Commento su Genesi 23:2

בקרית ארבע literally, the city of the Four, and it was so called because of the four giants who lived there: Ahiman, Sheshai, Talmai and their father (Numbers 13:22). Another explanation is that it was so called because of the four couples who were buried there, man and wife — Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Leah (Genesis Rabbah 58:4). ויבא אברהם AND ABRAHAM CAME from Beer-Sheba.

AND ABRAHAM CAME. Rashi comments: “From Beer-sheba.” Now this does not mean to imply that Abraham remained in Beer-sheba — as is indicated in the verse, And Abraham abode at Beer-sheba,⁷Above, 22:19. for how then would Sarah have been in Hebron? Rather, the intent is to state that Abraham had gone to Beer-sheba for the day for some purpose, and while there he heard of the death of Sarah and came from there to Hebron to mourn and weep for her. However, the expression of our Rabbis is,⁸Bereshith Rabbah 58:5. “And Abraham came — from Mount Moriah.” This is in accord with the Midrash which the Rabbi [Rashi] previously cited⁹In his commentary to Verse 2. which states that hearing of the Binding [in which her son had been made ready for sacrifice and had indeed almost been sacrificed] her soul flew from her and she died.
It would appear that the Divine command concerning the Binding was delivered to Abraham in Beer-sheba for there he dwelt and he returned thereto after the Binding, for so it is written at the outset: And Abraham planted a tamarisk-tree in Beer-sheba and called there on the name of the Eternal, the Everlasting G-d.¹⁰Above, 21:33. It further states, And Abraham sojourned in the land of the Philistines many days.¹¹Ibid., Verse 34. This refers to his dwelling in Beer-sheba, which is in the land of the Philistines, and it is there that he was commanded concerning the Binding. It is for this reason that he expended three days on the journey to Mount Moriah,¹²Ibid., 22:4. for the land of the Philistines is distant from Jerusalem. On the other hand, Hebron is in the mountains of Judah, as Scripture testifies,¹³Joshua 20:7; 21:11. and is therefore near to Jerusalem. Thus, when coming from the Binding, he returned to Beer-sheba, as it is said, So Abraham returned to his lads and they rose and went together to Beer-sheba.¹⁴Above, 22:19. This teaches us that he tarried there and dwelled in Beer-sheba for a period of years. Now if this was the case, Sarah did not die during that period immediately following the Binding for it would not be that Abraham lived in Beer-sheba while Sarah dwelt in Hebron. And so it also appears since Isaac was born in Beer-sheba for it is previously written, And Abraham journeyed from there towards the land of the south and abode between Kadesh and Shur and sojourned in Gerar,¹⁵Ibid., 20:1. and Abimelech said to him, Behold, my land is before thee; abide where it is good in thine eyes.¹⁶Ibid., Verse 15. There in that land Abraham settled in the city of Beer-sheba, for so it is written, And it came to pass at that time that Abimelech and Phicol the captain of his host spoke unto Abraham, saying.¹⁷Ibid., 21:22. Though it is not written there that they came to him from Gerar, [as it is written in the case of Isaac],¹⁸Further, 26:26. from which you might infer that Abraham lived in Gerar, this is not the case. Scripture clearly states that it was in Beer-sheba that they made the covenant.¹⁹Above, 21:32. Similarly, you will see that when Hagar was sent away from the house of Abraham on the day that Isaac was weaned,²⁰Ibid., Verse 8. she walked in the desert of Beer-sheba,²¹Ibid., Verse 14. for it was there that they lived. However, after many days, he [Abraham] journeyed from the land of the Philistines and came to Hebron, and there the righteous woman Sarah passed away.
However, according to the Midrash [which states that Sarah died at the time of the Binding], we must say that Abraham and Sarah lived in Hebron at the time of the Binding, and there Abraham was commanded concerning it. The verse which states that On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes,¹²Ibid., 22:4. poses this difficulty: Since Hebron is near Mount Moriah, which is in Jerusalem, why did he not arrive at the mountain until the third day? The answer is as follows: The mountain which G-d had desired for His abode²²Psalms 68:17. A reference to the fact that in the future the Temple of Jerusalem was to be built on that mountain. See Ramban, above, 22:2. was not revealed to him until the third day. Thus for two days he wandered in the environs of Jerusalem, and it was not yet the Divine Will to indicate the mountain to him. After the Binding, Abraham did not return to his place in Hebron. Rather, he went first to Beer-sheba, the place of his tamarisk-tree, to give thanks for the miracle that befell him. It was there that he heard of the death of Sarah, and he came to Hebron. The two apparently divergent opinions — namely, that Abraham came from Mount Moriah and that he came from Beer-sheba — are thus one [since, as explained, on his way from Mount Moriah he went to the tamarisk-tree which was in Beer-sheba, there to give thanks for the miracle]. Accordingly, the verse which states, And Abraham abode at Beer-sheba,⁷Above, 22:19. is intended to indicate that upon his return from the Binding he went to Beer-sheba, and from there he went to bury Sarah. After the internment he immediately returned to Beer-sheba and settled there for years. Scripture, however, concludes the subject of Beer-sheba all at once, and following that it tells of the burial, [which explains the lack of chronology in the verse, And Abraham dwelt in Beer-sheba]. It was there in Beer-sheba that Isaac married Rebekah, as it says, For he dwelt in the land of the South,²³Further, 24:62. the locus of Beer-sheba. It is thus the opinion of all the commentators that Abraham was in another place, and it was from there that he came to the burial.
In my opinion, Sarah had a tent for herself and her attendants. And so it is written elsewhere into Jacob’s tent, and into Leah’s tent, and into the tent of the two maid servants.²⁴Ibid., 31:33. Sarah thus died in her tent, and Abraham came into her tent with a group of his friends to bewail her. [This is a simple explanation of the expression, and Abraham came.] It may be that the word vayavo (and he came) indicates that Abraham was bestirred to make this eulogy, and he began to make it, for all who bestir themselves to begin doing a certain task are spoken of in Hebrew as “coming to it.” This usage is quite common in the language of Sages, as we learn in Tractate Tamid:²⁵Tamid, IV, 3. “He came to the neck and left with it two ribs on either side…. He came to the left flank…. He came to the rump.” And also (you have) their expression,²⁶Bechoroth 20a. “I have not come to this principle.” In Scripture, likewise, you find, he came for his hire,²⁷Exodus 22:14. meaning that he came for the purpose of this work and did it for his hire. However, it does not appear to me feasible that Abraham came from another city to Hebron. If that were the case, Scripture would have mentioned that place and would have expressly written: “and Abraham heard, and he came from such and such a place.”

בקרית ארבע, the name of the person who founded or owned this town was Arba. We know this from Joshua 15,13 where he is described as the father of a giant. The reference to a town by mentioning an outstanding citizen is familiar to us from Numbers 21,27-29 where the capital of the Emorites is described as קרית סיחון, the city of Sichon.

+++ To be proofread +++ Sarah died in Kiriath-arba—now Hebron. [Translator's note: heading should be bold] In the aggadic compilation Yalkut Shimoni (Remez 102:7) the author infers that this place had four names, namely, Eshkol, Mamre, Kiriath-arba, Chevron (Hebron) and I would pay attention [Translator's note: "אמרתי ליתן טוב טעם ודעת על" is a specific rabbinic idiom, trans. unclear] to those four names: in accordance with this place being allocated to graves it is called by four names that indicate four ways by which death is being found. 1) Because there is a manner of death, when someone dies for his own sin, as it is written (Numbers 27:3) "but [he] died for his own sin". 2) And there is a manner of death due to the transgression of other people, as with the children who are caught in the transgression of their fathers, and the righteous who is caught in the transgression of the generation. 3) And there are those who pass away in the absence of a transgression, by natural death and the divisiveness of the four elements [Translator's note: earth, water, air, and fire], since it is natural that the end of all that is composited is to be separated. 4) And there is the death by a kiss, and this is the manner of death for the righteous: they die by a [Translator's note: heavenly] kiss, which is an expression for joining [Translator's note: connection?], and the issue about this is, that when their thought and their soul ascends and sticks to the wit of the worker [Translator's note: i.e., the creator, "שכל הפועל" is a specific rabbinic idiom, trans. unclear], the one who ascended will not descend again, but his soul remains joined there.

The small "kaf" signifies that Abraham cried, but not too much because she was elderly, and also because she caused her own death when she passed judgment for her own deeds onto another (cf. TB Rosh Hashanah 16b) and therefore was punished first, and one does not eulogize someone who dies by suicide.

ותמת שרה בקרית ארבע. Sarah died at Kiryat Arba. We must not misunderstand that Kiryat Arba was the cause of her death. The reason the town was mentioned and was so named is to tell us that it was built on the four basic elements. Death normally implies a departure from, or disintegration of, the four basic elements that a body is composed of. When the Torah adds that "Kiryat Arba" is also known as חברון, this is an allusion to the word חבור, something that is joined together. The message is that when the righteous "die," this is not to be viewed as a process of disintegration. The righteous are still called "alive" even when they have ceased to function in regular bodies on this earth. The story in Shabbat 152 about how the grave of Rabbi Achai bar Yoshiah was disturbed by diggers on a property of Rav Nachman and how Rabbi Achai reacted illustrates this concept. What all this means is that while the righteous are alive in this world, the four basic material elements that every human being is composed of become transformed into something spiritual and attach themselves to their souls by means of the good deeds that such persons perform during their sojourn on earth. Maimonides illustrates this somewhat in the fourth chapter of Hilchot Yesodey Torah where he describes that one element is capable of becoming transformed into another element which was similar to it, i.e. earth can be transformed into water. When man cleaves to G'd all his elements become transformed into the element fire which forms the basis of the soul. Kabbalists are familiar with this.

ותמת שרה בקרית ארבע, this is where Avraham and Sarah resided after they had left Beer Sheva.

Sarah died. She did not die until a fitting successor was born and Avraham was apprised of the fact.

ויבא אברהם, “Avraham came, etc.” According to Rashi he came from Beer Sheva. Nachmanides adds that Rashi did not mean to imply that at that time Avraham resided in Beer Sheva on a permanent basis, whereas Sarah had resided in Kiryat Arba, (Chevron) as it is quite inconceivable that Avraham and Sarah lived in different locations from each. Avraham heard the news of Sarah’s death while he was in Beer Sheva on “business.” Some commentators think that Avraham at the time was in the process of establishing residence in Beer Sheva, and had wanted to prepare everything before bringing Sarah there also. According to the Bereshit Rabbah, Avraham arrived on his returned from Mount Moriah to find that Sarah had died from the distress that Yitzchok had been sacrificed. Nachmanides writes that according to the report in the Torah the commandment to offer up Yitzchok as a burnt offering was issued when Avraham was in Beer Sheva, where he resided at the time. This was the meaning of 22,34-35 “he planted an orchard in Beer Sheva and he resided there for many years.” This is why it took him three days to get to Chevron, seeing that the land of the Philistines was not that close to Chevron. If Avraham would have had to return from Mount Moriah to Chevron it would not have taken more than a single day at most, whereas the Toah reports that it took him three days to reach Mount Moriah on his way to binding Yitzchok on the altar there. If the Midrash were correct in saying that Sarah died [precisely during the time Avraham performed the binding of Yitzchok, we must assume that at the time of the Akeydah, Avraham and Sarah had both lived in Chevron, so that the meaning of 22,4 “it was on the third day (of Avraham and Yitzchok’s journey to Mount Moriah) must be that G’d for reasons best known to Him, did not want Avraham to locate the mountain until the third day of his journey. He had been walking in the neighbourhood until G’d indicated to him which of the mountains He had had in mind. The reason that he went to Beer Sheva after the binding of Yitzchok was to give thanks for the miracle he had been allowed to experience, and while there the news of Sarah’s death reached him. It is the consensus of all the commentators that Avraham was not at home at the time that Sarah died. My personal opinion is that Sarah had a tent which served as her home as well as the home for her maidservants. She died within her own tent, and the words ויבא אברהם simply mean that he came to her tent upon hearing what had happened It is also possible that the term described Avraham’s preparation to eulogize Sarah appropriately. Whenever a person prepares himself to carry out a certain assignment, the term used to describe the preparation for such an undertaking is ויבא, He came, i.e., “he became ready.” In my opinion, it is most unlikely that the word ויבא means that Avraham came from another city, as the Torah would have mentioned from which city Avraham had to come in order to make burial arrangements for Sarah.

To eulogize … and to weep. In general one weeps over the termination of the life of the deceased before eulogizing the loss to the living. For the righteous, however, death is not a tragedy because they are then able to attain greater heights. Thus it is only the loss to the living that is a cause for weeping.

So called because of the four giants that were there... Re’m writes: However, I do not know what brought Chazal to say that Kiryas Arba was named after the four giants [or the four couples], when the city’s ruler was himself named Arba! It is written: “And the name of Hebron previously was Kiryas Arba; he was the greatest man among the giants” (Yehoshua 14:15). Chazal should have said that Kiryas Arba means “the city of the man named Arba,” and then explain why he was named Arba, rather than why the city was named Arba. The Re’m answers: Perhaps it is because Chazal found a reason for the city to be called Arba, but not for its ruler to be called Arba. Therefore they explained that the city was so called because of [the four giants or] the four couples — and the city’s ruler was also called Arba, after his city’s name.

ויבא אברהם, gewöhnlich: da kam Abraham usw. also war er nicht gegenwärtig bei ihrem Tode. Es wird dahin erklärt: als er von der Akeda nach Hause kam, fand er sein Weib nicht mehr. So wenig misst sich der Lohn, die Verheißung, die den Vätern gegeben worden, nach der Freude und der Heiterkeit, die sie im Leben genießen. Zu dieser Erklärung muß jedoch dann auch noch suppliert werden, dass Sara von Abraham vor seinem Gange nach Moria von Beerscheba nach Chebron entfernt worden war, damit sie den Schmerz nicht plötzlich erhielte. Allein eine Erwägung der ursprünglichen Bedeutung des בוא dürfte diese ganze Voraussetzung unnötig machen. בוא heißt ursprünglich: sich aus dem Freien ins Haus, aus der Öffentlichkeit in einen Privatraum begeben. So bei Gideon (Richter 6, 19) וגדעון בא ויעש וגוי. — (Jes. 26, 20) לך עמי בא בחדריך. — (Jechesk. 3, 23) בא הסגר בתוך ביתך, ziehe dich zurück und schließe dich ein. So auch בוא השמש im Gegensatz zu צאת השמש. Also: Abraham zog sich zurück, schloss sich ein, um zu klagen um seine Sara und sie zu beweinen. Er trägt seinen Schmerz nicht zur Schau, macht kein Gepränge damit. Ob hier nicht darum auch ein kleines כ in לבכתה steht, stellen wir als möglich hin. Wir wissen, was die Sara dem Abraham gewesen, wie unendlich tief der Schmerz gewesen sein muss, wenn ein Abraham eine Sara verliert. Er klagt, er weint, aber er trägt den Schmerz in sich, zu Hause.

בקרית ארבע, “in the town or village known as the city of the “four.” The word ארבע is the name of the person after whom the town was named as is stated in Joshua 14,15: קרית ארבע האדם הגדול בענקים, “the town of Arba, the great man among the Anakites.”

ותמת שרה, “Sarah died;” it is most unusual for the Torah to report the fact that a woman died. (Miriam, Moses’ sister’s death are exceptions, Numbers 20,1 as are Rachel’s premature death in Genesis 35,18, and Deborah, Rivkah’s nursemaid in Genesis 35,8.) When such a death is reported it is not only a compliment to the virtuous lives these women had lived, but is always associated with a remarkable event. Sarah’s death is associated with the enormous amount of money paid by her husband for acquiring the land for burying her. Rachel’s premature death is reported so that we should know where she has been buried. Deborah’s death is reported so that we should know why the place where this occurred became known subsequently as אלון בכות, “oak of mourning.” [Also in order to draw our attention to the fact that her mistress, Rivkah’s death has not been reported. Ed.] Miriam’s death was the reason that the well that had accompanied the Israelites throughout their long march in the desert ceased flowing.

ויבא אברהם AND ABRAHAM CAME from Beer-Sheba

ויבא אברהם, even if he did not arrive from out of town it is perfectly in order to describe his arrival in order to mourn Sarah by the words ויבא אברהם. [Clearly, the author considers Avraham as having lived uninterruptedly in Beer Sheva ever since were told this in 22,19. Ed.]

בקרית ארבע, Arba was the name of a man whose was known by this “nickname” as he had three sons, and they, just as he himself were giants, so that there were four giants. Compare Joshua 21,11. His three sons were called ששי,חימן, תלמי.

To eulogize Sarah. Literally, “to eulogize for Sarah” — a eulogy is for the honor of the deceased.

לספוד לשרה ולבכותה, “to eulogize Sarah and to weep for her.” At this point the Torah does not add the words: “and to bury her,” as he had not yet secured a suitable site where to bury her.

Another explanation: So called because of the four couples that were buried there... Both explanations are needed, because each on its own raises the question: Why does the city’s name not reflect the reason for its origin? If after the four giants, it should be named Kiryas Anakim, and if after the four couples, it should be named Kiryas Zugos — but not Kiryas Arba. Since it makes no difference that there were exactly four giants, or couples, the city should not be called after a number which is not the reason for its name. That is why Rashi uses both explanations — to say that Kiryas Arba is called after the fact that it contains certain things which relate to the number four. E.g., it has four giants and four couples. But it was not called after one thing alone. Furthermore, we could even say it was called after the thing itself, but was called a number for the sake of brevity. The word “Arba,” alludes to two things the city has, both related to the number four. And since both are equally alluded to, both are included. (R. Meir Stern)

The Torah adds the (apparently superfluous words) "in the land of Canaan." This is an allusion to the fact that this present world is called ארץ כנען, a simile for the evil urge, Satan. This is so because the existence of Satan is the incentive for us to overcome him and to attain holiness and sanctity (Zohar 1,80).

ספר, vielleicht verwandt mit זבר: izuerteilen, jemandem das von ihm im Leben Errungene zuerteilen, seinen Wert aussprechen. Dem Begriffe nach wie: תנו לה מפרי ידיה וגו׳ (ProRaw Hirsch on Genesis 23: 31, 31). — בכה, verwandt mit בקע, ihervorbrechen, auch vom Quell aus der Tiefe בקעת מעין ונחל (Psalm 74, 15), weinen. In der Träne strömt das Gemüt aus.

בקרית ארבע, in Kiryat Arba; there is an opinion that the reason why the location where she died is mentioned, while the locations where the other matriarchs died were not mentioned is that Avraham had sent her there before taking Yitzchok with him to be offered as a sacrifice on Mount Moriah. He did not want her to have any knowledge of this. Avraham and Sarah at that time had been residents of B’er Sheva. Another commentator claims that Sarah had moved from B’er Sheva for health reasons as the climate in Chevron (mountainous instead of desert) was more likely to cure her. When she heard why Avraham had taken Yitzchok to Mount Moriah she died. This is why Avraham had to come all the way from B’er Sheva to mourn and bury her. Had she died in B’er Sheva, Avraham could have buried her there without problems as he was at home there.

לספוד לשרה ולבכותה TO BEWAIL SARAH AND TO WEEP FOR HER — The narrative of the death of Sarah follows immediately on that of the Binding of Isaac, because through the announcement of the Binding — that her son had been made ready for sacrifice and had almost been sacrificed — she received a great shock (literally, her soul flew from her) and she died (Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 32).

To eulogize … and to weep. Usually weeping precedes eulogizing because the mourner’s sense of loss diminishes with time. In Sarah’s case, however, her absence was felt more each day.

ויבא אברהם, he came from outside the house as he had not been present when Sarah died.. Alternately, he had been out of town at the time when Sarah died.

From Beer Sheva. You might ask: How does Rashi know this? The answer is: Since the verse does not specify where he came from, it must be from where he dwelled before. And Beer Sheva, written in 22:19, is the only place mentioned by Scripture in which Avraham dwelled after the Akeidah.

לספוד לשרה ולבכותה, to mourn Sarah and to weep for her. To mourn her departure from the world, and to weep for her on account of the personal loss he had sustained. One can also understand it in the reverse sense, i.e. he mourned the absence of her righteous presence, and he wept because she had tasted death and her sun had set (her benign influence on the people surrounding her).

בקרית ארבע, this was a town that had been built already by Adam, as we know from Joshua 14,15: קרית ארבע שם חברון לפנים, האדם הגדול בענקים, “the name of Chevron in former times was Kiryat Arba, the greatest of all the giants.”A different version found in midrashim, is that the name of that town is due to it changing ownership four times one after another. First it belonged to the tribe of Yehudah; then it became the private property of Calev of that tribe; subsequently it became a city of priests, and eventually one of the cities of refuge. (Compare B’reshit Rabbah 58,4) This is why only its outskirts were given to Calev as is apparent from the wording in Joshua 21,12. Compare also in Baba Batra 122. ויבא אברהם, “Avraham arrived.” Some scholars claim that the term: ויבא, need not imply that the subject came from afar, even if he only came from the outside of the house this term is used as we know from Joseph’s entering Potiphar’s house where the Torah wrote: ויבא הביתה לעשות מלאכתו, “he entered the house in order to perform his tasks.” (Genesis 39,11)

לספד, to eulogise her with words and elegies.

Sarah’s death immediately follows the Akeidah of Yitzchok... Rashi does not mean that the sections are juxtaposed, because if so he should have said this at the beginning of the Parshah. Furthermore, how does he know that this is not the section’s proper place, [so that the juxtaposition is significant]? Rather, [Rashi means that the events] are juxtaposed in time, as Chazal had an oral tradition that Sarah died close to the Akeidah, and they found support for this in the phrase, “Avraham came.” [Although Avraham came from Beer Sheva, he was there for just a short while (see Rashi on 22:19), so it is as if he came straight from the Akeidah.] (Re’m)

לספוד לשרה ולבכותה, “to eulogize Sarah and to weep over her loss.” He had not secured a suitable plot where to bury her.

ולבכותה, and to weep for her. These two verbs are used on occasion without the prepositions אל and על as for instance in Psalms 69,11 ואבכה בצום נפשי, “when I wept and fasted;” the meaning of the prefix ב in front of צום is equivalent to the preposition על, “I fasted on account of the threat to my soul.” Compare also Genesis 36,35 ויבך אותו אביו, “his father wept for him.”

As a result of the news of the Akeidah, that her son had been prepared for slaughter... Otherwise, why does the Torah write, “Avraham came,” teaching that he came from Mount Moriah? [See end of previous entry.] Perforce it is to tell us, “As a result...”

And almost not been slaughtered, her soul departed from her and she died. You might ask: Should Rashi not have said, “Almost been slaughtered”? The answer is: An emissary came from Mount Moriah, told her about the Akeidah, and began to say how her son had been prepared for slaughter. He delayed the end of his account that Yitzchok was actually saved from slaughter. He “almost” told her that Yitzchok had “not been slaughtered,” but a moment before, she became so shocked by his words that her spirit and soul departed. (Mahara’i)