The Purchase of the "Burial Possession"
Parashat Hashavua
Yeshivat Har Etzion
This
parasha series is dedicated
Le-zekher Nishmat HaRabanit Chana
bat HaRav Yehuda Zelig zt"l.
NEW BOOK BY
********
PARASHAT
CHAYEI SARA
The
Purchase of the "Burial Possession"
By
The story of Avraham's purchase
of the "burial possession" (achuzat kever) in Chevron is actually two
stories with two different messages.
In this shiur we shall
examine chapter 23 of Bereishit using the exegetical methodology known as
"shitat ha-bechinot," or theory of aspects, an approach developed by my
rabbi and teacher, Rav Mordekhai Breuer. Rav Breuer presents this approach and
the commentary upon which it is based in his books, "Pirkei Mo'adot,"
"Pirkei Bereishit," and "Rav Mordekhai Breuer's Shitat
ha-Bechinot." According to this approach, God wrote the Torah in "layers,"
with narratives (or halakhic sections) paralleling one another, each reflecting
a different aspect or message, and each of which may be read independently, so
that they contradict one another. Often, these narratives are interwoven so as
to create a contiguous story. The contiguous story blurs the transition seams
between one narrative and the other, but preserves the difficulties posed by
those transitions. Each narrative expresses independent content with independent
significance, and there is some relationship between them justifying their
integration into a single story. By means of the difficulties arising from the
combination of these narratives such as repetitions or contradictions we are
able to expose the two independent "aspects," and then to examine their
respective significance. Here, as stated, we shall attempt to apply this
methodology to the story of Avraham's purchase of the burial possession in
chapter 23 of Sefer Bereishit.
The text reads as
follows:
(1)
Sara's life was a hundred years
and twenty years and seven years, the years of Sara's life. (2) And Sara died in
Kiryat Arba, which is Chevron, in the
(3) And Avraham arose from
before his dead, and he spoke to the children of Chet, saying: (4) I am a
stranger and a sojourner with you; give me a burial possession with you, that I
may bury my dead from before me.
(5) And the children of Chet
answered Avraham, saying to him: (6) Hear us, my lord; you are a mighty prince
in our midst. Bury your dead in the choice of our tombs; none of us shall
withhold his tomb from you from burying your dead.
(7) So Avraham arose and bowed
to the people of the land, to the children of Chet. (8) And he spoke to them
saying: If you are willing to bury my dead from before me, hear me and speak on
my behalf to Efron, son of Tzochar, (9) that he may give me the
(10) And Efron dwelled among the
children of Chet.
And Efron the Chittite answered
Avraham in the hearing of the children of Chet, [and] of all who entered the
gate of his city, saying:
(11) No, my lord, hear me: The
field I give you, and the cave that is in it I have given to you. In the sight
of the sons of my people I have given it to you; bury your
dead.
(12) And Avraham bowed before
the people of the land.
(13) And he spoke to Efron, in
the hearing of the people of the land, saying: But if you [agree], please hear
me: I am giving the price of the field; take it from me, that I may bury my dead
there.
(14) And Efron answered Avraham,
saying to him:
(15) My lord, hear me: a plot
worth four hundred shekels of silver what is it between you and me? And bury
your dead.
(16) Avraham hearkened to Efron,
and Avraham weighed for Efron the silver of which he had spoken in the presence
of the children of Chet four hundred shekel of silver in accepted
currency.
(17) Then the field of Efron
which is in Makhpela, which is before Mamrei the field, and the cave that is
in it, and all the trees that are in the field, that are within all the borders
around it - was established (18) as Avraham's, for a purchase, in the presence
of the children of Chet, before all who entered the gate of his
city.
(19) And afterwards Avraham
buried his wife Sara in the cave of the field of Makhpela which faces Mamrei,
which is Chevron, in the
(20) And the field and the cave
that was in it were established as Avraham's as a burial possession from the
sons of Chet.
We shall start by noting several
textual difficulties. Thereafter we shall see that separating this unit into two
"aspects" causes these difficulties to disappear. Finally, we shall attempt to
understand the significance of each aspect.
The unit presents us with three
main types of difficulties:
a. In verse 7 we read, "Avraham
arose
(va-yakom). From where did he arise? He was in the middle of
conversing with the children of Chet! The Ibn Ezra suggests that the
conversation took place with everyone sitting, and that at this point Avraham
stood up in order to "bow" with his head. But doing this in the middle of a
conversation where everyone is sitting seems odd.
The expression, "Avraham arose,"
appears earlier in the unit, in verse 3, where the context is clear: after
eulogizing and weeping over Sara, "Avraham arose from before his dead." Biblical
parlance appears to perceive eulogy and weeping as being related to lying or
sitting (as in the expression, "sitting shiv'a,") and leaving this state
is a process of "arising" from mourning (once again echoed in the expression
still accepted today "getting up" from shiv'a). It seems that the
expression may be meant in the same sense in verse 7, too. But if this is so,
why does the text need to twice note the fact that Avraham arose from mourning?
This repetition demands some explanation.
b. The expression "kima"
is repeated elsewhere in these verses. In verses 17-18 we read: "The field of
Efron was ESTABLISHED (va-yakom)
as Avraham's," and then again in verse
20: "The field and the cave that was in it was ESTABLISHED as Avraham's." Why
does the text note twice the fulfillment of Avraham's purchase of the field and
the cave?
Admittedly, each of the verses
contains something that is missing from the other, but they could easily have
been combined into a single verse, along the lines of: "The field of Efron that
was in Makhpela, which was before Mamrei, was established - the field and the
cave that was in it and all the trees that were within all of its borders around
as Avraham's, as a purchase of a burial possession by the children of Chet, in
the presence of all those who entered the gate of his city." Thus it is not
clear why the Torah notes twice, in two separate verses, the fulfillment of the
purchase.
Aside from being repetitions,
these verses are also contradictory. In verses 17-19 there is an emphasis on
Avraham burying Sara only after the field is established as his. But in verse 20
it seems that the field was established as his after the
burial.
The Rashbam and the Ibn Ezra
explain that two different stages of "establishing" were involved. First, the
purchase was fulfilled by means of the sale, as we read in verse 18: "As a
purchase." At this stage, the field was considered Avraham's property, but it
was not yet considered a burial possession. Only when Avraham actually buried
Sara in the cave did the field and the cave become a possession of a burial
place.
But this explanation is not
satisfying. First, earlier in the parasha, in Avraham's two appeals to
the children of Chet, he asks: "Give me a burial possession" (4) and "He shall
give it to me in your midst for a burial possession." Thus, the "giving" itself
was supposed to be the giving of a burial possession; there is no hint that
Avraham would thereafter have to convert the field himself into a possession of
a burial place. Second, if verse 20 is meant to describe the conversion of the
field into a burial place by means of Avraham burying Sara there, then the verse
should not mention "From the children of Chet"! These words prove that verse 20
is talking about the fulfillment of the purchase of the field from the children
of Chet. Thus, we return to our question: why is the fulfillment of the purchase
described twice, and was the purchase fulfilled before the burial or
afterwards?
c. Chazal (Bava
Metzia 87a) and the commentators note that there is an inexplicable
transition in Efron's position: he starts off willing to give the field to
Avraham for free, but then demands payment. At first he declares, "No, my lord,
hear me: The field I give you, and the cave that is in it I have given to you.
In the sight of the sons of my people I have given it to you; bury your dead"
(11). Not only does he not demand payment, but he appears to regard this gift as
something obvious and already effected. Avraham insists on paying: "But if you
[agree], please hear me: I will give the price of the field. Take it from me,
that I may bury my dead there" (13). In light of Efron's initial generosity, we
would expect that even if he accepts payment from Avraham, he would suffice with
a nominal amount. Instead, he suggests the considerable sum of four hundred
silver shekels: "My lord, hear me: a plot worth four hundred shekels of silver
what is it between you and me? and bury your dead" (15). By comparison, four
hundred shekels of silver is eight times the value of a virgin for marriage (see
Devarim 22:29).
Lest we imagine that Efron's
latter words mention the value of the field as a mere aside, with no expectation
of actually receiving this sum, the Torah testifies that Avraham understood
Efrons intention perfectly: "Avraham hearkened to Efron, and Avraham weighed
for Efron the silver of which he had spoken in the presence of the children of
Chet four hundred shekel of silver in accepted currency" (16). From
Chazal's teachings it seems that from the outset Efron never really
intended to give Avraham the field for free. But if this is the case, the Torah
should have said so. Furthermore, if Efron's seeming generosity is no more than
a bargaining trick, why does the Torah not adopt its usual brief style, rather
than take pains to describe each stage of the dialogue?
Let us now propose a separation
of the unit into its constituent "aspects."
The first two verses provide
necessary background for the whole chapter, and include no repetitions or
contradictions. Therefore they should be regarded as an introduction that should
not be divided between the "aspects," but rather remains common to
both.
As mentioned, the "arising"
(kima) in verse 7 should be interpreted as Avraham arising from before
his dead. This "arising" must come as an immediate continuation of the end of
verse 2, and it represents a repetition of verse 3. Therefore everything that
comes after verse 2 and before verse 7 should be categorized as belonging to one
aspect (henceforth to be referred to as aspect A), and verse 7 itself as another
aspect (aspect B).
In B, verse 7 introduces
Avraham's appeal to the people of the land. This appeal is described immediately
thereafter, in verses 8-9. Therefore verses 8-9 should be grouped together with
verse
Already at this stage we can see
a difference between the two aspects concerning Avraham's
request.
In A, Avraham asks: "Give me a
burial possession with you, that I may bury my dead from before me." He makes no
attempt to purchase any specific field; he simply seeks a way of burying his
dead. The children of Chet, understanding this as the crux of his request,
answer: "Bury your dead in the choice of our tombs; none of us shall withhold
his tomb from you for burying your dead." In other words, since your request is
to bury your dead, you do not necessarily need a possession of a burial place
which you will own; you can suffice with burying your dead in one of the tombs
of the children of Chet. It is not clear whether this would indeed have
satisfied Avraham, but it is clear in any event that the children of Chet
understood that Avraham's main objective was to bury his
dead.
In B, on the other hand, Avraham
notes in his first appeal (as part of this aspect, disconnected from A) to the
children of Chet that he is specifically interested in the cave of Makhpela
belonging to Efron, son of Tzohar, and that he wishes to pay "the full price" of
it. Clearly, aside from burying Sara, Avraham also seeks to effect a purchase of
the site.
Before we return to grouping the
verses according to the two aspects, let us join the verses that are clearly
connected to one another into units. First, attention should be paid to the fact
that verse 10 contains two sentences (hereafter to be referred to as 10a and
10b): "And Efron dwelled amongst the children of Chet," "And Efron the Chittite
answered Avraham in the hearing of the children of Chet and all who entered the
gate of his city, saying." We shall address each of these sentences separately.
It is clear that 10b is continued in verse 11, and therefore we shall treat
10b-11 as a single unit.
Verse 16 "Avraham hearkened to
Efron, and Avraham weighed for Efron the silver of which he had spoken in the
hearing of the children of Chet four hundred shekels of silver in accepted
currency" clearly relates to what Efron says in verse 14-15, "Efron answered
Avraham, saying to him: My lord, hear me: a plot worth four hundred shekels of
silver what is it between me and you? So bury your dead." Therefore, verses 14-16 must be joined
together as part of the same aspect.
Verses 12-13 "And Avraham
bowed before the people of the land. And he spoke to Efron, in the presence of
the people of the land, saying: But if you [agree], please hear me: I will give
the price of the field; take it from me, that I may bury my dead there" invite
a response on Efron's part. This response comes only in verses 14-15 (which we
have already connected with verse 16). Therefore verses 12-16 are a single unit
belonging to one aspect.
As we pointed out earlier,
verses 11 and 15 contradict one another with regard to Efron's intentions: in
verse 11 he offers the field for free, while in verse 15 he asks an exorbitant
sum. Moreover, verses 11 and 15 are the only verses in the chapter in which
Efron agrees to supply the field to Avraham, and each of the two aspects must
therefore include one of these two verses. Therefore, verses 10b-11 should
belong to one aspect, and verses 12-16 to the other.
It would seem logical to
attribute verses 10b-11 to aspect A and verses 12-16 to aspect B (we shall
return to the matter of 10a below). The reason for this attribution is that from
Avraham's very first appeal we already discern a difference between the two
aspects. The difference is that in A, Avraham requests or at least seems
prepared to accept a free gift, while in B he insists on paying the full price
for the field. Therefore, verses 12-
As regards verse 10a, it is
difficult to establish its place with certainty, but it appears to belong to
aspect B. The reason for this is that if this verse were to belong to A, it
would mean that the text first refers to Efron simply by his name, "Efron" (in
this verse), and thereafter "introduces" him as "Efron the Chittite." It is more
logical that in A, the first time that Efron is mentioned is in 10b, where he is
introduced to the reader for the first time, as "Efron the Chittite." In B,
Efron has already been introduced in Avraham's words as "Efron, son of Tzohar,"
and thereafter he may be referred to simply as "Efron."
It seems that the significance
of 10b in aspect B is that it explains why Avraham appealed to the children of
Chet in the first place, rather than applying directly to Efron: it was because
Efron "dwelled amongst the children of Chet"; he was a Chittite citizen, and
according to ancient custom, burial required public approval (see A. Y. Beror,
in "Beit Mikra" XI, 4 (5726)). Avraham spoke with the children of Chet
not merely in order to ascertain where Efron could be found (the Torah would
certainly not record such a trivial conversation), but rather because he needed
their approval to bury Sara in their midst. For this reason, it seems, Avraham
mentions only the cave in speaking to them, and not the field since the
purchase of regular land did not require public approval.
As stated, verses 17-18 "Then
the field of Efron which was in Makhpela, which was before Mamrei the field,
and the cave that was in it
were made over to Avraham, for a purchase, in the
presence of the children of Chet, before all who entered the gate of his city,"
are repeated in verse 20: "And the field and the cave that was in it were made
over to Avraham, as a burial possession, by the sons of Chet." Verses 17-18
should therefore be grouped with aspect B, it seems first, because in these
verses the location of the field is noted in detail, while in A thus far the
text mentions a nondescript field with no indication of its exact location. Only
in B does Avraham ask, in his first appeal to the children of Chet (9): "Plead
on my behalf to Efron, son of Tzohar, that he may give me the
Verse 19, as we have mentioned,
comes to emphasize that Avraham buried Sara after his purchase of the field had
been fulfilled, in the wake of the description of the realization of the
purchase in verses 17-18. Therefore verse 19 belongs to B. Verse 20, on the
other hand, describes the fulfillment of the purchase in A, while A makes no
mention of the burial of Sara.
We can now summarize the
division of the chapter as follows:
Common to Aspects
A-B:
"Sara's life was a hundred years
and twenty years and seven years, the years of Sara's life. And Sara died in
Kiryat Arba, which is Chevron, in the
Aspect A:
(3) And Avraham arose from
before his dead, and he spoke to the children of Chet, saying: (4) I am a
stranger and a sojourner with you; give me a burial possession with you, that I
may bury my dead from before me.
(5) And the children of Chet
answered Avraham, saying to him: (6) Hear us, my lord; you are a mighty prince
in our midst. Bury your dead in the choice of our tombs; none of us shall
withhold his tomb from you for burying your dead.
(10a) And Efron the Chittite
spoke to Avraham in the hearing of the children of Chet, [and] of all who
entered the gate of his city, saying:
(11) No, my lord, hear me: The
field I give you, and the cave that is in it I have given it to you. In the
sight of the sons of my people I have given it to you; bury your
dead.
(20) And the field and the cave
that was in it were established as Avraham's, as a burial possession, from the
sons of Chet.
Aspect B:
(7) So Avraham arose and bowed
to the people of the land, to the children of Chet. (8) And he spoke to them
saying: If you agree that I bury my dead from before me, hear me and speak on my
behalf to Efron, son of Tzochar, (9) that he may give me the
(10) For Efron dwelled among the
children of Chet.
(12) And Avraham bowed before
the people of the land.
(13) And he spoke to Efron, in
the presence of the people of the land, saying: But if you [agree], please hear
me: I will give the price of the field; take it from me, that I may bury my dead
there.
(14) And Efron answered Avraham,
saying to him:
(15) My lord, hear me: a plot
worth four hundred shekels of silver what is it between me and you? And bury
your dead.
(16) Avraham hearkened to Efron,
and Avraham weighed for Efron the silver of which he had spoken in the presence
of the children of Chet four hundred shekel of silver in accepted
currency.
(17) Then the field of Efron
which was in Makhpela, which was before Mamrei the field, and the cave that
was in it, and all the trees that were in the field, that were within all the
borders around it - were established (18) as Avraham's for a purchase, in the
presence of the children of Chet, before all who entered the gate of his
city.
(19) And afterwards Avraham
buried Sara, his wife, in the cave of the field of Makhpela which faces Mamrei,
which is Chevron, in the
Let us now examine each aspect,
each narrative, and explain its significance in accordance with what it
contains.
In aspect A we find the
following elements:
a.
As noted, this aspect lacks the
emphasis and detail concerning the location of the place both in Avraham's
request and in the description of the fulfillment of the purchase. Even the name
of the place, "Makhpela," is omitted here. Avraham's request is simply, "Give me
a possession of a burial place with you, that I may bury my dead from before
me."
b.
The progression of the narrative
is as follows: Avraham appeals to the children of Chet, requesting a burial
place. The children of Chet, understanding that the crux of the request is for a
way to bury Sara, propose that she be buried in one of their tombs, and
emphasize that any of them would readily agree to this possibility. One of the
Chittites in the area is "Efron the Chittite"; he volunteers to give Avraham his
field and the cave that is in it. Efron even emphasizes that the gift is
definite and takes immediate effect: "Before the children of my people I have
given it to you; bury your dead." By means of this public declaration the field
and the cave are established as Avraham's, as a possession of a burial place by
the children of Chet.
c.
Avraham does not insist here on
paying for the field; he accepts the free gift.
d.
Avraham is treated with great
respect by the Chittites ("You are a mighty prince in our midst"), unlike his
treatment in B. Accordingly, he does not need to bow before
them.
e.
In this aspect, the actual
burial ceremony is not mentioned; the reader is left to assume that it did take
place.
Thus, the essence of the
narrative in A is the story of how the Chittites, and Efron, go out of their way
to help Avraham with his request. The request itself is not the focus of the
narrative, since the event of the burial itself is not even mentioned. Rather,
the focus is on the fact that when Avraham needs something from the local
people, he is given great respect, assistance, and a significant
gift.
What this means is that God
performed a kindness for Avraham in elevating his status in the eyes of the
local people, thereby enabling him to purchase a burial place. This narrative,
then, is about God's kindness towards Avraham, and perhaps also the beginning of
the fulfillment of God's blessings to him the blessings of making his name
great and of the inheritance of the land (see Ibn Ezra and Ramban on verse
19).
In aspect B we find the
following elements:
a.
Emphasis on and details of the
name of the field ("Makhpela"), and of its location, both in Avraham's request
and, even more so, in the description of the fulfillment of the
purchase.
b.
Avraham's insistence on paying
the full price for the field.
c.
Avraham is subservient to the
Chittites he needs to ask their permission to purchase a possession of a
burial place; he needs twice to bow before
them.
d.
Here the Chittites are also
referred to as "the people of the land" (three times), a title that appears
nowhere in aspect A.
e.
The progression of the story is
as follows: Avraham must apply to the children of Chet, who own the place "The
people of the land" with his request for license to purchase a possession of a
burial place in their midst, in Efron's cave. Thereafter he asks Efron to sell
him the field. Efron answers in an exploitative and scornful tone: You might as
well not quibble about buying land for four hundred shekels of silver; the main
thing is that you bury your dead. Avraham is forced to accept Efron's dictates,
and pays the sum that he demands. Avraham's purchase of the field is therefore
fulfilled, and only afterwards is he able to bury Sara
there.
Clearly, in B the focus of the
story is the purchase of the land. The narrative emphasizes and reinforces the
ownership of Avraham and his descendants over the field of Makhpela, taking
pains to note its description and its exact location, and that Avraham paid in
full for this land, in the presence of those who were, at the time, "the people
of the land."
Aspect B also emphasizes the
difficulties that Avraham had to overcome in order to be able to purchase the
land: the subservience to the Chittites and the dictates of Efron, and the
exorbitant price that he had to pay. These difficulties, and Avraham's great
efforts to overcome them, contribute towards strengthening his ownership: the
plot is purchased through Avraham's suffering.
Aside from the independent
significance of each aspect, we need to understand why the Torah chooses to
present these two themes together in the same chapter. In other words, what is
the meaning of the combination of these aspects?
The answer to this question is
dependent on a broader understanding of the Avraham narratives. Avraham is
commanded to leave his birthplace, where a secure and successful future awaits
him, and he is promised a number of times that in the
The Torah makes no explicit
mention of why the blessing is not fulfilled with Avraham himself. With regard
to the inheritance of the land, there is some sort of explanation: "For the sin
of the Emorites is not yet complete" (15:16). But no reason is given for why
Avraham does not bear many children, like Yaakov, so that the blessing could
start to be fulfilled already during his lifetime. Concerning the land,
likewise, it seems that he could have inherited more than he did in
fact.
For this reason, the reader may
be led to believe that the postponement of the fulfillment of the blessing had
something to do with some deficiency in Avraham, who was not worthy of having
the blessing fulfilled in his own person. It seems that it is precisely this
sort of thinking that the Torah wants to prevent.
The Torah interweaves two
narratives within its description of the same event. One emphasizes that God
shines His countenance towards Avraham and seeks his success, while the other
emphasizes that Avraham must deal with difficulties and delays, and purchase the
land through the legitimate means of human society "the full price" so as to
effect an absolute and clear purchase of the land a purchase that is accepted
in the eyes of the "people of the land" and which is eternally to be a
possession of a burial place. This story also gives rise to an explanation as to
the fulfillment of the blessing in general during Avraham's lifetime: Avraham is
certainly worthy of having the blessing fulfilled during his lifetime, and God
would gladly see him multiplying and inheriting the land personally. But if
Avraham receives the land quickly and easily, it will be a temporary, transient
ownership "easy come, easy go." In order for the purchase by Avraham's
descendants in each and every generation of the land in general to be a
clear and absolute purchase, they must invest effort and experience suffering,
and must also affect an acceptable, legitimate purchase (see Rambam, Laws of the
Temple 6,16), in a process that is spread over generations. Only thus can they
truly be worthy of a clear and eternal purchase of the
land.
Translated by