A Thought On Parshas Chayei Sara
A Thought On Parshas Chayei Sara
"...b'kesef malae..."
"...for the full price..." (23:1)
The Torah recounts the prolonged negotiation undertaken by Avraham Avinu to purchase a plot to bury his wife Sara. The Bechor Shor observes that in every instance in the Torah where the death of a woman is recorded, even a very pious one, some event is also depicted in those passages which highlights a unique circumstance. He cites as illustrations of this the death of Rivka, of Devorah, of Rachel, of Miriam and of course here the death of Sara Imenu.
Our sages have related how Avraham was given ten trials to test his devotion (see Pirkei Avos 5:3). There are different views among the commentaries as to which Biblical events can be identified as comprising those ten trials. Most of the views consider the Akeida - the ordeal of being asked to offer up Yitzchak - to be the tenth and final trial. In fact, it is the only event which is actually referred to as a trial (22:1) and seems to be the culmination of testing his fealty to HaShem.
The Bechor Shor, however, views the opening passage of this week's parsha as the tenth and final ordeal. In what manner was the purchase of a burial plot a test for our patriarch? The Bechor Shor offers that it involved a great deal of money. On the one hand, Avraham was a wealthy man, as we infer from the Torah's descriptions of his later life. Parting with money is not so difficult when you have money to part with. Moreover, no longer having a life partner to take care of would mean that Avraham had fewer expenses to worry about. In what way was this purchase a nisayon?
Perhaps the message is that Avraham was given the opportunity to demonstrate, and thus to instruct all of us who are his descendants, that caring for someone does not end with their departure or demise r'l. The fact that he went to significant lengths to find a place which was befitting his late spouse, and to extend himself to procure it at all costs, serves as an illustration of this principle. This was beyond what we might regard as "hidur mitzva" for he was not investing in a mahogany casket with gold inlay and gemstone insets. He was not talking about a lavish funeral with a banquet to follow, or other expenditures of no spiritual consequence. He was not buying an esrog, and esrog case or a menorah. He was seeking a tomb in a cave in a field for a corpse. Why pay more?
Avraham sought a final resting place which would dignify and signify Sara's life, a shrine which would remain consecrated to her memory forevermore. He succeeded in this test, for the Ma'aras haMachpela and the Jewish town of Chevron are regarded as sacred places for all time. More importantly, he succeeded at bestowing devotion and honor to all that his wife had done for him and for the people who would emerge as the Nation of Israel. Avraham did not derive real personal benefit from that expenditure. He did it for his wife's memory, and he taught us the value of preserving the memories of good people, accentuating the values by which they lived. This completed his personal and spiritual refinement, and set a standard for all Jews to strive for in developing the quality of doing chesed shel emes.
That needed a major financial sacrifice. That was worth it.
Good Shabbos. D Fox
"...b'kesef malae..."
"...for the full price..." (23:1)
The Torah recounts the prolonged negotiation undertaken by Avraham Avinu to purchase a plot to bury his wife Sara. The Bechor Shor observes that in every instance in the Torah where the death of a woman is recorded, even a very pious one, some event is also depicted in those passages which highlights a unique circumstance. He cites as illustrations of this the death of Rivka, of Devorah, of Rachel, of Miriam and of course here the death of Sara Imenu.
Our sages have related how Avraham was given ten trials to test his devotion (see Pirkei Avos 5:3). There are different views among the commentaries as to which Biblical events can be identified as comprising those ten trials. Most of the views consider the Akeida - the ordeal of being asked to offer up Yitzchak - to be the tenth and final trial. In fact, it is the only event which is actually referred to as a trial (22:1) and seems to be the culmination of testing his fealty to HaShem.
The Bechor Shor, however, views the opening passage of this week's parsha as the tenth and final ordeal. In what manner was the purchase of a burial plot a test for our patriarch? The Bechor Shor offers that it involved a great deal of money. On the one hand, Avraham was a wealthy man, as we infer from the Torah's descriptions of his later life. Parting with money is not so difficult when you have money to part with. Moreover, no longer having a life partner to take care of would mean that Avraham had fewer expenses to worry about. In what way was this purchase a nisayon?
Perhaps the message is that Avraham was given the opportunity to demonstrate, and thus to instruct all of us who are his descendants, that caring for someone does not end with their departure or demise r'l. The fact that he went to significant lengths to find a place which was befitting his late spouse, and to extend himself to procure it at all costs, serves as an illustration of this principle. This was beyond what we might regard as "hidur mitzva" for he was not investing in a mahogany casket with gold inlay and gemstone insets. He was not talking about a lavish funeral with a banquet to follow, or other expenditures of no spiritual consequence. He was not buying an esrog, and esrog case or a menorah. He was seeking a tomb in a cave in a field for a corpse. Why pay more?
Avraham sought a final resting place which would dignify and signify Sara's life, a shrine which would remain consecrated to her memory forevermore. He succeeded in this test, for the Ma'aras haMachpela and the Jewish town of Chevron are regarded as sacred places for all time. More importantly, he succeeded at bestowing devotion and honor to all that his wife had done for him and for the people who would emerge as the Nation of Israel. Avraham did not derive real personal benefit from that expenditure. He did it for his wife's memory, and he taught us the value of preserving the memories of good people, accentuating the values by which they lived. This completed his personal and spiritual refinement, and set a standard for all Jews to strive for in developing the quality of doing chesed shel emes.
That needed a major financial sacrifice. That was worth it.
Good Shabbos. D Fox
posted by Rabbi Dr. Fox at 10:50 AM
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