Burial and Honor

Chayye Sara



Genesis 23:1-25:18

Précis: The parasha begins with the counting of the life of Sarah (chayye Sarah) - and with her death. It continues with a detailed description of the purchase of the cave of Machpela by Abraham for a family burial site. Abraham orders his servant to go to Abraham’s ancestral home to obtain a wife for Isaac, and after a series of fulfilled signs, the servant finds Rebecca. Rebecca returns with the servant; she and Isaac meet, fall in love at first sight, and become man and wife. The parasha ends with the death of Abraham, and his burial by Isaac and Ishmael in the family burial cave.

Genesis 23:2-18 “Abraham arose from beside his dead, and spoke to the Hittites, saying, ‘I am a resident among you; sell me a burial site…’ And the Hittites replied, ‘Hear us, my lord…bury your dead in the choicest burial spot; none will withhold his burial place from you’…And Abraham bowed low…and said to them… ‘Let Ephron sell me the cave of Machpela…for the full price, as a burial site.’ Ephron...answered Abraham… ‘No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field and the cave…’ Then Abraham spoke…saying ‘Let me pay the price of the land; accept it from me’…And Ephron replied… ‘A piece of land worth 400 shekels - what is that between you and me? Go and bury your dead.’ Abraham accepted Ephron’s terms, and Abraham paid out the money…”

Burying the dead appears to be one of the most ancient of human rituals. Archaeological evidence points out that this practice is ancient indeed, that Neanderthal and even earlier humans engaged in burial practices which suggested a belief in life after death.

Why do we bury the dead? The act suggests a belief in survival after death, or even of physical resurrection (a belief which is part of Jewish thought, although not universally accepted). We bury the dead and mark their graves as another way in which Jewish tradition reminds us to remember. As we know, Judaism is much about remembering.

Abraham’s negotiation for a burial plot for Sarah ties burial to land ownership. While we know very little about Jewish burial rituals before the era of Rabbinic Judaism, we do know from this story and others in the Bible (Rachel, Jacob, Joseph, et al.) that it was important for individuals to be buried in ancestral lands with their family ancestors. As a result of the Babylonian and subsequent exiles, this was often impossible. Abraham’s story became a template for subsequent Jewish purchases of burial plots, and his descendants would face the same issues he faced as a "resident alien."

What do we learn from this story? First, the grave site needs to be purchased and not merely accepted as a gift. This is a sign of real ownership that cannot be revoked by the donor. Second, the grave site should be “permanent” (held “in fee”). Third, the fact that Abraham’s request was not seen as odd by the local citizens implies that they, too, engaged in burial and plot purchase, so we learn that Abraham was adopting (or at least sharing) the customs of those among whom he lived. Similarly, Jews throughout history shared some of the customs of the surrounding cultures (the use of ossuaries in Second Temple times; wooden coffins; grave stones and markers, etc.).

Throughout our history in the Diaspora, we have purchased land for burial whenever we were able to do so. Among the first items on the Jewish agenda when establishing a new community was the creation of a burial society (for both chevre kadisha and the purchase of burial land). When Jews were expelled from a state or principality, records indicate that the cemeteries were among the property sold off with other Jewish possessions. The subsequent desecration of Jewish cemeteries became a symbol of a faith’s victory over another, whether Christians or Muslims were the ones doing the desecration, and whether it took place in the 10th, 15th, or 20th centuries.

While, like Abraham, we have tried to find secure and tranquil places to bury our dead, we have learned that buying grave sites gives neither the living nor the dead any real security. If the purpose of burial rituals, as suggested at the outset, is to remember, then we today face an additional challenge: the dispersion of families across the country and around the world. The new mobility means that unlike Abraham and his earliest family, the responsibility for the preservation of burial sites and cemeteries is no longer a familial responsibility, but has become communal responsibility. Thus, those of us in communal positions have a special role to play. It is a duty both solemn and laden with mitzvah.