Remember in last week's parsha, when Avraham passed his big test? He was willing to give up his son, Yitzchak, when HaShem told him to. It all ended happily, when Avraham sacrificed a ram instead of Yitzchak (whew!). But what about Sarah?
After Akeidat Yitzchak (the Binding of Yitzchak), when Avraham went back home to his tent in Be'er Sheva, Sarah was nowhere to be found. Avraham wondered where she could be. His servants told him that Sarah had gone to Chevron, so Avraham went there.
There was sad news waiting for him in Chevron. Sarah had passed away - for she had heard that Yitzchak had been offered as a sacrifice, which made her very, very sad - but then she heard that Yitzchak was actually still alive! And then she was suddenly so happy!
But this emotional roller-coaster was too much for her heart to bear, and she didn't survive the shock. She was 127 years old when she passed away. Avraham was very sad. Who could ever replace Sarah? She was so very special. She was so generous and giving, and she changed for the better the lives of thousands of people who passed through Avraham and Sarah's home. And on top of that:
- her Shabbat candles stayed lit from one week to the next,
- the challah she baked stayed fresh all week and there was always plenty of it,
- and HaShem made a special cloud rest above her tent!
Avraham knew that Sarah's burial place should be special, too. He wanted to buy the Me'arat HaMachpaila ("the Cave of the Doubles"), a very holy place where the first man and woman, Adam and Chava, were buried. The cave was owned by a man named Efron, who was part of the Bnai Chait tribe.
When Avraham told Efron that he wanted to buy the cave, Efron responded, "No problem! You can have any land you want - for free."
But Avraham didn't want the land as a gift. He wanted to buy it, with cold, hard cash. That way no one could argue about whether or not the place really belonged to him. So he said, "No deal! I want to buy the Me'arat HaMachpaila. Just name the price."
Efron came to speak to Avraham personally. He repeated that he was willing to give Avraham the cave as a gift - but Avraham insisted, "No. I want to buy it. Just name the price."
"Well, all right then. The price is 400 silver shekels."Wow! That was some hefty price tag. Back then, that's how much most people earned in 50 YEARS! And to think, just a minute earlier, Efron had offered it for free...
But Avraham said it was a deal, and Efron quickly grabbed the offer. Avraham handed over 400 silver shekels, in front of the whole tribe of Bnai Chait. Now there would be no question about who owned the Me'arat HaMachpaila in Chevron. It would belong forever to the Jewish people.
