Vayera 5787
Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz – Rabbi of the Western Wall and the Holy Sites
The purpose of Jewish life is to unite the spiritual and the physical, the world of the soul and the world of the body, and our spiritual aspirations with the realities of everyday life. When the body becomes a vehicle for fulfilling our spiritual obligations, the material world itself is sanctified, and all of creation is elevated.
This is the central mission of humanity, as expressed in the famous saying of the Rebbe of Kotzk: “’The heavens are the heavens of the Lord, but the earth He has given to mankind’ (Psalms 115:16) – to make it into heaven.” The heavens represent the spiritual realm, while the earth was entrusted to humanity to cultivate and shape. Our task is not to leave the world as it is, but to elevate it, infuse it with spiritual values, and make our everyday lives part of our service of the Creator.
We learn this principle from Abraham, the founding patriarch of our people, whose way of life embodied the integration of the spiritual and the material. One example is the story of his hospitality, from which our sages derive a special connection between Abraham and the Cave of Machpelah.
Commenting on the verse, “And Abraham ran to the cattle” (Genesis 18:7), our sages describe how the young calf Abraham pursued led him to a place of extraordinary significance. The Midrash relates:
“That calf ran ahead of him all the way to Hebron and entered the Cave of Machpelah. Our forefather Abraham entered after it and saw Adam and Eve lying there, with candles burning before them and a pleasant fragrance surrounding them, like the fragrance of a sweet offering. Abraham said, ‘This cave is well suited for burial,’ and he acquired it at great expense.”
(Midrash Aggadah on Genesis 18:7; Yalkut Shimoni, Vayera, 247, 82)
In the holy Zohar, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai reveals that the Cave of Machpelah is the entrance to the Garden of Eden. After Adam was expelled from the Garden because of his sin, he sought to return. When he passed near the cave, he smelled the fragrance of the Garden of Eden and asked to be buried there with his wife, Eve.
The runaway calf led Abraham to discover this special place as well. He therefore sought to purchase it from the Hittites and establish it as the burial place of the patriarchs and matriarchs of our nation.
The name Machpelah also reflects this theme, as it comes from the root meaning duality. Our sages and commentators offer various explanations for the name, one of which is that the cave became the burial place of couples: Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, and Jacob and Leah. Beyond this physical duality lies a deeper idea: the spiritual and material realms exist side by side, not as disconnected worlds, but as complementary dimensions of a single reality that human beings can bring together.
It is fitting that the cave lies in Hebron, a city whose Hebrew name is associated with connection. The Cave of Machpelah is therefore more than the burial place of our nation’s patriarchs and matriarchs. It symbolizes the mission they passed down to us: to bring spirituality into our physical lives and make faith tangible through our actions.
We see Abraham fulfilling this mission through his hospitality. When he sees three men standing nearby, he immediately sets about preparing an elaborate meal for them. At first glance, this is simply an act of generosity. Yet our sages teach that these deeds had an immense spiritual impact, extending far beyond that day and place. The Midrash states:
“Everything that our forefather Abraham personally did for the ministering angels, the Holy One, blessed be He, later did for his children in the wilderness … Rabbi Yehuda Halevi son of Rabbi Shalom said in the name of Rabbi Yonah … The manna descended for them during forty-two journeys. And where did it first descend? In Alush. And why in Alush? In the merit of Abraham’s words, ‘Knead [lushi] and make cakes.’ Thus the Holy One, blessed be He, repaid his children, as it is said: ‘Behold, I will rain down bread for you from heaven.’”
(Shemot Rabbah, Beshalach, 25:5)
When Abraham tells Sarah, “Knead and make cakes,” he demonstrates how an ordinary human act can draw heavenly blessing into the world. In the merit of preparing food for the angels, the people of Israel were later rewarded with manna, the bread of the mighty that descended from heaven.
Abraham and Sarah elevated the material through their actions and gave it spiritual significance. In return, a heavenly blessing became physical sustenance for the children of Israel. This teaches us that spirituality is not an abstract ideal, but a way of life expressed through the simplest deeds: preparing food, caring for others, performing acts of kindness, and directing our daily efforts toward a higher purpose. Through these actions, we invite blessing into the world.
This is the deeper significance of the Cave of Machpelah: it represents the possibility of uniting the earthly and the heavenly, like “a ladder set on the earth, with its top reaching heavenward.” Those who bring spiritual purpose into their everyday lives fulfill their true calling.
We must remember that the purpose of physical life is not to escape it, but to live it fully. This world was given to us by the Creator, with all it contains: family, work, relationships, responsibilities, joys, and challenges. These are not necessarily obstacles to a spiritual life. They can instead become the very means through which spirituality finds expression.
When we seek the higher values behind our everyday actions, we elevate our surroundings and give our lives meaning and purpose. In this way, daily life itself becomes a form of sacred service, allowing us to glimpse the light of a higher reality and experience something of the Garden of Eden here on earth.
