We often focus on their triumphs, their faith, their covenant with God. But what about their grief? What about the human moments of sorrow and mourning?
The story begins, surprisingly, amidst the drama of the Akeidah, the Binding of Isaac. According to Ginzberg's retelling in Legends of the Jews, while Abraham was facing the ultimate test of faith, Satan, ever the tempter, went to Sarah. He appeared as a humble old man, bearing terrible news: Abraham had sacrificed Isaac. Imagine the horror, the disbelief, the utter devastation Sarah must have felt.
Sarah, in her agony, cries out, lamenting the loss of her son. "O my son, Isaac, my son, O that I had this day died instead of thee!" she exclaims, her joy turned to mourning. Yet, even in her grief, she acknowledges the divine command, recognizing God's justice. It’s a complex mix of despair and faith, a truly human reaction.
But here's the twist. Satan, in his deceit, returns to Sarah, this time claiming he lied, that Isaac was not dead. The shock of this sudden reversal, the overwhelming joy, proves too much for her. Her soul departs in that moment of intense emotion.
When Abraham and Isaac return to Beer-sheba, they find Sarah gone. They learn she traveled to Hebron seeking them, and there, discovered her fate. The mourning is profound. Isaac cries out in grief, "O my mother, my mother, how hast thou left me, and whither hast thou gone?" Abraham, usually a figure of strength and faith, is consumed by grief, unable even to pray.
Now, let's consider the significance of Sarah's death. Ginzberg notes that her passing was a loss not just for Abraham's family, but for the entire land. While she lived, all was well. After her death, confusion reigned. This highlights Sarah's importance, not just as a wife and mother, but as a stabilizing force, a source of blessing.
Abraham, despite his own sorrow, steps into the role of comforter. He urges the people not to take Sarah's death too much to heart, reminding them that death comes to all. Then, in a moment of humility, he requests a burial place, not as a gift, but for payment. "I am a stranger and a sojourner with you," he says.
This modesty is striking. God had promised him the entire land, yet he humbly asks for a small plot to bury his dead. As we find in Midrash Rabbah, God acknowledges Abraham's humility, promising to make him a prince over the people.
The negotiations for the Cave of Machpelah (meaning "double cave" or "cave of the pairs") are fascinating. Abraham knew the cave's significance. Tradition tells us that Adam and Eve were buried there. According to some accounts, Adam chose the spot, fearing his body might be used for idolatrous purposes. He sensed the fragrance of Paradise nearby, but a heavenly voice forbade him from digging too deep.
The inhabitants of Hebron, the children of Heth, were willing to sell the land, but with conditions. They knew that God would eventually give the land to Abraham's descendants, so they demanded a covenant ensuring the Israelites would not seize the city of Jebus without their consent. Abraham agreed.
The deal was struck with Ephron, a prominent member of the community. He initially offered the field as a gift, but Abraham insisted on paying. Eventually, they agreed on a price: four hundred shekels of silver. A deed was drawn up, witnessed, and the field, including the cave, became Abraham's possession.
The burial of Sarah was a grand affair. Shem, Eber, Abimelech (or his successor), and other dignitaries attended. A seven-day mourning period was observed. As Abraham prepared to lay Sarah to rest in the cave, tradition says that Adam and Eve protested, feeling ashamed in the presence of Abraham's righteousness. Abraham soothed Adam, promising to pray for him, and then entombed Sarah.
The story doesn't end there. We hear of the deaths of Abimelech, Lot, and Abraham's brother Nahor. These events underscore the cyclical nature of life and death, the passing of generations.
So, what can we learn from the story of Sarah's death and burial? It's a reminder that even the greatest figures in the Bible experienced profound grief and loss. It highlights the importance of humility, even in times of sorrow. And it underscores the enduring power of faith, even in the face of death. It also reveals the deep connection to the Land of Israel, symbolized by Abraham's insistence on acquiring a burial plot, a tangible piece of the promised inheritance. It’s a story that resonates across the ages, reminding us of our shared humanity and the enduring questions of life, death, and faith.
While Abraham was engaged in the sacrifice, Satan went to Sarah, and appeared to her in the figure of an old man, very humble and meek, and said to her: "Dost thou not know all that Abraham has done unto thine only son this day? He took Isaac, and built an altar, slaughtered him, and brought him up as a sacrifice. Isaac cried and wept before his father, but he looked not at him, neither did he have compassion upon him." After saying these words to Sarah, Satan went away from her, and she thought him to be an old man from amongst the sons of men who had been with her son. Sarah lifted up her voice, and cried bitterly, saying: "O my son, Isaac, my son, O that I had this day died instead of thee I It grieves me for thee! After that I have reared thee and have brought thee up, my joy is turned into mourning over thee. In my longing for a child, I cried and prayed, till I bore thee at ninety. Now hast thou served this day for the knife and the fire. But I console myself, it being the word of God, and thou didst perform the command of thy God, for who can transgress the word of our God, in whose hands is the soul of every living creature? Thou art just, O Lord our God, for all Thy works are good and righteous, for I also rejoice with the word which Thou didst command, and while mine eye weepeth bitterly, my heart rejoiceth." And Sarah laid her head upon the bosom of one of her handmaids, and she became as still as a stone. She rose up afterward and went about making inquiries concerning her son, till she came to Hebron, and no one could tell her what had happened to her son. Her servants went to seek him in the house of Shem and Eber, and they could not find him, and they sought throughout the land, and he was not there. And, behold, Satan came to Sarah in the shape of an old man, and said unto her, "I spoke falsely unto thee, for Abraham did not kill his son, and he is not dead," and when she heard the word, her joy was so exceedingly violent that her soul went out through joy. When Abraham with Isaac returned to Beer-sheba, they sought for Sarah and could not find her, and when they made inquiries concerning her, they were told that she had gone as far as Hebron to seek them. Abraham and Isaac went to her to Hebron, and when they found that she was dead, they cried bitterly over her, and Isaac said: "O my mother, my mother, how hast thou left me, and whither hast thou gone? O whither hast thou gone, and how hast thou left me?" And Abraham and all his servants wept and mourned over her a great and heavy mourning, even that Abraham did not pray, but spent his time in mourning and weeping over Sarah. And, indeed, he had great reason to mourn his loss, for even in her old age Sarah had retained the beauty of her youth and the innocence of her childhood. The death of Sarah was a loss not only for Abraham and his family, but for the whole country. So long as she was alive, all went well in the land. After her death confusion ensued. The weeping, lamenting, and wailing over her going hence was universal, and Abraham, instead of receiving consolation, had to offer consolation to others. He spoke to the mourning people, and said: "My children, take not the going hence of Sarah too much to heart. There is one event unto all, to the pious and the impious alike. I pray you now, give me a burying-place with you, not as a gift, but for money." In these last few words Abraham's unassuming modesty was expressed. God had promised him the whole land, yet when he came to bury his dead, he had to pay for the grave, and it did not enter his heart to cast aspersions upon the ways of God. In all humility he spake to the people of Hebron, saying, "I am a stranger and a sojourner with you." Therefore spake God to him, and said, "Thou didst bear thyself modestly. As thou livest, I will appoint thee lord and prince over them." To the people themselves he appeared an angel, and they answered his words, saying: "Thou art a prince of God among us. In the choice of our sepulchres bury thy dead, among the rich if thou wilt, or among the poor if thou wilt." Abraham first of all gave thanks to God for the friendly feeling shown to him by the children of Heth, and then he continued his negotiations for the Cave of Machpelah. He had long known the peculiar value of this spot. Adam had chosen it as a burial-place for himself. He had feared his body might be used for idolatrous purposes after his death; he therefore designated the Cave of Machpelah as the place of his burial, and in the depths his corpse was laid, so that none might find it. When he interred Eve there, he wanted to dig deeper, because he scented the sweet fragrance of Paradise, near the entrance to which it lay, but a heavenly voice called to him, Enough! Adam himself was buried there by Seth, and until the time of Abraham the place was guarded by angels, who kept a fire burning near it perpetually, so that none dared approach it and bury his dead therein. Now, it happened on the day when Abraham received the angels in his house, and he wanted to slaughter an ox for their entertainment, that the ox ran away, and in his pursuit of him Abraham entered the Cave of Machpelah. There he saw Adam and Eve stretched out upon couches, candles burning at the head of their resting-places, while a sweet scent pervaded the cave. Therefore Abraham wished to acquire the Cave of Machpelah from the children of Heth, the inhabitants of the city of Jebus. They said to him. "We know that in time to come God will give these lands unto thy seed, and now do thou swear a covenant with us that Israel shall not wrest the city of Jebus from its inhabitants without their consent." Abraham agreed to the condition, and he acquired the field from Ephron, in whose possession it lay. This happened the very day on which Ephron had been made the chief of the children of Heth, and he had been raised to the position so that Abraham might not have to have dealings with a man of low rank. It was of advantage to Abraham, too, for Ephron at first refused to sell his field, and only the threat of the children of Heth to depose him from his office, unless he fulfilled the desire of Abraham, could induce him to change his disposition. Dissembling deceitfully, Ephron then offered to give Abraham the field without compensation, but when Abraham insisted upon paying for it, Ephron said: "My lord, hearken unto me. A piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver, what is that betwixt me and thee?" showing only too well that the money was of the greatest consequence to him. Abraham understood his words, and when he came to pay for the field, he weighed out the sum agreed upon between them in the best of current coin. A deed, signed by four witnesses, was drawn up, and the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, the field, and the cave which was therein, were made sure unto Abraham and his descendants for all times. The burial of Sarah then took place, amid great magnificence and the sympathy of all. Shem and his son Eber, Abimelech king of the Philistines, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, as well as all the great of the land, followed her bier. A seven days' mourning was kept for her, and all the inhabitants of the land came to condole with Abraham and Isaac. When Abraham entered the cave to place the body of Sarah within, Adam and Eve refused to remain there, "because," they said, "as it is, we are ashamed in the presence of God on account of the sin we committed, and now we shall be even more ashamed on account of your good deeds." Abraham soothed Adam. He promised to pray to God for him, that the need for shame be removed from him. Adam resumed his place, and Abraham entombed Sarah, and at the same time he carried Eve, resisting, back to her place. One year after the death of Sarah, Abimelech king of the Philistines died, too, at the age of one hundred and ninety-three years. His successor upon the throne was his twelve-year old son Benmelek, who took the name of his father after his accession. Abraham did not fail to pay a visit of condolence at the court of Abimelech. Lot also died about this time, at the age of one hundred and forty-two. His sons, Moab and Ammon, both married Canaanitish wives. Moab begot a son, and Ammon had six sons, and the descendants of both were numerous exceedingly. Abraham suffered a severe loss at the same time in the death of his brother Nahor, whose days ended at Haran, when he had reached the age of one hundred and seventy two years.
