Genesis 23,1. “The years of Sarah’s life were one hundred years, etc.;” I believe, G’d willing, that I have understood the reason why Sarah is the only woman in the Bible of whose age at the time of her death we have been told. The Talmud Nedarim 64, in referring to Rachel’s outburst (Genesis 30,1) that unless her husband Yaakov would give her children she considered herself as “dead,” is quoted by Rashi on that verse saying that seeing that a woman’s primary task in life is to mother children, any woman who has not given birth to a live child is considered as dead.
We also know from Shabbat 156, that when G’d took Avraham outside (Genesis 15,5) that He showed him that according to the constellation of the stars, Sarai was not slated to give birth to children. This מזל, astrological prognosis of her life, could be changed only due to merits she would acquire during the years to come. She did indeed acquire such merits, as our sages conclude from a comment they made in Shir Hashirim Rabbah, 2,32 where the phenomenon of all the matriarchs originally being barren is discussed.
Among a variety of answers offered there, one is that G’d was desirous of listening to their praying to Him to be granted children, just as He is desirous of listening to the prayers of the righteous, generally. In other words, Sarah, (after a name change) both due to her merits and her supplications, was “lifted” out of the limitations predicted for her by a zodiac sign she had been born under, so that she could conceive.
When the Torah refers to her “life” as being 127 years long, this means nothing less than that she had spent all these years accumulating merits for the good deeds she performed. Expressed somewhat differently, the Torah states that it was Sarah, who with her good deeds gave “life” to her years. An additional lesson to be derived from this unique verse in the Torah, is that seeing that during all her years she cleaved to the Holy name of Hashem, י-ה-ו-ה, this fact is hinted at when the Torah summarizes her life her by commencing with a word containing these letters of G’d’s name.
She was conscious at all times that her life depended on that attribute of G’d and not, G’d forbid, on the side of the emanations known popularly as the sitra achara, “the left side.” Genesis 24,1. “and Avraham had become old, while G’d had blessed him in everything.” According to the Talmud Baba Metzia 87 the concept of ”old age,” was unknown to mankind until Avraham’s being described here in such terms. [According to the Talmud, the statement refers to external features of elderly people stamping them as having lived for many years.
This was why up until then anyone looking at Avraham or Yitzchok could not be sure whether he was looking at the father or the son. Ed.][If I understand the Talmud correctly, what is meant is that when the Torah had described Adam as having begotten a son in his own image (Genesis 5,3) as opposed to his first two sons, the resemblance between fathers and sons continued unabated until the time when Avraham was described as having aged.
Ed.]The point the Talmud makes is that beneficial largesse provided from the celestial regions for the lower regions of the universe manifests itself in one of two ways. It may be measured in terms familiar to us in this part of the universe, or it may be described in terms of concepts applicable in the celestial regions, seeing that these two domains each have their own set of rules. When this beneficial largesse originates directly in the celestial spheres close to the Creator, it had not become subject to limitations applicable in the parts of the world we live in. [As an example, we may distinguish between nourishment provided by G’d through the earth giving its yield, when such nourishment is subject to limitations that apply on our planet, whereas when G’d fed the Jewish people with manna, such limitations did not apply, as the manna originated directly in one of the seven layers of heaven.
Ed.] This latter method of benefiting from G’d’s largesse is reserved exclusively for the Jewish people. The Jewish people have become privy to this (on occasion) due to their having clung to their Creator with such devotion.The other nations sharing this planet with us, receive whatever largesse G’d provides for them only through “nature,” which “processes” such gifts from G’d before it reaches its recipients.
This is what is meant when the Torah wrote in Genesis 25,12-15 ואלה תולדות ישמעאל שנים עשר נשיאים לאומתם, “and this is the line of Ishmael, son of Avraham……12 chieftains, etc.” The word: לאומתם is derived from אמה, “mother;” when a mother measures her son she uses measuring devices used in our parts of the universe. The Torah (Genesis 25,13, and again in verse 16) adds: בשמותם לתולדותם and בחצריהם ובטירותם, “by their names, in the order of their births, and by their villages and their encampments;” these words describe the parameters within which they were privy to G’d’s benevolent largesse.
The contrast with which the Torah describes a similar description of the development of the Jewish people can be seen in the words למשפחותם לבית אבותם, “according to their family, their respective father’s house”. The word אבותם in this instance is derived from אבה, as in לא אבה יבמי, “he did not want to perform levirate marriage with me.” (Deuteronomy 25.7) The word אבה is a synonym for רצון, “will, desire.”
The widow describes that her brother-in-law does not wish to fulfill the will of heaven in maintaining his deceased brother’s name alive.Let us illustrate by an example more familiar to all of us. A potter intends to create a vase of a certain shape and colour. Before setting out to shape the clay he has a definite image of the finished product in his mind’s eye. This image is known as מחשבה, or אב הפעולה, “the father of the finished product.”
The רצון, the will to create a vase, is called אב, father, as it precedes even the sculptor’s vision of the final shape and colour of the product is about to embark on creating. The eventual product is known as בני בנים, euphemism for “grandchildren.” [In relation to the רצון the initial will to create something. Ed.]Israel’s drawing down G’d’s largesse to itself is somewhat similar. The process begins with this celestial largesse entering the domain of the physical universe, גבולין. [A domain defined by borders both dimensionally and directionally.
Ed.] The various shapes and forms this largesse assumes once it has entered our part of the universe is known as בני בנים, “grandchildren.” The original רצון, G’d’s intention to provide this largesse, is called זקן, “an old man.”When Solomon in Proverbs 17,6 speaks about עטרת זקנים בני בנים, loosely translated as “grandchildren are the crown of their elders,” the meaning of this line on a deeper level, is: “the largesse that has been received by Israelites as a result of G’d’s benevolence, is rooted in the will of G’d,” i.e. from this רצון to the world known as בני בנים. This is what the Midrash had in mind when it interpreted the opening words of our chapter ואברהם זקן בא בימים, to mean that prior to the existence of Avraham there had not been a concept on earth known as זקנה, “old age,” i.e. G’d’s largesse flowing directly, without detour through nature, to any human being.
The reason was simple. No human being had accumulated the kind of merits that enabled G’d to direct this flow of largesse by bypassing normal channels. Avraham’s merits had opened new channels of communication between G’d and man.At this point the author refers to a method of writing the 72-lettered “name” of Hashem in 9 columns of 8 three lettered words, using Exodus 14,19,20 and 21, respectively, (each verse having 72 letters) and consecutively, and the middle verse in by reading it from left to right, so that you get the diagram shown.In that diagram you will note that in the top row the “name” spelled סיט appears in the column preceding the one commencing with a name consisting of עלמ.[I am attaching the diagram so that you, the reader can better visualize what the author is speaking about.
Ed.]The word סיט occurs on several occasions in the Mishnah, throughout the section known as taharot as a vessel used in measuring. (Maimonides on Keylim 13,4, Orlah, 3,2 for instance) This “name” of G’d serves as symbol of Avraham’s ability to channel G’d’s largesse from the celestial domains to our regions. The next column in our diagram is headed by the letters עלמ, [alluding to our עולם, world] and symbolizes for our purposes, the manner of distribution of this largesse once it has entered the sphere of the material world. We refer to this in our daily amidah prayer when we recite the words: וזוכר חסדי אבות ומביא גואל לבני בניהם.
“He (G’d) remembers the deeds of loving kindness of the patriarchs and brings the redeemer to their children’s children.” On the face of it, it is difficult to understand the words חסדי אבות, “the pious deeds performed by the patriarchs.” All the author of this paragraph had to mention was וזוכר אבות, that “G’d remembers the patriarchs.” Furthermore, why would the author of this paragraph refer to the redemption as being brought to the “children’s children” of the patriarchs?
It would have sufficed to refer to their בניהם, “children.” When speaking of fathers, it is customary to relate to their children rather than to their grandchildren. However, when understanding the entire paragraph and what it teaches in light of what we have explained, both the word “חסדי” and the words “לבני בניהם” make perfect sense, as the author draws our attention to the manner in which G’d’s largesse is transmitted to the Jewish people and who we have to thank for this.
The חסד of which the author speaks is an allusion to the “source” of the largesse, i.e. G’d Himself, (not nature) whereas the בני בניהם, is an allusion to the meritorious deeds of the patriarchs which paved the way for the Jewish people to receive G’d’s largesse directly, without detours.When the paragraph above is introduced with the words: ואברהם זקן בא בימים וה' ברך את אברהם בכל, this is an allusion to Avraham, the first of the patriarchs having been able to open the sluices of G’d’s treasure chamber to enable the flow of its goodness to bypass regular channels and flow directly to His people.
When G’d’s largesse flows to us in this manner, it is not limited in measure at all, as it would be if it had to reach us via nature.This is the meaning of bereshit rabbah 59,5 where the author writes: Avraham would bless everybody. (Compare Genesis 12,3) To the question whence Avraham was able to do so, i.e. who had blessed him first? The answer is that G’d personally, had done so in His capacity of רצון as explained on page 118. Another way of understanding the statement in the Talmud Baba Metzia 87, that until the advent of Avraham there had been no such concept as זקנה, “old age,” may be that it referred to the colour of the hair of aged people turning white. [The reader is reminded of Rabbi Eleazar ben Azaryah in the Haggadah shel pessach being prematurely white-haired Ed.]Just as man’s body wears clothing that gives a hint to the type of person he is, so his mind and soul also wear “clothing” that hint at his age, the hair that covers his head, for instance. Just as man does not experience pain when someone cuts off his clothing, so he does not experience pain when his hair is cut.We have previously explained that the Creator, “shrunk His Self,” when entering the domain of the material world in order to be able to share out His loving kindness to His creatures, as otherwise His impact on that world would have been so overwhelming as to destroy it immediately.
Similarly, He “dressed Himself” by surrounding His accessibility to His creatures through commandments or the performance of good deeds that He required them to perform in order to enable them to come close to His essence. This is how He made His manifestation on earth possible. The Talmud, when referring to זקנה as a phenomenon that did not exist prior to Avraham, means that Avraham’s performing G’d’s commandments (not yet given as directives) paved the way for G’d to be able to heap His largesse on Avraham’s descendants.
The visible evidence of this was the white hair Avraham now sprouted. “And Avraham had aged, advanced in years;" the Talmud Baba batra 16 understands the word בכל as meaning that Avraham had a “daughter” by the name of בכל. Commenting further on this, the Talmud in Chagigah 15 states that a heavenly voice i.e. בת קול [instead of בת כל Ed.] was heard at Mount Sinai calling the Israelites to penance with the exception of Acher, (Elisha ben Avuya) turned apostate. [The text in my edition of the Talmud does not mention the location where this heavenly voice was heard, and it would not make sense that it was Mount Sinai, as the occasion appears to have been at least 50 years after destruction of the second Temple.
Ed.]We need to examine the nature of this “voice” somewhat more closely. Since, according to the Talmud, this בת קול appears to have been a visual manifestation rather than something heard with one’s ears, the statement is enigmatic. Apparently, the Talmud refers to a message that a person hears or is supposed to hear daily as if it were as real as a vision. The true call to do teshuvah had originated at Sinai when the people had heard G’d address them directly during the first and second Commandment, until they were so overwhelmed that they feared to die and begged Moses to be their interpreter of G’d’s words. Mount Sinai had been referred to as Mount Chorev in Exodus 3,1 when Moses had his first vision of G’d at the burning bush.
On that occasion he had “heard” the voice of G’d. The term בת קול has become the name for a derivative of that first communication to His people through Moses their leader and prophet ever since. At the revelation at Mount Sinai several months later, it had become so real that the people were described as “seeing” the voice rather than as merely “hearing it. (Exodus 20,15) We have explained that the term בן or בת describes the receiving of G’d’s largesse, when it has originated from G’d directly through the merits of the patriarch Avraham.
Just as G’d had to “reduce Himself” in terms of His pure spirituality, man has to reduce his “physicality,” i.e. his dependence on physical comforts provided by our world somewhat, in order to qualify for receiving these communications from G’d. Each human being desirous of coming closer to G’d by this means has to do so in accordance with the spiritual level he is capable of. The word בת in the language of the Mishnah, is the preface used when describing the measure of certain liquids or dry matter that a container can hold.
Its use in that sense originates in Ezekiel 45,10. [It may be correct to understand the term בת קול which is usually associated with post Biblical times, when there was no more direct communication with G’d through prophets or even through the urim vetumim on the High Priest’s breast plate, as a prophetic communication from G’d, but at arm’s length. Ed.] Another interpretation of the line וה' ברך את אברהם בכל, is based on the fact that there are two types of tzaddikim.
One type concentrates all his efforts in life on being of service to the community, whereas another type of tzaddik concentrates on perfecting his personal character traits. Avraham was of the former category, all his efforts being directed outward, for the benefit of his peers. This is alluded to in the words וה' ברך את אברהם, i.e. G’d was with Avraham on account of his concern “for all.”
The word את in the line is to be understood as עם, “with.” G’d supported him in all his endeavours. It is this point that our sages alluded to when they said that Avraham had a בת, i.e. he had a large measuring device that was big enough to share out from it to all he came in contact with. Genesis 24,7. “do not bring my son back there under any circumstances.!” We find that G’d confirmed Avraham’s attittude concerning Yitzchok not leaving the soil of The Holy Land, when He said to Yitzchok (Genesis 26,2) אל תרד מצרימה, שכון בארץ..גור בארץ הזאת, “do not go down to Egypt; reside in the Land…even if you have to be a transient in this land!”We have a standing rule according to which it is permissible to be afraid of something or someone bigger than oneself, whereas it is forbidden to be afraid of someone smaller than oneself.
In other words, whereas it is permissible to be afraid of G’d, it is not permissible to be afraid of anyone other than G’d. This is why all manner of idol worship is prohibited.The attribute of love enables one to love those who are “smaller” than we are, notably the members of our household who depend on us. When we keep this rule in mind we will be able to understand a story in the Talmud Kiddushin 57 where it is related that Shimon ben Ammasuni undertook to explain the meaning of each word את in the Torah, proving that the word invariably includes something that the Torah had not spelled out specifically.
However, when he came to the line (Deuteronomy 6,13) את ה' אלוקיך תירא, “you are to revere the Lord your G’d,” he was stymied, not knowing what the word את in that line could possibly add, as it is forbidden to revere anyone other than the Lord. His students asked him if he thought that all the explanations that he had found for the other times that the word את occurs should be disregarded?
He replied that “just as the Torah promises a reward for explaining its intricacies, so it rewards those who refrain from offering explanations that are not appropriate.” In the meantime, Rabbi Akiva who had heard of Shimon ben Ammasuni’s dilemma, said that even this את added an additional meaning to the verse in which it appeared, suggesting that the Torah scholars deserve to be revered also. Rabbi Akiva was able to offer this explanation since Torah scholars are “greater” than the ordinary people consulting them, so that they fit the principle that it is allowed to revere, be in awe of, people that are greater than oneself.
This is a basic difference between the attribute of reverence, יראה, and the attribute of אהבה, love. While it is in order to say: “I am afraid of you,” to someone more powerful than oneself, a king for instance, it is not in order to say to such a king: “I love you.” It is, however, permissible to say to such a king: “I love to be in your house,” “I love to serve you,” etc.The above distinction explains why Shimon ben Amassuni had not found a problem with the word את in Deuteronomy 6,5 where the Torah writes: ואהבת את ה' אלוקיך, “you shall love the Lord your G’d.”
He understood this verse as not applying to G’d’s essence, but to attributes of G’d, attributes worth emulating because they make Him lovable. This is also why Rabbi Akiva was able to resolve his difficulty when he suggested that reverence for Torah scholars, who are an extension of G’d from Whom they received their knowledge and stature, therefore qualify for a portion of reverence that is due to their Master.
Seeing that the Torah scholar is a servant of G’d, he too is entitled to some of his Master’s reflected glory.Avraham’s major attribute was אהבה, his love for people. This attribute included even in their concerns with matters that did not involve their relations to the Creator. This being so, G’d did not object to his descending to Egypt, leaving the soil of the Holy Land. His son Yitzchok’s primary attribute was יראה, reverence for the Essence of G’d; i.e. he concentrated all his faculties on how to serve G’d.
This being so, it would have interfered with his basic character were he to leave the sacred soil of the land of Israel for even a short period. Genesis 24,13-15. “Here I am standing at the well…and the daughters of the residents of the town are coming out… and through her I will know that You have performed a loving kindness for my master.” “and behold Rivkah who had been born for Bethuel son of Milkah, was coming out, etc.”When looking at the precision with which the Torah describes every detail surrounding this encounter, we must ask ourselves what need there was for Eliezer to refer to the other daughters of Aram Naharayim at all?
What part did they play in the story? Furthermore, why did the Torah write the word ילדה with a dot in the letter ל, suggesting that the birth of Rivkah was connected to a cause other than Bethuel merely impregnating his wife with his semen? The vowel kubutz under the letter י, instead of the vowel kametz, also adds to the impression that there were external factors involved in Rivkah’s birth. [The reader will note that when Rivkah identified herself to Eliezer in verse 24, she only used the word ילדה in an active mode with the vowel kametz, when she referred to her grandmother Milkah having born her father for Nachor.
Ed.]According to the approach that we have followed in explaining these verses in terms of G’d’s largesse and how it is transmitted to our part of the universe to the righteous, none of these nuances are difficult. We have explained that Avraham’s spiritual level in this world was one that enabled him to elevate mankind by stages to higher spiritual levels, i.e. bringing them closer to their Creator.
He did this by opening channels of G’d’s largesse to flow directly, without detours, to the society within which he was active. Eliezer, Avraham’s servant was well aware that the local population of Aram Naharayim consisted of wicked people. In order to examine whether the young lady who was to become Yitzchok’s wife belonged to the wicked part of this population, he had to devise a special scheme.
If he were to find among the virgins that came forth from the town to draw water one who distinguished herself by the characteristic of loving kindness, i.e. the same characteristic that distinguished his master Avraham, he felt certain that such a girl must have had her roots in Avraham’s family. She must have been blessed with such an attribute through the activities of Avraham on this earth.
When he described himself as “standing at the well,” he positioned himself in such a manner that he had a chance to test the girls concerning their characteristics such as offering help beyond the absolute minimum to an unknown stranger such as himself. Such a girl, by definition, was destined to continue to be active practicing the virtues for which Avraham his master was famous.The words: והנה רבקה יוצאת אשר ילדה לבתואל, are to alert us that from the generous attitude displayed by Rivkah it became manifest that a contributing factor to her birth had been the benevolent influence Avraham had exerted on the people of his time, and especially on members of his family.
A girl who would voluntarily exert herself on behalf of a stranger’s camels would demonstrate the attribute of חסד, loving concern for others, that characterized Avraham and his deceased wife, Sarah. והנה רבקה יוצאת אשר ילדה לבתואל, “and behold, here Rivkah who had been born for Betuel was coming forth.” She had been born for Betuel, due to beneficial, though indirect, input by Avraham. Betuel was not the originator of Rivkah, but merely a vessel used by G’d as an intermediary. [There is no other verse in the Bible where the expression אשר ילדה, “who she bore,” is not connected to the mother who bore that child.
Ed.] The Torah alludes to Avraham’s role in that “birth” by using the vowel kubutz, which implies “external influence.” The reason why Eliezer immediately gave Rivkah jewelry even before enquiring who she was, shows that he realized that her attribute of חסד had revealed that she had much in common with his master Avraham, and that there must be a biological link between her and Avraham. This is also what Rashi had in mind when he wrote: (verse 23) “after he had given her the bracelets, because he was certain of his master Avraham’s merits.” Genesis 24,14. “and through her I shall know that You have done a kindness with my master.”
These words of Eliezer have been explained in the Zohar where the author states that in the time of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai even small children possessed some special wisdom that enabled them to know what other adults do not know. [The children being innocent. Ed.] They were endowed with this superior wisdom as part of the spiritual rays radiating from the saintly personality of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai.
Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai is quoted as an example of the influence exerted on his environment by every righteous person, each one in varying degrees according to his spiritual stature. They are to be perceived as a microcosm of Hashem, Who as the macrocosm, disseminates spiritual influence throughout His universe through His very existence.There is no question but that Avraham’s major attribute was חסד and that he had a profound influence on his immediate environment, not only recognized but paid tribute to, by the people of Kiryat Arba, when they described him as a “prince of G’d” in their midst. (Genesis 23,6) Avraham personified on earth, what the Creator personifies in the entire universe, i.e. the dispensing of largesse.The expression ילדה is not appropriate for males, as they only הוליד, beget, plant seed, but do not bring it to gestation. The proper meaning of the word “yuldah” as it appears here suggests an immaculate birth, a birth that had not been preceded by insemination.
Seeing that this is a difficult process for us to grasp, the idea that Avraham’s good deeds “spilled over” even to people such as Betuel, is meant to set our mind at rest over the fact that Rivkah, with a father such as Betuel, and a brother such as Lavan, could have been such a righteous matriarch as she clearly was.During the meal, Eliezer recounts what had occurred at the well, and anyone who has read the Torah’s report of what transpired is aware that Eliezer rewrote some of this “history,” i.e. the sequence of events.
Rashi points this out (in his commentary on Genesis 24,47) implying that during the meal, in the presence of Betuel, Eliezer could not bring himself to imply that this man had been endowed with part of Avraham’s soul. [Perhaps the fact that if even a Betuel could exclaim that this match had been made in heaven (Genesis 24,50) is the best support for our author’s theory that some of Avraham’s spirit had spilled over even into the soul of a Betuel. Ed.] Another commentary on the words of Eliezer: ובה אדע כי עשית חסד עם אדוני.
We have a rule that when a person performs a mitzvah that reflects his attribute of חסד, love for his fellow, he “awakens” parallel “waves” of חסד in the celestial regions. As a result, the whole world will benefit from the חסד that his mitzvah awakened. Since all of the mitzvoth performed by Avraham reflected this attribute of חסד of his, they inspired other people to perform similar acts of loving kindness. Rivkah had been enabled, in spite of her extreme youth, to feel the urge to also perform deeds of human kindness.
Eliezer prayed to G’d to let him meet someone who would reflect this wonderful attribute of his master Avraham. He acknowledged to G’d that if he were to meet such a girl, her actions would show him that she had been inspired by his master Avraham. Genesis 24,17. “the servant ran towards her, etc;” answering the unspoken question of what prompted Eliezer to run toward a girl he had not even met, Rashi says that he had observed that the water at the bottom of the well from which she drew water, appeared to rise toward her.Nachmanides adds that Rashi deduced this fact from verse 13 in which the women drawing water are described as לשאוב מים, “to draw water.”
When it was Rivkah’s turn, the Torah merely describes her as “descending and filling her jug,” the word “to draw,” is not used in connection with her until she proceeds to draw water for the camels in verse 20. Why did the waters not rise toward her when she drew water for Eliezer’s camels, a tedious labour? The sages in Pessachim 114 [discussing the need to dip both matzah and maror in charosset.
Ed] claim that in order to secure this kind of assistance from heavenly sources, the act of חסד, loving kindness, must be performed intentionally as a good deed, i.e. the intent of the good deed must be to thereby carry out the wishes of the Creator. The first time when Rivkah filled the jug to satisfy her own needs, i.e. this was not an act intended to please the Lord, specifically. The water rose to assist her as she was a righteous person.
The second time, when what she did was an act of kindness to others, an act that demonstrated that she wished not only to please the camels but also her Creator, G’d withheld His assistance in order for her to receive the whole reward for the effort expended in doing this kind deed. Genesis 24,28. “when I was already on the way, Hashem guided me to the house of my master’s brothers.” It is noteworthy that the word בדרך, “on the way,” is written with the vowel patach, instead of the semi vowel sheva that we would have expected.
The former refers to a “definitive path, way, one that was commonly known.” Surely no highway led from Kiryat Arba to Aram Naharayim! We must assume therefore that what Eliezer meant to convey by choosing this word בדרך, is not the route that led from Kiryat Arba to Aram Naharayim, but the feeling that he progressed with unnatural speed to his goal, or as the sages in Bereshit rabbah 60,6 say that Eliezer covered a two week journey in a single day, so that he realized that this miracle was proof that his mission would succeed.
It was clear to him therefore that the house that he was taken to must be the house of Avraham’s family. Genesis 24,33. “I will not eat until after I have said what I have come here to say.” Eliezer betrothed Rivkah in his capacity as Yitzchok’s representative. It is a rule that on the day of his wedding, the groom is not allowed to eat until after he has wed the bride. [Nowadays both groom and bride fast until after the ceremony.
Ed.] Another way of understanding Eliezer’s refusal to eat before he had acquainted his host with his mission, is that the very meal would be converted into a סעודת מצוה, a festive meal of religious significance, once he had betrothed Rivkah. [I find this difficult, as Eliezer is described as eating and drinking in verse 54 before Rivkah had been asked if she accepted the proposal and was willing to go to Kiryat Arba.
Ed.] Another aspect of Eliezer’s refusal to commence eating before explaining the purpose of his journey to Aram Naharayim: Eliezer was aware of the wicked nature of his hosts, and considered it likely that they had put poison in his food in order to not only murder him, but to rob him of the generous dowry his ten camels had been carrying. In the event, he was proven correct, as we no longer hear a word about Rivkah’s father Betuel when Rivkah departs on the following day, since apparently he had eaten of the poisoned food.
Eliezer’s speech is considered by our sages as so important, that they do not only consider his words as equal to divrey Torah, words of Torah, but add that the Torah deliberately devoted more space to what appear to be mundane matters discussed by Avraham’s servant, than it devotes to words of Torah spoken by the patriarchs themselves. He was spared death by poisoning due to his timely words, which afforded an angel the opportunity to switch his plate with that of his host Betuel, who died from the effects of poisoning during the following night. (Bereshit Rabbah, 60,12) According to that Midrash, Rivkah’s mother and brother wanted to use the mourning period for Betuel to delay Rivkah’s departure. When considering the events described in that midrash, a number of other difficulties have also been resolved.
Eliezer mentioned a number of points that had not come up when Avraham had charged him with his mission. Why, in relating the events that had transpired at the well, did Eliezer repeat all this prior to asking for Rivkah’s hand in marriage, and even granting that this was worth saying at the time, why is it of interest to us 4000 years later? These questions are what prompted our sages to conclude that mundane matters discussed by Eliezer were of more interest to the Torah than some of the words of Torah wisdom dwelled upon by Avraham’s scholarly descendants.The key to such statements must be sought in the verse 24,1) where the Torah wrote: וה' ברך את אברהם בכל, “G’d had blessed Avraham in everything.”
Our sages had commented on the word בכל, saying it referred to a daughter named בכל about whom the Torah had not reported previously. We will try and offer two explanations to this somewhat enigmatic statement by our sages. It is known in kabbalistic circles that a righteous person, a צדיק, is also referred to as בן, “son.” When the Jewish people conduct themselves in the manner desired by G’d, the Torah quotes G’d as referring to them as בנים, “sons, children.” (Deuteronomy 14,1) What distinguishes a righteous person from normal people is that he does not suffer from an insatiable appetite for the comforts and allures that this world has to offer, but is content with what he has been granted by his Creator.
This is another way of describing him as possessing כל, everything. He does not feel that he lacks anything. This is especially true of the type of righteous people who spend their days asking G’d to dispense His largesse to others whom they perceive to be in need. Their concern for others instead of their asking G’d for more for themselves, stamps them as having been blessed בכל, “with everything.”
Moreover, it is to be assumed that people who concern themselves with the needs of their peers all the time, are clearly content that G’d has already given them all that they require for themselves. It is appropriate for every good Jew to emulate Avraham’s example in this respect, and this is why the same expression, i.e. מכל in the case of Yitzchok (Genesis 27,33), and כל in the case of Yaakov, (Genesis 33,11) has been used by the Torah to document that if Avraham was the “father” of this attitude, his children, i.e. descendants, have emulated him, so that the term בת as we explained several times, is a reference to the container from which the largesse of G’d is dispensed.
What the sages meant when they said that G’d had blessed Avraham with a בת, is that his descendants had cultivated this virtue of his, of being concerned first and foremost with the needs of others. In psalms 21,3 David expresses his gratitude to G’d Who has granted him all of his aspirations. He too had emulated this virtue that his people’s founding father had been able to implant in his offspring. 2) A second approach to understanding why the sages saw in the word בכל in our verse a reference to Avraham’s possessing a “daughter,” is based on our knowledge that Avraham related to his Creator by serving him primarily with his attribute of חסד, loving kindness, a virtue that he had learned from his Creator.
He did not use this attribute in order to accumulate merits on his own behalf, but in order to accumulate merits for the entire Jewish people of whom he would become the founding father. He laboured hard in order to implant this attribute in his descendants. This is also the meaning of the Midrash (Baba batra 16,) according to which Avraham wore a necklace featuring a jewel around his neck that miraculously healed sick people when they looked at it.
According to this Midrash, after Avraham died, G’d suspended this jewel in the solar orbit. Rabbi Shimon, the author of that Midrash, used it as a parable explaining how beneficial it was for a sick person to come within the field of vision of Avraham. This was so important a feature of Avraham’s personality that G’d could not allow it to die with him, and He equipped the sun with therapeutic qualities. When reflecting on all this we must not lose sight of the fact that Eliezer at that time had been in the service of Avraham for more than an average person’s lifetime, and had certainly learned to admire his master’s outstanding virtues.
If Avraham entrusted this servant with choosing a wife for his son, the sole heir of his spiritual wealth, and insisted that such a wife be a member of his family, i.e. Terach’s family, with whose polytheism he was thoroughly familiar, he was aware of the challenge posed by the mission he had undertaken, and that is why he prayed to G’d הקרה נא..ועשה חסד עם אדוני אברהם. Genesis (24,12) We need to examine why Betuel and family at first agreed to Rivkah’s becoming Yitzchok’s bride, (verse 50) but apparently changed their minds subsequently. (Verse 55).
We must remember that both Lavan and Betuel, even when appearing to agree, had evil intentions. (see Rashi, according to whom they planned to assassinate Eliezer) Their principal motivation was to prevent Yitzchok from having children that would grow to maturity and survive. (Gittin 64) The Talmud there discusses the subject of a betrothal by means of an emissary, in the absence of a face to face meeting between bride and groom.
According to the halachah, as long as the emissary is still on the way, i.e. has not returned from his mission, the sender (Yitzchok) is not allowed to marry any other woman. The reason for this is that he might, unwittingly marry someone forbidden to him for reasons of incest. (In the event that his emissary had already carried out his mission) For this reason, Rivkah’s family first expressed their willingness, so that Yitzchok was “married,” and then by killing him hoped to prevent him from returning to his sender and announcing that he had completed his mission. Genesis 24,49. “so that I can turn either to the right or to the left.” According to Rashi, by referring to “the right,” Eliezer hinted at Yishmael’s family, whereas when speaking of “left,” Eliezer referred to the daughters of Lot, (also part of Avraham’s family.[The author goes to some length to explain why Lot was referred to as “left;” according to Rashi, explaining that Royalty is considered “left,” i.e. G’d, Who delegates some of His absolute power to kings of flesh and blood had thereby “shrunk” His powers.
Seeing that Ruth, David’s great grandmother would be descended from Lot through Moav, Eliezer is supposed to have foreseen all this. I confess that I find it difficult to believe that Eliezer possessed such prophetic insights. Ed.] Genesis 24,63. “Yitzchok took a walk to meditate in the open field;” It is a rule that people who practice submissiveness, (in the sense of humility) are liable to become depressed, due to the constant awareness that they cannot act freely in accordance with their desires, as they constantly defer to the wishes of others.
When a person reserves his submissiveness vis a vis his Creator, by serving Him exclusively, he thereby attaches himself to the source of Joy. It follows that instead of becoming morose and depressed, he will walk through life in a spirit of happiness and joy. Our verse alludes to this psychological phenomenon, the word לשוח, being an alternate for שמחה, joy. Yitzchok’s taking a stroll was intended to fill his heart with joy.
In the field he would be able to communicate with his Creator, i.e. with Holiness. Becoming associated with Holiness would engender feelings of joy within him. Another aspect of why the Torah tells us that Yitzchok chose to stroll in the field, is provided by the additional detail of the time of day when this occurred, i.e. shortly before sunset, i.e. לפנות ערב. Our sages (Pessachim 119) give some examples of how G’d’s viewing matters differs from the way His creatures, human beings, view the same matters.
Example: When one of G’d’s creatures suffers a defeat, he reacts by being saddened and becoming depressed. G’d, on the other hand, is overjoyed when one of His creatures prevails in a discussion with Him. When G’d had originally suggested that Moses become a substitute for the Jewish people whom He intended to destroy after the episode with the golden calf, and Moses pointed out to him that this would not be a good idea, as the chances of a new Jewish people with only one founding father, himself, being better than the previous Jewish people who had three founding fathers were very slim, G’d was overjoyed to accept Moses’ argument as superior to His own. (Compare psalms 4,1 where David alludes to this) The Midrash (Tanchuma Ki Tavo 1) takes this thought even further by generalizing that ”G’d issues decrees and the righteous on earth cancel these decrees.”When G’d was guiding His universe before having created man, He did so all by Himself.
He did not need to take into consideration how His creatures would view His actions, i.e. His will reigned supreme. Once He had created free willed human beings, He had to seriously consider how the righteous among them would view His actions. Our sages allude to this when they said: (Bereshit Rabbah 19,7 עקר שכינה בתחתונים, (loosely translated) “G’d’s presence is occupied primarily with His creatures in the ‘lower’ part of the universe,” [i.e. He has to justify Himself to the righteous people on earth.
Ed.]This principle of G’d’s involvement in man’s pursuits not merely being restricted to viewing it from the celestial regions, is documented in Exodus 19,20 וירד ה' על הר סיני, “Hashem descended on Mount Sinai., etc.” What was the reason that G’d saw fit to leave the lofty spheres of heaven? He prepared to act in accordance with what the צדיקים, the righteous expected from Him. Being able to set the minds of His righteous at rest is the greatest satisfaction that G’d, their Creator, can experience.In our portion, this is alluded to when the Torah describes Yitzchok as meditating in “the field,” or, [in the words of our sages ] “Avraham viewed G’d as ‘a mountain;’ Yitzchok viewed Him as a ‘field,’ whereas Yaakov viewed Him as a ‘house;’ this is why he promised to build a “house for Him.”
The tzaddikim learned to become progressively more familiar with G’d. [The anecdotes about our author that are appended to his commentary on the Torah, reflect the fact that the author was no exception to this rule. Ed.] Being able to feel close to G’d, i.e. on the field, enabled Yitzchok, whose very name symbolized joy, laughter, to become more intimate with his Creator. The word שדה is also known as חקל, “(as in חקלאות the pursuit of agriculture.) [The author describes the righteous as being described as שדה חקל, but I have not been able to find the source for this. [There follows a paragraph that I have not been able to follow completely, so that I am not able to translate into English without possibly misrepresenting the author’s meaning. Ed.]An alternate approach to the verse: “Yitzchok went for a stroll in the field close to evening, when he raised his eyes and beheld camels approaching” The Talmud (B’rachot 26), when commenting on this line says that Avraham, (compare Genesis 19,26) composed the daily morning prayer, the word ויעמוד “he stood,” meaning that he stood engaged in prayer, whereas Yitzchok composed the daily afternoon prayer, מנחה. According to the Talmud, the word שיחה when used in the Torah always refers to prayer, תפלה. [It does not occur again in the Torah, although it does occur in psalms 102,1.Ed.]
Yaakov, the third of the patriarchs, introduced the evening prayer, מעריב. This is based on Genesis 28,11 ויפגע במקום וילן שם כי בא השמש, “he met G’d there as the sun was about to set and spent the night there.” [The word המקום, meaning G’d, is not unusual. Ed.] We need to examine why a prayer is called מנחה, “gift.” The morning prayer being called שחרית, is easy to understand as the word שחר means morning, when the sun begins to shine.
Calling the evening prayer מעריב is also easy to understand as it is offered in the evening, ערב. But naming the afternoon prayer מנחה appears somewhat difficult. Tossaphot Yom Tov, already recognized this anomaly and answers it by referring to the period when it is recited as מנוחת השמש, “when the sun rests.”I propose a different explanation. I believe the root of the word מנחה is simply “gift,” not “rest.”
This prayer is presented at a time, when man does not think that he has to either thank the Lord for having awoken well from his sleep, or after having completed the day’s chores without problems and entrusting our soul to G’d once more when we lie down, confident that He will restore it to us in the morning. Neither of these considerations motivates us to devote time to prayer in the middle of our daily activities.
If we take time out to pray during the day nonetheless, G’d may consider this as a gift from us to Him. Alternately, the reason this prayer is called מנחה, is because we express our unworthiness for all the goodness G’d bestows upon us whether as חסד, an act of loving kindness as understood by Avraham, or as רחמים as understood by Yaakov. Since G’d does not only shower us with His goodness in the morning and in the evening, but even during every moment of every day, we owe it to Him to consider this as a great gift from Him, and therefore we acknowledge this at a time of day when we are otherwise preoccupied. The reference to גמלים באים “camels approaching,” is not to be understood literally, according to our author, but as a simile meaning the same as גומל in our daily עמידה prayer, where it means that G’d responds to kindness with more kindness.Another way of understanding the line: וירא והנה גמלים באים, is that the righteous who serve the Lord truly experience a feeling of transcendental satisfaction from doing so even while still in this imperfect world which our bodies inhabit. Rivkah experienced an echo of this, and this is what is meant when the Torah reports her reaction to seeing her future husband Yitzchok for the first time; ותפול מעל הגמל, normally translated as “she fell from the camel,” has to be understood as similar to Genesis 25,19 where the word the words על פני כל אחיו נפל has to be understood as “he (Ishmael) landed;” parallel to this we read here that Rivkah landed above the “camel,” i.e. in loftier spiritual regions.
She perceived for the first time the “taste” of serving the Creator based on super-terrestrial dimensions. Genesis 24,67. “Yitzchok brought Rivkah into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he wed her and she became his wife and he loved her.” We need to examine what the Torah meant by Yitzchok loving Rivkah that is so extraordinary that it has to be spelled out here.A husband can love his wife on two different levels.
He may love her, i.e. be physically attracted to her as she enables him to satisfy his biological urges. If this is his “love,” it is not love at all, but is merely love of his self. There are husbands who do not love their wives because they are instruments of fulfilling their physical desires, but because their wives enable them to perform their Creator’s will better and more profoundly. This is the true meaning of “someone loving his wife.”
The Torah testifies that Yitzchok’s love for Rivkah was of the latter category. Genesis 25,13. “And these are the names of Yishmael’s children according to their names and their further developments.” According to Rashi the line is to be understood as the Torah recording the names in the chronological order in which they were born. The reason why Rashi emphasizes this is because there are numerous occasions when the Torah does not list the name of the children in this order, for instance: Genesis 9,18 when the Torah lists the names of Noach’s sons as שם, חם, ויפת, naming שם first, although Yaphet was the firstborn.
Similarly, in Genesis 25,9 where Avraham’s burial is described, Yitzchok is mentioned ahead of his older brother Yishmael as he was the more righteous of the two. Genesis 25,17. Concerning Rashi’s comment based on Rabbi Chiya that the reason that the lifetime of Yishmael was listed in the Torah is to show that Yaakov spent 14 years hiding in the academy founded by Shem and subsequently headed by his great-grandson Ever; surely it is strange that this piece of information was of such significance that the Torah had to write about it, albeit as an allusion!
Why did the Torah not simply write that Yaakov hid there instead of adding a paragraph of seven verses detailing Yishmael’s descendants?!The intention of the Torah was to illustrate the influence of a tzaddik in elevating people in his immediate proximity to a spiritually higher level. It also demonstrates that when a tzaddik loses this ability to elevate his environment spiritually he has to go into hiding instead, as through his failure he arouses G’d’s wrath at the wicked and his remaining in their environment would expose him to the judgment G’d has in store for them.
Isaiah 26,20 makes this point when he writes: חבי כמעט רגע וגו', “hide for a brief moment and lock the doors behind you!” (Compare the Zohar’s I 182, comment on this verse) This was also the reason why Elijah hid during the years of famine that he had decreed (Kings I 17,2) so that the ravens had to bring him food. At that time it was beyond Elijah’s powers to spiritually elevate the people of his generation.
Eventually, as described in the same Book, Elijah was commanded by G’d to come out of hiding, as by that time the ground had been prepared for his message to resonate among some of the people. His success is recorded in King’s I 18,39, although, alas it was short-lived. It is a fact that for a while at least, Yaakov’s encounter with Esau resulted in a spiritual elevation of his brother Esau, who even wanted to share the world with him.
The reason why Yaakov succeeded partially with Esau though failing with Yishmael, was that Esau was his twin brother, as opposed to Yishmael who was only his uncle. [Esau voluntarily vacated the land of Israel (Canaan) in order not to compete with his brother. (Genesis 36,6-8) Ed.] When the Torah lists the years Yishmael lived, it was to inform us that he lived that many years only on account of his nephew Yaakov’s merit. If Yaakov had been able to bring about a spiritual reawakening of his uncle, he would not have had to hide.