The Israel Koschitzky Virtual Beit Midrash

Parshat HaShavua
Yeshivat Har Etzion

Upon glancing at parashat Chayei Sara, one notices that the account of Eliezer and his quest for a bride for Yitzchak spans the majority of the parasha. One is immediately struck by the length and seemingly unnecessary repetition, so uncharacteristic of biblical narrative. The Torah, which at times seems so stingy and grudging regarding important details, is overly generous with respect to this particular story. This feature is even more pronounced when contrasted with the halakhic sections of the Torah, which are extremely terse. This peculiarity was noticed by our Sages. In fact, Rashi in his commentary quotes the famous midrash: "Rav Acha said: The conversations of the servants of our forefathers are dearer to the Omnipresent than the Torah of their children. After all, the parasha of Eliezer is repeated in the Torah, while many laws can only be derived through subtle hints." In order to attain a greater appreciation of this statement, we must first analyze our parasha, specifically with respect to its verbosity.

Let us begin with the repetition of the story. Why does the Torah relate both the actual encounter between Eliezer and Rivka, as well as Eliezer's retelling of this meeting? It is worth noting that the reference of the midrash to "conversations of the servants," may very possibly refer to the transcription of Eliezer's account. Therefore, we will briefly focus on Eliezer's rendition, and pay specific attention to discrepancies between it and the actual events.

Professor Nechama Leibovitz a"h, did a marvelous job both in pointing out the differences between the two accounts, as well as analyzing the reasons for these discrepancies. I cannot cover all the points noted by her; therefore, I will focus on what I consider the ones which are critical for our purposes.

Eliezer is charged by Avraham to return to his homeland and birthplace ("moladeti") in order to choose a bride for Yitzchak (pasuk 4). Eliezer, on the other hand, relates that he was sent specifically to Avraham's family ("beit avi") to choose a bride (pasuk 38,40). In order to solve this contradiction, the Rashbam interprets "moladeti" as referring to family, and not to birthplace. However, a quick glance at the first pasuk in parashat Lekh Lekha (12:1) reveals the difficulty of this interpretation.

Furthermore, in the original account, Eliezer hands the jewelry to Rivka prior to determining her lineage (22:23), while in Eliezer's account this order is reversed (22:47). The Ramban suggests that Eliezer lifted the jewelry before questioning Rivka, but gave it to her only after receiving her answer. After all, it would be absurd to transfer the jewels to this girl before determining that she is a viable candidate, from the family of Avraham. (See Rashi's commentary for an alternate solution.)

However, if Eliezer was charged with going specifically to the family of Avraham, it is very difficult to understand why he didn't immediately limit his interview to family members. Why did he originally intend on approaching all the girls in the village at random? Why was he so overwhelmed when he discovered that Rivka was related to Avraham (pasuk 27)?

The commentators mentioned above based their interpretations on the assumption that Eliezer retold the events with accuracy. Therefore, it is crucial to smooth over the discrepancies of the two accounts. However, an unbiased reading of the original account of the Torah clearly indicates that Eliezer was not sent to Avraham's family but rather to his homeland. Therefore, he planted himself near the well, and began to interview all the girls of the village. When the first girl successfully passed her interview, he immediately showered her with gifts, even before questioning her lineage. He is subsequently overwhelmed by the surprisingly fortuitous discovery that this girl is in fact Rivka, a descendant of Nachor.

Eliezer diplomatically alters the story in order to convince Lavan and Betuel to permit the marriage. Therefore, he claims that he was sent specifically to Avraham's family. Consequently, he is forced to switch the order of events, and claim that the jewels were only given after determining Rivka's family connections. In order for us to appreciate Eliezer's contribution to the story, the Torah must transcribe both the actual events, as well as Eliezer's dialogue with Lavan.

However, I believe that the Torah's lengthy rendition of this story comes to stress a different point. Although impressive, I find it hard to accept that the Torah was so verbose only in order to eternalize Eliezer's sharpness and smoothness as a diplomat. Instead, I will try to show how a careful reading of the parasha reveals an engaging tale of religious commitment, faith and divine providence.

When initially charged by Avraham with the task of finding a bride for Yitzchak, Eliezer is skeptical regarding the success of this mission (pasuk 5). Avraham assures him that with the help of God (literally), he will successfully complete his mission (pasuk 7). With this assurance, armed with the promise of divine assistance, Eliezer faithfully embarks on his journey, with no idea whatsoever, how he will proceed. Even upon reaching his destination, he does not know to whom to turn. How is he to choose the "right girl" out of the hundreds of possible candidates? In his desperation, he lifts his arms in passionate prayer (the force of his supplication is indicated by the "shalshelet," pasuk 12). He devises a test that he will use in his interviews which will help him make the right choice.

At this point, we can imagine that Eliezer assumed that he would spend the next few days in the village, until finding a girl who passes the test and is willing to leave everything, move to Canaan, and marry some unknown person. Even if he eventually finds such a girl, can he be certain that this is really Yitzchak's "bashert?"

However, even before completing his prayer, a beautiful girl suddenly appears, with pitcher on her shoulder (pasuk 15). Startled by the coincidence of her immediate arrival, Eliezer races towards her to begin the interview (pasuk 17). To his amazement, the girl passes the test with flying colors (pasuk 19). Stunned by the rapid unfolding of events, Eliezer must ascertain one additional point: will the girl and her father agree to the marriage? Everything hangs in the balance. Was everything that happened mere coincidence, or has the Almighty responded to his prayer? Impatient to find out, Eliezer asks for the girl's father's name (pasuk 23). Upon hearing the astonishing news that the girl is from Avraham's family, Eliezer, overwhelmed with gratitude and awe, prostrates himself before the Almighty (pasuk 26), an act that reflects his awareness of his encounter with Providence ("Hashgacha").

Trembling with excitement, Eliezer follows Rivka to her home. Spurred by a sense of urgency, he insists on telling his story immediately (pasuk 33), stressing the divine nature of his mission. Lavan and Betuel, infected by Eliezer's passion, realize that Rivka is divinely ordained to be the bride of Yitzchak, and have no choice but to comply (pasuk 50). At this point Eliezer knows that his mission has been crowned with success, his gratitude to Hashem knows no bounds, and once again he prostrates himself before Hashem (pasuk 52).

Summary

The covenant between Hashem and the Jewish people is a dual one. It consists of the covenant forged with our forefathers, as well as the Sinaitic covenant. The former is a covenant between Hashem and individuals. The latter was forged with the entire Jewish people. The terms of the covenant of Sinai are the 613 mitzvot. Values and ideals must be formalized and formulated as objective commandments in order to obligate the entire nation. The terms of the "berit avot" are the values and ideathemselves, the lives and experiences of the avot which express deep religious commitment as well as moral awareness and sensitivity.

The "Torah of the children" can be derived from subtle hints. Through painstaking and committed study of the word of Hashem, we use nuances to ascertain the halakha. In fact, human involvement and intelligence, as opposed to divine signals, are preferred regarding halakhic decisions. "Chakham adif mi-navi" (the sage is superior to the prophet).

In contrast, "the conversations of the servants of our forefathers" relates a tale dealing with real people in real life situations, fraught with challenges and dangers. The "irrelevant" detail is an experience, which reflects a human reaction to actual events. One should accompany Eliezer as he travels the road from skepticism to faith, one should actually feel the pounding of his heart.

The singular fondness for "the conversations of the servant," is because it is a simple human story. It lacks great nature confounding miracles. However, it contains a breathtaking human and religious drama, a drama in which man encounters Hashem within the natural order.

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