“וַתָּמָת שָׂרָה בְּקִרְיַת אַרְבַּע הִוא חֶבְרוֹן
בְּאֶרֶץ כְּנָעַן” “And Sarah died in Kiryat Arba, which is Hebron, in the land
of Canaan” (Bereishis 23:2). This week’s parshah beings with the death
of Sarah Imeinu and her subsequent burial in Me’aras Hamachpela. As you can see
above, the pasuk gives two names for the place where she died, Kiryat Arba
and Chevron (Hebron). The Kli Yakar brings a medrash which says that
there are actually four names given to this location, these two plus Eshkol
and Mamre. He then goes on to explain the significance behind these four
names.
There are four ways/reasons a person can
die. Either because of their own sins, because of the sins of others, when a
person has no sins and dies from the natural expiration of their human body,
and through a form of death called “Neshika”, literally translated as a
kiss. Neshika occurs when a person’s soul connects so strongly to Hashem on
such a high level that it can no longer return to its’ physical body and as a
result, the person “dies”. This form of death is reserved for the greatest
tzaddikim as it comes from a direct connection with Hashem.
The Kli Yakar explains that these four
styles of death are represented with these four names. The name Mamre represents
those who die from their own sins. The word Mamre comes from the word, “מַמְרִים” “Mamrim”, or “rebels”; this corresponds to sinners
who “rebel” against Hashem with their sins. (We aren’t necessarily referring to
hard-core sinners here as anyone who has even one sin, it can be claimed that
they died because of it.) The second name, Eshkol, represents those who die
because of the sins of others. When talking about those who die because of the
sins of others, it is usually children who die because of their parents. The
word Eshkol, comes from the word “שכול” “Shikol”, which refers to a person who loses a child.
The third name is Kiryat Arba which refers to those who die from their
bodies simply breaking down after so many years. The word “Arba” is translated
as “four” in English and refers here to the four elements which make up the
physical world: earth, fire, water, and air. These are the foundations of
nature and if they would expire so would the world. Similarly, these four
elements make up the human body and when they expire, so does the person
wearing it. The last name is Chevron which comes from the word “חיבור” “Chibur”, meaning
a connection. This refers to the death of Neshika where the soul connects
strongly to Hashem, to strong for it to return to the physical world.
The first two names refer to styles of death that come through sins. In
order to show us that Sarah Imeinu did
not die because of sin, the pasuk tells us that two names for the city were Kiryat
Arba and Chevron, the two names which refer to death not through sin. Because
of the pasuk, we know that Sarah died from a combination of her body expiring,
Chazal tell us that Sarah died exactly when she was supposed to, and from the
special death set aside especially for the greatest tzaddikim, Neshika.
Shabbat Shalom!
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