Parashat Hashavua by Rabbi Dov Lerea KIVUNIM: New Directions Director

Parashat haShavua by Rabbi Dov Lerea KIVUNIM: New Directions Director

Shabbat Hayye Sarah 22 Marheshvan 5771/October 30, 2010 “The Family that Studies Torah Together, Grows * Torah Reading: Together” Bereshit/Genesis 23:1-25:18 Parashat VaYera Place this handout on the Shabbat table, Holiday Haftarah: I Kings 1:1-31 table, or dinner table for your edification and pleasure

א ְ וַיִּה יוּ חַיֵּי שָֹרָה ֵ מאָה שָׁנָה וְע ִ ֶשְֹרים שָׁנָה וְשֶׁבַע שָׁנִים שְׁנֵי חַיֵּי שָֹרָה: ב וַתָּמָת שָֹרָה בְּקִרְיַת אַרְבַּע ִ הוא ח ְ ֶברוֹן בְּאֶרֶץ כְּנָעַן וַיָּבֹא אַבְרָהָם ל ְ ִספֹּד ְ לשָֹרָה וְל ְ ִבכֹּתָהּ: ג וַיָּקָם אַבְרָהָם מֵעַל ְפּ נֵי ֵ מתוֹ וַיְדַבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי חֵת לֵאמֹר: ד גֵּר וְתוֹשָׁב ִאָנֹכ י עִמָּכֶם ְ תּנוּ לִי אֲחֻזַּת קֶבֶר עִמָּכֶם וְאֶקְבְּרָה מֵתִי מִלְּפָנָי: ה וַיַּעֲנוּ בְנֵי חֵת אֶת אַבְרָהָם לֵאמֹר לוֹ:

ו שְׁמָעֵנוּ ׀ אֲדֹנִי נְשִֹיא ֱ א ִ לֹהים אַתָּה ְ בּ ֵ תוֹכנוּ בְּמִבְחַר קְב ֵ ָרינוּ ְ קבֹר אֶת מֵת ֶָך ִ אישׁ מ ֶ ִמּנּוּ אֶת ק ְ ִברוֹ לֹא יִכְלֶה מִמּ ְָך מ ְ ִקּבֹר מֵת ֶָך : ז וַיָּקָם אַבְרָהָם וַ יִּ שׁ ַ ְתּחוּ לְעַם ָ האָרֶץ לִבְנֵי חֵת: ח ַוַיְד בֵּר אִתָּם לֵאמֹר אִם יֵשׁ אֶת נַפְשְׁכֶם ל ְ ִקבֹּר א ֶת

מֵתִי מִלְּפָנַי ְשׁ מָעוּנִי וּפִגְ עוּ לִי בְּע ְ ֶפרוֹן בֶּן צֹחַר: ט וְיִתֶּן לִי ֶא ת מְעָרַת הַמַּכְפֵּלָה אֲשֶׁר לוֹ אֲשֶׁר בִּקְצֵה ֵ שָֹדהוּ בְּכֶסֶף מָלֵא

ְ יִתּנֶ נָּ ה לִּי ְ בּתוֹכֲכֶם לַאֲחֻזַּת קָבֶר: י וְ ע ְ ֶפרוֹן יֹשֵׁב ְ בּ ְתוֹך בְּנֵי חֵת וַיַּעַן ע ְ ֶפרוֹן הַח ִִתּ י אֶת אַבְרָהָם ְ בּאָזְנֵי בְנֵי חֵת ְ לכֹל בָּאֵי שַׁעַר ִ עירוֹ לֵאמֹר: יא לֹא אֲדֹנִי שְׁמָעֵנִי הַשָּׂדֶה נָ תַתִּי ל ְָך וְהַמְּעָרָה אֲשֶׁר בּוֹ ל ְָך נְת ִ ַתּ ָיה לְעֵינֵי בְנֵי עַמִּי נְת ִ ַתּ ָיה לּ ְָך ְ ק בֹר

מֵת ֶָך : יב וַיִּשׁ ַ ְתּחוּ אַבְרָהָם לִפְנֵי עַם ָ האָרֶץ: יג וַיְדַבֵּר אֶל ע ְ ֶפרוֹן ְ בּאָזְנֵי עַם ָ האָרֶץ לֵאמֹר ְאַך אִם אַתָּה לוּ שְׁמָעֵנִי נָתַתִּי כֶּסֶף הַשָּׂדֶה קַח מִמֶּנִּי וְאֶקְבְּרָה אֶת מֵתִי שָׁמָּה: יד וַיַּעַן ע ְ ֶפרוֹן אֶת אַבְרָהָם לֵאמֹר לוֹ: טו אֲדֹנִי שְׁמָעֵנִי א ֶרֶץ

אַרְבַּע ֵ מאֹת שֶׁקֶל כֶּסֶף ֵבּ ינִי וּב ֵָינְך מַה ִ הוא וְאֶת מֵת ְָך ְ קבֹר: טז וַיִּשְׁמַע אַבְרָהָם אֶל ע ְ ֶפרוֹן וַ יִּ ְ שׁקֹל אַבְרָהָם לְע ְ ֶפרֹן אֶת הַכֶּסֶף אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר ְ בּאָזְנֵי בְנֵי חֵת אַרְבַּע ֵ מאוֹת שֶׁקֶל כֶּסֶף עֹבֵר לַסֹּחֵר:

English: 1 And the life of Sarah was a hundred and seven and twenty years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. 2 And Sarah died in Kiriath arba--the same is Hebron--in the land of Canaan; and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her. 3 And Abraham rose up from before his dead, and spoke unto the children of Het, saying: 4 'I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a burying-place with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.' 5 And the children of Het answered Abraham, saying to him: 6 'Hear us, my lord: you are a mighty prince among us; in the choice of our burial places, your dead; none of us shall withhold from you his burial ground, so that you can bury your dead.' 7 And Abraham rose up, and bowed down to the people of the land, even to the children of Het. 8 And he spoke with them: 'If it be your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and entreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar, 9 that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he owns, which is in the end of his field; for the full price let him give it to me in the midst of you for a possession of a burying-place.' 10 Now Ephron was sitting in the midst of the children of Het; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the children of Het, even all the people who went in at the gate of his city, saying: 11 'Whoa!, my lord, hear me: I’ll give you the field, and the cave that is in it, I give it to you; in the presence of the sons of my people give I it to you— bury your dead.' 12 And Abraham bowed down before the people of the land. 13 And he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying: 'But if you agree, I beg you, hear me: I will give the price of the field; take it from me, and I will bury my dead there.' 14 And Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him: 15 'My lord, listen to me: a piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver, what is that between you and me!? bury your dead.' 16 But Abraham pressed Ephron; and Abraham weighed to

1 Ephron the silver, which he had named in the hearing of the children of Het, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant. 17 So the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the border round about, were made sure 18 to Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Het, before all that went in at the gate of his city. 19 And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre--the same is Hebron--in the land of Canaan. 20 And the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a burying-place by the children of Het.

Introductory remarks: This parasha can be divided into three sections: (i) Abraham acquires a burial plot for Sarah (chap. 23) (ii) Abraham sends his servant back to Aram Naharayim, where Abraham was born, to find a wife for his son Isaac, lest Isaac marry a Canaanite woman.(chaps. 24-25) (iii) Abraham marries his concubine, Qetura, and has children with her—but those children are also sent off to their own destinies, emphasizing the singularity of the covenant with Abraham through Isaac. (chap. 25). This handout will focus on the negotiations between Abraham and Ephron the Hittite for acquiring a burial plot for Sarah in Hebron. Despite the fact that God promised Abraham land for his offspring, and despite the fact that Ephron offers to allow Abraham to buruy Sarah in his land, Abraham proceeds to negotiate with Ephron in order to acquire title of a piece of land as an ahuza for his family. Abraham does not argue that the land already belongs to him because God bequeathed it to him. Nor does he conquer the land through military struggle. Instead, Abraham actualizes the fulfillment of a small but significant part of God’s covenantal promise through social acceptable means, recognized internationally in the open market—he barters and purchases the land.

Questions for thought and discussion on the Torah reading:

1. Abraham negotiates with Ephron to own a piece of land. Can you find evidence in the wording or tone of the negotiations which suggests that Abraham thinks that this is the proper way to acquire this land, or is there evidence in the text that suggests that Abraham had no other choice, and therefore had to be practical against his best interests? 2. When Abraham and God in Sedom (chapter 18) is taken together with this interaction between Abraham and Ephron, a portrait of Abraham the negotiator emerges. It would appear that Abraham believed deeply in the value of negotiation, and perhaps even compromise. What do you think about the willingness of negotiate about something you believe strongly: does that reflect weakness, or strength? Does the willingness to negotiate in and of itself indicate that Abraham holds a position of weakness, or does that willingness project a vision of leadership and strength which we can learn from Abraham?

From the classic commentaries (Ramban; Spain, 12th century:)

ואחרי כן קבר אברהם את שרה אשתו אל מערת שדה המכפלה וגו' היא חברון בארץ כנען……ולפי דעתי כי טעם הכתובים אינו אלא להזכיר כי היא ארץ כנען לא ארץ פלשתים, כי מפני שאמר ויגר אברהם בארץ פלשתים ימים רבים וכל מגוריו בארץ ההיא בגרר ונחל גרר ובאר שבע ומשם לחברון ומחברון לשם, על כן הזכיר כי חברון הוא בארץ הכנעני היושב בהר ההוא, לא בארץ פלשתים הנזכרת לאברהם. והוסיף בסוף להודיע המערה שהיא בשדה המכפלה על פני ממרא, שזה השם הנודע אליה:

English: “After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of the makhpelah, in Hebron in the land of Canaan….” In my opinion, this verse is here in order to make certain we realize that this took place in Cannan and not in the land of the Philistines, for earlier the Torah states that Abraham went to live in the land of the Philistines for many days. His sojourn there was in Gerar, and in Wadi Gerar, and in Be’er Sheva (also in the land of the Philisitnes.) Araham would commute back and forth between Be’er Sheva and Hebron. Therefore, the text emphasizes and reminds

2 us that Hebron sits in the land of Canaan on its mountain, and not in the territory of the Philistines. Finally, at the section’s end, the text also identifies the cave as the cave in the ‘field of the makhpelah’ facing Mamre, as it was known then.

Questions for thought and discussion based on this comment by the Ramban: 1. On what bases did Abraham want to lay claim to land? a. What role did God’s promise play? b. According to the Ramban, what role did national borders play—why was Canaan available to Abraham, in a way that Philistia was not? c. It is interesting that Abraham lived in Be’er Sheva, knowing that Be’er Sheva was not part of the land of Canaan—which was the land promised to him by God. Does this suggest that Be’er Sheva was not part of the land of Israel for Abraham? d. Abraham’s presence in Be’er Sheva, and his association there is deep and powerful. He planted an eshel there, which, according to the rabbis in a midrash, was an inn for him to use on his travels. Abraham seems to have been comfortable in the culture of Canaan and in the culture of Philistia—but only Canaan was part of God’s promise. What messages might we gain from this aspect of Abraham’s behavior and the text’s distinguishing between Be’er Sheva and Hebron?

Reflections from Jerusalem

Last Sunday was dedicated to an introduction to Christianity, including a guided exploration of the Christian Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem. During that exploration, I had the privilege of attending an audience, together with the 56 students and staff of KIVUNIM, with the Greek Patriarch of Jerusalem, His Beautitude Theofilos III. I call this here for two reasons. First, the Greek Patriarchate has had a continuous presence in Jerusalem since the founding of the Byzantine empire in the 4th century, and currently owns over 60% of the property in the city. The Patriarchate, therefore, has played a central role in preserving sites which are sacred to Jews, Muslims and Christians. Land ownership is so sensitive here, and lies at the heart not only of religious sovereignty, but also at the center of so much political conflict. Our parasha emphasizes the importance of both respectful negotiation with those living in the land, as well as the importance of land ownership and settlement at the same time.

Mitzvoth in the Parashah according to the Sefer haHinuch*: There are no mitzvoth in parahshat vayera

Hebrew: "Book of Education") is a work which systematically discusses the 613 commandments of ספר החינוך) Sefer ha-Chinuch * the Torah. It was published anonymously in 13th Century Spain. The work enumerates the commandments (Hebrew: Mitzvot; sing. mitzvah) according to their appearance in the Weekly Torah portion. Some scholars ascribe the authorship of Sefer ha-Chinuch to Rabbi Aharon HaLevi of Barcelona (1235-c. 1290), a Talmudic scholar and halakhist but others disagree, as the views of the Chinuch contradict opinions held by HaLevi in other works. This has led to the conclusion that the true author to Sefer HaChinuch was a different Reb Aharon Halevi, a student of the Rashba, rather than his colleague.