Rabbi Yaakov Israel Bayfus

“And he said: “God of my master Abraham, present me with a case today...” (Bereishit 24:12).

Rav Yosef Yuzl Horowitz, known as Saba of Novardok, asks several questions about the words and behavior of Eliezer, Abraham's servant.

1. Why did he need to turn to the Almighty in prayer? Was it not enough to rely on Abraham, who must have prayed for the success of his servant?

2. Why did he give Rivka the rings before finding out who she was?

3. Why did he say (in Bethuel’s house) “I will not eat until I speak my words”?

4. Why did you try so hard to take the girl to Abraham as quickly as possible, so that she would not remain at home “for a year or ten months”?

5. Were all these seemingly strange actions necessary for the success of the business?

The answer to all these questions is that everything listed here served as a means of Eliezer’s internal struggle with his own evil spirit. The words of our sages are known about what Eliezer said: “Perhaps (אולי) the woman will not wish to follow me.” (In the Torah, אולי is written as אלי - “to me” - a hint that Eliezer hoped to marry his own daughter to Isaac.) Such a strong interest could have made him “not find” another wife for Isaac. Feeling his own desire haunting him, Eliezer realized that he would not be able to act impartially. Fearing that a biased attitude towards the task would prevent him from completing it, Eliezer went to war against his own desire, directing all his mental strength against him. As the Rambam writes (Ilkhot Deot, 2), “first a person should distance himself from his qualities to the extreme, and behave this way for a long time, and only after that return to moderation.”

And therefore Eliezer tried very hard to outwit his evil inclination, using all possible means to best fulfill the will of his master. First, he turned to G‑d with a prayer for help from Heaven, so as not to get caught in the net of his own self-interest, which could derail the whole matter. Then, when he saw signs that Rivka was “that same girl,” he immediately gave her rings. But if it turned out that the girl was not from Abraham’s family, he would have to compensate Abraham for the damage. But, realizing that he was not mistaken, and wanting to convince Rivka to become Isaac’s wife, Eliezer decided to give her rings. He feared that the reason for all doubts was a biased attitude towards the issue, so he immediately controlled himself to overcome personal interest.

And the fact that he did not want to eat without saying his words first - also, so as not to give “clues” to his evil inclination, and not allow himself to make a mistake. When they asked him “let the girl stay with us for a year or ten months,” he was again afraid that personal interests would force him to agree to a delay. Therefore, he again acted against his own wishes.

Our sages say about this: “better is the speech of the servants of our fathers than the Torah of our sons.” After all, one of the purposes of the giving of the Torah is the spiritual improvement of man. All the speeches of the slaves of the fathers are part of the teaching about moral improvement. Their every word and every action teaches them how to act contrary to their desires. It is now clear why the Torah paid so much attention to this story, telling us about every detail - in order to teach us how to behave.

How to turn your natural inclinations to the opposite, following the path of Eliezer, can be learned from the example of the story of Rav Yisrael Salanter. He was once traveling on a train from Kovno to Vilno. As usual, he traveled alone, without companions, dressed like a simple Jew. A man was sitting next to him. The carriage was for smokers, and Rav Israel smoked. A young neighbor addressed him rudely, saying that he could not stand tobacco smoke. Rav Israel, without making excuses by saying that the carriage was intended for smokers, asked for forgiveness and put out his cigarette. Not even a few minutes had passed before a nervous voice was heard again: “It’s impossible to sit next to this old man! He opened the window, and the frost penetrates me to the bones!” “Sorry,” Rav Israel said defensively, “it wasn’t me who opened the window. If it bothers you, I’ll close it.” He got up and closed it.

In Vilna, the train was already awaited by masses of people who had gathered to greet the great teacher of Israel. The young man was surprised by the meeting and asked one of those present a question. “You don’t know that our teacher, Rav Yisrael from Salant, has arrived?” – he answered with surprise. When the young man recognized his fellow traveler, his eyes darkened. All night he could not sleep, suffering from remorse. Whom did he offend, whom did he humiliate? In the morning he went to see Rav Israel, who was staying at his son-in-law's house. And before he could open his mouth, Rav Israel greeted him: “Please sit down. How are you feeling? Have you rested from the road yet?” The guest was shocked by such a cordial reception and, unable to hold back his tears, asked for forgiveness. Rav Israel encouraged him not to worry. Like, this can happen to anyone... He said that he did not feel any hostility towards him, God forbid, and entered into a long conversation about morality and spiritual qualities.

When the guest was about to leave, Rav Israel detained him: “Why, exactly, did you come to Vilna?” He said that he came to receive “smicha” - ordination - for the right to be a shochet. “If so,” Rav Israel rejoiced, “I can help. My brother-in-law is one of the rabbis of the city. I’ll make sure he does everything that’s necessary for you.”

All doors opened before the young man. Rav Eliyahu Eliezer Grodzinsky (Rav Yisrael’s son-in-law) immediately received him in his office and started talking about the laws of shechita. The rabbi “looked into the jug and found it empty.” The interlocutor turned out to be completely ignorant of the laws of shechita, verification and trefot. As full as he was of impudence and bad qualities, he was equally empty of wisdom.

Rav Israel consoled him: “Surely you haven’t had time to rest from the road yet. Rest a little and come back in a few days.” The guest found a way out with difficulty and left. Several days passed, but the guest did not return. Then Rav Israel, who had taken the address in advance, himself went to the inn and appeared before him. When the rabbi asked why he did not come, he replied: “I am grateful to you, teacher. You opened my eyes. Now I know my place and will return home without delay.” Rav Israel, however, did not leave him, but persuaded him to start learning the laws of shechita again, and he himself found an experienced shochet to

taught him.

Soon Rav Israel’s labors bore fruit. His guest studied seriously and diligently, soon became a literate shochet and received smicha from several important rabbis.

Rav Salanter did not stop until he found a worthy community that would honor his pet.

When Rav Yisrael was asked why he did this, he replied: “When that Jew came to ask me for forgiveness, I replied that I forgive him and do not hold any grudge against him. And I truly said it from the bottom of my heart. But I am only a man of flesh and blood. And I was afraid that some kind of hostility towards him would creep into my heart, and therefore I tried to do him as much good as possible in order to get rid of this fear.”

From the Book “Lekah Tov”, translation by Rav M. Gaft.

Based on materials from the magazine "Beerot Yitzchok"