פרשת חיי שרה תשכ"ח - רבקה

And it came to pass, when he saw the ring, and the bracelets upon his sister’s hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying: ‘Thus spoke the man unto me, ‘that he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the fountain.

and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood over against him; and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed down to the earth,

And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him.

Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men;

Ye are standing this day all of you before the LORD your God: your heads, your tribes, your elders, and your officers, even all the men of Israel,

And she said unto him: ‘I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore unto Nahor.’

And I asked her, and said: Whose daughter art thou? And she said: The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore unto him. And I put the ring upon her nose, and the bracelets upon her hands.

And she hastened, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw, and drew for all his camels.

She said moreover unto him: ‘We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in.’

'ונקית משבעתי וגו THEN SHALT THOU BE CLEAR FROM THIS MY OATH etc. — and take a wife for him from the daughters of Aner or Eshcol or Mamre.

ותער AND SHE EMPTIED — It means “pouring out”. It occurs in this sense many times in the Mishna; e. g., (Avodah Zarah 72a), “He who pours (הטערה) from one vessel into another”, and we find it again in a similar sense in Biblical Hebrew: (Psalms 141:8) “O pour not out (תער) my soul”, and (Isaiah 53:12) “Because he poured forth (הערה) his soul unto death”

גם אתה DRINK THOU ALSO — Her use of the word גם, also suggests that she intended to include the men who accompanied him.

וגם את הגוי AND ALSO THAT NATION — The word וגם and also—(that nation also will I judge)—suggests that other nations will be judged as well: it is used here to include the four Monarchies (of the book of Daniel) who also will perish because they enslaved Israel (Genesis Rabbah 44:19).

וגם דמו ALSO HIS BLOOD [IS REQUIRED] — the particles את and גם extend the scope of the clause; here it implies “his blood and also the blood of his old father” (Genesis Rabbah 91:8).

Take both your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also.’

וישתחו ארצה HE PROSTRATED HIMSELF — From this we may learn that we should thank God for good news (Genesis Rabbah 60:6).

And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man. And the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.

And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her. And Isaac was comforted for his mother.

AND ISAAC BROUGHT HER INTO THE TENT OF SARAH HIS MOTHER. The connecting word is missing and there are many like this. The reason for this passuk is that it tells us the honor that Isaac had for his mother, for it shows that during all the time since Sarah died they didnt pitch her tent, for they said "let no other woman come into the tent of the esteemed mistress" However when Rivkah arrived he brought her to that tent out of honor for her and there he took her for a wife. And this is the meaning of "he loved her and he was consoled:" it hints to the fact that he was sad over the [loss of] his mother and "a comforter had been far from him" until he found comfort with his wife in his love for her. for otherwise what reason would there be for the Torah to mention a mans love for his wife? Onkelus however translates it to mean "Isaac brought her to the tent, and she was like Sarah his mother" And this is why it mentions his love for her for it was because of her righteousness and fitting deeds that he loved her and found comfort in her. And so they mentioned in Breishit Rabbah: "before Sarah had died blessing was found in the dough."

And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her. And Isaac was comforted for his mother.

And I said unto my master: Peradventure the woman will not follow me.

But thou shalt go unto my father’s house, and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son.

And she said unto the servant: ‘What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us?’ And the servant said: ‘It is my master.’ And she took her veil, and covered herself.

And the water in the bottle was spent, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.

And when the money was all spent in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said: ‘Give us bread; for why should we die in thy presence? for our money faileth.’

Thus was finished all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting; and the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did they.

And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, that their father said unto them: ‘Go again, buy us a little food.’

כאשר כלו WHEN THEY HAD FINISHED [EATING THE GRAIN] — The Targum renders it by כד שציאו which means “when they finished” in the sense of making an end of doing an action. He who has the reading in the Targum כד ספיקו “when they had enough” is in error. The words (24:22) כאשר כלו הגמלים לשתות “when the camels had finished drinking” are rightly rendered in the Targum כד ספיקו which means “when they had drunk sufficient for their needs”, for that was the end of their drinking. Here, however, this phrase “when they had finished eating” refers to the time when the food came to an end, and we should render it in the Targum by כד שציאו when they had finished (which means finishing in the sense of nothing being left over).