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Wisdom for Living
Rabbi Noah Weinberg on the Parashah
6 min read
His beloved wife Sarah has just died, and after eulogizing her, Avraham wants to give her a fitting burial. But first he has to contend with the children of Cheis, the Hittites, and the greedy, manipulative Ephron, in order to acquire a suitable burial plot.
If you look at the entire chapter carefully, you will see that one group of people is mentioned repeatedly:
Avraham rose up from the presence of his dead, and spoke to the children of Cheis…
And the children of Cheis answered Avraham…
Then Avraham rose up and bowed down to the members of the council, to the children of Cheis...
Now, Ephron was sitting in the midst of the children of Cheis, and Ephron the Hittite responded to Avraham in the hearing of the children of Cheis…
And Avraham weighed out to Ephron the price that he had mentioned in the hearing of the children of Cheis…
And Ephrons’ field…was confirmed as Avraham’s as a purchase in the view of the children of Cheis…
Thus, the field with the cave that was in it, was confirmed as Avraham’s as an estate for a burial site, from the children of Cheis.
The field that Avraham had bought from the children of Cheis, there Avraham was buried, and Sarah his wife.
The Torah is very exact; there are no extra letters or words. The repetition of the words bnei Cheis, the children of Cheis, is striking – they are mentioned nine times here in this week’s Torah portion, and once later on in Parashat Vayechi (49:32). We know who the people in this story are. Why repeat their names ten times?
The Midrash explains: “Rabbi Elazar said: How much ink is spilled, and how many quills are broken, in order to write ‘the children of Cheis’! Ten times [the Torah] writes, ‘the children of Cheis, the children of Cheis.’ These ten mentions correspond to the Ten Commandments, in order to teach you that whoever assists in the business dealings of a righteous person, it is considered as though he has fulfilled the Ten Commandments” (Bereishis Rabbah 58:8).
Bnei Cheis are not just recorded once for posterity in the Torah – they are written ten times! Just think how much ink has been used in writing those ten phrases over the course of 3,300 years in the world’s top bestselling book. Why the repetition?
The Midrash is pointing out that one act can make history. The Hittites were a fierce nation whom everyone feared (according to some commentaries, the name “Cheis” comes from the Hebrew word for “fear”). Despite their barbaric nature, the children of Cheis helped Abraham acquire the Cave of the Patriarchs from Ephron. They did one good deed – they helped a tzaddik, a righteous person whom they recognized as a "Nesi Elokim," a prince of God. On account of this single action, they are considered to have fulfilled the Ten Commandments. What does that mean? It signifies that they made their life worth living.
Through one deed, a person can impact the world in a way that justifies his existence and makes him worthy of being remembered for all of eternity. He can make his mark in history.
Imagine seeing a toddler fall into a swimming pool. You jump in, fully clothed, and rescue the child. Your clothing is soaked, your cell phone is ruined, and yet you feel, "Wow, I just saved this kid's life."
The fact that you did something heroic does not mean you can now stop living, or that you have attained greatness. There is always so much more to accomplish in life. Yet you recognize that you did something that will forever give meaning to your existence. Your act is worth remembering, and deserves to be recorded for posterity.
We all have opportunities every single day to add immeasurable meaning to our lives and the lives of those around us. But to access them we have to be alert. We may not even realize at the time just how consequential a single act could be.
To illustrate, here is one true story. Eric Coopersmith was 19 years old, volunteering at Kibbutz Shaar Ha’amakim in Israel. During a visit to Jerusalem he stumbled across Aish HaTorah, where he met Ephraim Shore, a fellow Canadian who had been learning in the yeshiva for several months. Eric enjoyed his conversation with Ephraim and began to think that perhaps there is more to Judaism than what he was exposed to in Hebrew school. He told Ephraim that he would come back to visit in a month or so, but right now he had to complete his stint as a volunteer at the kibbutz.
Back at the kibbutz, Eric shared his impressions of Aish with his non-Jewish roommate. This roommate was a turned-off Roman Catholic, and he convinced Eric that the rabbis were snake-oil salesmen and that religion was empty. Eric subsequently decided to forget about spending any time at Aish and go directly back to Europe after he finished at the kibbutz.
Several weeks later, during the yeshiva break, Ephraim was on a bus heading north. Looking out the window, he suddenly saw a sign for Kibbutz Shaar Ha’amakim. “Hey, isn’t that the kibbutz where that guy Eric is?” Ephraim said to himself.
He quickly pressed the stop button and got off the bus. He tracked Eric down at the kibbutz and re-convinced him that it would be worthwhile to come back to Aish HaTorah to check out the wisdom of Judaism before continuing his year of travel in Europe.
To make a long story short, a few weeks later Eric returned to Aish HaTorah, where he eventually became a rabbi and one of the rosh yeshiva’s closest confidants, responsible for developing many of Aish HaTorah’s most successful and influential programs worldwide.
Ephraim could easily have stayed on the bus, which is what most of us probably would have done. After all, he had only met Eric once, for a few hours. But instead he seized the opportunity to reach out, not knowing the impact his actions would eventually have on the Jewish people.
History is being made every day, and each one of us has the opportunity to leave our imprint for eternity. How? Every person can make the effort to reach out to a fellow Jew. You can change the course of someone’s life and make your mark on history – and you never know when the person you touch will himself become an impetus to making history.
One decision to reach out and help, one act, can leave your imprint forever and add immeasurable meaning to your life and the lives of your family. The opportunities surround us. Take that one step today and make your mark for posterity.
