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GLOBAL RELIGIOUS LEADERS

Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald

The Secrets of

Machpelah

arah died in Kiryat Arba, Adam and Eve had been laid to rest. The Ramban cites the Midrash in
which is Chevron, in the land However, no one knew the exact loca- Bereishit Rabbah 55:10, which claims
“Sof Canaan, and Avraham came tion of that site. On the day Avraham the origin of the name Machpelah may
to eulogize Sarah and bewail her” (Bere- was informed by the angel that Sarah stem from the fact the Almighty is said
ishit 23:2). would give birth to Yitzchak, he went to have folded the very tall corpse of
out to his herd to select animals to Adam in half, so it could fit into the
Despite the fact that the Torah portion prepare a feast for his guests. Accord- cave. Even though the cave was always
informs us of Sarah’s death, the name known as Machpelah, the local Hittite
of the portion means the life of Sarah. ing to the Midrash, one of the calves people were unaware of the name’s
From this, our Rabbis learn (Kohelet ran away into a cave. When Avraham significance, or that there were graves
Rabbah 9:5) that Tzaddikim, the righ- followed the calf, he found Adam and in the cave. That may also be the
teous, are considered “alive” even after Eve resting on their beds and a spiri- reason why the local people refer to
their deaths. It is also fascinating to tual light of incredible brilliance burn- the entire area as Machpelah, whereas
note that Avraham had no burial place ing above them. The entire scene was Avraham refers only to the cave as
prepared for Sarah, indicating that he enveloped in incense-like fragrance. Machpelah.
never expected his wife, or any other This place was the Cave of Machpelah,
family member, to die at so young in the field of Efron, the Hittite. The Rashbam claims the entire valley
an age, or perhaps it suggests that he was known by the name Machpelah,
already knew exactly where he was As residents of Be’er Sheva, Avraham which included the field and the
going to bury her. and Sarah were concerned the Hittites cave. Wilhelm Gesenius (1786-1842,
would not allow them to purchase the German Hebrew grammarian), main-
Actually, Chevron was Avraham and burial plot in Chevron. So when Sarah tains the name is of Ethiopian origin,
Sarah’s first permanent home in the was 115 years old, Sarah and Avraham and means a portion or district.
land of Canaan. They lived there for moved back to Chevron, to establish
some 25 years, relocating to Be’er permanent residency there, enabling According to the Zohar, both Avra-
Sheva only after the destruction of them to purchase the plot. ham and Yitzchak recognized the
Sodom and Gomorrah and the inces- special nature of the Machpelah cave.
tuous behavior of Lot and his daugh- Rashi states (Bereishit 23:2) that the The Zohar submits that when Avra-
ters. In Be’er Sheva, Avraham pro- city of Chevron was also known as ham first entered the cave, he came
claimed G-d’s teachings and (Bereishit Kiryat-Arba, which means the village upon the entrance to the Garden of
21:33), maintained an Eshel, which of four, because of the four couples Eden. The cave was filled with fragrant
the Midrash interprets to mean a who were eventually buried there: smells and a piercing light shone out
food pantry or an inn for wayfarers. Adam and Eve, Avraham and Sarah, of the cave. Similarly, when Yitzchak
Even when living elsewhere, Avra- Yitzchak and Rivka and Ya’akov and blessed his son Ya’akov, thinking it
ham apparently visited Be’er Sheva Leah. Rashi further states (Bereishit was Esav, saying “Behold the fra-
frequently. 23:9) the burial place was also known grance of my son is as the fragrance
as “Ma’arat HaMachpelah,” the Cave of a field, which G-d has blessed,” he
We now find that Avraham and Sarah of Machpelah, meaning the double too was referring to the fragrance of
have moved back to Chevron and have cave, because it consisted of a “bayit,“ the Garden of Eden and to the primor-
been living there for approximately a lower floor with an upper floor dial light of creation emanating from
12 years. Why did they return to Machpelah.
Chevron? on top. An alternative explanation
cited by Rashi explains the cave was Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald is Director of
The Midrash states that Abraham and “doubled,” with only married couples NJOP and Rabbi of the Beginners Service
Sarah had longed to be buried where buried there. at Lincoln Square Synagogue.

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