The cave of Machpelah (Part two)

100. Rabbi Elazar asks, How did Abraham enter the cave? WHY DID HE ENTER? HE RESPONDED, He was running after a calf, about which it is written, "And Abraham ran to the herd..." (Beresheet 18:7). This calf ran to the cave. Abraham ran after it and saw what he saw.

101. Another REASON was that Abraham prayed every day. He came out to the field that was fragrant with heavenly perfumes, saw light coming out of the cave, and entered there to pray. There the Holy One, blessed be He, spoke with him. As a result, Abraham wanted the cave and always harbored a desire for it.

102. You may ask, why did he not seek to buy it until then? HE SAYS, Because he had no need for it, he was afraid that they would check it, UNDERSTAND HIS WISH AND THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CAVE, AND THEN ASK FOR MORE MONEY. OR THEY COULD REFUSE TO SELL IT ALTOGETHER. Now that he needed it, the time had come to ask for it.

103. Come and behold, If Efron had seen in the cave what Abraham saw, he would never have sold it. But because nothing is revealed except to its owner, it was revealed to Abraham only and not to Efron. It was revealed to Abraham because it was his, and not Efron's, for Efron had no share in it. Therefore, Efron saw nothing of the cave, except darkness, and he sold it.

104. Moreover, he also sold him what Abraham did not ask for, because Abraham said only, "That he may give me the cave of the Machpelah...for the full price he shall give it me" (Beresheet 23:8) and did not mention the field. And Efron said, "The field I give you, and the cave that is in it, I give it you" (Ibid. 10), for Efron knew not what it was and found it all loathsome. EVEN THE FIELD, IN WHICH THE CAVE WAS, WAS LOATHSOME TO HIM. THEREFORE HE SOLD THE FIELD TOO, ALTHOUGH ABRAHAM DID NOT ASK FOR IT.

105. Come and behold, When Abraham entered the cave for the first time, he saw a light. The dust was removed from before him, revealing two graves. Adam rose from his grave in his rightful form, saw Abraham, and laughed. By that, Abraham knew that he was destined to be buried there.

106. Abraham said to him, 'If you please, is there an unroofed castle here?' HE ASKS THIS BECAUSE THE CAVE OF THE MACHPELAH IS DERIVED FROM THE WORD DOUBLE, THAT IS, A CAVE WITHIN A CAVE. INSTEAD OF COMPLETE DARKNESS, HE SAW LIGHT THERE, AS ONE WOULD IN AN OPEN HOUSE WITH NO ROOF. ADAM answered him, 'The Holy One, blessed be He, hid me here. From then until now, I have been hidden as a fish in a ditch. Since you came into the world, from now on, I and the world are maintained for your sake.'

107. Look at what is written, "And the field, and the cave that is in it, were made over (also: 'raised') to" (Beresheet 18:20). The field was truly raised, which had not happened previously. By BEING IN ABRAHAM'S POSSESSION, THE FIELD GAINED IN IMPORTANCE. THEREFORE IT IS WRITTEN, "RAISED." Rabbi Aba said, "And he raised the field" means actual raising, as the field was raised and elevated by Abraham, for nothing was seen there until then. Now, IN THE POSSESSION OF ABRAHAM, all that was hidden was raised and elevated according to its worth, as it should be.

108. Rabbi Shimon said, When Abraham entered the cave and brought Sarah thither, Adam and Eve rose and did not want Sarah to be buried there. They said, It is it not enough for us that we are in disgrace in the world before the Holy One, blessed be He, because of the sin that we committed, but now we will further be put to shame because of your good deeds.

109. Abraham said, I am ready to pray for you before the Holy One, blessed be He, so you shall never be disgraced before Him, NAMELY SO HE WILL FORGIVE YOU COMPLETELY FOR YOUR SIN. "And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife" (Beresheet 18:19). What is the meaning of, "And after this?" IT MEANS after Abraham undertook TO PRAY FOR ADAM.

110. Adam returned to his place, but Eve did not, AS SHE HAD MADE ADAM SIN, AS IT IS WRITTEN, "THE WOMAN WHOM YOU DID GIVE TO BE WITH ME" (BERESHEET 3:12). SHE WAS AFRAID THAT ADAM WOULD NOT RECEIVE HER. Then Abraham approached and put her with Adam, who received her for Abraham's sake. This is the meaning of, "And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife." The particle Et before "Sarah" is meant to add Eve, WHOM ABRAHAM RETURNED TO THE GRAVE, AS WAS SAID. Then ADAM AND EVE were properly settled in their places, as it is written, "These are the generations of the heaven and of the earth when they were created (Heb. behibar'am)" (Beresheet 2:4). We learned that behibar'am HAS THE SAME LETTERS AS beAbraham (lit. 'by Abraham'), WHICH INDICATES THAT THEY WERE CREATED FOR HIM. The generations of the heaven and the earth are Adam and Eve. It is not written 'the heaven and the earth,' but "the generations of the heaven and of the earth," WHICH REFERS TO ADAM AND EVE, who were not begotten by man. OF THESE THE VERSE SAYS they lived for the sake of Abraham. How do we know that they existed for Abraham? Because it is written, "And the field, and the cave that is in it, were made over (also: 'maintained') to Abraham." Until Abraham came, Adam and Eve did not exist in the world. "THE FIELD AND THE CAVE IN IT" ALLUDE TO ADAM AND EVE, WHO DWELT THERE. THE WORDS "BY ABRAHAM" MEAN FOR ABRAHAM. It is shown that Adam and Eve were sustained for Abraham's sake.

111. Rabbi Elazar asks Rabbi Shimon, his father, if the cave is really the Machpelah, for although it is written, "The cave of Machpelah" (Beresheet 23:8), it is later written "the cave of the field of Machpelah" (Ibid. 19). Thus, the field is called Machpelah AND NOT THE CAVE.

112. RABBI SHIMON replies that indeed it is called the cave of Machpelah, as it is written, "That he may give me the cave of Machpelah" (Beresheet 23:8), but neither the cave nor the field alone is Machpelah. It refers instead to the field with the cave, TOGETHER they are called Machpelah. Only the field is of Machpelah, not the cave, WHICH MEANS THAT ONLY THE FIELD BEARS THE NAME OF THE MACHPELAH, NOT THE CAVE, because the cave is in the field, and the field is in something else, AS WILL BE DISCUSSED PRESENTLY.

113. Come and behold, The whole land of Yisrael is enfolded beneath Jerusalem, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF MALCHUT. It is above and below in the following manner. THERE IS the upper Jerusalem, WHICH IS BINAH, and there is the lower Jerusalem, WHICH IS MALCHUT, for it is held above and held below. The upper Jerusalem is held on two sides - above and below - and, therefore, it is doubled.

114. Thus, the field is of that Machpelah (lit. 'double'), WHICH IS MALCHUT, for it dwells there, as it is written, "See, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field which Hashem has blessed" (Beresheet 27:27), WHICH IS MALCHUT. BECAUSE IT IS DOUBLE, above and below, it is written, "the field of Machpelah" and not "a double field," BECAUSE THIS WOULD ALLUDE TO THE DOUBLE MALCHUT CALLED FIELD.

115. Moreover, the secret of the matter relates to the field of Machpelah. What is the Machpelah (double)? It is the Hei of the Holy Name, which is double, FOR THERE ARE TWO HEIS IN THE NAME YUD HEV VAV HEI, and both are as one. For that reason, the scriptures say vaguely the (=Hei) Machpelah, for this is the only double letter in the Holy Name. AND THE WORD "THE MACHPELAH" WITH THE HEI ALLUDES TO THE DOUBLE HEI, NAMELY THE LOWER HEI OF THE NAME YUD HEV VAV HEI, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF MALCHUT SWEETENED BY BINAH, THE FIRST HEI OF YUD HEV VAV HEI.

116. Although the cave was indeed double, a cave within a cave, it is called the cave of the field of Machpelah for a different reason as we said, AFTER THE SWEETENING OF MALCHUT BY BINAH. Abraham knew that, and when he spoke to the sons of Chet, he concealed it by saying "that he may give me the cave of Machpelah," which was called by that name because it was double. HE DID NOT SAY THE FIELD OF MACHPELAH CALLED AFTER THE SWEETENING BY BINAH. In Torah, though, it is called the cave of the field of Machpelah, as it ought to be called, FOR THE SWEETENING OF MALCHUT BY BINAH WAS ONLY OVER THE FIELD AND NOT IN THE CAVE.

117. The Holy One, blessed be He, arranges everything so that whatever is in this world, MALCHUT, will resemble what is above, in BINAH. AS A RESULT, they are connected, and His glory is established above and below. Happy is the portion of the righteous that the Holy One, blessed be He, desires them in this world and in the World to Come.