The Midrash (Bereishit Rabba 79,7) says that there are three parcels of land over which the nations of the world cannot dispute ownership. They belong to Am Yisrael: Me’arat HaMachpeila, Kever Yosef, and Har HaBayit.
To prove ownership over a parcel of land, one is required to show the deed of sale. The deeds of sale for the above three properties are clearly documented for all eternity in the Tanach. All three of these properties were, in fact, offered to the purchaser as a free gift, however, in all cases the purchasers (Avraham, Yaakov, and David) insisted on paying for them in full. Not only were they paid for in full, but their purchase price was inflated way beyond the norm for similar land at the time.
The field of Efron had a bad reputation; it was said to be haunted. Anyone happening to wander into the field reported encountering a demon wielding a sword. As viable real estate it was worthless.
According to one opinion in the Midrash, the purchase of Me’arat HaMachpeila did not take place after Sarah died, but long before. In last week’s parsha Vayeira, we read that Avraham prepared three dishes of calf tongue in mustard sauce for the visiting angels. One of the calves ran away and Avraham chased after it into a cave, which he discovered was the burial place of Adam and Chava. How did he know that it was Adam who was buried there? Because the person was 100 amot long (165ft)! After Adam sinned, G-d diminished Adam’s stature to “only” 100 amot (Sanhedrin 38b). According to the Midrash (Bereishit Rabba 58, 8), R’ Abahu says that G-d “folded” Adam in half and buried him there and that is why it is called Me’arat HaMachpeila from the root of the word “Kapeil” meaning “fold.”
When Avraham told Sarah of his discovery, she requested that he purchase the land as their burial place.
Despite Efron believing that his field was worthless real estate, he had a keen eye for an enthusiastic customer. Straight off he understood that Avraham had to have this cave at any cost, so he proposed a “symbolic” figure of 400 silver shekels. A bargain price. The Gemara (Bechorot 50a) says that Efron asked for 400 “large shekels” of silver, weighing 600,000 ounces in total! The market price of one ounce of silver is about USD32. How much did Avraham pay for this property? Only 19 million dollars. A pittance! And he paid it willingly.
Periodically, over the generations, the nations of the world dispute our claim to Eretz Yisrael and our holy sites, for example recently, the descendants of Yishmael. You may ask – Avraham’s descendants include Yishmael as well, perhaps Yishmael also has a claim to the land?
Along comes our parsha, Chayei Sarah and tells us: No, Avraham gave everything to Yitzchak, not Yishmael and not to the other sons of the concubines (Bereishit 25:6).
The Yalkut Shimoni there says that in the time of Alexander the Great, the descendants of Yishmael came to contest ownership of Eretz Yisrael, claiming that Yishmael was the firstborn son of Avraham and that Eretz Yisrael is Yishmael’s birthright! Along with the Yishmaelites came two evil families, Egypt and Canaan. The chachamim were debating who to send to contest this false claim. One simple man, Gevia ben Kosem said “Let me answer them! If I win, great! If I lose, you can say – he is a simpleton and does not represent us.”
Alexander the Great asked “Who is suing who?” The Yishmaelites said “We are suing Am Yisrael and we have a proof from their own Torah. In the Torah it says (Devarim 21, 17) that if you have a man with two wives and the firstborn is born to the ‘hated’ wife, even so, the birthright still belongs to this firstborn son. Yishmael is the firstborn son of the ‘hated’ wife Hagar, so he is entitled to the birthright!” Gevia ben Kosem responded “My lord king, may a father not choose what he wants to give to his sons?” Alexander replied “He may!” Gevia ben Kosem continued “The pasuk clearly states that Avraham gave everything to Yitzchak (Bereishit 25:6). “What about the sons of Hagar?” asked Alexander. Gevia replied “The following pasuk continues to say that to the sons of the concubines, Avraham gave gifts and sent them away.” Yishmael received generous gifts as well, but not Eretz Yisrael!” The Yishmaelites had no leg to stand on and departed in shame.
The Canaanites then said to Alexander “We also have a claim on the land and can bring proof from their own Torah. Throughout the Torah, long before Am Yisrael came along, the land is referred to as the Land of Canaan! It is ours.” Gevia ben Kosem responded to them “My lord king, may a master not decide what to do with his slave?” Alexander replied “He may!” Gevia ben Kosem continued “The pasuk clearly states – Cursed is Canaan, a slave will he be to his brothers (Bereishit 9:25). The Land of Israel is ours by Divine promise and the Canaanites are slaves to you, Alexander the Great!” The Canaanites had no leg to stand on and departed in shame.
The Egyptians then said to Alexander “We too have a claim and can bring proof from their own Torah. It says in the Torah that 600,000 of them left Egypt laden with our gold and silver and all our possessions (Shemot 12:36). We want it back!” Gevia ben Kosem responded “My lord king, 600,000 of Am Yisrael worked 210 years for their Egyptian masters. What is the rate for a day’s work? One Dinar?” Alexander’s wise men did a calculation of how much the Egyptians owed Am Yisrael and before they even reached 100 years money owed, the Egyptians saw that the sum would bankrupt them, so they fled in shame!
So, to whom does Eretz Yisrael and everything in it belong? Simple, it belongs to G-d. The Torah begins with the word Bereishit. Chazal say that this teaches us that the purpose G-d created the world is for “Reishit” – Am Yisrael who are called Reishit (Yirmiyahu 2, 3) and the Torah which is called Reishit (Mishlei 8, 22). Rashi on that pasuk says that the Torah begins with a solitary purpose – to establish that the Land of Israel belongs to G-d and to Him alone and He may give it to whoever He chooses. When G-d wrote the Torah, He foresaw that there would be an eternal territorial dispute over the Eretz Yisrael and nipped it in the bud straight from the outset.
Parshat HaShavua Trivia Question: Why does the parsha end with Yishamel “falling?”
Answer to Last Week’s Trivia Question: Avraham tells Sarah in the beginning of the parsha to bake “Uggot,” cakes, for the three visiting angels (Bereishit 18:6). What type of cakes was he referring to? They were matzot, as it says “Uggot matzot” (Shemot 12:39).
