Parshat Chayei Sarah
Take 2: Matchmaker, Matchmaker
In this portion, Abraham sends his servant, Eliezer, to find a wife for Isaac. Eliezer stops for some water and finds a kind beautiful woman, Rebecca. He immediately knows that she is the right woman for Isaac.
The Torah may seem long, but it is actually very stingy with words. Most stories lack important details and we are left with lots of unanswered questions. This portion, however, is particularly interesting because an entire conversation is repeated. This is very rare for the Torah! Now we can be like detectives and compare the two conversations to hopefully learn some new details.
As you learn from watching the video above, Eliezer doesn't just add a few things or take out a few things; he actually changes things! Why do you think he would do that?
It is through the differences in these conversations that we learn more about Rebecca. We know that she is kind from how she treated Eliezer and his camels. This teaches us something new: Rebecca displays kindness in a place where everyone around her does the opposite. She does kindness in a place of anti-kindness.
Of whom does that remind you? Abraham!
Now, as Abraham's story draws to an end, and Abraham is about to die, his legacy, God's legacy, needs to continue with the next generation. Rebecca is the perfect woman to carry the torch of Abraham legacy.
She has the internal strength to model kindness in a place where there is none. She, like Abraham , comes from this land and is able to journey to a new place, to build kindness even if the people around her do not share her values.
This story becomes the perfect blueprint for the nation of Israel who are meant to value and model kindness
Together with Isaac, she'll spread kindness to others and continue Abraham's legacy and God's legacy and bring blessing to the world.
The Torah may seem long, but it is actually very stingy with words. Most stories lack important details and we are left with lots of unanswered questions. This portion, however, is particularly interesting because an entire conversation is repeated. This is very rare for the Torah! Now we can be like detectives and compare the two conversations to hopefully learn some new details.
As you learn from watching the video above, Eliezer doesn't just add a few things or take out a few things; he actually changes things! Why do you think he would do that?
It is through the differences in these conversations that we learn more about Rebecca. We know that she is kind from how she treated Eliezer and his camels. This teaches us something new: Rebecca displays kindness in a place where everyone around her does the opposite. She does kindness in a place of anti-kindness.
Of whom does that remind you? Abraham!
Now, as Abraham's story draws to an end, and Abraham is about to die, his legacy, God's legacy, needs to continue with the next generation. Rebecca is the perfect woman to carry the torch of Abraham legacy.
She has the internal strength to model kindness in a place where there is none. She, like Abraham , comes from this land and is able to journey to a new place, to build kindness even if the people around her do not share her values.
This story becomes the perfect blueprint for the nation of Israel who are meant to value and model kindness
Together with Isaac, she'll spread kindness to others and continue Abraham's legacy and God's legacy and bring blessing to the world.