Perhaps one of the most noteworthy features of this narrative is its remarkable length. The Torah devotes sixty-six pesukim specifically to the chronology of finding a suitable mate for Yitzchak. This fact is in itself fascinating. One of the guidelines by which to understand Torah is the observation of the amount of space which is allotted to a given subject. The Creation of the universe occupies thirty-one pesukim. The Ten Commandments is apportioned fourteen pesukim, whereas the story of Yitzchak and Rivkah is related in sixty-six pesukim. We may derive from this apparent excess of pesukim that the marriage of Yitzchak and Rivkah is more important than either the Ten Commandments or the history of Creation! This overwhelming lesson is compounded by the knowledge that from this point Hashem’s Torah follows the chronology only of Yitzchak and Rivkah and their progeny. This seems to indicate Hashem’s view that the entire universe and its inhabitants are merely a backdrop before which the main Torah personalities act out their individual scenarios under His constant supervision. Although on a smaller scale than our revered ancestors, every marriage of faithful Jews has the same relative importance.
