Torah · ParashaThe Story of מערת המכפלהRabbi Uri Nahum · November 4, 2026 · Chayei Sara · חיי שרה-15Play+30Position0:00—Save⌄ShareTranscript0:00Hi everybody, and welcome to Midrash Ohel Moed's weekly Torah portion.0:05We call that a drash Torah, by the way.0:07So welcome, and this week's parasha is0:09Parashat0:12Chayei Sarah. For this week, instead of bringing an idea and a question,0:16which is always beautiful,0:17we decided that we want to speak a little bit about0:21a treasure that we have,0:23and that is the0:24Me'arat HaMachpelah, a little bit of the history of the0:26Ma'arat HaMachpelah. In the short ten minutes that we have,0:28to understand it a little bit better.0:31We see in the beginning of this week's parasha,0:33when Sarah, age 127, dies,0:34Abraham Avinu goes to Ephron,0:36and he offers to pay an exorbitant amount0:40for what Ephron and everybody really thought was0:44something that's worthless,0:46or just a rocky place.0:48It wasn't really worth much0:50in the eyes of its owner, original owner, Ephron,0:53and yet Abraham Avinu was very insistent. He wants that place,0:56and we all know that's the0:59Me'arat HaMachpelah. We also know that when Abraham Avinu came to bury1:02Sarah, as the pasuk hints to it and Rashi brings it down,1:05that when he came to bury1:07Sarah, the adam and Chavah who were buried there1:10decided to get up; they wanted to leave.1:12So already Adam and Chavah were buried there.1:13So the question, or what we want to understand is,1:17what's so special about1:19Me'arat HaMachpelah? What is it that drew Abraham to bury Sarah over there,1:24that drew Adam and Chavah to be buried there?1:25What exactly was it about it?1:28So let's start, and we'd like to bring you some sources,1:31so this way it doesn't sound like, you know,1:33where is he getting it from?1:34So let's start.1:34There's a book that is written by the grandfather of the1:39Hidah. The Hidah was one of the greatest1:43Sefardi Acharonim who lived in the 1700s.1:45His grandfather, who was a rabbi,1:48a great mekubal that lived in Hebron,1:50his name was Rabbi Abraham1:52Azulai. Rabbi Abraham Azulai wrote a sefer called...1:59Chesed l'Avraham. And in the sefer that he writes,2:01he brings the following.2:03He says that in the beginning of Parashat Vayera,2:07when Abraham Avinu was visited by the three2:09malachim, by the three angels,2:11it says in the pasuk,2:12V'el habakar ratz2:13Avraham. Now Rashi tells us, what Chazal tell us,2:15is that Abraham wanted to serve each one of the malachim tongue,2:19and therefore he had to slaughter three different calves.2:21So it says bakar, what it means is really calf;2:24it's a ben bakar, the baby cow.2:27So if he wanted to serve each one of them2:31his own tongue,2:33that means he needed three cows.2:33But why does it say el habakar, singular?2:36And the answer is because he was chasing2:39after one particular calf that was running away.2:43So where did this calf run,2:44and where did it lead Abraham?2:46And the answer is that it led Abraham into a cave.2:49When Abraham came into this2:51cave, says the2:53Chesed l'Avraham, when he came into this cave,2:56this cave was where Adam and Chava were buried,2:59and Abraham followed into the cave,3:01and all of a sudden he realized3:03there was this amazing smell,3:06and it was the smell of Gan Eden.3:09Abraham realized that Adam and Chava were buried there.3:12This is where he wants to be buried3:15and to use it as a burial spot.3:16Now he didn't buy it right away because there was no need yet,3:19but in this week's parashah, when Sarah died,3:22he wanted to get that spot.3:23So this is the source of3:25why Abraham wanted to get3:29Me'arat HaMachpelah. So beautiful3:32remez: V'el habakar ratz Avraham. Bakar is the letters3:34kever, to the grave Abraham ran.3:36Okay, beautiful3:38remez. Now the question is,3:39why did Adam and Chava want to be buried there?3:41So to understand that is,3:42let's go back in history a little bit,3:45all the way back to Parashat3:47Bereishit. On the first day of the creation of Adam and3:50Chava, which makes it the sixth day of creation,3:52it says that Hashem put Adam,3:54before3:55Chava yet, He put Adam in Gan Eden.3:57Eventually He created Chava as well;3:59they were both in Gan Eden,4:00and we know that because of the sin4:01they were kicked out of Gan Eden.4:03So normally when I speak to4:05people that are interested in hearing this,4:07and I would say,4:08Could you tell me where Gan Eden is?4:11And everybody would say, Well,4:12Gan Eden is heaven.4:13Heaven is up there in4:14Shamayim. And the follow-up question would be,4:17and this is why I ask you,4:19is how did Adam land from Gan Eden4:22that you say is up there,4:23down to this world?4:25Did he enter like those, you know,4:27scientific fiction movies,4:28like in those telepaths,4:29like,4:30and transported back to Earth?4:32Or did he wear perhaps a,4:35you know,4:36a jumpsuit and then a parachute,4:38and he parachuted down?4:39Or maybe there was a spaceship4:41that delivered him to4:42Earth and then it just blew up in space?4:45What happened exactly?4:47And the answer is,4:47none of the above.4:48Believe it or not,4:49none of the above what happened,4:51because Adam was put in Gan Eden4:55ha-tachton, what the mekubalim call4:56the lower Gan Eden.4:57There is two Gan Edens.4:59There's the Gan Eden5:00ha-elyon, which is in5:01Shamayim, and there's Gan Eden5:02ha-tachton, which is actually right here on Earth.5:05And if you look closely5:07in the description5:09of the creation of the world5:10in Parashat5:12Bereishit, in the pesukim themselves,5:13in the verses,5:13and you'll see5:15that the Torah describes exactly5:17there was a Gan to5:18the Eden, there was a garden of the5:20Eden, and from there there was rivers that split5:23and, you know,5:24went all over the world.5:26So there is Gan Eden here on this Earth,5:29and that's where Adam and Chava were placed.5:31And when Adam and5:32Chava were kicked out of Gan Eden...5:34When the time came5:35that Adahavah were passing away,5:37they wanted to go back home5:38as much as possible,5:39to where they were created from.5:40And therefore,5:42they saw that5:43the Me'arat HaMachpelah was the closest they could get,5:45because5:46HaMachpelah is actually the entrance5:48to Gan Eden5:50HaTachton. In fact,5:52the Mekubalim say5:52that when a person passes away,5:54the neshama leaves their body,5:55and wherever they are in the world,5:58goes—for let's say5:58they're in China,5:59goes from China,6:01travels,6:02and the neshama could travel6:03much faster than an airplane, yes,6:06okay—and it travels all the way6:07to Eretz Yisrael,6:09to Hebron,6:10and in Hebron goes through6:13Me'arat HaMachpelah. It goes and it sees6:15Adam6:15Harishon, where it came from,6:17because that's where6:18we originated from,6:19and from there6:20it goes into Gan Eden.6:22All6:23neshamot have to travel there,6:23of course.6:24Those are the souls6:25that are6:27zocheh, that have the merit6:28to enter Gan Eden6:30HaTachton. This is why6:31Adahavah were buried there,6:32and this is what drew6:34Abraham to go after6:36this plot of land.6:37Now, because6:38we recorded6:40the chesed of Abraham,6:41Rabbi Abraham6:42Azulai, I would like to6:44just tell you one story6:46about Rabbi Abraham6:47Azulai and how he passed away.6:49And in fact,6:50his yahrzeit is actually6:51on6:53Erev Shabbat of Parashat6:55Chayei Sarah. He passed away6:56the Friday6:57of Parashat6:59Chayei Sarah. Not7:00to say this Friday,7:01but that's when he passed away.7:02So this following story7:04is brought down7:04in his book.7:06It's not that he wrote it,7:07but those who published the book,7:09they put this story7:09right in the beginning of the book,7:11at least the copy7:11that I have in my house.7:12I saw other copies7:13that they don't have it.7:14Now there are many stories7:15of people that attempted7:16to go down in the cave.7:17When you visit Hebron today7:19and you go to the7:20Me'arat HaMachpelah, what you see7:21is that building7:21that was built actually7:23about 2,000 years ago,7:24a little bit more,7:25by a man called7:28Herodus. They call them Herod.7:30Herod built this magnificent building.7:32That's not where the caves are.7:33Although on7:34top they tell you7:34this room is7:35Lea, this room is Yaakov,7:36and7:38Lea, none of that exists.7:39Because if you know7:39how to read Arabic,7:40there's also a7:40room that says Yosef,7:41and according to our Torah7:43it says clearly7:44Yosef was buried in Shechem.7:45So what the structure on top,7:48which today houses7:50a shul plus a mosque,7:53is not really7:53what the7:54Maarat HaMachpelah. It's the location7:55of Maarat HaMachpelah. Maarat HaMachpelah is a cave7:56that's deep down under.7:58There have been many stories.8:00And accounts of people as late as the 1980s, of people that attempted to go down, some,8:07some more than others, and there's many stories. Usually when I go to Hebron, I go with my8:12wife and kids, and usually we take one kid at a time. I become the tour guide, and I love to8:16talk about it. I could talk about it for a long time, but we have ten minutes, so I'm just8:21going to leave you with this following story. In the 1700s, Rabbi Avraham Azulai, who was living8:26in Hebron at the time, the Ottomans, the Turks, were the ones who ruled that whole region in the8:31Middle East, and one important minister was walking by that area of Ma'arat HaMachpelah, and8:40his sword fell down into a ditch. Okay, now, it wasn't a regular sword. It had a gold handle and8:48had some precious stones on it. Then he told one of his guards, Go down and get me the8:54sword. They pulled down the guard with a rope. The guard goes down, and the guard doesn't come back up.9:00He wasn't taking a long break; he took a forever break. Didn't show up again. He sends a second9:04guard, same thing repeats itself. Third guard, same thing. Can't lose his guards. So he tells him, By9:10the way, this is a holy site for the Jewish people. Let them deal with it. So they send a message to9:15the Jewish people, Please get somebody to bring down the sword. This is what happened. Three guards9:19passed away. And it wasn't a please. This is me saying it. It was more of a demand, right? And9:26the Jewish people knew that if we, you know, if we were smart enough, we would listen to them. But they9:32were all scared. They all heard stories of the people that tried to go down, they weren't9:36successful, and people went and didn't come back up. So they said, you know, look, the only fair9:41thing we could do is we can make a lottery. So they took everybody's names, they put it in a lottery,9:45and they said whoever gets selected will have to go down. And guess whose name came out? None9:51other than the great sage, the Mekubal, Rabbi Abraham Azulai. His name was selected, and he9:57had to go down. He asked for people to pray for him. He fasted and he prayed. He immersed himself10:02in the mikveh, and time came. He says, Okay, I'm going down. He didn't know what to expect. He went10:08down and didn't come back up. Not for an hour, not for two, a bunch of hours went by, and finally10:14they feel a tug at the rope. The rabbi is pulling. They pull up the rabbi. The rabbi comes up.10:21Lo and behold, he's got the sword in his hand. Ah, everybody's excited. For sure the Turkish10:25minister was excited. He gets his sword back. Shalom aleichem, and he moves on. But of course,10:31everybody turns to the rabbi to find out what happened. What took you so long? So the rabbi explains. He says,10:37I went down there. I saw dead bodies, a lot of dead bodies, and I saw the sword. But I said,10:43I'm here. Nobody really gets access to go this deep. I'm here. Let me go visit my ancestors.10:50Let me talk to Yaakov Avinu there. Let me go to the kevarot. He says, I started walking towards what I thought was the kever, and10:57all of a sudden a man stops me. You could imagine how shocked you are, right? You're walking into11:03a very dark cave. It's supposed to be a cemetery, dead bodies all around, and a living person11:08stops you. He says, Who are you? The man tells Rabbi Abraham Azulai, he says, My name is Abraham Azulai. Who11:13are you? He says, I'm Eliezer, the servant of Abraham Avinu. I protect the avot. Nobody11:20could go inside. That's where the avot are buried. He says, Well, tell him I'm one of their descendants,11:24Abraham Azulai. I want to come in. He says, Okay, wait here. Eliezer disappears, comes back. He says,11:32They said you could come in, but you should just know if you come in... This is your last week on11:36earth. Do you still want to come in? He says, yes. He comes in, comes out, and whatever happened, he11:43does not reveal to anybody. But that's the story that he relates over. And exactly as he said,11:51that week, Rabbi Abraham Azulai passed away, which happened to be on Erev Shabbat,11:57Parashah of Chayei Sarah. So we started with the story about12:01the Ma'alat HaMachpelah from Rabbi Abraham Azulai's sefer Chesed L'Avraham, and we end off with a story also about Rabbi Abraham12:10Azulai himself. Why are we saying this? I want you to understand what we have, and how much secrets we12:15have, how much depth and rich wealth we have in Eretz Yisrael. A lot of places, how many people have12:20gone to Ma'arat HaMachpelah? You've seen pictures, you've probably visited, but you don't know what12:25you're standing on, where you're walking. Got to learn, learn, learn, learn, and see the12:30wealth that we have, not just in the physical land of Eretz Yisrael, but also in the Torah that we have,12:35how much wealth we have. Hope you enjoyed Shabbat Shalom.