EXTRA · classical (not a TT unit)

Chayei Sarah 23:7 · EXTRA

Parashas Chayei Sarah · Passuk 23:7

The Complete Passuk

וַיָּ֧קָם אַבְרָהָ֛ם וַיִּשְׁתַּ֥חוּ לְעַם־הָאָ֖רֶץ לִבְנֵי־חֵֽת׃

Thereupon Avraham bowed low before the people of the land, the children of Cheis,

Chabad / Judaica Press

Source Citation

Classical midrash / Rashi style on humility of the Patriarchs (classical source on this passuk; not listed as a numbered Torah Temimah unit here).

Lemma / focus: וישתחו לעם הארץ.

Sefaria

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text
מְלַמֵּד שֶׁהָיָה אַבְרָהָם מַשְׁפִּיל עַצְמוֹ לִפְנֵי בְּנֵי חֵת כְּדֵי לְהַשְׁלִים רְצוֹנוֹ בִּקְבוּרַת שָׂרָה.

English: This teaches that Avraham humbled himself before the children of Cheis in order to fulfill his will regarding the burial of Sarah.

On the daf / in context: Avraham’s bowing is presented as deliberate humility before the local people so that the burial negotiation can proceed without friction.

Type of Learning

Derash on the verse (midrashic character reading) — not a formal named middah of the 13: the act of bowing is taken as a model of necessary humility in pursuit of a mitzvah.

What Is Learned

Avraham bowed before the people of the land; the Patriarch’s humility before the children of Cheis is the means by which he advances the burial of Sarah.