The Cave of Machpelah – 2

100) What was the reason that Abraham went into the cave? He was chasing that calf, of which it was written, “And Abraham ran unto the cattle and took a calf.” And that calf fled to that cave, and Abraham followed it to the cave and saw what he saw.

101) There was another reason: He was praying every day and would come out to that field, which emitted high scents, and saw light coming out of the cave and prayed there. And there the Creator spoke to him. This is why he craved the cave, and his desire was always in that place.

102) Why did he not ask to buy it until now? Because he did not need it; he feared that they would follow him and understand his craving and the importance of the cave, and then they would either raise the price or refuse to sell it to him altogether. Now that he needed it, he said, “The time has come to ask for it.”

103) If Ephron had seen in the cave what Abraham saw in it, he would never have sold it. But Ephron certainly saw nothing in it because a thing appears only to its owner. Hence, it appeared only to Abraham and not to Ephron, and it appeared to Abraham because it was his. It did not appear to Ephron because he had no share of it; hence, nothing appeared to Ephron in the cave, and he saw only darkness in it. This is why he sold it.

104) He even sold what Abraham did not initially ask for. Abraham said only, “That he may give me the cave of Machpelah”; he did not mention the field. And Ephron said, “I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it.” And this was because it was all loathsome to Ephron, for he did not know what it was. Even the field where the cave was, was loathsome to him; hence, he sold the field, as well, although Abraham did not ask for it.

105) When Abraham entered the cave for the first time, he saw a light there, the dust was thrown before him, and two graves were revealed to him. Then a man of his form stood up from his grave and saw Abraham and laughed. With that, Abraham knew that he was destined to be buried there.

106) Abraham told him, “Please, is this a castle without a roof?” meaning he was bewildered, since the cave of Machpelah, which means a cave within a cave, must be completely dark, yet he saw light in there as though it was a house that was open at the top, without a roof.

Adam told him, “The Creator hid me here, and I have been hiding since.” Until Abraham came, Adam and the world were incomplete. This is why he needed to hide himself, so the shells would not grip him. But when Abraham came to the world, he corrected him and the world, and he no longer needed to hide himself.

107) “And the field and the cave therein arose as a burial site for Abraham.” There was actual rising to the field, which it did not have thus far. Rising implies importance, since by moving into Abraham's hands, the field acquired importance. This is why it writes “rose” in regards to it.

The field arose and ascended by Abraham because thus far, nothing was seen there. And now, in the hands of Abraham, what was hidden has risen and ascended. And then everything was established as it was ordained, as it should be.

108) When Abraham entered the cave and brought Sarah there, Adam and Eve rose and did not wish to be buried there. They said, “It is enough that we are shamed in that world before the Creator by the sin that we caused; now we will have another shame, for we will be shamed by your good deeds.”

109) Abraham said, “I am willing to pray on your behalf before the Creator, so you will never be shamed before Him, so He will completely forgive your iniquity.” And afterwards, Abraham buried Sarah, his wife, after Abraham took it upon himself to pray for Adam.

110) Adam returned and went into his place. But Eve did not return and enter, for she caused Adam to sin and she feared that Adam would not receive her, until Abraham approached and brought her to Adam and accepted her for Adam. It is written, “And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife.” It does not say, “to Sarah,” but “Sarah.” This includes Eve, which Abraham had brought back to the grave.

Then Adam and Eve sat in their places as it should be, as it is written, “These are the generations of the heaven and the earth when they were created.” But we learned about Abraham that BeHibaraam [When they were created] has the letters of “in Abraham” [in Hebrew]. “The generations of the heaven and the earth” are Adam and Eve. This is because it does not say, “These are the heaven and earth,” but “the generations of the heaven and the earth” indicate that Adam and Eve are not offspring of people. It is written about them that they existed for Abraham, because it is written, “And the field and the cave therein arose for Abraham.” And until Abraham came, Adam and Eve did not exist in that world, and Vayakum [arose] is Kium [existence, similar letters].

“The field and the cave therein” indicate Adam and Eve who were there. “Unto Abraham” means for Abraham. Thus, Adam and Eve existed for Abraham.

111) This cave is not a Machpelah. It is written, “The cave of the field of Machpelah.” Thus, the field is called Machpelah, not the cave.

112) It is called the “Cave of Machpelah,” as it is written, “That he may give me the cave of Machpelah,” but neither the cave is the Machpelah nor the field is called Machpelah. Rather, the field and the cave together are called Machpelah. But the field is certainly the Machpelah and not the cave, since only the field carries the name Machpelah, and not the cave, for the cave is in the field, and the field is in something else.

113) The whole of the land of Israel is folded under Jerusalem, which is the Malchut. And she is above and below. Thus, there is Jerusalem above, which is Bina, and there is Jerusalem below, which is Malchut, for she is gripped above, and she is gripped below. Jerusalem above is gripped by two sides—above and below. And Jerusalem below is gripped by two sides—above and below. This is why she is twofold.

Jerusalem above is Bina, and Jerusalem below is Malchut. It is known that the association of the quality of mercy in judgment means that they were associated with one another. And four phases emerged out of this association—Bina, Malchut in Bina, Bina, and Malchut in Malchut. It turns out that the quality of Malchut is twofold since there is Malchut in Bina and there is Malchut in Malchut.

114) Hence, this field is from that Machpelah [multiplication], which is Malchut, for there she is, as it is written, “See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed,” which is Malchut. And she is twofold—above and below. This is why it is written, “The field of Machpelah” and not “a twofold field,” for it concerns the doubled Malchut, which is called “a field.”

There are four Malchuts: two Malchuts above the Chazeh, from Bina and Malchut of Bina, and two below the Chazeh, from Bina and Malchut of Malchut. And the two Malchuts above the Chazeh are both sweetened and included in one another. But below the Chazeh, only the third Malchut is sweetened, and the fourth Malchut is not sweetened by Bina at all.

The cave where Adam ha Rishon was buried is from the fourth, unmitigated Malchut, as it is written, “For dust you are, and unto dust you shall return.” But because he repented, the cave was included in the field, which is the third, sweetened Malchut, and there he was buried.

This is why it was said, “Neither the cave is the Machpelah nor is the field called Machpelah,” for the cave is the fourth Malchut, which is not sweetened in Bina. This is why she is not doubled in Bina. The field, the third, sweetened Malchut, is not doubled, since there aren’t two Malchuts in her place below the Chazeh. Only above the Chazeh is Malchut called Machpelah, for there, there are two Malchuts that actually become incorporated in one another, one from Bina and one from Malchut.

“Jerusalem above” means above Chazeh of Nukva, gripping two sides—above and below—which are two Malchuts from Bina and Malchut of Bina.

Jerusalem below means below Chazeh of Nukva, gripping two sides—above and below—which are two Malchuts from Bina and Malchut of Malchut.

For this reason, Jerusalem above is Machpelah, for there are two sweetened Malchuts there. Hence, this field, which is the third Malchut, is considered a Machpelah, as well, since the Machpelah is the sweetening of Bina.

This is why it is certainly the field of Machpelah and not a twofold field. If the field itself had been twofold, it should have said “a twofold field,” in masculine form. But since it is not doubled itself, but draws the doubling from the two Malchuts above the Chazeh, it writes Machpelah after the Malchut above the Chazeh.

115) Certainly, the field of Machpelah. Machpelah means the letter Hey in the Holy Name, where there are the two letters Hey in the name HaVaYaH, and both are in it as one, included in one another, associating the quality of mercy in judgment. And it is for her that it is written in a way that conceals the double Hey, for there is no other doubled letter in the Holy Name HaVaYaH but her. This means that the word HaMachpelah [the Machpelah], with Hey at the beginning of the word, implies the doubled Hey, the bottom Hey of HaVaYaH, which is the Malchut that is sweetened in Bina, which is the first Hey of HaVaYaH.

116) And although it was certainly a twofold cave, meaning a cave within a cave, it is called “the cave of the field of the Machpelah,” after the sweetening of Malchut in Bina, and not because the cave was doubled.

Abraham knew that. When he spoke to the sons of Het, he concealed this matter and said, “That he may give me the cave of Machpelah,” for the cave was twofold. And he did not say, “The field of the Machpelah” after the sweetening of Bina. But the Torah calls it only “the cave of the field of the Machpelah,” as it should be, after the sweetening of Malchut in Bina, which is only in the field and not in the cave.

117) And the Creator does everything to make this world, Malchut, such as above, in Bina, to make them cling to one another so His glory will be above and below. Happy are the righteous, whom the Creator desires in the world—in this world and in the next world.