פרשת חיי שרה תשכ"ז - סיפורי אליעזר

And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done.

And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof; and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh.

And Pharaoh spoke unto Joseph: ‘In my dream, behold, I stood upon the brink of the river.

And the man came into the house, and he ungirded the camels; and he gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men that were with him.

And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said: ‘Send me away unto my master.’

And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the South.

Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said: ‘The thing proceedeth from the LORD; we cannot speak unto thee bad or good.

לא נוכל דבר אליך WE CANNOT SPEAK UNTO THEE — refusing this proposition either by answering you with unpleasant words (i. e. a flat refusal) or by giving you a reasoned reply, for it is evident that the matter proceedeth from the Lord since, according to your statement, He brought her and you together.

לא נוכל דבר אליך רע או טוב, the success or failure of His plan is not up to us to either confirm or thwart. This has been fated by G’d regardless of whether we like it or not. G’d will accomplish His will as He has the power to bring this about.

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.

האהלה שרה אמו INTO HIS MOTHER SARAH’S TENT — He brought her into the tent and she became exactly like his mother Sarah — that is to say, the words signify as much as, [And he brought her into the tent] and, behold, she was Sarah, his mother). For whilst Sarah was living, a light had been burning in the tent from one Sabbath eve to the next, there was always a blessing in the dough (a miraculous increase) and a cloud was always hanging over the tent (as a divine protection), but since her death all these had stopped. However, when Rebecca came, they reappeared” (Genesis Rabbah 60:16).

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

ימים (literally, days) means a year — just as (Leviticus 25:29) “For a whole year (ימים) shall he have the right of redemption” — for the custom was to give a maiden twelve months to provide herself with a trousseau (literally, ornaments) (Genesis Rabbah 60:12).

או עשור OR TEN — i. e. ten months. But if you say that it does really mean “days” (“a few days”, and that it does not mean a year) I reply that it is not usual for people who make a request to ask for a little and to say “If you do not agree to this, then give us even more” (Ketubot 57b).

ותאמר אלך AND SHE SAID, I WILL GO — of my own accord even though you do not consent (Genesis Rabbah 60:12).

And the man came into the house, and he ungirded the camels; and he gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men that were with him.

מגמלי אדניו OF HIS MASTER’S CAMELS — These were distinguished from other camels by going out muzzled to avoid robbery — i.e. that they should not graze in other peoples’ fields (Genesis Rabbah 59:11).

Eliezer is the man that came into the home. The Pasuk switches the subject to Lavan. So Lavan unmuzzled the camels. Because Lavan is being a gentleman and feeds them and washes the men’s feet. It does not make sense to think Eliezer is the one who is doing all these things when he is a guest. An example from the selling of Yosef, later, The pasuk talking about the brothers and then about the buyers and then the brother’s again. (It keeps switching the subject.) AND HE UNTIED THE CAMELS. The idea of untying the camels was that he opened up the harnesses of their necks. For its common practice to lead camel when they are tied. Alternatively, the camels were walking with fastened saddle seats on them (and it was these seats that were untied.) Like the saying "Let the one who girds [his sword] not boast like one unfastens [it]!" and "undo the straps of your neck" But Rashi says: He untied their muzzle for he would muzzle their mouths so that they wouldn't graze in fields that were others.

And the man came into the house, and he ungirded the camels; and he gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men that were with him.