Reply To: Short & Sweet

Chayei Sarah: יפה שיחתן

The Torah is usually very sparing with its words; there are entire Mitzvos described only in a few short Pesukim. And yet, the Parsha repeats the instructions Avraham gave Eliezer on how to find Rivka once when Avraham told them to Eliezer, and then gives another equally detailed account of Eliezer repeating his instructions to Lavan and Besual. What is this supposed to teach us?

Perhaps we can explain this with a mashal. Imagine somebody attempting to explain the power of a nuclear bomb:

One way to try to explain it could be by pointing out that the core of the explosion is about a hundred million degrees Celsius. But that’s very hard for anybody to relate to – nobody can possibly imagine how hot that it.

A far more accessible explanation is that an atom bomb can immediately vaporize a person standing miles away from the epicenter. By describing things that we can relate to that happen at the periphery of the blast zone, we can get some appreciation for how powerful the explosion must be at its core.

It’s very difficult for us to relate to the strength of Abraham’s convictions. So instead, we focus on the conversation that Eliezer has with Lavan. At the end of that conversation, Lavan responds: מה׳ יצא הדבר, לא נוכל דבר עליו רע או טוב.

Just having a conversation with Eliezer made such an impact on Lavan that his only response was “Everything is up to Hashem, I have no power to affect anything”. From the fact that Avraham’s servant’s convictions were strong enough to have such an effect on the wicked Lavan , we can have some appreciation for the strength of Avraham’s convictions.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום