This
letter is dedicated to Hazon participant, Yona Meir (Erich) Kauffman:
Dear
Friends,
The
Torah opens with the story of the human “family” – the
descendants of Adam and Chavah (Eve). It then proceeds to tell the
story of the Family of Israel – the descendants of Avraham and
Sarah, Yitzchak and Rivkah, and Yaakov, Rachel and Leah. In the Torah
portion of Chayei
Sarah – “The Life
of Sarah” – we find the story of the passing and burial of our
matriarch, Sarah. After the eulogy for Sarah, Avraham purchased a
plot in the city of Hebron which contained a cave known as the
“M’oras HaMachpelah” (Genesis 23:9). It was there that Sarah
was buried, and later, Avraham, Yitzchak, Rivkah, Yaakov, and Leah
were buried there. Rachel was buried outside of Bethlehem (Genesis
35:19, 20), and the reason for this exception is mentioned at the end
of this letter.
Why
did Avraham desire this particular cave? The midrashic work, Pirkei
D’Rabbi Eliezer, explains that it was because Adam and Chavah were
buried there, and it tells the following story:
A
calf from Avraham’s flock had run away and entered the M’oras
HaMachpelah. Avraham followed the calf there, and when he entered, he
found Adam and Chavah sleeping on beds, with lights above them, and a
good incense-like fragrance above them. Avraham therefore wanted the
M’oras HaMachpelah as a burial site.
Why
was it important for Avraham to acquire the site where Adam and
Chavah are buried? I would like to suggest the following answer:
When
Avraham was told to journey to the Land, he was given the following
Divine promise, one which was later repeated to Isaac and Jacob: “All
the families of the earth will be blessed through you (Genesis 12:3).
This promise made Avraham aware that the chosen family that would
emerge from him and Sarah would have a responsibility for all the
families of the earth. He therefore wanted the future members of this
family to be reminded of this responsibility when they would pray at
the site where their ancestors are buried, for at this site, Adam and
Chavah, the ancestors of all the earth’s families, are also buried.
When
I moved to Jerusalem, I discovered a profound teaching which can give
us a deeper understanding of the universal significance of this cave
for our people. I mentioned this teaching in a previous letter;
however, before we review this teaching, we need to remember that the
Hebrew term Adam
also refers to the first man/woman, as well as to humankind. For
example, the Torah states regarding the Divine creation of the first
human couple:
“He
created them male and female; He blessed them and called their name
Adam
on the day they were created” (Genesis 5:2).
The
teaching that we are going to review is from Ramban (Nachmanides), a
leading sage, biblical commentator, and kabbalist of the 13th
century. According to Ramban, the secret of human history can be
found in the following statement of the Torah:
“This
is the book of the descendants of Adam”
(Genesis 5:1).
What
“book” is this statement referring to? The Ramban explains:
“In
my opinion, this alludes to the entire Torah, for the entire Torah is
an account of the descendants of Adam.”
I
asked my teacher, Rav Aharon Feldman, a leading sage of our era, how
he understands this explanation of Ramban, and he said:
“This
means that the entire Torah – both written and oral – is the
story of the reconstruction of humanity, from its fall in the Garden
of Eden until its renewal in the messianic age.”
If
the entire Torah is the story of humanity, then why does the Torah
focus on the story of the People of Israel? The beginning of an
answer can be found in the following Divine statement to our people:
“You
are Adam”
(Ezekiel 34:31).
The
Creator is revealing to us that the story of our people represents
the human story, from the fall in the Garden of Eden to the renewal
in the messianic age. In this spirit, it is written regarding Israel:
“But
they, like Adam,
have transgressed the Covenant” (Hosea 6:7).
The
commentator, Rashi, offers the following explanation: Just as Adam
was brought into the Garden of Eden and yet violated the Divine
mandate, so too, the People of Israel were brought into the Land of
Israel, and yet violated the Divine mandate. Rashi’s explanation is
based on the Midrash which states: “Everything that happened to
Adam
happened to Israel” (Yalkut Shimoni on Eichah 1:1).
We
are reminded of the connection between our story and the human story
when we pray at the Me’oras
HaMachpelah in Hebron,
for our family’s ancestors are buried there, together with Adam and
Chavah – the ancestors of all the families of the earth.
Shalom,
Yosef
Ben Shlomo Hakohen (See below)
Related
Teachings:
1.
It is written: “Sarah died in Kiryas-Arba which is Hebron”
(Genesis 23:2). The name, “Kiryas-Arba,” literally means, “City
of Four.” The Talmud, in the name of Rabbi Yitzchak, explains that
this name alludes to the four couples that are buried there: Adam and
Chavah, Avraham and Sarah, Yitzchak and Rivkah, and Yaakov and Leah.
(Sotah 13a and Eruvin 53a)
2.
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch discusses the story about Avraham’s
purchase of the M’oras HaMachpelah, and he writes:
“Let
us add the tradition that Sarah was not the first to be buried in
this cave. Adam and Chavah already rested there. The parents of
humankind were the first to be buried in this place, and they were to
be joined by the patriarchs and matriarchs of the Jewish people, the
spiritual parents of humankind. This is why Avraham chose precisely
this cave.” (Commentary on Genesis 23:19)
3.
Pirkei D’Rabbi Eliezer states that when Avraham first entered the
cave, he found Adam and Chavah sleeping on beds, with lights above
them, and a good incense-like fragrance above them. In his commentary
on Pirkei D’Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi David Luria cites the following
tradition from the Zohar Chadash on the Book of Ruth regarding the
fragrance above Adam and Chavah:
This
was the fragrance of the spices in the Garden of Eden (for an
entrance to the Garden of Eden is there).
4.
Rachel is one of the four matriarchs of our people. The Torah tells
us that Rachel died during childbirth, and that she was buried
outside of Bethlehem:
“Thus
Rachel died and was buried on the road to Ephrath, which is
Bethlehem. Jacob set up a monument over her grave; it is the monument
of Rachel’s grave until today.” (Genesis 35:19:20).
Why
didn’t our father, Yaakov, bury our mother, Rachel, in the Me’oras
HaMachpelah in Hebron? The Midrash cites a tradition that Yaakov
chose to bury her near Bethlehem, because he foresaw that our people
would pass her burial site on the journey into exile, and that
Rachel’s soul would pray for us (Genesis Rabbah 82:10). This
tradition, states the Midrash, is based on the following prophecy of
Jeremiah:
“A
voice is heard on high, wailing, and bitter weeping: Rachel is
weeping for her children. She refuses to be comforted for her
children, for they are gone. Thus said Hashem: Restrain your voice
from weeping and your eyes from tears; for there is reward for your
accomplishment, says Hashem, and they will return from the enemy’s
land. There is hope for your future, spoke Hashem, and your children
will return to their border.” (Jeremiah 31:14-16)
Hazon
– Our Universal Vision: www.shemayisrael.com/publicat/hazon
My Search for the Soul of Zion – 34
