R. Avi Strausberg on Parashat Hayyei Sarah: There Is a Place

There is a cemetery in Woodbridge, NJ in which my dad is buried. Though I live states away and rarely visit, I think about it often. It takes shape before me. I imagine the place where my dad is buried and it pulls on me. Parashat Hayyei Sarah tells the story of not only Sarah’s burial but Avraham’s as well. When Sarah dies, Avraham negotiates to purchase a plot of land in Hebron upon which to bury Sarah. Avraham buys the land that we call Me’arat ha-Makhpelah fr...