The Weekly Sedra – Parshas Chayei Sarah

The Rebbe says:

1. A big part of this week’s Parshah deals with the preparation and actual wedding of our father Yitzchak and our mother Rivkah. This is the first time the Torah clearly tells us about a wedding.

2. To make a long story short:

Avraham Avinu sent his servant Eliezer to find a wife for his son Yitzchak in Aram Naharayim, the land of Avraham Avinu’s birth.
Avraham Avinu promises Eliezer that Hashem will send an angel with him to make sure he is successful in his mission. Avraham Avinu even sent Eliezer with a document stating that all his wealth (which was enormous) was now Yitzchak’s so that people would be willing to send their daughter back with Eliezer.

Eliezer arrives in Aram Naharayim and meets Rivkah and knows that she is the one intended for Yitzchak. He tells Rivkah’s father Besu’el that he is the servant of Avraham and he has come there today to take a wife for Avraham’s son Yitzchak. Rivkah’s father first asks if she can stay a year longer with him but then consents to the immediate departure and marriage.

Rivkah leaves with Eliezer and marries Yitzchak Avinu.

3. Rashi explains that when Eliezer tells Rivkah’s father Besu’el “I came here today” he really said “I left Avraham today and arrived here today even though it was supposed to take seventeen days to travel”. So we see that Hashem did a miracle and shortened the way for Eliezer.

Q1: Since we know that Hashem does not perform miracles without any reason, there must be a specific reason that Hashem shortened the seventeen day journey to a day journey. What is the reason for this miracle???

Q2: Why did Eleizer feel the need to tell Rivkah’s father Besu’el that it only took him one day to travel???
4. We can answer these questions in two ways. The first answer is very practical, and the second answer has the Chassidishe spiritual dimension to it.

First answer: Avraham Avinu was sending Eliezer with a document stating that all his possessions and wealth was now Yizchaks. So Avraham Avinu had two choices of how to make the document. He could have signed the document with the date when he actually made it, the day that Eliezer left. Or he could have signed the document with a later date, the date of seventenn days later when Eliezer would arrive in Aram Naharayim.

So, if Avraham would have signed the document on the tenth of Tishrei (for example) and it would have taken Eliezer seventeen days to get to Rivkah, the document would be seventeen days old by now on the 27th of Tishrei. The problem with this is that Avraham Avinu would be needlessly giving away all his possessions seventeen days early! Especially since the Halachah (law) is that a person must be very cautious and guarded about his possessions (see Mishnayos Erchin, Chapter 8, Mishnah 4).

And Avraham did not want to make the document with the date of seventenn days later because there are very intricate laws regarding a post-dated document.

Therefore Avraham Avinu signed the document on the day of Eliezers departure- so that he wouldn’t be needlessly giving away all his wealth and possessions seventeen days early. And Avraham knew that Hashem would make a miracle and shorten the journey for this purpose, like it says “…Hashem will send His angel ahead of you…” (Chapter 24, Verse 7).

Obviously the first question is answered; Hashem saw the need for the miracle of shortening the journey so that Avraham would not be giving away all his wealth needlessly early.

And the second question is also answered; Eliezer felt the need to tell Rivkah’s father Besu’el that it only took him one day to travel because he was afraid that Besu’el would think something fishy was going on. Since the date signed on the document was the current day, and it is supposed to take seventeen days for Eliezer to travel from Avraham Avinu to Besu’el, Besu’el would think that Eliezer had made the document himself and it was not valid! Therefore Eliezer immediately made sure that there would be no problems and told Besu’el that it only took him one day to travel and really this is a good document signed by Avraham Avinu.

Second answer: The Medrash tells us that Rivkah living with her family was like a rose living between thorns.

A few things about a rose: Not only does a rose always grow with thorns, the thorns actually help the growth and development of the rose.
Also, we water and take care of the whole thorn bush only because we want the rose to live and be beautiful. Therefore when one wants to pluck the rose from the thorn bush he must have a reason for this because now without the rose the thorns will not be watered and they will die.

Rivkah’s whole family was like the thorns that are only watered in the merit of the rose, and Rivkah was the rose. Her family got great energy from Hashem only in the merit of her.

Before Rivkah was three years old and was not fit for marriage there was no reason to take her away from her house. Therefore Avraham Avinu could not pluck the rose from the thorns (Rivkah from her house) until she was three years old. But the second she turned three there was now a reason to pluck the rose from the thorns because Yitzchak Avinu could now marry her.

So the second Rivkah was fit for marriage Avraham felt it and told Eliezer to go get Rivkah immediately. There was a pressing issue at hand- since Rivkah was done her development and therefore didn’t need the thorns anymore (just like a rose that doesn’t need the thorns once it is done its growth), any second that she would live there now would be a would be a waste of precious time!

This answers our first question: Hashem saw the need to miraculously shorten the seventeen day journey into a day journey because Rivkah -the rose- needed to be taken from the thorns immediately.

And this answers our second question: Eliezer felt the need to tell Rivkah’s father Besu’el that it only took him one day to travel a seventeen day journey because he was afraid that Besu’el would ask if she could stay longer. Actually, he did end up asking if she could stay longer! So Eliezer made sure Besu’el knew that every single minute is important now that she is fit for marriage and every second that Rivkah stays is a wasted second. How did Eliezer inform Besu’el of this? By telling him “Hashem made a miracle and shortened my journey to only one day”.

5. The lesson that we can all learn from this:
Hashem made a miracle so that Rivkah would not have to stay in an undesirable place any minute longer then needed. So-too, the second we are done our work now in exile Hashem will take us out to Redemption! Like it says in Mechilta that Hashem will not even wait the time it takes to blink an eye to take us to Redemption.

6. May it be Hashem’s command that his children the Yidin be taken out of exile NOW!!!

Taken from Likutei Sichos Chelek Aleph, the second Sicha.