The daily strengthening from The Rav, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a — How is Avraham’s oath to the Bnei Chet about the Cave of Machpelah connected to Jewish rule in Jerusalem?

II Samuel, chapter 5: “And David captured the stronghold of Zion; it is the City of David. And David said on that day: Whoever strikes the Yevusi and reaches the water shaft—and the lame and the blind, hated by David’s soul…”

I Chronicles, chapter 11, verse 5: “And the inhabitants of Yevus said to David: You shall not come in here. But David captured the stronghold of Zion; it is the City of David.”

Thursday, 28 Menachem Av 5782 — Only someone who does chessed 24 hours a day, like Avraham Avinu and Yoav ben Tzeruyah, can conquer Jerusalem.

These are his holy words:

How could Yoav stand up against Avraham’s oath? That is the difficulty—this is our question!

Because David was afraid (to enter Jerusalem). They told him: You will not enter the city—you cannot enter the city. They shouted at him from the walls: You will not enter the city—look at the oath (of Avraham)! Look at the signs—huge billboards with Avraham’s oath (that his descendants would not conquer Jerusalem).

“And now, swear to me here by G-d that you will not deal falsely with me, nor with my child, nor with my grandchild” (Genesis 21:23). There is an actual oath of Avraham here—so why wasn’t Yoav afraid of the oath?

The answer is inside the verse, and the Gemara explains what it means. There are two verses: 1) “And Yoav sustained the rest of the city” (I Chronicles 11:8). 2) And he will die… and he will see his death in the wilderness—but he did not die in the wilderness; he died in Jerusalem?

Here is the secret: Who are the “blind and the lame”? The Midrash says these were the idols! So what—can’t you fight idols? An idol is both blind and lame: “They have mouths but do not speak; they have eyes but do not see” (Psalms 115:5). These are the “lame”—so what is the problem fighting them?

Rather, these were idols holding enormous tablets—tablets with letters like Kiddush Levanah, letters you could see from several kilometers away. In those letters was written the oath that Avraham swore to the Bnei Chet—because “Yevus” is the Bnei Chet. Aravnah the Yevusi (who sold Jerusalem to David) was from the Bnei Chet, and Avraham swore to the Bnei Chet.

Because Avraham wanted the Cave of Machpelah (and for that he was willing to promise not to enter Jerusalem). In the Cave of Machpelah there was darkness and deep gloom. Rabbi Nosson writes (Likutey Halachos, Choshen Mishpat, part 2) that the Cave of Machpelah was a place of darkness and gloom—people were afraid to come near it.

Hashem arranged it this way so they would not discover that Adam and Chavah are there. If they had known that Adam and Chavah were there, even for billions they would not have sold it— even if you brought them billions, they would not have sold it.

Precisely the holiest place, which is the gateway to Gan Eden—precisely that place, the gateway to Gan Eden—there Adam and Chavah are guarded. All prayers ascend through the Cave of Machpelah—exactly there.

So the Cave of Machpelah was called a place of darkness and gloom—demons and spirits. Everyone was sure there were demons and spirits there; they were afraid to approach the place and said: That is the place of demons, that is the place of spirits. Today there are no demons, but once there were demons.

They said such a terrible thing about the Cave of Machpelah—why? Because Hashem confused them; Hashem blinded their eyes, struck them with blindness. He struck all the inhabitants of the land with blindness; He struck all the inhabitants of Chevron with blindness, so they would think it was a place of demons and spirits and be afraid to come to that place.

And Avraham—through the merit of his hachnasas orchim—did this: When a person brings in guests, there are no demons and no spirits. When a person rises at Chatzos, and at midday (during Bein HaMetzarim) sits on the ground, he defeats all demons and spirits. This was the power of Avraham Avinu: he succeeded in defeating all demons and spirits.

These were the Bnei Chet. “Yevus” is the Bnei Chet. Afterwards they went up to Jerusalem, and the oath was that Avraham swore to the Bnei Chet: You receive the Cave of Machpelah on condition that you will not conquer Jerusalem—that you will not enter our Jerusalem.

Because they knew that Avraham receives Eretz Yisrael—“To your seed I will give this land” (Genesis 12:7). They knew there was such an oath—so who can fight the blind and the lame? Meaning: who can stand up against the oath of Avraham Avinu?

That is the question; that is the problem. Avraham made an oath that Jews would not conquer Jerusalem. He swore that a Jew would not conquer Jerusalem—that it would always belong to the nations. If the Jews come—woe to them! They would say this even now, only they do not know there is such an oath at all. They would immediately say it to Biden: There is an oath here—what does that mean? It is ours.

Avraham swore to the Yishmaelim, and they are all Yishmaelim, that Am Yisrael would not conquer Jerusalem. He truly swore to them. They told him: You will not enter the Cave of Machpelah unless you swear to us. And they wrote the oath on enormous signs, on mighty tablets: that Jerusalem is not to be conquered—that you are forbidden to conquer Jerusalem.

David asked: Who is not afraid of Avraham’s oath? I can’t! Is there anyone here who is not afraid? Yoav said: I’m not afraid—why is he not afraid?

It is written in the verse: “And Yoav sustained the rest of the city” (I Chronicles 11:8). Just as Avraham’s doors were open 24 hours a day—Avraham brought in guests around the clock—so who merited that his hachnasas orchim was also open 24 hours a day? Only Yoav ben Tzeruyah.

This is what the Gemara says (Sanhedrin 49): Yoav was the only one in all of Israel who had no gatekeepers. With Yoav, everyone would come in and eat and drink—like with R’ Yeshaya’leh of Kerestir.