2019/5780
In Parashat Chayei Sarah, the episode of Avraham Avinu’s purchase of Me’arat HaMachpeilah is recorded with great detail and length, to the tune of twenty Pesukim. This seemingly minor event receives far more coverage than the Akediah, considered to be a crucial part of our lives as Jews. Knowing that the Torah doesn’t contain one extra letter, there must be some important underlying reason for the extensive coverage of the purchase.
The Gemara (Bava Batra 15b) explains that this incident shows Avraham’s unyielding faith in Hashem. In the Gemara, the Satan himself explains that he has never seen anyone with as much faith as Avraham in that he didn’t question Hashem’s ways, even after being promised the land and still not being able to find a burial plot for Sarah. In fact, many classical Mefarshim count the search for a burial spot for Sarah to be one of Avraham’s ten Nisyonot (trials). Other explanations are also forwarded. The Midrash Rabbah (BeReishit Rabbah 79:7) states that the long recording of the purchase is necessary as a proof of the Jewish claim to Chevron, a reason which is very much applicable today. Others explain that this long recording is meant to convey to us the importance of respect for the dead; indeed, the Chatam Sofeir learned from here that we may not receive a burial plot as a gift. But while these technical answers may be true on a simple level, there is room for a much deeper explanation of the entire episode.
Avraham Avinu opens his dialogue with the Hittites with an unusual phrase: “Geir VeToshav Anochi Imachem,” “I am a foreigner and resident together with you” (BeReishit 23:3). These two words seem to be exact opposites: how can one be both a foreigner and a resident in the same land? In fact, Rashi (ibid. s.v. Geir) interprets the words as being mutually exclusive, as he quotes a Midrash which says that Avraham was explaining that if the Hittites treat him well he will act meekly like a stranger, but if they don’t, he will exercise his rights as a citizen and take the land for himself. Of course, this interpretation assumes that the words Geir VeToshav are indeed mutually exclusive. Alternatively, there is room to suggest that the words Geir VeToshav actually work in tandem to send us a message.
Rav Yoseif Dov Solovetchik, in his brilliant essay Confrontation, highlights the unique role of the Jewish people in being both Geirim and Toshavim. In his mind, Avraham Avinu is giving a mandate to the Jewish people to be actively involved in the improvement of society, all the while being careful to maintain the proper boundaries to keep us separate and unique from the rest of the world. No one embodies this message better then Avraham, who dedicated his entire life to spreading the message of monotheism to the rest of the world, yet maintained his unique identity by leaving behind the idolatrous city of his youth and not living in the evil cities surrounding him, such as Sedom and Amora. In the mid-1900’s, when Rav Solovetchik wrote Confrontation, many in the Orthodox community were worried about the assimilation of American Judaism, due to the unprecedented acceptance of Jews into mainstream society. (This concern has, to say the least, not been alleviated.) So too, the Hittites respond to Avraham’s opening statement by praising him and offering him any burial plot he wants, even for free. They are intent on fully integrating him into their culture. Avraham, making sure to maintain his identity, instead legally buys the property and keeps relatively separate from the Hittites.
Avraham Avinu’s message is relevant to all Jews living in the Diaspora on how to properly interact with the outside world. We, as Jews, believe in spreading Hashem’s light around the world, yet we know that we must make sure not to lose our own identity in the process. This dichotomy is highlighted in the paragraphs of Aleinu, a prayer we say three times every day. In the first paragraph of Aleinu, we recite that it is our unique duty to praise and recognize the Malchut of Hashem while in the second paragraph, we yearn for the rest of the world to recognize the same basic truth.
Avraham, through his interaction with his neighbors, showed us what it takes to be a Jew in a society full of others. Thus, the episode of the purchase of Me’arat HaMachpeilah is no small thing; rather, it is an integral demonstration of our responsibilities as God-fearing Jews.