Excerpted from Rabbi Aaron Goldscheider’s Torah United: Teachings on the Weekly Parasha from Rav Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, and the Chassidic Masters, co-published by OU Press and Ktav Publishing House
The First Jewish Burial
One of the most troubling aspects of Sarah’s death is Avraham’s absence from her bedside. Ibn Ezra understood this from the fact that the verse states, “Avraham came” (Genesis 23:2). The starting assumption of the Ramban’s analysis is that it is unthinkable that this was more than a short-lived separation. He accounted for it by saying that Avraham was on his way home from the Akedah at Mount Moriah, but he made a stop in Be’er Sheva to give public thanks to God for not having to sacrifice his son during the Akedah.
Rav Avraham Yitzchak Hakohen Kook developed an idea that Sarah’s worldview actually differed somewhat from Avraham’s. Avraham planted an eshel in Be’er Sheva (Genesis 21:33), which was the means by which he offered hospitality and spread monotheism to wayfarers. Although Sarah shared Avraham’s openness and warmth to others, she was ready and willing to draw lines when needed. She was not in Be’er Sheva with Avraham but in Chevron securing the Jewish future. At a crossroads in the matrimonial life of Avraham and Sarah, an excruciating decision had to be made, one that would impact the very destiny of the Jewish people. Sarah was convinced that Yishmael must leave the home. Avraham disagreed, but God told Avraham that he must abide by Sarah’s decision (Genesis 21:10–13). Our matriarch Sarah taught that only after we successfully develop and actualize our unique qualities as a nation will our true nature be apparent to all so that others can be inspired by our unique holiness.
Evidently, Avraham paid respect to her approach after her death. When he pursued the acquisition of a plot of land to bury his beloved wife, the sons of Chet offered him “the choicest of our burial places” (Genesis 23:6), yet he refused. This seems contrary to what Avraham stood for. Would it not have been best to bury Sarah in their midst and use the opportunity to develop good relations with them, eventually drawing them to monotheism? Avraham knew that this was not what the late Sarah would have wanted. Sometimes separation is necessary to maintain holiness and chosenness. Avraham was adamant that there be a separate burial place for her and for his family.
Perhaps this also explains why the Torah does not record the words of eulogy that Avraham delivered for Sarah. His first act after eulogizing and mourning her was to locate a fitting spot for her burial plot, away from the main cemeteries. This was the most beautiful tribute that Avraham could have possibly made in her memory, in order to carry on her spirit and her legacy.
Rav Kook was once asked if there is any benefit to a person who lived their life outside Israel being buried in the Land of Israel. He answered, “Go learn from the burial of Sarah, from whose burial developed the settlement of the entire land.” This seems to be why, adds Rabbi Mordechai Sabato, the verse states that “Sarah died in Kiryat Arba, which is Chevron in the Land of Canaan” (Genesis 23:2). Do we not already know the location of Chevron? The answer is that her burial led to the Jewish people ultimately taking possession of the land.
Sarah’s interment was the first Jewish burial in history. With it, we took possession of our first piece of property in the Land of Israel. Sarah being laid to rest in the soil of the land was undoubtedly an act of respect for the dead, but it was also much more. Her vision of a nation apart was concretized in the rocky soil of the land. The future of the Jewish nation in the Jewish land was staked on a small parcel of land in the rolling hills of Judea. Now, a singular nation chosen to disseminate the Torah was joined with a singular land that enjoys God’s special providence, described as His fixed gaze which does not depart from the Land (Deuteronomy 11:12).
