There are more verses in the Torah describing the purchase of a burial plot for Sarah than all of the rest of her productive life of 127 years. What is so significant about this acquisition? And why was the city of Hebron chosen for Sarah's burial?

Jacob's House

Isaiah prophesied that in the future era,

"Many nations will come and say, 'Let us go up to the mountain of God, to the house of the God of Jacob'" (Isaiah 2:3).

Why will the nations be drawn specifically to the 'God of Jacob,' and not the God of Abraham or the God of Isaac? The Talmud explains:

"Not like Abraham who saw it as a 'mountain,' nor like Isaac for whom it was a 'field.' But like Jacob, who called it a 'house.'" (Pesachim 88a)

What did the Sages mean by 'mountain,' 'field,' and 'house'? On a simple level, these locations refer to momentous occasions in the lives of the Avot. Abraham's greatest service of God was the spiritual test of the Akeidah that took place on Mount Moriah. Isaac, the Torah tells us, would meditate in the field (Gen. 24:63). And Jacob named the place of awe-inspiring holiness that he encountered Beth-El, 'God's house.'

Yet these locations carry a deeper significance. Mountain, field, and house are metaphors for different ways of serving God. The service of Abraham and Isaac was a universalistic service, accessible to all. It was like a mountain or an open field; all were welcome to join in. Abraham, the "father of many nations," sought to repair the sin of Adam and assist all of humanity. His life's goal was to publicize the name of God for all peoples. Isaac similarly sanctified the name of Heaven throughout the world.

While Abraham and Isaac looked outwards, Jacob focused inwards. By speaking of 'God's house,' Jacob limited the holiness of Israel to the framework of his family, his home of twelve sons. Beit Yisrael, the House of Israel. Unlike Abraham and Isaac, Jacob's children all remained within the Jewish people. While Abraham and Isaac's influence was inclusive and universal, Jacob's service was exclusive to Israel; thus it is aptly represented by the metaphor of an enclosed house. Like the protective walls of a house, the special sanctity of Israel needs to be safeguarded from external detrimental influences — "Israel shall dwell securely, alone" (Deut. 33:28).

Separate Holiness

Why must Israel be distanced from the other nations? This isolation prepares the Jewish people for their special mission, and also allows them to demonstrate the proper path for the nations of the world. "The nations shall go by your light" (Isaiah 60:3). When the nations will aspire to connect to holiness, they will recognize that the sanctity of Israel is separate and distinct. They will say, "Let us go up to the house of Jacob." Let us go and emulate the distinct holiness of Jacob.

Like Jacob, Sarah recognized the need for this protected holiness. She was the one who demanded that Ishmael be sent away, to prevent his negative influence on her son Isaac. And Sarah initiated the process of separating and designating the Land of Israel to the Jewish people. This began with her burial in Hebron.

Hebron, the Future Sanctity of Israel

The very first Jewish acquisition of land in Eretz Yisrael was the purchase of the Machpeilah cave in Hebron. Through the burial of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, Hebron came to symbolize the initial acquisition of the Land of Israel. We similarly find that, while Hebron was never the permanent capital of Israel, the reign of King David — the complete sovereignty of the Jewish people over the Land of Israel — began in Hebron. Hebron signifies the future ownership and holiness of the Land of Israel.

When Abraham was commanded, "Rise, walk the land, through its length and breadth" (Gen. 13:17), where did he go? He immediately settled in Hebron. Hebron is the focal point of potential sanctity of the Land of Israel. Hebron is where future generations take possession their inheritance and realize their destiny by virtue of those buried in former times.

This concept of future sanctity found expression in the unusual method used to divide up the Land in the time of Joshua. According to one opinion in the Talmud (Baba Batra 117a), the Land of Israel was divided up according to the Israelites who left Egypt, even though they had died in the desert and never made it to Israel. Usually it is the living who inherit the dead — i.e., an inheritance is divided up according to the number of living descendants. Here, though, it was the other way around — the dead determined how the living would inherit land.

So too, the very first Jewish burial in the Land of Israel, that of Sarah, determined the future inheritance and sanctity of the Land. Sarah designated this portion for her descendants. She separated Eretz Yisrael from the rest of the world, just as she separated her son from Ishmael. Sarah initiated the special heritage of the Land and the people of Israel.

(Adapted from Shemu'ot HaRe'iyah 9: Chayei Sarah 5690 (1929))

Copyright © 2006 by Chanan Morrison