Acquiring a field, and an eternal homeland

Every year, Shabbos Chayei Sarah is accompanied by a special Jewish gathering in Hevron, the “City of the Patriarchs.” The source for this is our parsha, in which we find Avraham purchasing the “field, and the cave which is in it,” to serve as an “acquisition” and a burial plot for his family.

The strange verse that describes the moment after the purchase is finalized begs for explanation: “Ephron’s field in Makhpelah adjoining Mamre arose. [This included] the field, its cave, and every tree in the field, within its entire circumference.” (23:17)

The word which is odd is “arose” — in Hebrew, vayakam — and it appears again in 23:20.

The Midrash Aggadah takes a very literal angle, claiming the land was elevated one-half a cubit so it would be recognizably distinguished from the other fields. One can argue that this is the most plausible explanation. After all, every time the word vayakam appears in the Torah, it means “and he got up.” Usually the person described is going somewhere or heading to do something.  

However, since we are talking about a piece of land that is not moving, we have to try to find a more suitable way to explain this word.

Rashi suggests that the word vayakam comes from the word tekumah (rebirth). This reflects the Midrashic approach that Ephron was considered to be a simpleton who happened to own the property, but when it transferred to Avraham’s hands, Avraham, a prince of G-d (23:6), the deed was elevated in ownership. (Midrash Aggadah, Pesikta)

Another possibility is that it comes from the word kayam or l’kayem (to establish). Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan translates the phrase “vayakam s’deh Ephron” to mean “Ephron’s field … thus became [Abraham’s] uncontested property.” This is the view of the Midrash Sechel Tov, who quotes the verse in Vayikra 25:30 – “v’kam habayit asher ba’ir” (“then the house in the walled city shall become the permanent property of the buyer). (See a similar usage in Vayikra 27:19, and Devarim 18:15. This is also the view of Targum Yonatan, Radak, HaKtav Ve’Hakabalah.)