1. Caring for Health in Avodas Hashem
One must treasure and care for their health while they have it, because if you do not take care of yourself, chas v’shalom—Heaven forbid, you cannot serve Hashem properly. A healthy and strong body is essential for serving Hashem.
2. The Importance of Noticing Details in Torah
I want to share a brief thought on the parsha that highlights the importance of paying attention to details in Torah study. Sometimes we read quickly and miss subtle points, but the Rebbe teaches us to stop and notice everything. There is a story about people visiting a museum: while most admired the beautiful paintings without much scrutiny, a simple peasant noticed something off in one picture—a bird perched on a branch that did not bend under its weight. He pointed out that this detail made the painting unrealistic.
This story illustrates how someone with a keen eye can detect even small inconsistencies or nuances that others overlook. In Torah study as well, we are encouraged to look closely at every word and detail rather than just skimming through familiar stories.
3. The Significance of Kiryas Arba and Chevron
At the beginning of our parsha, Avraham comes to bury Sarah in Kiryas Arba—which we know today as Chevron. If there is any place in the world where Jewish rights are most authentic and well-documented, it is Chevron: the Torah repeatedly states that Chevron was purchased with money by Avraham, leaving no room for doubt about its connection to our people.
The Torah refers to this location as Kiryas Arba—the city of four—and it is worth asking why it carries this name. Rashi offers two explanations: first, that four giants lived there (three sons and their father), making up four residents who gave the city its name; second, Rashi says there were four pairs buried in Me’oras HaMachpelah—the Cave of Machpelah.
4. The Four Couples Buried in Me’oras HaMachpelah
Rashi explains that although not all four couples were buried there at the time of Avraham’s purchase, often names in Torah reflect future events or realities yet to unfold. The four couples are Adam and Chava (Eve), Avraham and Sarah, Yitzchak and Rivkah, Yaakov and Leah—and because these four pairs are buried there, it is called Kiryas Arba.
This detail reveals something remarkable: among those buried at Me’oras HaMachpelah are not only our patriarchs and matriarchs but also Adam and Chava—the parents of all mankind.
5. The Connection Between Adam HaRishon and Am Yisrael
This raises an important question: what is Adam HaRishon’s connection with our patriarchs? Adam was not Jewish but rather the father of all humanity! Yet his burial alongside Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov, Sarah, Rivkah, Leah (and Rachel nearby) shows a direct link between Adam HaRishon and Am Yisrael.
This idea aligns with many teachings from Midrashim, Kabbalah, and Chazal: from the moment Hashem created Adam HaRishon—vayipach b’apav nishmas chayim, G-d breathed into him a living soul (Bereishis 2:7)—there was already embedded within creation a special godly soul destined for Am Yisrael.
Some ask what connects Avraham Avinu with Adam HaRishon if Adam was simply mankind’s first man? The answer is that Hashem created the world specifically for Torah, for Am Yisrael’s sake, for Eretz Yisrael—so that ultimately Jews would receive the Torah and fulfill mitzvos in Eretz Yisrael.
6. Eretz Yisrael as the Ultimate Goal
The entire world was created as a means for Jews to serve Hashem through Torah observance in Eretz Yisrael—the land itself being holy and uniquely suited for mitzvah performance (mitzvos hateluyos ba’aretz—commandments dependent on the land). This is why Chazal say one who lives outside Eretz Yisrael is “as if he has no G-d,” emphasizing how central living in Eretz Yisrael is to Jewish destiny.
We await Moshiach so we can return fully to Eretz Yisrael with proper service of Hashem together with the Beis HaMikdash (Temple). The burial of Adam HaRishon together with our patriarchs at Me’oras HaMachpelah symbolizes how all creation leads toward this goal: uniting humanity’s origins with Am Yisrael’s mission.
7. Our Responsibility Toward All Creation
This understanding gives us greater responsibility: our actions are not only for ourselves but impact all creation—including humanity at large and even the land itself. By fulfilling Torah and mitzvos especially in Eretz Yisrael we realize Hashem’s ultimate purpose for creation: bringing holiness into every aspect of existence through our service.