A Match Made in Heaven - on Earth. Chayei Sarah 5785

There is a general principle in giving according to Torah that while we should be generous, we should not give everything away.  Rambam (Mishneh Torah Arachim 8:13) writes:  “A person should never consecrate all of his property or designate it as a dedication offering. A person who does so violates the Torah's guidance, as [Leviticus 27:28] says [of a person designating a dedication offering] "from all that is his." [Implied is that he should not give] "all that is his," as our Sages explained.  This is not piety, but foolishness, for he will lose all his money and become dependent on others.”

It is therefore a little hard to understand why Avraham didn’t follow this teaching. His son Yitzchak was not allowed to leave the Holy Land.  He had been offered as a sacrifice, and therefore needed to remain within the boundaries of what would later become Israel.  Avraham wanted to find him a wife.  The local Canaanites were corrupt and Avraham wanted to assist him to find a holy woman, so he sent his servant Eliezer to Aram Narayim, Avraham’s home town, where he knew that he would find Yitzchak’s worthy mate.  Though the people there were also not exactly Tzadikim, Rivkah is referred to by our Sages as a “rose among the thorns.”  And her lineage was not from the Canaanites, who were the most corrupt nation and had been cursed by Noach.  

Eliezer gets there, and miraculously the first girl he meets is the saintly Rivkah.  Now he has to convince her parents and brother to let her follow him to Canaan.  So he gives them gifts and shows off the wealth of his master, and then he says a couple of verses that clinch the deal.  “Hashem greatly blessed my master, and he prospered. He granted him flocks, cattle, silver and gold, bondmen and bondwomen, camels and donkeys. My master’s wife Sarah bore my master a son after she had grown old, and he gave him all that he owned.” (Bereshit 24:35,36.)  Rashi explains that Avraham wrote a gift certificate to Yitzchak, gifting him all of his possessions!

Now we can understand why Avraham would share his wealth with Yitzchak, as his inheritance.  Money talks and Rivkah’s family would be impressed by the wealth of her future husband.  Also, Avraham wanted his son to be prosperous.  But Avraham could have accomplished this with a portion of his great wealth.  He lived another 40 years.  Why did he give it all away?

The following answer is based on a talk the Rebbe gave at the opening of the Chabad Shluchim Convention in 5752 (1991).  The Rebbe was talking about the role of a Shliach - emissary - and connected it with the mission each of us has on earth.  Eliezer was the emissary to betroth Rivkah to Yitzchak, and he therefore carried the gift certificate, because this was an extraordinary situation.  Had Avraham been a regular father and Yitzchak’s marriage to Rivkah a regular wedding, it would have happened differently.  But this marriage was much more significant.  It was the first wedding described in the Torah, and it was the event that solidified the future of the Jewish people for all time.  Avraham wanted to devote all his resources, without exception. to the success of this everlasting event.

Mystically speaking, the wedding of Yitzchak and Rivkah represents the unification of Heaven and Earth.  The bond between Hashem and the Jewish people is compared to a marriage, Hashem being the groom and we the bride.  The wedding represents the bringing together of the spiritual and physical worlds, to harness the world for G-dliness.  This is the purpose of the entire Creation.  Eliezer the emissary represents our Divine soul, Hashem’s in an emissary to fulfill His will and “marry” the physical world with its spiritual source and purpose.

The lesson from Avraham’s gift is that we should devote all of our resources to this endeavor.  The Rebbe applied this to the Chabad Shluchim as well as every person, because we are all emissaries of Hashem to fulfill the purpose of creation, and it should permeate every part of our lives.  Living the mission doesn’t only happen in the synagogue or when performing a holy act.  Our every possession, our every talent, our every ability should be dedicated to this purpose.  And then this wedding produces offspring,  the sense of purpose that fills our lives and the goodness that we spread in the world, as well as the continuity of Judaism in future generations.

This Thursday, the 20th of Cheshvan, is the birthday of the saintly Rebbe Sholom Ber of Lubavitch.  As one of the most brilliant mystical teachers in history, his deep Chassidic philosophical teachings bring this point home - the synthesis of the spiritual and the physical, Hashem’s will manifest in our daily service here on earth.  While now our physical eyes cannot see how these worlds come together, the impact of our work in Torah and Mitzvot and pursuit of our mission will very soon be revealed with the coming of Moshiach.