Materialism vs Spirituality
Adapted from Rabbi Braun’s sermon in 5774
The beginning of the parsha details the negotiation between Avraham and Efron over Me’arat Hamachapela. It begins with the Hitties offering Avraham and general burial plot for free and ends with Avraham paying Efron very handsomely for the cave of Machpela.
2 years ago I presented a theory that Avraham did not initially simply ask for the cave that he wanted because that would let Efron know that this cave was unique and special to Avraham and that he would jack up the price. So he tried to ease his way into it. When that did not work and it became apparent that Avraham wanted this cave – that is exactly what happened – Efron jacked up the price and Avraham paid it.
The underlying assumption of this approach is that Efron was unaware of what made the cave unique. He was unaware of the holiness of the land and who was buried there. He simply came to understand that it meant something to Avraham and used that to his advantage in the negotiation.
One of the great things about Torah study is that there is always another angle and another approach. It is the book that keeps on giving.
This year I want to offer a different explanation.
The Midrash in Pesikta Zutrata – Lekach Tov, a Midrash on the Torah compiled by R. Tuvia b. R. Eliezer, who lived in northern Greece in the 11th century, looks at this interaction and concludes that Efron is a person who cares only for money and possesses an evil eye. They apply the following verse to Efron from Proverbs
28/22. He who hastens to be rich has an evil eye, and considers not that want shall come upon him.
Rabbi Lamm in a derasha that he gave in 1952 asks – why does Efron deserve such condemnation? Why does the Midrash label him an evil eye money hungry villain? He had the upper hand in a negotiation; he recognized that Avraham wanted this land and used that to leverage a good price. That is simply business! What did Efron do wrong?
Rabbi Lamm suggests that Efron knew exactly what he had in the cave. He knew who was buried there and he knew of its sanctity and spiritual quality. But he did not appreciate it or value it and he sold it at the first opportunity to make a quick buck. That is why the Midrash labels him money hungry and possessed of an evil eye that does not appreciate the value of the spiritual.
According to this Ephron is very reminiscent of Esav, who sells his birthright for a bowl or red lentils. And the Torah there tells us vayivez esav et habechora- Esav mocked the birthright. He sold the rights to the spiritual legacy of Avraham for a bowl of soup! That itself mocks the birthright. Esav had no appreciation at all for the spiritual; it meant nothing to him. All he wanted was the material.
Both in the text, Midrash and commentaries that is the attribute that we find attributed to the men outside of Avraham’s house.
Let me give you one more example from this morning’s parsha.
After the Machpela negotiation Avraham sends Eliezer to find a wife for Isaac.
The Torah tells us that:
1. And Abraham was old, and well advanced in age; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.
Then comes the instructions to find a wife not from the area that will come to Isaac.
When Eliezer goes to Rivkah’s family and retells the story he adds a few details:
35. And the Lord has blessed my master greatly; and he has become great; and he has given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses.
- And Sarah my master’s wife bore a son to my master when she was old; and to him has he given all that he has.
First Eliezer spells out all of the riches that Avraham had- that was not done earlier.
Secondly, he tells Lavan that all of that has been given to Isaac. We don’t even know if that is true! Lastly, Avraham did not command Eliezer to tell them this.
Eliezer understood that Lavan needed to hear about the family’s wealth. That was most important thing, maybe the only thing that mattered.
Indeed the Torah goes out of its way to give us Lavan’s first impression if you will:
30. And it came to pass, when he saw the earring and bracelets upon his sister’s hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spoke the man to me; that he came to the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the well.
Why is important to tell us that? Because material wealth was what Lavan was all about.
The contrast is then stark. Avraham had a lot of money. But when describing him the Torah downplays it, and the focus is on finding a proper wife for his son, a woman of good midot to help continue his spiritual legacy!
Lavan cares not about spirituality or the quality of the person that his sister will marry; he care only about the money.
It is an important lesson for all of us. There is nothing wrong with having money. But it can never become the end goal. And it can never become more important than the spiritual and the good. It cannot pervert our priorities.
We live in a very material world and society. We need to always maintain the right perspective and the proper appreciation for the good and spiritual.
