THE CAVE OF MACHPELAHThe
Midrash says that when Abraham was ready to
slaughter the calf for his guests (see Parshat
Vayeira), the calf ran away. Abraham chased it all
the way to the cave of Machpelah in Hebron. When
Abraham entered the cave, he found there the graves
of Adam and Eve. It was then that he decided he
wanted this holy place for his family burial plot.
In a famous negotiation, Abraham tried to buy the
Machpelah cave from Efron the Hittite. The 19th
century commentator Malbim explains that although
Abraham's neighbors respected him greatly, they
refused to confer upon him the legal status of
citizen, and the law stated that only citizens could
purchase burial plots.
The Hittites offered Abraham a nice gravesite for
Sarah, saying, "No one will hold back his grave
from you, to bury your dead" (Genesis 23:6).
Their intent was to say: "The land is ours, but we
will grant you a grave in our plot."
After bowing to express appreciation for their
generosity, Abraham explained that in his view, not
to bury loved ones in a family plot would be
equivalent to abandoning the corpse. He then
provided them with a legal loophole: Don't sell me
the cave, just "give it to me" (as a present), and
of course I will recompense you -- "with full
money shall he give it to me" (Genesis 23:9).
This would avoid the legal question of selling to
non-citizens.
All Abraham wanted was the cave, and he stressed
that it was located at the end of the field, as not
to disturb Efron's farming. Efron politely replied,
"I have given you the field and the cave" -
emphasizing that it was a package deal, so if you
want the cave you have to buy the field as well.
At this point Abraham showed some silver coins
and said, "Please take my money already"
(Genesis 23:13) - i.e. in my eyes it is as if you
have taken it already.
Efron's greed took hold: "My master, for the
measly sum of 400 silver shekels (the average annual
income was about 10 shekels), why make such a
commotion between such good friends?" (Genesis 23:15
- Rashi)
Abraham paid the money in full, with absolutely
no concessions or reductions; Efron even demanded
totally marketable coins. Efron was the classic
example of "Say much and deliver little."
At this point, the field and cave actually
experienced a spiritual elevation and became the
possession of Abraham and the Jewish people forever.
It is noteworthy that Hebron was bought fairly by
Abraham, as was Shechem by Jacob, and Jerusalem by
King David, as recorded explicitly in the Bible. It
is interesting that today these are the places of
greatest contention with our neighbors!