Ten Minutes of Torah

with

Rabbi Chaim Weiner

 

 

Hayye Sarah – 5767

 

 

בראשית כד:לב

 

וַיָּבֹא הָאִישׁ הַבַּיְתָה וַיְפַתַּח הַגְּמַלִּים וַיִּתֵּן תֶּבֶן וּמִסְפּוֹא לַגְּמַלִּים וּמַיִם לִרְחֹץ רַגְלָיו וְרַגְלֵי הָאֲנָשִׁים אֲשֶׁר אִתּוֹ:

 

Genesis 24: 32

 

So the man entered the house, and he unloaded the camels and he gave the camels straw and fodder and water to bathe his feet and the feet of the men with him.

 

 

 

 

Rashi:

Unloaded. That is, he removed the muzzle which was placed over their mouth, to prevent them from grazing in the fields of strangers.

 

 

Ramban:

So the man entered the house. Eliezer is the man who entered the house.  And he unloaded the camels. This refers to Laban who acted ethically towards his guests, unharnessed their camels and gave them straw and fodder, and he also gave water to wash the feet of Eliezer.

 

Shadal:

And Eliezer unloaded the camels, and that is also what the Ta’amim (musical notes) indicate, and this is right, for it is improper for a stranger to handle the load of a stranger.

 

 

 

QUESTIONS

 

  1. What difficulty in the verse are the commentators addressing?
  2. Divide them into groups.
  3. What reasons do they give for their opinions
  4. [*] Why does Shadal mention the musical notes? How do they support his opinion?

 


 

  1. What difficulty in the verse is he addressing?

 

Why doesn’t God tell Abraham immediately that he is to take Isaac? Why does He use 4 different descriptions of Isaac before he gets to the point?

 

[**] 2. According to Be’er Yitzchak (a supercommentary on Rashi) Rashi gives two explanations that contradict each other. Explain what the contradiction is and how they can coexist with each other.

 

Rashi’s first explanation (in order not confuse him) suggests that God did this out of kindness, to make it easier for Abraham to bear the shock of the command that he is slaughter his son.

 

Rashi’s second explanation (to increase the reward) suggests that God did this to make it more difficult for Abraham, so as to increase his reward for obeying the command.

 

If we understand the first explanation, that God did it not to confuse Abraham, not as kindness but rather to guarantee that Abraham was of a sound mind and actually understood what God was commanding him, then both explanations agree with each other.

 

 

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Ten Minutes of Torah was prepared by Rabbi Chaim Weiner, based on the methods of Prof. Nechama Leibowitz. Rabbi Weiner studied and corresponded with Prof. Leibowitz for several years.

 

 

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