🎬 Abraham was quoted an exorbitant price for the Cave of Machpela. He did not argue. He did not fight. He paid — and took the holiest place on earth. But the Sages rule that when the nations inflate the price of a mitzvah, we do not buy at all. Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto, shlit’a, resolves the contradiction and uncovers a principle that governs money, mitzvot and ransom alike.
Parshat Chayei Sarah opens with Abraham buying the Cave of Machpela at a price the Torah calls exorbitant. The question writes itself: why? Rachel our mother was not buried there — she died on the road and Jacob buried her by the roadside. Were there no other places? And the righteous guard their money as they guard their own bodies — Jacob our father turned back for small jars. So why does Abraham pay so vast a sum, without a word of bargaining? Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto, shlit’a, sets the question against the ruling of the Sages: if the nations raise the price of anything connected to a mitzvah, we do not buy it. There was a time they inflated the price of fish for Shabbat, and the Sages said: do not eat fish that Shabbat. There was a time they inflated the price of the bird offerings, and the Sages said: do not bring that offering.
The Gemara extends it further: if gentiles steal Torah scrolls or mezuzot and demand a heavy ransom, we do not redeem them — we leave them in their hands. So it was with Maharam of Rothenburg: they kidnapped him and named a huge sum, and he asked not to be redeemed. He remained captive fifteen years, and after his death they were so incensed they refused to return his body. Later his student, the Rosh, gathered money to redeem him, heard that they meant to seize him too for the money, fled to the Rashba and hid there — and Maharam’s body stayed in their hands for years more. The Torah itself says: if a person is kidnapped and a great sum is demanded, we do not redeem him — because then the nations learn that they may kidnap and the Jews will pay any amount. Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto, shlit’a, shows the Sages applying this to themselves, not merely ruling it for others: they asked not to be redeemed, so as not to inflate the price for every Jew after them.
⏱️ TIMESTAMPS
0:00 — And so we find with our forefather Abraham.
0:13 — We must ask, what did Abraham our forefather see in taking the Cave of the Patriarchs?
0:25 — Even our mother Rachel was not buried in the Cave of the Patriarchs.
0:42 — Specifically the Cave of the Patriarchs, to pay such a large sum to buy it and bury her there.
0:59 — After all, the righteous value their money as their own bodies, and if so
1:13 — And even the Sages say if the Gentiles raise the price of anything related to a mitzvah, we do not buy it.
1:26 — There was a time when the Gentiles raised the price of sacrifices, of bird offerings that had to be sacrificed
1:41 — The Gemara says if Gentiles steal Torah scrolls or mezuzahs and demand a large ransom for them
1:51 — So it was with Maharam of Rothenburg; the Gentiles kidnapped him and asked for a large sum
2:06 — And afterwards his student, the Rosh, who collected money to redeem him
2:24 — We do not allow the Gentiles to drive up the market prices.
2:33 — Why?
Welcome to the official English YouTube channel of Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto (Shuva Israel). Here you will find transformative Torah lessons, ancient Kabbalah wisdom, daily spiritual inspiration, and practical life advice for success, peace, and spiritual growth.
✡️ ABOUT RABBI YOSHIYAHU YOSEF PINTO:
Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto is a world-renowned Sephardic Rabbi and spiritual leader of the global Shuva Israel organization. Known for his profound teachings in Torah, Kabbalah, Mussar, and business ethics, Rav Pinto guides hundreds of thousands of people worldwide toward inner peace, emunah (faith), and divine blessings.
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