גֵּר וְתוֹשָׁב אָנֹכִי עִמָּכֶם תְּנוּ לִי אֲחֻזַּת קֶבֶר עִמָּכֶם וְאֶקְבְּרָה מֵתִי מִלְּפָנָי: (בראשית כג/ד)
I am a foreigner and a resident among you; give me a burial plot so I will bury my deceased one.
On the pasuk (Bereishis 23,4) “Gare v’tohshav anochi eemahchem, I am a foreigner and a resident among you…” Rashi comments, “A Midrash Agaddah explains, “If you wish, I will act like a foreigner, if not, I will act as a resident and take it by right, since HaKadosh Baruch Hu said to me, ‘l’zaracha etain es ha’aretz ha’zose, To your offsprings I will give this land.’”
It seems from this midrash that Avraham tried to convince Bnei Chais to sell him Mearas HaMachpela, The cave of Machpela. Avraham told them they have nothing to lose since if they don’t agree to sell it to him, he will take it in any case, without paying, since the land is really his.
Zera Shimshon asks, if Avraham was really entitled to the land, why did he even offer to pay for it? Why would someone pay for property that is rightfully his?
To understand Zera Shimshon’s answer we need to first know two disputes mentioned in the Shulchan Aruch.
The Shulchan Aruch states (Choshen Mishpat 163/2) that a person who buys a house in a city automatically becomes a citizen of the city with all its obligations. For instance, if the city decides to build a security wall, a shul or to buy a sefer Torah, he must also contribute.
There is a machlokes, dispute, about which specific situation this halacha applies. Some say, it applies only if one bought the house in order to permanently live there. However, if he planned to live there for only a short period of time he is not considered to be part of the city. Others argue and maintain that even if the person intends to live in the city for only a short period of time he is considered to be a part of the city.
The second machlokes is in Choshen Mishpat 156/7 regarding a person who wants to live in a city and wants to be a full-fledged member of the city but the present citizens of the city object. Some maintain that he cannot be turned away as long as he is willing to pay the taxes like everyone else; Others maintain that even if he is willing to bear the monetary obligations of being a resident, he can be turned away.
In light of the above, Zera Shimshon explains that Avraham never entertained the thought of taking Mearas HaMachpela without paying for it. The reason Avraham mentioned that he can be a foreigner or a citizen had nothing to with his paying or not paying. He mentioned this for a completely different reason; the halachos mentioned above.
Avraham Avinu didn’t want to only buy the Mearas HaMachpela, but he wanted to also buy the field surrounding it. The reason for this was that even though he only needed a small burial plot for Sarah, he also wanted a place for himself and his descendants to be buried next to Sarah. Avraham was concerned, however, that Bnei Chais would think he wanted to live there and become a citizen of Chevron. This was something that Avraham was afraid that the Bnei Chais would not agree to.
Therefore, Avraham Avinu told Bnei Chais that if the custom in Chevron was like the first opinion in Shulchan Aruch, that only a person who plans to live in a city forever, becomes a citizen, he would buy the field and explicitly stipulate that he would be there only as a foreigner and would not become a citizen.
However, if Bnei Chais claim that the custom in Chevron was like the second opinion, that even one who buys a house to live there for a short period of time becomes a citizen, Avraham will not relent but will counter-argue that, like we mentioned above, everyone has the right to move into a city as long as he agrees to pay the taxes and abide by its laws.
If Avraham would make this argument, Bnei Chais still could prevent him from buying the field and claim that their custom is of the opinion regarding the halacha, that the citizens of a city can prevent someone from living in their city even if they are willing to pay the taxes of the city.
The midrash therefore says that Avraham told Bnei Chais, “l’zaracha etain ess ha’aretz ha’zose, To your offspring I will give this land.” Meaning, the reason the citizens have the right to prevent new people from moving into their city is for one of two reasons. Either because they are afraid the king will raise taxes disproportionately according to the increase of the number of residents, or because they are afraid that the new residents will eventually become the majority and change the way the city is run. Both of these reasons were not applicable in Avraham’s situation.
Concerning the first claim, at the time of Avraham, kings didn’t yet collect taxes according to the residents. With regards to the second argument Avraham argued, “l’zaracha ehtain ess ha’aretz ha’zose”-To your offspring’s I will give this land,” Hashem gave me and my descendants the land and therefore I can take the land regardless if I live there or not. Therefore, there is no reason for you not to sell me the whole field together with the Mearas HaMachpela.
In short, the midrash is telling us that Avraham wanted to convince the Bnei Chais that they have nothing to lose if they sell him the Mearas HaMachpela and the field around it, even if Avraham and his family will live there for the following two reasons. If they are afraid that he wants to use the field next to Mearas HaMachpela as a house and through this will become a citizen, he will stipulate not to become a citizen. And even if the buying of the house causes him to automatically become a citizen they will not lose anything because Hashem gave the land to my children and even without them living there they can expel you from your place.
