Chayei Sarah – Page 4 – Peninim on the Torah

מד' יצא הדבר

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chayei Sarah, 5777

The matter stemmed from Hashem! (24:50)

Anyone who has ever been involved in the area of shidduchim, matchmaking, is acutely aware of the value and verity of this pasuk. Hashem is the Divine matchmaker – end of subject. While at times we have difficulty finding rhyme or reason to explain some marriages, Hashem does, and that is all that really counts. Indeed, the Divine Providence manifest in shidduchim is so acute and lucid that one must be myopic to ignore it. There is a classic story, which occurred concerning the Rashash (Horav Shmuel Shtarshon, zl, noted commentator to Talmud Bavli), which underscores this idea. The Rashash…

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ויבאה יצחק האהלה שרה אמו... וינחם יצחק אחרי אמו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chayei Sarah, 5777

And Yitzchak brought her into the tent of Sarah, his mother… and thus was Yitzchak consoled after his mother. (24:67)

Rashi teaches that the arrival of Rivkah Imeinu in the tent of her late mother-in-law, Sarah Imeinu, reestablished the practices of the first Matriarch, to the point that Yitzchak Avinu was finally consoled over his mother’s passing. The spiritual void left by Sarah’s demise seemed to be filled with the presence of Rivkah. Rashi focuses on three miracles that were regular occurrences in Sarah’s home. First, Ner daluk mei’erev Shabbos l’erev Shabbos, the candle which she lit on erev Shabbos (to usher in the Shabbos) did not burn out. It remained lit the entire week. Second, Brachah metzuyah b’issah, there…

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אשר לא תקח אשה לבני מבנות הכנעני אשר אנכי יושב בקרבו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chayei Sarah, 5776

That you not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among who I dwell. (24:3)

Avraham Avinu was adamant in insisting that Eliezer not take a wife for Yitzchak (Avinu) from the daughters of Canaan. He would rather that Eliezer travel to Charan, Avraham’s birthplace, to seek a wife for Yitzchak. Being the ben yachid, only son, of Avraham and Sarah Imeinu, Yitzchak carried a tremendous legacy on his shoulders. The next generation which he, together with his future wife, would progenate must be able to carry on the Abrahamitic way of life and its commitment to serving Hashem. To ensure this, Yitzchak could not marry just anyone. Avraham felt that the girls of Canaan…

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ותמהר ותער כדה אל השוקת ותרץ עוד אל הבאר לשאוב

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chayei Sarah, 5776

So she hurried and emptied her jug into the trough and kept running to the well to draw water. (24:20)

The Shlah Hakadosh notes the exceptional kavod habriyos, human dignity, evinced by Rivkah Imeinu. First, Eliezer drank from the jug, leaving over some water. Rivkah was now in a quandary concerning what to do with the remaining water. If she gave the water in the jug to the camels, it would indicate that she held animals and humans in the same esteem. If she poured it out on the ground, it would impugn Eliezer’s dignity. This is where her wisdom came into play. She began to run with the jug, in such a manner that it would cause the water…

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ויען לבן ובתואל ויאמרו מד' יצא הדבר

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chayei Sarah, 5776

Then Lavan and Besuel answered, and said, “The matter stemmed from Hashem.” (24:50)

In the Talmud Moed Kattan 18b, Chazal view this response (although it came from Lavan and Besuel) as a clear indication that Hashem pre-ordains man’s proper mate. Otherwise, the Torah would not have recorded these words. Any true, believing Jew is acutely aware of Hashem’s management of the marriage process. One who does not see Hashem’s guiding hand in this process either suffers from some form of myopia or, worse, lacks the capability to discern the events that take place in life. Much has been derived from this parsha concerning the manner and approach one should take towards shidduchim, matrimonial…

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נתתי כסף השדה קח ממני

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chayei Sarah, 5775

I give the price of the field, (take) accept it from me . (23:13)

The Talmud Kiddushin 2a questions the source for money, kessef, serving as a means for achieving kiddushin, betrothal, of a woman. The Talmud explains that a woman is actually niknis, acquired; thus, the act of kiddushin is essentially a kinyan, act of acquisition. The Talmud asks, “From where do we know that ‘money’ is a valid method of kiddushin?” “We derive kichah/kichah misdei Efron.” (Through the use of a gezeirah shavah, one of the thirteen hermeneutic principles for expounding the Torah, through which a similar word or phrase occurs in two otherwise unrelated passages in the Torah, they are linked…

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ואברהם זקן בא בימים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chayei Sarah, 5775

Now Avraham was old, well on in years. (24:1)

Did Avraham Avinu suddenly become old? The Midrash Tanchuma teaches that when Sarah Imeinu died, Avraham began to age. Horav Mordechai Eliyahu, zl, explains that as long as Sarah stood by the Patriarch’s side, he did not sense that he had aged. She encouraged and spurred him to continue his holy work. When his life’s companion, his major source of inspiration, was taken from him, Avraham no longer had by his side that spiritual force that motivated him to maintain his youthful endeavors. The Rishon L’Tzion adds that this unique ability to galvanize the individual to aspire for greater success…

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וירץ העבד לקראתה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chayei Sarah, 5775

The servant ran towards her. (24:17)

Rashi explains that Eliezer ran towards Rivkah Imeinu when he saw the water rising towards her. Clearly, this was an outstanding display of the supernatural. Rivkah must have been an impressive young woman to have merited such “reverence.” If this is the case, why did Eliezer feel the need to test her to see how she would react when he asked for water for his camels? What greater indication of her suitability for Yitzchak Avinu did he need than seeing nature altered for her? The well-known explanation, attributed to Horav Yechezkel, zl, m’Kozmir, is that a person is judged according…

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ויהי כאשר ושני כלו הגמלים לשתות ויקח האיש נזם זהב בקע משקלו ושני צמידים על ידיה עשרה זהב משקלם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chayei Sarah, 5775

And it was, when the camels finished drinking, that the man took a nose ring whose weight was a beka, and two bracelets for her hands, whose weight was ten measures. (24:22)

The Torah goes to great lengths in describing Eliezer’s journey to Aram Naharayim in search of a suitable wife for Yitzchak Avinu. When Eliezer saw the outstanding display of chesed, loving kindness, manifested by Rivkah Imeinu, he realized that she had the refined character traits that were necessary for the next Matriarch of the Jewish Nation. Eliezer gave her gifts, a nose ring and two bracelets. The Torah underscores the weight of these pieces of jewelry, due to their allusion to the half-shekel collected from the people for the building of the Mishkan, and the ten measures, which allude to…

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עבד אברהם אנכי

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chayei Sarah, 5775

I am the servant of Avraham. (24:34)

Eliezer was entrusted with a mission of the most crucial importance: finding the next Matriarch, the woman who, together with Yitzchak Avinu, would be charged with forming and maintaining the next link in Klal Yisrael. It was no easy task, and, clearly, without Divine manipulation, the success of this mission would not have been realized. Obviously, the selection of Eliezer to execute this mission is indicative of his virtue and sanctity. Avraham Avinu was acutely aware that nothing is achieved without Divine interplay, and Hashem would not interact with a person of base character. Chazal, however, teach us that there…

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מד' יצא הדבר

The matter stemmed from Hashem! (24:50)

ויבאה יצחק האהלה שרה אמו... וינחם יצחק אחרי אמו

And Yitzchak brought her into the tent of Sarah, his mother… and thus was Yitzchak consoled after his mother. (24:67)

אשר לא תקח אשה לבני מבנות הכנעני אשר אנכי יושב בקרבו

That you not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among who I dwell. (24:3)

ותמהר ותער כדה אל השוקת ותרץ עוד אל הבאר לשאוב

So she hurried and emptied her jug into the trough and kept running to the well to draw water. (24:20)

ויען לבן ובתואל ויאמרו מד' יצא הדבר

Then Lavan and Besuel answered, and said, “The matter stemmed from Hashem.” (24:50)

נתתי כסף השדה קח ממני

I give the price of the field, (take) accept it from me . (23:13)

ואברהם זקן בא בימים

Now Avraham was old, well on in years. (24:1)

וירץ העבד לקראתה

The servant ran towards her. (24:17)

ויהי כאשר ושני כלו הגמלים לשתות ויקח האיש נזם זהב בקע משקלו ושני צמידים על ידיה עשרה זהב משקלם

And it was, when the camels finished drinking, that the man took a nose ring whose weight was a beka, and two bracelets for her hands, whose weight was ten measures. (24:22)

עבד אברהם אנכי

I am the servant of Avraham. (24:34)

YEARS

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