Our Parashah begins by telling us that Sarah died at the age of 127, and her husband Abraham identified a piece of land in the city of Hebron to use as a family burial plot. This land, which contains a cave situated in the field of Machpelah, was owned by Ephron the Hittite (the Hittites were a very powerful civilization at that time). Abraham went to the Hittites and asked them to sell him this land. Originally, Ephron offered Abraham the land as a gift, but Abraham rejected the generous offer and insisted on paying the full price. The sale of this land and its surroundings was made for the sum of 400 pieces of silver by Abraham.
After burying his wife, Abraham entrusted his servant Eliezer with finding a suitable wife for his son Isaac in the land of Haran, which is in Syria, and to prevent his son from marrying a woman from the land of Canaan.
After a long journey, Eliezer arrived at the location and prayed to God for success in his mission. He asked the Creator for a celestial sign to confirm his choice of Isaac’s future wife. This sign would be that when he asked one of the young women who came to the well for water to draw water for him, she would respond positively and offer water for the camels as well. In response to Eliezer’s request, a young woman offered to give water to the camels and turned out to be Abraham’s great-niece, Rebekah.
Upon learning that these distinguished travelers had arrived in her town, Rebekah hurried to tell her family the news. Her brother, Laban, acted as the host and invited the delegation with Eliezer to spend the night at their estate. Eliezer told Rebekah’s family the purpose of his mission and recounted the providential sign that had designated Rebekah as the future wife of his master’s son. The family agreed that the marriage was ordained by God and consented to the proposal. Rebekah’s family celebrated the engagement with Eliezer, representing Abraham’s family. The next morning, Eliezer requested not to delay his return to his land, and after an emotional farewell, the delegation returned to Abraham. Isaac took Rebekah as his wife, loved her, and her presence comforted him for the loss of his mother.
Abraham remarried and, in his old age, had several more children. However, to avoid territorial or hereditary claims from his other children, before his death, Abraham granted a generous inheritance to his other sons, who left the land of Israel, and bequeathed the rest of his possessions and land to Isaac. Abraham died at the age of 175 and was buried by Isaac and Ishmael in the cave of Machpelah that he had acquired, alongside his beloved wife Sarah
