By Rabbi Peter Rigler

The Torah portion Chayei Sarah begins not with life, but with death. “Sarah’s lifetime—the span of Sarah’s life, came to one hundred and twenty-seven years… and Sarah died in Kiryat Arba” (Genesis 23:1–2). Abraham’s first act after losing his beloved partner is to secure a burial place for her, a gesture of profound love and responsibility.

From this opening, Jewish tradition derives the mitzvah of k’vod ha-met, honoring the dead, and nichum aveilim, comforting the living. Abraham models both. He insists on a proper burial and then creates a sacred space, the Cave of Machpelah, that becomes a family resting place for generations.

Burial is not simply a ritual; it is a mitzvah that affirms human dignity even after life ends.

The Talmud teaches, “One who buries the

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