After such a monumental event, life surely changed. According to Legends of the Jews, Abraham felt the weight of his years more acutely after Sarah's passing.
Interestingly, the text suggests Abraham himself requested visible signs of aging! Before, it was difficult to tell the old from the young. As Isaac resembled his father, people would often mistake them, giving requests meant for one to the other. So, Abraham prayed for visible signs of aging, and God granted his wish.
Even in his old age, God's blessing remained with Abraham. To show that the blessings weren’t solely because of Sarah, God continued to prosper him after her death. Hagar bore him a daughter, and Ishmael, repenting of his past actions, became subordinate to Isaac. Abraham enjoyed peace within his family and high regard in the world. Kings from the east and west sought his wisdom. He even possessed a precious stone that could heal the sick, which, upon his death, God attached to the wheel of the sun.
But perhaps the greatest blessing, shared only with Isaac and Jacob, was that the yetzer hara – the evil inclination – had no power over him, giving him a taste of the world to come. This wasn't unearned, of course. Abraham was righteous, fulfilling even later rabbinical laws, like the rules about the Sabbath day's journey (techum shabbat). Because of this, God revealed new teachings to him, the same ones expounded daily in the heavenly academy!
Yet, one crucial piece was missing: a wife for Isaac.
So, Abraham called his trusted, aged servant Eliezer. Eliezer wasn’t just a servant; he mirrored Abraham in spirit and appearance. Like his master, Eliezer had control over his yetzer hara and was well-versed in the law. Abraham said to him, "I am old, and I don't know when I will die. Go to my homeland, to my family, and find a wife for my son."
This decision, the text tells us, stemmed from Abraham's thoughts after the Akeidah – the binding of Isaac – at Mount Moriah. He realized that had the sacrifice been completed, Isaac would have died childless. He even considered choosing a wife from the daughters of his allies, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, knowing their piety outweighed concerns about lineage.
But God intervened, saying, "Do not worry about a wife for Isaac. One has already been provided." According to Ginzberg's retelling in Legends of the Jews, Milcah, the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor, who had been childless, was blessed with fertility after Isaac's birth. She bore Bethuel, who then fathered a daughter at the time of Isaac's sacrifice – the very daughter destined to be Isaac's wife!
Remembering the proverb, "Even if the wheat of thine own place be darnel, use it for seed," Abraham resolved to find a wife within his own family. Since any wife would have to convert, he reasoned, it was best to prioritize his own kin.
Eliezer, ever the loyal servant, then posed a practical question: "What if no woman wants to come with me to this land? Can I then marry my own daughter to Isaac?"
Abraham firmly refused. "No," he said, "you are of the accursed race, and my son is of the blessed race. Curse and blessing cannot be combined. And do not take my son back to the land from which I came; that would be like taking him to hell. God, who moves the heavens, will make this right. He who took me from my father's house, who spoke to me and swore to me in Haran and at the covenant of the pieces that He would give this land to my seed, He will send His angel before you, and you will take a wife for my son from there."
Eliezer then swore an oath to Abraham by the sign of the covenant, solidifying his commitment to this crucial mission.
Isn't it remarkable to see how even after the most profound spiritual trials, like the Akeidah, life continues? Abraham's story reminds us that even in old age, purpose remains. And sometimes, that purpose involves finding the right match for the next generation. It makes you wonder, what "Eliezer's mission" are we each called to undertake in our own lives?