from the past thousands of years every try to come closer produced no fruition. Yet they continue to hope and strive anew day after day to return closer to their Maker. Since their creation approximately 2,112,255 days and 50,694,120 hours have passed and they still today rise up hoping that today might see the answer to their tefillos.
It is remarkable that the waves strengthen every Yid who pushes himself upwards to get closer to Hashem and nevertheless finds himself unsuccessful with these endeavors time after time. We must learn from the waves to persist and not despair by falling into Yiush and succumbing to our failures. Hashem praises and values our efforts for striving to do so even if there exists the possibility that we might never be successful during our journey.
Furthermore, it might not have been in Hashem's intentions for reasons that are only known to the creator of the universe that you should never reach such a goal at all and what Hashem desires from you is only to continue the journey and not to give up. As it says in the Mishnah Avos אל תאמר כשפנה אשנה שמא לא תפנה do not say to yourself when I have time I will learn perhaps you won't find the time. In a deeper way of understanding, it conveys that perhaps you are designated in life to never have free time unless you steal it from other time consuming affairs. This interpretation is supported from the Chazal (Shabbos 31) who state that on the day of one's Heavenly Judgment you will be asked קבעת עתים לתורה . We find that the word קבע (Mishlei 22,23) can also mean to steal. In other words Torah should be one's passion to the point that whenever he can steal a moment or two to learn or think about Torah he chapps the opportunity.
During the Second Beis Hamikdash Am Yisrael lost their spirit and excitement for the daily avodah that occurred there. There were five intrinsic losses that the Second Beis Hamikdash did not possess as the first, the aron kapores and keruvim, the heavenly fire, the Shechinah, ruach hakodesh, and the Urim Vetumim. Many of the Kohanim Hagedolim were unworthy of their position. It was therefore easy to fall into hopelessness and say that even if we go to the Mikdash on Shlosh Regalim or bring Korbanos it probably wouldn't be accepted anyway. It was for this reason that our Chachamim suggested to Hurdus to keep the colored stones instead of gold in order to look like waves of the ocean. It was a sight to draw and be inspired from to believe that anything we do in order to elevate and upgrade our relationship with Hashem is counted by Hashem.
This encouragement is really stated by Chazal (Avos 5,17) ארבעה מדות בהולכי בית המדרש הולך ואינו עושה שכר הליכה בידו that if one goes to the Beis Medrash and sits there without learning he nevertheless receives reward for the walking בשוא גליו אתה תשבחם Chazal gave the title award of תמימים to Sarah Imeinu. Rashi brings on the passuk שני חיי שרה that all her years were שוין לטובה equal in goodness. Is it possible for one to experience during his or her lifetime only good? Are there not times when even the tzadik feels distance from Hashem or falls short of what is expected from her? We must therefore understand that this statement that all her years of Sara Imeinu they were equally good means that she strived every day for the good even if she did not achieve that goal yesterday. She never fell into יאוש and gave up. She was our founding Mother אמנו modelling to us to emulate גלי הים to be like the waves of the sea and always be in the rising mode even though we might still fall short of accomplishment. This is why we find that the word אמנו עה"כ is gematriah גלי הים because she embodied them.
Aishes Chayil was the hesped that Avraham said on Sarah Imeinu. It begins אשת חיל מי ימצא ורחוק מפנינים מכרה בטח. If one adds up the acronym of these words it is the gematria of גלי הים . all the praises of Sarah in this hesped was because she was like the waves of the sea.
כולם שוים לטובה if one takes the word שוים with its four letters it will add up to the same as the passuk בשוא גליו with its two words. The common theme of Sarah's years was every day she strove to rise like the waves of the sea – higher. Even during her darker moments of being childless, harassed by Hagar and Yishmael, taken into captivity by Pharoah and Avimelech, she strove to see the light and not the darkness. .לא יכבה בלילה נרה Even in the darkness her candle of light was not extinguished. כי טוב סחרה because her avodah was always to strive for the .טוב
This is the meaning of the title ימי תמימים days which were complete in trying to rise above one's complacency with their SSG Static Spiritual Growth, irrelevant if they met the goal or not. This includes to rise above failures and the יאוש despondency that accompanies it.
Every day one must have a rise - an exercise to stretch the spiritual muscle otherwise cv"s the day can be counted as לשוא in vain and the Torah says לא תשא את שם ה' לשוא don't carry Hashem's name in vain. The fact that we can even make one wave no matter how small it is, already saves the day from being שוא. That is why the antidote to the word שוא (in vain) is שוא גליו for the waves to rise. If one can cling to the avodah of בשוא גליו by understanding that this causes by Hashem a positive reaction ofאתה תשבחם no matter how small the waves, he would bring Moshiach to the world much faster as hinted in the words בשוא גליו which is gematria משיח.
Yosef in Mitzrayim also survived the terrible darkness of being alone in an immoral culture of decadence. He spiritually attained Aliya against all odds by emulating the גלי הים. This is hinted in the gematriah בשוא גליו including the two words equals יוסף צדיק. He sent to his father עגלות whose root is עיגול a wheel to allude to him that he remained a צדיק all this period in Mitzrayim. The word עגל is gematriah גלי הים . Also a wheel is 360 degrees a circle which is gematriah יוסף צדיק.
שפכי כמים לבך נכח פני ה'. Davening has become nowadays challenging for the younger generation. Those involved during the week with technology find it especially painfully boring and burdensome to sit in shul for two hours on Shabbos, uninvolved, not understanding what they are saying and ADD to boot, etc. This affects adults as well. There are no simple solutions. We must constantly brainstorm every way in order to make coming to shul an enjoyable and desirable experience for us and for our children.
Dovid Hamelech says (Tehillim 88b) that when it comes to tefillah שפכי כמים לבך נכח פני ה' you should pour your hearts out and daven like the waters of the oceans for the purpose of being opposite Hashem. Tefillah is compared to the rising of the waves. Don't just give up and retire from raising your level of tefillah. Try different aitzos everyday and one day you might get a breakthrough. Or maybe for one it is an impossible goal to reach now so just daven the best you can even if you had kavannah for a half beracha or even less. If one would only think when he takes those three steps before Shemoneh Esrai that he desires with these three steps to come closer to Hashem, even though his tefillah itself might be nothingness, he can't be worse than Chazal who say בהולכי בית המדרש הולך ואינו עושה שכר הליכה בידו. Keep the journey of tefillah alive by waving to it a welcoming hello before you begin and not a wave of goodbye.