Parshat Chayei Sarah: Chevron Ir HaKodesh

The parshah of Chayei Sarah first informs us about the passing of our matriarch Sarah, who died at age 127. It then describes in detail Avraham’s purchase of the Cave of Machpelah, where he interred his dear wife, Sarah. Following on, it tells us about the marriage of Yitzchok.

Almost right at the start of the parshah, we read how Avraham asks the citizens of the city of Chevron to sell him a cave as property for a family cemetery in which he wanted to bury Sarah. But Efron, the owner of the land on the edge of which the cave is located, makes Avraham what seems at first glance to be him an incredibly disinterested offer—he is ready to “give” Avraham both the cave and the field containing it.

Now, it’s important to note that the phrase “give” used here implies something along the lines of granting ownership for free—and it’s also referring to both the cave and the field, although Avraham had not asked for the field in the first place at all.

However, Efron’s “disinterested” offer contains the hint of a big deal. Efron knows that Avraham is an affluent man. He also knows that for such a wealthy man, a hint is enough. Indeed, Avraham gets the hint—and thus persuades Efron to specify a price, with the intent to immediately pay it in full. The offer is not lost on Efron, who then asks for a huge sum for those times: no less than four hundred shekels (the shekel of that time was a very large denomination). And so, Avraham immediately counts out 400 coins of the most popular currency universally used by merchants everywhere, the so-called large shekels.

Avraham then buries Sarah, and the site forever becomes a burial place for Avraham’s clan: Avraham and Sarah, Yitzchok and Rivkah, and Yaakov and Leah are buried in the Cave of Machpelah—and according to the Midrash, Adam and Chava are buried there, too.

It should also be noted that Avraham did not finalize his purchase until the entire population of Chevron gave their consent that the land should serve as a cemetery.

Tvuat Haaretz (Produce of the Land) is a unique book written and published by Rabbi Yosef Schwartz in 1820. The book provides us today with a wealth of valuable information about the geography, flora, and fauna of the Holy Land of 200 years ago. And the book describes the Machpelah Cave in detail: “There is no doubt about the exact location of the graves. According to the Torah, our fathers and mothers are buried in the cave on the edge of the city of Chebron. Yosef, son of Matisyahu (Josephus Flavius) writes that the building above the graves of the Patriarchs is made of red marble. In the sixth century, Christians built a church there and the Muslims, having conquered the country, turned that church into a mosque.”

The Midrash notes that if anyone wishes to challenge our right to Eretz Yisrael, there are three locations that are unchallengeable: The future site of the Beit Hamikdash as purchased by King David; the burial place of Yosef as purchased by his own father Yaakov; and the grave of Sarah, as bought and paid for by Avraham himself.

As far as the Temple Mount goes, King David bought the location to build an altar on it. Its former owner, Aravna HaYevusi, sold the plot to the king for a sizeable sum and was very pleased with the deal. In fact, we are told in the second book of Shmuel (II Shmuel 24:23) that upon the sale, he said to King David, “May the Lord your G-d accept you”—and his good wishes came true! About that, the Talmud tells us to beware of the curse of any person, but to let the blessing of even an ordinary person be valuable in your eyes.

Yosef’s resting place, as mentioned, was bought earlier by Yaakov, as we are informed in the Book of Yehoshua (24:32): “And the bones of Yosef, which the children of Israel had brought up out of Egypt, they buried in Shechem, in the parcel of ground which Yaakov bought from the sons of Chamor the father of Shechem, for a hundred pieces of money; and they became the inheritance of the children of Yosef.”

And with regards to Sarah, we have the declaration of our Parashah on that right here.

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