week 11-24

Sarah's lifetime--the span of Sarah's life--came to one hundred and twenty-seven years. Sarah died in Kiriah-arba--now Hebron--in the land of Canaan; and Avraham proceeded to mourn for Sarah and to bewail her. Then Avraham rose from beside his dead, and spoke to the Hittites, saying, "I am a resident alien among you; sell me a burial site among you, that I may remove my dead for burial."--Genesis 23:1-4

Parshat Chayei Sarah continues the theme of inheritance. In the very first verses we read about the purchase of Machpelah, the burial cave of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs. The Midrash tells us that Avraham knew that this cave was very special, that it was the burial place of Adam and Chava and the spiritual gateway into heaven. This very special field with this cave was the proper place for Sarah, who was the archetype of the virtuous woman. In every way she had lived up to the role of Avraham's perfect partner in life. They flowed together in their spiritual walk with G-d, and they worked together to build the life for their family in the Land G-d promised. How fitting it was that her burial place would such to crown her life's achievements! The virtuous woman bought a field, we read in Proverbs 31. This field was Machpelah, bought with the outstanding life of Sarah Immenu.

Hebron is one of the hottest flash points in Israel, with the Arabs insisting that the Jews have no connection to the city at all. This was the city in which Sarah was living when she died. The Torah relates in detail Avraham's purchase of the land for a burial place for his family. Machpelah's ownership is contested today by the Arabs, who claim to be descendants of Ishmael. It bears remembering that Sarah told Avraham, "The son of the slave will not inherit with Yitzhak." Yet the Arabs now say that the burial place of Sarah and Yitzhak is theirs, that the Jews, who are the children of Yitzhak and of Sarah, have no right to the site.

Avraham sent his servant, Eliezer, to his family to find a wife for Yitzhak. The parsha tells the story several times, as Eliezer explains his mission to the various people he encounters. Rivka, the daughter of Bethuel and sister of Laban, is the one chosen to be the bride. Her family knows that it is a very great privilege that Rivka would be the wife of Avraham's heir. Before she leaves her father's house, she is blessed by her family: "O sister! May you grow into thousands of myriads; may your offspring inherit the gates of their foes." -- Genesis 24:60

In Avraham's advanced age he takes another wife, Keturah. She gives birth to more sons: Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. These sons become great nations, in fulfillment of the divine promise that Avraham will be a father of nations. While he is still living, Avraham gives them gifts and sends them to the land of the East. The rabbis speculate that the gifts Avraham gave to these sons were spiritual wisdoms that became tenets of the religions of the East. His influence on them would touch the peoples of the world for generations throughout time. However, the point of the parsha's bringing this to light is that Avraham is still heeding Sarah's admonition that ONLY Yitzhak would be the heir of the Covenant, which included the Land of Israel.

At the time of Avraham's death, Yitzhak and Ishmael come together to bury him at Machpelah beside Sarah. From this scene it seems that the brothers are now living in peace with each other, Ishmael accepting that Yitzhak is the sole heir and that his own blessing from G-d, resulting from his father Avraham's loving request on his behalf, is quite separate from that inheritance. This, too, is a spiritual principle set in the Torah, one that shows us how the current dilemma could end in true peace, with prosperity and blessing for both sides.