Avraham Avinu returned from what many regard as the most difficult of his 10 trials -- the binding and offering up of his beloved son, Yitzchak -- only to discover that his beloved wife had left this world. According to Rabeinu Yona, finding a place to bury Sarah was the 10th of Avraham Avinu's 10 trials. There is a lot to be said and understood about what Rabeinu Yona means, and you should definitely delve into that topic. Today, I would like to delve a bit into how Avraham Avinu began his negotiations for the only fitting burial place for Sarah, מערת המכפלה.
Avraham Avinu begins his interaction/negotiation with the indigenous people with a simple, humble introduction: גר ותושב אנכי עמכם/I am a traveler from another land and I have settled among you. That translation is how Rashi explains the simple, surface meaning. As is usual, however, there is a deeper meaning to Avraham Avinu's message. Rashi brings a medrash that Avraham Avinu was telling them: If you like, in considering my request, treat me as a simple traveler. If not, then know that I will be coming to settle here and I will claim the property by force of law. As HaShem has told me, "I will give this land to your descendants."
Yikes! That seems like quite a turnaround, no? From unassuming, albeit clearly respectable, grieving husband seeking a burial place for his recent loss to master of all he surveys. What, exactly, is the message Avraham Avinu is intending to convey?
Avraham Avinu -- and Sarah Imeinu -- had know about מערת המכפלה for decades. They knew that Adam and Chava were buried there. Since they had discovered/been shown that cave, they knew they -- and the other patriarchs -- were destined to be buried there. They had never approached the owners, nor expressed the slightest interest. They knew what it was worth and they knew that Efron would never let them have it if he had an inkling of its true value. So they waited. Now was the time.
What was the strategy? Obviously to have such a prestigious individual in their midst would be a great honor. Efron had been elevated that day to an official position (Rashi to 23:10) in order to have communal standing necessary to negotiate with Avraham Avinu. But why would a person of Avraham Avinu's status want to buy this property? He isn't even from here, so this request could easily tip them off that there was something very, very special about מערת המכפלה; something Avraham Avinu wanted to avoid if at all possible.
So Avraham Avinu told them: I am a traveler from another land. I would like you to sell me a burial site. In addition, you should know that I plan to settle here, which gives me the right -- as any other permanent resident -- to buy property. His "claim to the property" was not a claim of eminent domain, but just a claim to the rights of any other permanent resident. He was not traveling across the world to claim some special place. He just happened to be here now, he just happened to need a burial site now, and he actually liked the place and planned to move there. He was speaking as someone who believed he had a Divine destiny to live here, so he was completely sincere.
I would like to suggest that Avraham Avinu was conveying another profound and deep message here. Something that the indigenous people didn't notice, but we -- the nation that Avraham Avinu dedicated his life to found -- should notice and take to heart.
Imagine a large luxury hotel. These hotels have lots of staff... could be in the hundreds; managers, chefs, wait staff, cleaning staff, maintenance staff, etc. They may work there for years and years. Then there are the guests; people who check in for a day or a week. For whom is the hotel built? The staff who spend most of their waking hours there for years and years? Nope. It's for the guests; the travelers.
That is what Avraham Avinu was saying: גר ותושב אנכי עמכם/I am a traveler, therefore I am the real resident for whom this world exists. I live among you, but you are just staff; I'm the reason the world is here and even the reason that you are here. Staff who support the guests are rewarded. Staff who think this place was built for them... not so much. Not a threat, just a reminder.
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