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By Rabbi Shloimie Lindenbaum
ואחרי כן קבר אברהם את שרה אשתו (פרק כג פסוק יט)
The Torah describes in detail Avraham’s acquisition of a burial plot for Sarah. He approaches the people of Ches, who show him tremendous respect and insist that it would be an honor for Sarah to be buried amongst them. Then he meets with Efron, who wants to give him the requested plot for free. Avraham refuses and agrees only to buy the plot at full price. Finally, he pays a hefty sum for the land and buries Sarah. What is the significance of this story? Why did the Torah have to recount it in full detail? The Ibn Ezra says that it is to show us how precious the land of Israel is, how much effort and expense Avraham was willing to expend just to bury his wife in the holy land. The Ramban says that this whole story was a test of Avraham’s faith. Even though he was promised the land, he still had to spend so much time and money to get a simple burial plot. He retained his rock-solid faith and trust in Hashem. R’ Yaakov Kamenetsky offers another explanation. He says that the Torah wants us to know that Avraham had a very generous and giving spirit. Even though the people of Ches would have felt privileged for Sarah to be buried in their land, Avraham insisted on paying for it and not receiving free gifts. This was because of how generous and giving he was.
והיה הנערה אשר אמר אליה…אתה הכחת לעבדך (פרק כד פסוק יד)
Avraham sends his servant Eliezer to find a suitable wife for Yitzchak. Eliezer asks Hashem for a sign when he finds the right girl, that he will ask the girl for water and the girl will insist on giving him and his camels water until everyone has enough. This was clearly a sign that this girl excels in חסד, giving to others, and מידות טובות, good character. R’ Eliyahu Lopian asks, shouldn’t he have determined that the girl truly believes in and fears Hashem? Fear of Heaven, יראת שמים, was a tremendous foundation in Avraham’s life, certainly the girl who will marry Yitzchak must excel in that as well? In fact, Eliezer in the end found Rivkah, whose brother and father served idols, shouldn’t he have ascertained that she is of different belief? R’ Elya answers that if a person has proper character and is gentle and kind, then as long as they are aware of a need to fear Hashem, they will easily attain that level. Even if Rivkah did not yet fear Hashem, Eliezer saw from her מידות that as soon as she recognizes the truth of Hashem and our relationship with Him, she will be able to become a ירא שמים. Good character and behavior is the foundation for one to build themselves in their relationship with Hashem.
