“I believe with perfect faith that
there will be a resurrection of the dead.”
Maimonides, 13th Principle of faith
“and to weep for her”
“And the life of Sarah was a hundred and seven and twenty years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. And Sarah died in Kiryat-Arba - the same is Hebron - in the land of Canaan; and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.”
Genesis 23:1-2
וַיִּהְיוּ חַיֵּי שָׂרָה מֵאָה שָׁנָה וְעֶשְׂרִים� שָׁנָה וְשֶׁבַע שָׁנִים שְׁנֵי חַיֵּי שָׂרָה׃
“and to weep for her”
“I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you grieve as others who have no hope.”
1 Thessalonians 4:13
“Why does the Torah split up the tally of her years into three parts (“one hundred years,” “twenty years” and “seven years”)? To tell us that every day of her life was the equivalent of them all. At the age of one hundred years she was like age twenty in strength, and at age twenty she was like age seven in modesty and purity; at age seven she was like age twenty in intelligence, and at age twenty she was like age one hundred in righteousness.”
Midrash HaGadol, cited at Chabad.org
I am a stranger and a resident amongst you (23:4)
“The Jew is a “resident” in the world, for the Torah instructs him not to escape the physical reality but to inhabit it and elevate it. Virtually all the mitzvot (divine commandments) of the Torah are physical actions involving physical objects, in keeping with the Jew’s mission to make a “dwelling for G‑d in the material realm” by sanctifying the everyday materials of everyday life. At the same time, the Jew feels himself a “stranger” in the material world. His true home is a higher, loftier place, the world of spirit, the world of holiness and G‑dliness from which his soul has been exiled and to which it yearns to return. Indeed, it is only because the Jew feels himself a stranger in the world that he can avoid being wholly consumed and overwhelmed by it, and maintain the spiritual vision and integrity required to elevate it and sanctify it as an abode for the Divine Presence."
The Lubavitcher Rebbe, cited at Chabad.org
400 Sheqels!
The name EFRon (עפרון) shares the same Hebrew root as AFaR (עפר, earth), indicating laziness and depression, a lack of faith. Faith, in contrast, is compared to sprouting and growth (Likutey Moharan I, 155). Thus, the life and renewed vitality that tefilin engenders is concealed by Ephron, by laziness. Abraham, the man of faith, can remove the life force from Ephron and add light to it (Likutey Halakhot I, p. 156-158).
Rebbe Nachman’s Torah, Genesis, Breslov Research Center
Four hundred shekels of silver (23:16)
“As per Leviticus 27:16, a field the size of a beit kor, which is the equivalent of 75,000 square cubits, represents a value of 50 silver shekels. Thus, the size of the field which Abraham purchased for 400 silver shekels was eight kor, or 600,000 square cubits. A square cubit (approx. 20 inches by 20 inches) is the space occupied by a single person. This means that Abraham purchased a plot of land that provides an individual “space” for each of the 600,000 souls of Israel.”�Paane’ach Raza, cited at Chabad.org
“Our sages tell us that the Torah contains 600,000 letters (counting the spaces between letters), for each Jew possesses something of the Torah. The same is true of the Land of Israel. Israel is the eternal inheritance of the Jewish people, equally the property of every individual Jew. And so it has been from the very first moment of Jewish ownership of the Holy Land: the first plot of land obtained by the first Jew included a share for every Jewish soul.”
The Lubavitcher Rebbe, cited at Chabad.org
The Cave of Machpelah:
‘And Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver’ (Gen 23:16).
The Temple Mount:
‘So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold’ (I Chron. 21:25).
And Joseph’s Sepulchre:
‘And he bought the parcel of ground.’ (Gen 33:19)”
Genesis Rabbah 79:7, Soncino Press Edition
“R. Judan b. R. Simon said: “This is one of the three place regarding which the nations of the world cannot taunt Israel and say, 'You have stolen them.’ These are they: The cave of Machpelah, the [site of the] Temple ,the sepulchre of Joseph.
Let him give it to me for the full price, in your presence, for a burial ground." (23:9)�
“A great light existed in the Cave of Makhpeilah, shining out from the Garden of Eden. But Ephron did not see this light, and so he was eager to sell the cave. Abraham did see the light, and he knew that it marked the gateway to the Garden of Eden. Thus, he was eager to purchase the cave. . . Makhpeilah (double) indicates the four couples that were buried there: Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, and Jacob and Leah (Rashi)...For something as holy as the Cave of Makhpeilah, which is the portal to the Garden of Eden and the gateway through which all souls pass after death, Abraham was willing to pay top dollar rather than receive it as a gift. . . Similarly, both the common person and the tzaddik are exposed to awesome levels of Godliness that abound in the world, but only the tzaddik appreciates them. A wise person strives to overcome his foolishness and material desires in order to come close to the tzaddik, who can then reveal to him that awesomee Divine beauty (Likutey Moharan I, 17:2).”
Rebbe Nachman’s Torah, Genesis, Breslov Research Center
“On that day Sadducees (those who say that there is no resurrection) came to him. They asked him, saying, “Rabbi, Moses said, ‘If a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed for his brother.’ Now there were with us seven brothers. The first married and died, and having no seed left his wife to his brother. In the same way, the second also, and the third, to the seventh. After them all, the woman died. In the resurrection therefore, whose wife will she be of the seven? For they all had her.”
“But Yeshua answered them, “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of G-d. For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are like G-d’s angels in heaven. But concerning the resurrection of the dead, haven’t you read that which was spoken to you by G-d, saying, ‘I am the G-d of Abraham, and the G-d of Isaac, and the G-d of Jacob?’ G-d is not the G-d of the dead, but of the living.”
Matthew 22:23-32, HNV
“The righteous … are called LIVING even in their death; BUT THE DEAD KNOW NOT refers to the wicked who, even in their lifetime, are called DEAD. Whence do we know that the righteous are called living even in their death? As it is said, Unto the land of which I swore unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”
Ecclesiastes Rabbah 9:4, Soncino Press Edition
“For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.”
Ecclesiastes 9:5, KJV
“…G-d is above space-time. To Him, past, present and future have no existential meaning. It is we who experience time as a reality. We are born young, gradually age and finally die. None of these human experiences apply to the Divinity. The flow of time is part of our world, not G-d’s. According to our perception of reality, Abraham and Sarah may have died four thousand years ago; but as far as G-d is concerned, they are no more dead or in the past than they ever were . . . It is spiritual distance that separates us from G-d, not time, and spiritual distance has nothing to do with being alive or dead; the living person who cuts himself off from G-d is no closer to Him alive than dead. Rashi (Genesis 11:32) explains in the name of the Midrash that the wicked are already considered dead in their lifetimes; whereas the righteous are considered alive even after they die.”
R’ Nosson Weisz, Chayei Sarah (Genesis 23:1-25:18), The Double Image , Aish.com
"At that time the Holy One, blessed be He, will dress the Messiah with a diadem and place ‘the helmet of deliverance upon his head’ (Isa 59:17). He will endow him with glory and splendor and enwrap him with rich garments, and He will station him upon the peak of a high mountain to make an announcement to Israel. Using his voice he will proclaim: ‘Deliverance has arrived!’ Israel will say: ‘Who are you?’ He will respond, ‘I am Ephraim.’ Israel will ask: ‘Are you the one to whom the Holy One, blessed be He, referred when He said “Ephraim, he is My firstborn” (Jer 31:8)? “Could a child be more precious to Me than Ephraim” (Jer 31:19)?’ He will answer them: ‘Yes!’ Israel will say to him: ‘Go forth and impart the news to those who sleep at Machpelah, for they must rise first.’
“He will then go and impart the news to those sleeping at Machpelah, saying to them: ‘Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob! Arise, for you have slept long enough!’ They will answer, saying: ‘Who is this who pulls the dust off of us?’ He will say to them: ‘I am the Lord’s Messiah! Deliverance has come; the Hour has arrived!’ They will answer him: ‘If this is true, go and impart the news to Adam the Protoplast for he must rise first.’ They (sic) will then say to Adam the Protoplast: ‘You have slept long enough!’ He will answer: ‘Who is this who wakes me from my sleep?’ He will say: ‘I am the Lord’s Messiah, one of your descendants!’ Immediately Adam the Protoplast will arise, along with his entire generation, and Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the righteous, and all the tribes and every generation from one end of the world to the other, and they will joyfully sing, as Scripture states: ‘how wonderful on the mountains are the feet of the one who brings news!’ (Isa 52:7)."�Pirkei Mashiach, Translated by John C. Reeves, UNC Charlotte
“Shake yourself free, rise from the dust,�dress in your garments of splendor, my people,�By the hand of the Son of Jesse of Bethlehem,�Unto my soul, Redemption draws near.”�Lecha Dodi