by Rabbi Yair Hoffman

“In the choice of the land we shall bury your dead” [Bereishisis 23:6]

The Midrashic Teaching

The Midrash Tanchuma  [Behar 1] writes: “Be not alarmed by a man of evil eye” [Mishlei 28:22] – this refers to Ephron the Hittite. When Sarah died, Abraham went to Ephron to purchase the cave from him. Ephron said to him, “Give me its value,” and he said to him “The land is worth four hundred shekels of silver between me and you, what is it?” Abraham began to weigh out the silver to Ephron, as it is said “And Abraham listened to Ephron, and Abraham weighed out [the silver] to Ephron.” Ben Maara said, although Rabbi Chanina said that all shekels mentioned in the Torah are sela’im (regular shekels), except for these which are kentorin (centenaria, a larger measure), Abraham passed four hundred kentorin before Ephron. When Ephron saw the silver, he became alarmed and flustered, and said ‘In the choice the land we will bury your dead.’ The Holy One Blessed be He said, “You were alarmed about money? By your life, you wull have a deficiency in the matter.” And what was his deficiency? Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi bar Shalom said: Every [mention of] ‘Ephron’ written here, until he took the silver from Abraham, is written full (with the letter vav), but this one is deficient, ‘And Abraham weighed out to Ephrn’ is written without the vav.”

The Sequence of Events

It is clear from this Midrash that the chain of events progressed as follows:

A) Abraham requested from Ephron to sell him the Cave of Machpelah.

B) Ephron agreed to sell the Cave of Machpelah for four hundred shekels of silver.

C) Abraham paid Ephron the full price, with larger shekels that contained more shekels.

D) Ephron became over-enthralled by the abundance of silver, and therefore suggested to Abraham that he could choose the “choice burial place.”

E) And since Ephron became over-enthralled by the abundance of money, therefore Ephron was punished and his name was written in the Torah deficiently, without a vav.

The Fundamental Question

The Midrash requires explanation: Why, in fact, was Ephron punished? After all, Ephron did not commit any transgression! On the contrary, he offered Abraham the choice burial place!

Rav Leibowitz’s Explanation

Rav Henoch Leibowitz zt”l explains that it is clear from this Midrash that the very fact that Ephron was over-enthralled by the abundance of money was in and of itself a transgression, even if the alarm did not lead to any transgression. For the Holy One, Blessed be He, wants our mind to be clear upon us – that we should not confuse our mind without any proper reason. We are here for a reason – all of us, and we cannot become side-tracked from our purpose or mission in life by the pursuit of the false illusive attraction of materialistic consumption.

Here there was no proper reason to confuse Ephron’s mind. Ephron’s role in the world was to perfect himself spiritually, and not to become wealthy materially. Therefore, the very fact that his mind became alarmed, that he had allowed himself to react in a materialistic manner – was a diversion from the true direction of where we should be and is considered a transgression.

Modern Application and Lessons

And from this Midrash about Ephron, we can understand a profound truth about our own lives today. Just as Ephron’s reaction at material wealth represented a departure from his true purpose, our contemporary society’s endless pursuit of consumption and materialism similarly diverts us from our essential mission. The constant chase for luxuries, status symbols, and material excess does not merely occupy our time – it actively disturbs our consciousness and clouds our spiritual vision.

Like Ephron, whose name was written deficiently after his moment of material distraction, we too become spiritually diminished when we allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by material pursuits. Our true purpose in this world is to sanctify the name of Hashem (Kiddush Hashem) through our actions, choices, and the elevation of the mundane to the spiritual. Yet how often find our minds over-enthused and distracted by the latest purchases, the newest technologies, or the endless cycle of material acquisition?

Conclusion

The lesson of Ephron teaches us that even a moment of being overwhelmed by material concerns – even without acting upon it – constitutes a departure from our true purpose. In our modern world, we must be especially vigilant against this tendency, as we are surrounded by unprecedented material abundance and constant invitations to consume. Each time we allow ourselves to be “alarmed” or overly concerned with material wealth, we, like Ephron, risk having our spiritual names written “deficiently.”

Our true task is to maintain clarity of purpose and to remember that we are here to serve a higher calling – to bring Hashem into the world through our actions and choices. The pursuit of materialism not only blinds us to this truth but actively leads us down pathways of falsehood, where we mistake the means for the end and the temporary for the eternal. May we merit to learn from Ephron’s error and maintain our focus on our true spiritual purpose in this world.

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