NOVEMBER 12 • 2020 | 27
SPIRIT
A True and
Faithful Servant
T
his portion deals with
the death and burial of
Sarah and with the selec-
tion of a wife for her son, Isaac.
The connection is clear: A
bereft Abraham understands
the responsibility that lies before
him to find a suitable
mate for his heir to the
covenant. For this task,
he chooses his trusted
servant, Eliezer.
Eliezer demonstrates
understanding of what
is required. He knows
that the woman must
be a member of the
Abrahamic family
(Rebekah is the grand-
daughter of Abraham’
s
brother, Nahor), and
must not dwell among the evil
Canaanites. He further under-
stands that she must be willing
to live with Isaac in Abraham’
s
domain rather than with her
family. Most of all, he under-
stands Isaac’
s bride must have
the character of Abrahamic
hospitality, to the extent that
she will not only draw water
for him, the messenger, but will
also draw water for his camels.
Eliezer arranges a match that
will determine the destiny of
God’
s covenantal nation with
wisdom, tact and sensitivity.
Rabbi Moshe Besdin saw
Eliezer’
s mission this way:
All the bounty and goodness
that had been expressed by
Abraham was now placed in
the hands of his most trusted
servant because the future of
Abraham was dependent upon
Isaac, and the future of Isaac
depended on his future wife.
Throughout this tale, Eliezer’
s
name is not mentioned. He is
referred to as eved (the servant)
10 times and as ish (the person-
age) seven times, but never once
by his name.
Wouldn’
t such an important
individual on such a significant
mission deserve to have his
name mentioned for everyone
to remember? I believe
that is the point of the
biblical record. Eliezer is
committed to performing
an act that will determine
the continuity of the
Abrahamic vision; he is
the consummate servant
of Abraham, using all of
his wisdom and ingenuity
to carry out his master’
s
will.
Zev Wolfson immigrat-
ed to the United States as
a refugee from a Siberian prison
camp. He took responsibility
for his mother and brother in
America, and he was one of the
most brilliant people I ever met.
He mastered the stock market
and real estate and navigated
halls of influence and power.
All of these were channeled
into creating learning institu-
tions for Torah and strengthen-
ing Israel.
He was a crucial figure in
Congress, reducing Israel’
s loan
obligations and sending Patriot
missile batteries to Israel just
before the Gulf War.
He was probably the greatest
builder of Torah institutions in
the history of the world. Despite
this, not one building, class-
room or project bears his name.
He was a servant of the Lord
who lived selflessly and modest-
ly for the sake of his mission.
He was truly Eliezer.
Rabbi Shlomo Riskin is chancellor
of Ohr Torah Stone and chief rabbi of
Efrat, Israel.
TORAH PORTION
Rabbi Shlomo
Riskin
Parshat
Chaye Sara:
Genesis
23:1-25:18;
I Kings 1:1-31.
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