We pick up with Rebecca, about to leave her family to marry Isaac. Genesis 24:59 tells us, “They sent Rebecca their sister, and her nursemaid, and Abraham’s servant, and his men.” But it's verse 60 that really grabs our attention: “They blessed Rebecca, and said to her: Our sister, may you become thousands and myriads, and let your descendants inherit the gate of their enemies.”
Sounds lovely, right? A heartfelt send-off?
Well, not so fast. The Rabbis of the Midrash, ever perceptive, suggest something far more complex. "They sent Rebecca…they blessed Rebecca" – the text tells us. But the Midrash asks, were they truly happy for her? The Rabbis see a subtext of resentment, of being "downcast and despondent" at her departure. The blessing, they suggest, was only "with their mouths," not with their hearts. Ouch.
Why this suspicion? Perhaps Laban and his family, who weren't exactly paragons of virtue, were worried about losing a valuable member of their household. Or maybe they just didn't fully grasp the significance of Rebecca's destiny. Whatever the reason, the Rabbis sense a lack of genuine joy, a hollowness behind the words.
And this leads us to another question: why was Rebecca initially barren? Genesis 25:21 tells us that Isaac had to pray for her to conceive. Rabbi Berekhya and Rabbi Levi, in the name of Rabbi Ḥama bar Ḥanina, offer a fascinating explanation: to prevent Laban and his kin from claiming credit! "It was so that the idolaters [Laban and his mother] should not say: ‘Our prayer bore fruit.’" Instead, "Isaac entreated the Lord on behalf of his wife." It's a powerful statement about the importance of kavanah, intention, in prayer and blessing. Whose merit would bring about this miracle? It had to be clear it was Isaac's.
Rabbi Berekhya, again in the name of Rabbi Levi, then connects this to Job 29:13: “The blessing of the lost would come to me.” Here, "the lost [oved]" is interpreted as Laban the Aramean, drawing a connection to Deuteronomy 26:5: "An Aramaean sought to destroy [oved] my father." The blessing, then, ultimately rests upon Rebecca.
The Midrash then unpacks the blessing itself: "Our sister, may you become thousands [alfei] and myriads [revava]." This, they say, was fulfilled through both Esau and Jacob. "Chieftains [alufim]" emerged from Esau, as we see in Genesis 36:15 ("the chieftain of Teiman, the chieftain of Kenaz"), while "myriads [revava]" came from Jacob, echoing Ezekiel 16:7: "I rendered you numerous [revava] like the plants of the field."
Interestingly, some suggest that both "thousands" and "myriads" ultimately came from Israel, citing Numbers 10:36: "When it rested, he said: Repose Lord, among the myriad [rivevot] thousands of [alfei] Israel." This interpretation emphasizes the ultimate unity and fulfillment of the blessing within the Israelite nation.
What does this all mean? It's a reminder that blessings, like any words, can be complicated. They can be tinged with envy, self-interest, or even a lack of understanding. But ultimately, the true power of a blessing lies in its sincerity, its intention, and its connection to something larger than ourselves. And sometimes, as in Rebecca's case, even a half-hearted blessing can be transformed into something truly extraordinary. So, the next time you offer a blessing, ask yourself: is it coming from the mouth, or from the heart?