חיי שרה-The First Jewish Cemetery in Palestine

Parshat חיי שרה opens with a lengthy description of Avraham's quest to find a burial place for his beloved wife and childhood sweetheart Sarah. Many of the Mefarshim wonder why the Torah spends no less than 13 pesukim (Bereishit 23, 3-16) describing Avraham's negotiation with the Hittites. The Torah, known for its brevity, seems to have spent an inordinate amount of words to describe a simple land purchase.

According to the Gemara in Baba Batra 16a it is implied that this story, rather than the story of the עקדה, represents the ultimate test (out of the 10) that Avraham had to pass to show his devotion to Hashem. In its minute description of the details, the Torah in opening the parsha shows the humiliation that Avraham had to go through in order to secure his wife's burial spot. Certainly any normal person would question his own beliefs in Hashem. After all Avraham was promised the sky and moon, not to mention the earth, in the previous parshiot. And if Hashem promised him all of Eretz Yisrael, why should he not be entitled to a piece of burial property? The fact that Avraham maintained his stoic composure and belief in Hashem throughout the process shows that he was a true believer and never once did he doubt these beliefs. This caused the Satan, according to the Gemara, to remark in the book of Job (1, 6-7) that in the entire land, no one more worthy than Avraham was found.

A closer look at the story that unfolds reveals several other important details that may have been overlooked had the Torah skimped on details in the parsha. The respect that Avraham showed the natives, the eloquence of his speeches, the genuflections throughout the negotiating process are worthy of noting for the generations. This posturing by Avraham created a climate of mutual respect which smoothed over the tensions that were bubbling beneath the surface. What a sharp contrast to the relationship that exists today in the very same spot between the progeny of both Avraham and the Hittites. Certainly there is a lesson here that we can all profit from.

But perhaps the most important part of the negotiation and the true intentions of Avraham are revealed by a closer study of the pesukim. Avraham does not want to just bury Sarah in the local cemetery. He wants to establish a Jewish cemetery in the heart of Hebron so that Jews in the future generations will have a burial place as well (תנו לי אחוזת קבר). The native Hittites want to avoid this. Despite their feigned politeness, the Hittites want Avraham to get lost. They know that a Jewish cemetery means that Avraham and his clan are here to stay. So they instead offer Avraham a choice grave in the cemetery reserved for the Hebron royalty. When Avraham rejects this offer and puts in an bid for Efron's field and cave, Efron offers Avraham free use of his land for the cemetery. Avraham, knowing that Efron's intention were certainly not philanthropic nor kind, rejects that offer and asks Efron to name his price. In a last attempt to dissuade Avraham, Efron names a price which is so ridiculous, so exorbitant, that anybody with any sense would walk away from the deal. But Avraham at this point shows his determination to establish the Jewish cemetery and quickly shakes the proffered hand while counting out the money, cementing the deal which established the first Jewish cemetery in Palestine. And it remains the most contested one up to this very day.