When Rivkah saw Yitzchak coming towards her, she questioned Eliezer concerning his identity. When Eliezer responded that it was his master, Yitzchak, whom she would soon marry, she immediately covered her face with a veil out of tznius, modesty. Rashi states that the word xf,,u, “and she covered,” should actually be translated “and she was covered” because it is the hispael, reflexive form, of the verb. He compares this to two other words, rce,u, “and she was buried,” and rca,u, “and it was broken.”
Rabbi Yerucham Levovitz z.t.l. suggests that Rashi’s choice of examples, i.e. breaking and burial, are deliberate. They emphasize Rivkah’s exemplary level of tznius. Rivkah was so imbued with tznius that covering her face was a reflex reaction, as if someone else had covered her face. She didn’t even stop momentarily to think.
This is similar to burial and breaking. The act of breaking or burial is not performed by one to himself. It is performed by others, while the subject remains passive. Likewise, Rivkah covered her face in a passive action, as if this was the only appropriate reaction. We should all aspire to attain that exalted level of devotion to Hashem in which the positive and correct response to every situation is reflexive.
