Although the entire land of Israel is known as the Holy Land, only specific cities are called “Holy Cities.” One of them is Jerusalem because it is the site of the Holy Temple. Another one is the city of Chevron because it is the site of the “Machpeila Cave” - the burial grounds of our patriarchs Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov and our matriarchs Sarah, Rivka and Leah.
In this week’s parsha, we learn about the passing of our matriarch Sarah and Avraham’s efforts to procure a proper burial site for her. By prophetic vision, he knew that the cave in the property of Efron the Hittite in the city of Chevron was where the first humans, Adam and Eve, were buried, and he determined it the appropriate place for the first Jewish cemetery.
Ironically, Chevron is today one of the cities in Israel where it is complicated for Jews to live. Its thriving centuries-old Jewish community was viciously destroyed by a bloodthirsty arab pogrom in the summer of 1929. Even after the Israeli forces liberated the city during the Six-Day War in 1967, the official policy about allowing the rightful and truthful residents to return to it has been toothless and informed by intimidation and fear from our mortal enemies. As we read the parsha this week let’s appreciate that of all the sites in Israel, Chevron has belonged to us through legal purchase for over 3,700 years, 400 years before the Israelites settled the land. But here is another important lesson we learn from the Torah narrative of the purchase of the Machpeila Cave. Instead of simply notifying us that Avraham managed to purchase the site, the Torah dedicates many verses recording specific details of his negotiations with the Hittite people. This was the opening line to his request. “I am a foreigner and a resident among you. Allow me to purchase a piece of property that I can make into a family burial ground within the territory you control so that I can bury my dead wife.” Why did Avraham find it necessary to present his residential status in their midst? He had been living in the land for over sixty years and it made sense for him to seek burial grounds locally instead of burying Sarah in his original birthplace where he was despised. With his opening statement, Avraham signaled to the locals how he intended to negotiate with them. He acknowledged they had occupied the land before him and the only way he could own the burial grounds he sought at the time would be through legal purchase. However, if they refused to sell him the grounds he would seize it from them as “a resident,” since G-d had promised the land to him and his descendants. Avraham’s posture was polite but firm. He was ready to do business fairly but clarified that the land's destiny, by divine gift, was in Jewish hands and not in Hittite hands. To put it in more relatable terms, Mitzvot should be done with politeness and sensitivity to others, but all obstacles to doing a Mitzvah must be faced with ironclad confidence and uncompromising devotion.