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Date Posted: 19:30:33 11/21/03 Fri
Author: schwabra
Author Host/IP: dialup-67.29.206.146.Dial1.Cincinnati1.Level3.net / 67.29.206.146
Subject: The price of Bargains

We have come to live in a bargain society. Nearly everything we purchase, from hummus to Hummers, has to carry the whiff of markdown for it to be worth our cash. It's a psychology that began when some unheralded marketing genius first decided that $4.99 sounded like a lot less than $5.00. Since then, purveyors have devised BOGOs, outlet stores, add-ons, cross-sells, loss-leaders and frequent flyer points galore to entice us into thinking that we're getting something for nothing, or at least something for less.

Our forefather Abraham, however, did not have a dollar store down the block. When he went shopping, he expected to pay full price. Even when offered a sale price, he resisted.

This week we read Chaye Sarah. It begins with Sarah's death, and with Abraham's search for a suitable resting place for his beloved wife. He goes to Ephron the Hittite and asks for the cave of Machpelah. The Sages tell us that this is where Adam and Eve were laid to rest, and where Abraham, Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob and Leah were to be buried as well.

Perhaps acknowledging the stature of Abraham, Ephron immediately offers him a bargain; in fact, he wants to give not only the cave but the entire field on which it lies to Abraham, free of charge.

But Abraham won't hear of it. He chooses to pay for the cave and field, and to pay the full price a Realtor of the times would quote. The Sage Rashi likens this transaction to King David's purchase of the threshing-barn of Aravna, which the king wanted to turn into a site for the Beit Hamikdash. Aravna also wanted to make a gift of the building, but David insisted on buying retail.

In both cases, the buyers wanted not only the use of the site, but a sense that they had full, perpetual ownership of it, since both were to be used for important spiritual reasons.

This fullness, this sense of completion, is also expressed in the first sentence of the portion. It is noteworthy that Chaye Sarah, the Life of Sarah, begins with the sentence "And the life of Sarah was a hundred and seven and twenty years; these were the years of the life of Sarah," thus recognizing and honoring the fullness of her accomplishments before mourning her passing. What we say, what we do, what we measure in our lives must be done fully. Like Abraham, like Sarah, we have to take ownership of every deed. Do you own your life? Or are you looking for a way to pay less for your blessings?

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