In a sad and ironic
twist of fate, the timing of the Pittsburgh shooting is similar to the synagogue
massacre that took place in Jerusalem 4 years ago during the Torah portion that
deals with burying one’s dead. Although
no less a tragedy, the Torah portion provides the blue print for comfort when
it comes to death. There are strange themes and elements in the parsha that
dictate to us how we should view death and burial.
First, the people whose plot of
land he buys is children of Chet- translated literally as the children of the
letter ‘chet’. Their name appears ten
times in this small segment of text. The
person in charge of the cave is named Ephorn, whose name is ‘afar’- dirt. He then buys a cave called the cave of
doubling. Not surprisingly, the letter
Chet in Hebrew is the only one made of doubling two other letters- zayin. What is the Torah trying to communicate? Further, when it describes that Avaraham
cries, the letter ‘caf’ of the word ‘to cry’ is made small. Why is that? And
why that letter?
The main idea is that we must
realize that there are two worlds that exist, ours and the next. There is a
doubling of worlds. Death is not the end but a transfer from one world to the
next. Not only that, but we make sure to bury a dead body in dirt because we
understand that this isn’t the end but a new beginning. The person is now
beginning a new life but is still very much alive. Much like a seed planted
decays only to give way to a green sprout.
As for the crying, Avaraham realizes his wife was righteous. She is in a
great place. Excessive crying is not appropriate. The letter ‘chaf’ means palm
and symbolizes that Sarah was satisfied with just a handful of material wealth
to be satisfied. That was part of her
greatness and she was in a place now where this was rewarded.
Obviously, death is a tragedy
and difficult, but nonetheless, the Torah gives us the means to be comforted.
It is not an end for the deceased but a new beginning albeit one that leaves us
lonelier than we started.
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