This week in our Torah portion we read of a very critical conversation that takes place between Avraham and Ephraim regarding the purchase of Sarah’s burial plot in the Cave of Machpelah.
We read of the negotiation and intuit the rationale behind the spoken words that Avraham utilizes; he wants to ensure there will no question regarding ownership of this land – for all time.
The question of land ownership – who actually holds title to land – is of course very much in the news today. Is land ownership associated with past usage – from time immemorial, as is stated in the news? Or does title transfer to the mortgage payer? What role does the Crown play here in Canada? Ownership, we are discovering, is far more complicated than we thought when we took out a mortgage on our home.
Avraham was securing this land as a burial site for his future generations – to the degree he imagined possible. Yet. We read in Psalm 24:1 that, “the Earth is the Lords.” Indigeneity, land ownership/title, and religious belief all become complicated in these dialogues. We can certainly look at 87 years of war in Israel to know that religious decree/ownership from millennia is not universally recognized. What are some of the conversations we can have about how we can be stewards and not owners of our lands? Does Ephraim own the Cave? Does Avraham? Do we? Torah faces us with many hard questions and certainly does so this week.
With love,
Rabbi Lynn
Chaye Sarah
November 10, 2025 by Rabbi Lynn Greenhough • From the Rabbi's Desk
This week in our Torah portion we read of a very critical conversation that takes place between Avraham and Ephraim regarding the purchase of Sarah’s burial plot in the Cave of Machpelah.
We read of the negotiation and intuit the rationale behind the spoken words that Avraham utilizes; he wants to ensure there will no question regarding ownership of this land – for all time.
The question of land ownership – who actually holds title to land – is of course very much in the news today. Is land ownership associated with past usage – from time immemorial, as is stated in the news? Or does title transfer to the mortgage payer? What role does the Crown play here in Canada? Ownership, we are discovering, is far more complicated than we thought when we took out a mortgage on our home.
Avraham was securing this land as a burial site for his future generations – to the degree he imagined possible. Yet. We read in Psalm 24:1 that, “the Earth is the Lords.” Indigeneity, land ownership/title, and religious belief all become complicated in these dialogues. We can certainly look at 87 years of war in Israel to know that religious decree/ownership from millennia is not universally recognized. What are some of the conversations we can have about how we can be stewards and not owners of our lands? Does Ephraim own the Cave? Does Avraham? Do we? Torah faces us with many hard questions and certainly does so this week.
With love,
Rabbi Lynn