Parashat Hayyei Sara contains two negotiation stories that parallel each other: Avraham's request to buy a burial plot in Hebron from Ephron the Hittite, and Avraham's servant's quest to find a wife for Yitzhak in Aram Naharayyim. What is the significance of the juxtaposition and of the many similarities? In this shiur, we examine the many parallels between these two stories, such as the journeys, the initial ease and then the adversity and obstacles. We discover that they complement each other, and together they raise questions about universalism vs. particularism. Though these concepts (and stories) seem to contrast and negate each other in some ways, in Avraham and his people they are interconnected.
Yemei Iyun be-Tanakh - תשע"ו