The beginning of Chayei Sarah enumerates the years of Sarah's life which Midrash suggests are the various stages of her life. Directly following her death and the mourning period, Avraham negotiates and purchases the Cave of the Machpelah as a burial place for the family.
It occurs to me, especially after the death of my parents, and being in possession of some of their notes and receipts, that life can be broken down into a series of plans and purchases. This takes up a good deal of time in our lives and somehow leads to a legacy of some sort. In between our plans and purchases, our lives are peppered with the happy occasions and the ordinary interactions between family, friends and business associates. Parshat Chayei Sarah looks at both some of Avraham's transactions and planning for the big life events including the marriage of Isaac. The Parsha comes to a close with the death of Avraham, and he bequeaths his affairs to his son Isaac.
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Endings and Beginnings
Life is the space between
beginnings
and endings
Countless events
we plan and design
A series of purchases
Houses, land, graves
Groceries, clothing
Stocks and bonds
We argue
negotiate
compromise
bargain
measure and compare
Our purchases piled
a pyramid of purchases
We are planners
hoping for the best
planning for the worst
We record
Check and
Double check
We carefully assign
tasks
Perhaps
Our lives are better
when organized
ordered,
rows and columns
tiny numbers and letters
standing in line
Appearing as witnesses
that we were here
Things we bought
or sold
We came to terms
grudgingly
or occasionally satisfied
Another check in the box
We did it
For safety
For security,
for legacy
For our children
Our children's children
A legacy of deals
An imprint upon the generations
Life is what is what happens in between
deals
Each of us is a planner
It's a Godly trait
We plan now for ourselves
We plan ahead for our children
Crossing our t's and dotting our i's
Wanting what is best
for those we leave behind
Our legacy, so important
Figures represent thoughts
and concerns
a thousand transactions
Each signature
on a dotted line
Marking our place in this world
setting up a path for the future
leaving our world of receipts behind
A legacy of numbers,
A history of purchases
A mark that once upon a time
we were here
From Sefaria: Parshat Chayei Sarah, Genesis 23: 2-10
Sarah died in Kiriath-arba—now Hebron—in the land of Canaan; and Abraham proceeded to mourn for Sarah and to bewail her.
וַיָּ֙קָם֙ אַבְרָהָ֔ם מֵעַ֖ל פְּנֵ֣י מֵת֑וֹ וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר אֶל־בְּנֵי־חֵ֖ת לֵאמֹֽר׃ Then Abraham rose from beside his dead, and spoke to the Hittites, saying,
גֵּר־וְתוֹשָׁ֥ב אָנֹכִ֖י עִמָּכֶ֑ם תְּנ֨וּ לִ֤י אֲחֻזַּת־קֶ֙בֶר֙ עִמָּכֶ֔ם וְאֶקְבְּרָ֥ה מֵתִ֖י מִלְּפָנָֽי׃ “I am a resident alien among you; sell me a burial site among you, that I may remove my dead for burial.”
וַיַּעֲנ֧וּ בְנֵי־חֵ֛ת אֶת־אַבְרָהָ֖ם לֵאמֹ֥ר לֽוֹ׃ And the Hittites replied to Abraham, saying to him,
שְׁמָעֵ֣נוּ ׀ אֲדֹנִ֗י נְשִׂ֨יא אֱלֹהִ֤ים אַתָּה֙ בְּתוֹכֵ֔נוּ בְּמִבְחַ֣ר קְבָרֵ֔ינוּ קְבֹ֖ר אֶת־מֵתֶ֑ךָ אִ֣ישׁ מִמֶּ֔נּוּ אֶת־קִבְר֛וֹ לֹֽא־יִכְלֶ֥ה מִמְּךָ֖ מִקְּבֹ֥ר מֵתֶֽךָ׃ “Hear us, my lord: you are the elect of God among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places; none of us will withhold his burial place from you for burying your dead.”
וַיָּ֧קָם אַבְרָהָ֛ם וַיִּשְׁתַּ֥חוּ לְעַם־הָאָ֖רֶץ לִבְנֵי־חֵֽת׃ Thereupon Abraham bowed low to the people of the land, the Hittites,
וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר אִתָּ֖ם לֵאמֹ֑ר אִם־יֵ֣שׁ אֶֽת־נַפְשְׁכֶ֗ם לִקְבֹּ֤ר אֶת־מֵתִי֙ מִלְּפָנַ֔י שְׁמָע֕וּנִי וּפִגְעוּ־לִ֖י בְּעֶפְר֥וֹן בֶּן־צֹֽחַר׃ and he said to them, “If it is your wish that I remove my dead for burial, you must agree to intercede for me with Ephron son of Zohar.
וְיִתֶּן־לִ֗י אֶת־מְעָרַ֤ת הַמַּכְפֵּלָה֙ אֲשֶׁר־ל֔וֹ אֲשֶׁ֖ר בִּקְצֵ֣ה שָׂדֵ֑הוּ בְּכֶ֨סֶף מָלֵ֜א יִתְּנֶ֥נָּה לִ֛י בְּתוֹכְכֶ֖ם לַאֲחֻזַּת־קָֽבֶר׃
