Cave of Hidden Lights (Repeat of Chayei Sarah 2023)
Baruch Hashem, my wife and I were zoche to welcome our new daughter into the world last night. In lieu of a new installment, please enjoy last year’s piece on Chayei Sarah. May we all share many more simchos together and may we merit to celebrate the ultimate joy of the Geulah Sheleima B’meheira V’yameinu
“From where do we know that a marriage status can be created through a monetary transaction? This law is derived from the repeated usage (Gezera Shava) of the word “take” in the Torah’s mention of these two topics… It is written with regard to marriage: “When a man takes a woman” (Devarim 24:1), and it is written concerning Abraham’s purchase of the field of the Cave of Machpelah from Ephron the Hittite: “I will give money for the field; take it from me” (Bereishis 23:13).”- Kiddushin 2a
“If Efron had seen in the cave what Abraham saw, he would never have sold it… Efron saw nothing in it, as nothing is revealed except to its owner… It was revealed to Abraham because it was his, and not Efron's, for Efron had no share in it. Therefore Efron … saw only darkness and therefore, he sold it” - Zohar Chayei Sarah 15:103
“The status of animals and vessels on Shabbos & Festivals is as the feet of their owner, [meaning that one’s animals and vessels are governed by his own travel limitations] - Beitza 5:3
The Gemara describes a juxtaposition of seemingly unrelated topics: the laws of marriage and the details of Avraham’s real estate purchase. A seasoned gemara student would take this in stride, and chalk this up to the unique nature of Gezeira Shava, the principle that allows us to derive similarities between disparate Torah laws that share common words. Gezeira Shava can only be applied based on tradition, not logic or linguistic analysis. However, it is important to remember that although we may not understand the connection between the laws, we accept undoubtedly that a connection exists. In his analysis of this Gezeira Shava, the Kozhiglover proposes two conceptual connections, which highlight the spiritual and personal significance behind Avraham‘s purchase of the Mearas Hamachpela.
The situation that the Zohar describes, at first glance, seems to fit the description of a Mekach Toes, a purchase made under a misapprehension, which is void according to Torah law. If Efron had been aware of the significance of his land, he wouldn’t have sold it. But As the Kozhiglover explains, this wasn't a simple case of a seller being unaware of his item’s true value. Because of his greedy nature, Efron had no connection to the spiritual potential of his real estate. His ownership only extended to the physical property itself. He could have inspected every inch of it and never would have detected what Avraham did. For him the cave was truly “dark” - a mere crack in the ground with no deeper significance. As such, Avraham’s rightfully purchased what belonged to Efron:the physical space of the cave and field. This allowed him to claim the hidden light of the property, something that Efron had never owned, and could never have owned.
By way of an analogy, if a buyer knows that there is an oil well in the field, while the seller is unaware, the seller can later claim Mekach Toes; the oil well was his all along, and he sold it without realizing. But if a world-class artist buys a field, and then creates a new masterpiece painting of the field that sells for millions of dollars, the original owner has no claim on the painting or the money. The new dimension of beauty and its associated value discovered in the field is connected completely to the soul of the artist. Buying the field from the original owner was simply a preparatory step that allowed that dimension to be accessed.
By framing the physical purchase of the cave as means to allow for a deeper, more powerful acquisition, the Kozhiglover explains its connection to marriage. In Torah law, the man must be the active party in creating the marriage status. This demands more than the simple consent of the woman; although she wishes to be married to him, he still must be the one to perform an act of “taking” in order for the marriage to be binding. If so, how do we understand the woman’s role in the process when she accepts money from her husband-to-be; isn’t that a form of her “taking herself” into the marriage? The Ran, in his commentary to Nedarim 30a, explains that by accepting the money, the woman waives her own independent status, and makes herself available to be claimed in marriage by the one who gave her the money. Her role is creating the possibility for an act of taking, it is not an act of taking itself. This is paralleled by Avraham’s purchase of the real estate from Efron. He did not purchase the spiritual potential of the land, which was never Efron’s to sell in the first place. His purchase simply created the possibility for claiming the hidden lights of the field and cave.
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The Kozhiglover explains a second, more personal connection between the concept of marriage and Avraham’s purchase. There is a mystical relationship between a man and the things he owns. An example of this is taught in the Mishna in Beitza; just as a man cannot travel past a certain boundary on Shabbos, his vessels and animals are also banned from being carried or moved past that boundary. Although separated by distance, the man retains a soul connection to his property; in the words of the Arizal, “his Nefesh, Ruach, and Neshama spread through all his possessions.”
It is this mystical soul connection that led Avraham to be so adamant about purchasing the land where Sarah was buried. Sarah had stood at Avarahm's side, his partner in building the foundation of Am Yisroel. With her death, that connection had been tragically broken. Taking possession of the field where she would be buried was a way to continue their connection, albeit in a different form. The body of Sarah was buried in the land of Avraham, binding them together through the power of property, a posthumous continuation of their bond in life. This is why the laws of marriage are derived from the purchase that Avraham made from Ephron, because that purchase itself was motivated by the timeless connection between husband and wife.
-Adapted from Eretz Tzvi Al Hatorah, Parshas Chayei Sarah #2 (5684/1923)