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And she said to the slave, “Who is that man?”… And the slave said, “He is my master.” She then took the veil and covered herself. (24:65)

Rashi explains that the word va’tiskas, “and she covered herself,” is the hispael form of the  word kasoh,  to cover.  It is the  reflexive  form,  indicating the  future,  third person, feminine. The word therefore means, “and she covered herself,” with the object stated in the word itself. This is as if it were to read, va’techas es atzmah. Rashi compares it to two other words: va’tikaver, “and she was buried” (Ibid. 35:8), a reference to Devorah, Rivkah Imeinu’s nursemaid; and va’tishaver, “and it was broken,” in Shmuel I 4:18. While these two are not in the hispael tense, they are…

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“…That you not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites.” (24:3)

Avraham Avinu was adamant: Yitzchak was not to marry a girl from his Canaanite neighbors. Eliezer, Avraham’s student, must go to Aram Naharaim to find Yitzchak’s bashert, Heavenly-designated spouse. These two places had one thing in common: The people worshipped pagans. Avodah zarah, idol worship, was a way of life in both places. Therefore, what did Avraham gain by going elsewhere? At least, if Yitzchak’s wife were to come from Canaan, Avraham would be acquainted with the family. Kli Yakar focuses on this question and presents us with an important explanation. He explains that there is another fear that concerned Avraham….

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Avraham rose up from the presence of his dead. (23:3)

Horav Yechezkel Rabinowitz, zl, author of the Knesses Yechezkel and Admor of Radomsk,  explains  this  pasuk  homiletically:  He  cites  the  Talmudic  dictum  in Meseches Shabbos 153a, and Pirkei Avos 2:15, “Repent one day before you die.” The Talmud poses the question of whether one knows when he will die – “Therefore, one should repent daily, since he never knows if he will be around the next day. This will generate an entire life filled with teshuvah.” The Radomsker remarked that this is how a Jew should live: Today is the last day of my life. I was allowed to live today,…

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And Avraham came to eulogize Sarah and to bewail her. (23:2)

In his Sefer Chareidim, Horav Elazar Azkari, zl, writes, “It is a mitzvah to eulogize an adam kasher, a proper, upright man, as it is written, ‘And Avraham came to eulogize Sarah and to bewail her.’” This is part of gemillas chassadim, acts of lovingkindness. While it is the correct and proper thing to do, the sequence of events in the Parshah seems out of order. One would think that the first reaction to hearing the news of someone’s sudden passing would be weeping. Only later, after the emotion of the day has settled, does the mourner eulogize the individual, which appears…

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Sarah died in Kiryas Arba, which is Chevron in the land of Canaan; and Avraham came to eulogize Sarah and to bewail her. Avraham rose up from the presence of his dead… “Grant me an estate for a burial site with you, that I may bury my dead from before me.” (23:2-4)

These pesukim seem to tell a simple story: Sarah Imeinu had died. Avraham Avinu mourned her passing and sought a burial place, which was the Meoras HaMachpeilah. It seems straightforward. When one peruses the commentators who focus on the esoteric interpretation of the events, however, the story comes alive. Indeed, it is anything but simple. In his inimitable manner, Horav Pinchas Friedman, Shlita, takes us on a journey, viewing the course of events through the lens of Kabbalah. He cites Horav Yehonasan Eybeshutz, zl, in his Tiferes Yehonasan, who posits that the Meoras HaMachpeilah was the resting place for those tzaddikim,…

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