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Why does the Baal HaTurim hint at Esav's future claim to Maaras Hamachpelah in the verse describing its purchase? The shiur explains that Efron's rah ayin (begrudging attitude) meant the sale was never wholehearted—leaving Bnei Ches with a residual claim. Esav, with two wives from Ches, leveraged that incomplete transfer to assert his own entitlement centuries later.
The shiur opens with Rabbi Zweig analyzing two cryptic statements from the Baal HaTurim on the purchase of Maaras Hamachpelah in Parshas Chayei Sarah. The first Baal HaTurim notes that "vayokam sadei Efron" contains a remez (hint) to Esav, whose name appears in reverse in the acronym (roshei teivos behefech Esav), indicating that Esav will one day rise up and complain about the cave. The second Baal HaTurim observes that Efron is spelled without a vav because he had a rah ayin (was begrudging), and that the gematria of Efron equals 400, corresponding to the 400 shekels Avrohom paid. Rabbi Zweig asks two fundamental questions. First, why does the Torah (תורה) hint at Esav's complaint here, at the time of purchase, when this event will not occur until approximately 180 years later (after Avrohom's death at 175, Yaakov's birth when Yitzchok was 60, and Yaakov's death at 147)? What relevance does Esav's future claim have to the transaction itself? Second, what is the meaning of the gematria hint that Efron equals 400? The Torah already explicitly states the price was 400 shekels—why does it need to be hinted at in the name as well?
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Bereishis 23:17 (Parshas Chayei Sarah)
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