Chayei Sarah 5770

Parshas Chayei Sarah

This past week we read Parshas Chayei Sarah.

A Shidduch for Yitzchak

One of the subjects of the Parsha is the search by Eliezer for a suitable shidduch for Yitzchak Avinu. Eliezer arrives to the town well, prays to the A’lmighty asking for a specific sign to identify the right girl, then right away Rivka arrives fulfilling the sign and having all of the desired qualities that Eliezer was looking for. Eliezer then takes out the jewelry and puts it on her arms, and then he asks her who she is, and she is indeed from Avraham’s family like Eliezer was looking for.

Now it is curious that first he gave her the jewelry and then afterwards he asked her who she is. Indeed later when he repeated the story to Rivka’s family he switched the order and told them that first he asked her who she is and only afterwards gave her the jewelry. Rashi writes that Eliezer actually gave the jewelry first because he had faith in the merit of Avraham Avinu that the A’lmighty was sending him success for his mission, but when he told over the story to Besu’el and Lavan he switched the order of events so they shouldn’t catch him on his words – they would not understand such faith.

I wish to present an insight, what occurred to me might be an additional reason that Eliezer first put the jewelry on Rivka and then asked her who she is. To do this I wish to borrow, so to speak, the main idea from an Amshinover Torah, a Torah which is brought down in the name of the Rebbe R. Shimon Shalom zatzal. I admit ahead of time that I will not do justice to the original Torah, I don’t mean to present his Torah now as it should be, rather just to bring down a main idea in order to use it for our issue.

The Name Changes of Avraham and Sarah

In Parshas Lech Lecha, regarding the name changes of Avraham and Sarah, the Medrash says that the yud that Hashem took from Sarah, He split up into two heh’s, one He returned to Sarah, and one went to Avraham. The numerical value of a yud is 10 and a heh is 5, so when you split the yud in halves you get two heh’s. He says that this explains the difference in the way that the Torah expresses itself. With Avraham the posuk says, Your name will no longer be called Avrum, It Will Be Called Avraham etc. But with Sarah it says, Don’t call her name Saray, for Sarah Is Her Name. For when Hashem changed Avraham’s name so that from then on his name will be Avraham, He did so by taking the yud from Sarah. Therefore when the Torah writes about Sarah’s name change, it says, “for Sarah is her name”, that is, her name is already Sarah since previous to this, when Avraham’s name was changed, perforce Sarah’s name was also changed at the same time.

He explains the idea in the spirit of the Gemora in Yevamos on the posuk, “Ki Be’Kah Hashem Tzur Olamim”, that Olam Habah was created with a yud, and Olam Hazeh was created with a heh. That is, that yud represents the penimius of the shoresh of Olam Habah, and heh represents the penimius of the shoresh of Olam Hazeh.

The birth of Yitzchak Avinu was something that was out of this world, a “peleh”. The posuk says that He (Hashem) took him (Avraham) out, and told him “Look up to the Heavens”, etc., as in Rashi there, that the A’lmighty took Avraham out of this world in order to give him the news that he was going to have Yitzchak. Similarly, Chazal say that Hashem Yisborach told him then that true, Avram can’t have children, but Avraham can. After he was given half of the yud, the heh, whose penimius is rooted in Olam Habah, out of this world, when that became part of his name, then he and Sarah had the potential to have Yitzchak Avinu.

He explained that the yud, broken up to become two heh’s, represents the idea of the bechina of Olam Habah clothing itself in Olam Hazeh. Its reality was one of Olam Habah, but it was clothed in Olam Hazeh. This gevaldig bechina was what was necessary in order to accomplish the birth of Yitzchak.

One can ponder, what was the symbolism with Sarah of her yud becoming a heh? Perhaps it can be said that her original bechina was too much out of this world, she lacked the kailim which was necessary for her Olam Habahdiga bechina to have an Olam Hazehdiga levush. Thus, her nature, so to speak, was that she was unable to have a child. But when Hashem Yisborach changed her name to Sarah, when her yud became a heh, when her Olam Habahdiga bechina became clothed in an Olam Hazeh bechina, then she was able to come to the birth of Yitzchak Avinu.

Until here I paraphrased to a certain extent the Torah of the Rebbe R. Shimon Shalom from Amshinov.

If so, then perhaps we can understand Eliezer’s intentions. After spending decades in the house of Avraham and Sarah, and then seeing the gevaldiga Kedusha in Rivka, and the miracles with the well waters flowing up towards her (as in Rashi from Chazal), he thought to himself, maybe she’s too much so, maybe she’s lacking the kailim so that this Kedusha can be clothed in an Olam Hazeh’diga bechina, and if so she can’t be a shidduch for Yitzchak Avinu. Do I want to bring a wife for Yitzchak who will also have to wait more than a half a century to have a child? So he tested her, he gave her the jewelry in order to see her reaction, whether she would be able to hold Olam Hazeh in its proper context, or whether she would refuse the gold saying, (like it is said in the name of the Kotzker), “Gelt? Peh …”, This was the test, and when she accepted the present and thanked him for it, then he asked her bas mi at.

Boruch Rappaport