One verse, five voices. Edited by Nina Litvak and Salvador Litvak, the Accidental Talmudist
Then Abraham bowed low before the landowning citizens, and spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the landowning citizens, saying, “If only you would hear me out! Let me pay the price of the land; accept it from me,
that I may bury my dead there.”
– Gen. 23:12-13
Rivkah Slonim
Associate Director, Rohr Chabad Center at Binghamton
Against the protestation of Ephron, Abraham insisted on paying for the burial plot we, today, refer to as Ma’arat haMachpela. Abraham’s unswerving stance, despite the urging that he simply accept the plot as a gift from the Hittites, is an important statement. Abraham sought to sever all ties between the land and its original owner, thus elevating its spiritual status. Holy things cannot be acquired for “free”; an investment of resources and efforts is required to import from the realm of the mundane into the Holy. Granted as a gift, the land would remain always tethered in some way to the Hittites. The Tanach records the purchase of three parcels of land within the land of Israel. The first, referenced in our verse, is the Ma’arat haMachpela in Hebron. The second is the burial site of Joseph, Yosef Hatzaddik, in Shechem (Genesis 33:19). The third is the Har Habayit, Temple Mount, which King David purchased from Aravnah the Jesubite (II Samuel 24:15–25). The sages state that our ownership over these three sites cannot be contested since they were purchased at full value and with no reneging on the part of the original owner. Ironically, these very locations have always been flash points in the millennia-long conflict. Alas, neither purchases nor conquest through wars won fairly, have disabused our enemies of claiming that we are the colonists and oppressors. Our enemies struggle (as a result of our own struggle) with this truth: Our tie with the land is eternal and transcends convention.
Rabbi Natan Halevy
Natanhalevy.com
Abraham insisted on buying the cave at full cost. As did King David when purchasing the Temple Mount. Ephron didn’t sense the holiness in the cave. His name in Hebrew means “dust,” signifying spiritual laziness and sadness. These sites are “gates” to divine realms, as they’re linked to a greater revelation of Hashem’s presence in Israel. The Machpelah cave is the gate of the Garden of Eden where souls ascend to heaven. This is where our patriarchs and matriarchs ascended to unite with Hashem. The Temple is also called the Gate of Heaven. On the physical level these places’ holiness is reflected in the increased measure of Hashem’s presence revealed there. This is connected to the powerful providence of Hashem found in Israel, more than anywhere else in the world. In Israel itself there are certain places where this providence is more revealed. The connection of these sites to Hashem’s providence and proximity also explains why they attract both reverence and resistance, symbolized by the initial ownership by nonbelievers or idolaters. Thus these places were under the hands of impure people and idolaters, as are many holy things in this world, which need to be elevated from their grasp. The main reason they worship idols and nature is for the physical benefit they believe they will receive through this. These opposing forces, which deny divine presence, can only be relinquished through respectful acquisition, and their agreement. In these transactions, the act of paying with money represents a form of elevation.
Aliza Lipkin
Writer and Educator, Ma’aleh Adumim, Israel
Abraham needed a burial place for his wife Sarah. He requested that the children of Chet approach Ephron and ask if he could purchase Ma’arat haMachpela to bury Sarah. At first, Ephron offers it to Abraham for free. Abraham insists on paying for the property, whereupon Ephron quickly suggests an exorbitant price that makes one question the authenticity of his first offer. According to the Alter of Kelm, Ephron’s initial magnanimity was genuine. He ponders how Ephron could quickly change from acting generously to being so greedy. He responds that Ephron’s true nature was to be greedy, and just as a leopard can’t change its spots, Ephron could not resist taking advantage of the opportunity once Abraham insisted on paying. We should be careful not to take advantage of people’s generosity even when it appears genuine. In this instance, we see how fickle a person can be. Abraham understood this and did not want to take any chances with such an important transaction. A gift can come with strings attached and engender a feeling of indebtedness that can conflict with one’s needs, desires, aspirations, or beliefs. Abraham did not want to risk that his ownership of Ma’arat haMachpela would be challenged or that he would be beholden to Ephron for accepting such a gift. Abraham’s actions indicate that is preferable to earn our keep rather than to receive gifts. It is the best way to feel secure and maintain our dignity.
Rabbi Chaim Singer-Frankes
Multi-Faith Chaplain & Spiritual Care Guide, Kaiser Panorama City
Might Abraham’s humble presentation before Ephron signal atonement for grave errors? Previously and apparently with neither Sarah’s knowledge nor consent, Abraham undertook the bleak mission of sacrificing their treasured Isaac. Abraham obeyed God stoically, dutifully, while Sarah was isolated, left behind with no voice in Isaac’s fate. The next we hear, she has died. We could appraise Abraham’s gesture in full public view, as pitiful; “’oh, Ephron’ — hoping everyone is watching — ‘let me buy this corner of your land. I am in desperate need.’” Read differently however, this passage teaches essential principles of honesty, diffidence; even love redeemed! In the acquisition of a cemetery plot, Abraham elevates a desolate transaction to something extraordinary and even sacred. Abraham’s demeanor in purchasing and burying conveys respect for God, his beloved Sarah, and to a principle that we are measured in all deeds, venerated and mundane. As images of The Divine, we do not delay concerning interment. We also don’t assume to be what is ours, but rather extend landowners their fair due. Abraham’s purchase teaches us honor for individuals in death as we should in life; by leaving them neither alone nor destitute. Intuiting these imperatives, Abraham chastens himself to fulfill the purchase. His ingratiating posture with Ephron might even be a poignant effort to rectify the earlier indecencies inflicted upon Sarah; a sort of tikkun to his forsaken and now deceased mate. Avraham/Abraham’s final doting on behalf of Sarah conveys that he apprehends his true fortunes, both corporal and eternal.
Rabbi Yoni Dahlen
Spiritual Leader / Congregation Shaarey Zedek, Southfield MI
My father grew up as a farmer. His whole family was made up of farmers. From an early age, his life looked exactly how you’re imagining it in your head right now. Up before the sun, feeding animals, cleaning pens, sweeping, baling, milking, repairing, then off to school and back home again for the second round of chores before dinner and bedtime. It’s a demanding life — physically, emotionally, and financially exhausting. But built into the heart of every farmer, and really anyone who spends enough time putting their hands into the soil and relying on the land, is a profound and understood truth: The land talks back. While some landowners or developers might understand the business of property and real estate, farmers will tell you that the land speaks to the one who sacrifices, who puts their entire being into its care. In this parsha, Abraham sets the groundwork for one of the most theologically significant beliefs in our tradition, that the Land (the Aretz) is not about buying and selling for the sake of financial investment, but rather the investment of body and soul, the giving of our whole selves so that we learn and understand deep within our bones that we are partners in creation. That we are meant not to own and conquer, but to tend, to nurture, to speak. So that we can then take a step back and listen, because when we learn to talk to the land, then the land talks back.
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