Love at First Sight: Chayei Sarah, Genesis 24:61-67
| 61. Rebecca and her maidens arose and rode on the camels, and they followed the man; and the servant took Rebecca and left. | | סא. וַתָּקָם רִבְקָה וְנַעֲרֹתֶיהָ וַתִּרְכַּבְנָה עַל הַגְּמַלִּים וַתֵּלַכְנָה אַחֲרֵי הָאִישׁ וַיִּקַּח הָעֶבֶד אֶת רִבְקָה וַיֵּלַךְ: |
| 62. Now Isaac was on his way, coming from Be'er Lachai Ro'i, and he dwelt in the land of the south. | | סב. וְיִצְחָק בָּא מִבּוֹא בְּאֵר לַחַי רֹאִי וְהוּא יוֹשֵׁב בְּאֶרֶץ הַנֶּגֶב: |
| 63. And Isaac was walking in the field towards evening, and he lifted his eyes and saw, and camels were approaching! | | סג. וַיֵּצֵא יִצְחָק לָשׂוּחַ בַּשָּׂדֶה לִפְנוֹת עָרֶב וַיִּשָּׂא עֵינָיו וַיַּרְא וְהִנֵּה גְמַלִּים בָּאִים: |
| 64. And Rebecca lifted her eyes and saw Isaac, and she fell from the camel. | | סד. וַתִּשָּׂא רִבְקָה אֶת עֵינֶיהָ וַתֵּרֶא אֶת יִצְחָק וַתִּפֹּל מֵעַל הַגָּמָל: |
| 65. She said to the servant, "Who is that man walking in the field towards us?" And the servant said, "He is my master." And she took the veil and covered herself. | | סה. וַתֹּאמֶר אֶל הָעֶבֶד מִי הָאִישׁ הַלָּזֶה הַהֹלֵךְ בַּשָּׂדֶה לִקְרָאתֵנוּ וַיֹּאמֶר הָעֶבֶד הוּא אֲדֹנִי וַתִּקַּח הַצָּעִיף וַתִּתְכָּס: |
| 66. And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. | | סו. וַיְסַפֵּר הָעֶבֶד לְיִצְחָק אֵת כָּל הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה: |
| 67. Isaac brought her to the tent of Sarah his mother, and he took Rebecca, and she became his wife, and he loved her. And Isaac was comforted after his mother. | | סז. וַיְבִאֶהָ יִצְחָק הָאֹהֱלָה שָׂרָה אִמּוֹ וַיִּקַּח אֶת רִבְקָה וַתְּהִי לוֹ לְאִשָּׁה וַיֶּאֱהָבֶהָ וַיִּנָּחֵם יִצְחָק אַחֲרֵי אִמּוֹ: |
Guide Questions
1. According to the Etz Hayim commentary, what is the meaning of the verb לָשׂוּחַ? (See verse 63. Be sure to look at both commentaries on p. 138.) What does this have to do with Judaism today?
2. According to the Plaut Modern Commentary, what is the meaning of Rebecca's veil, and what does this have to do with Judaism today? (p. 166)
3. Read the poem in the Women's Torah Commentary on p. 131 by Amy Blank. How is Rebecca feeling, according to this poem? Rebecca was most likely about 13 years old as most girls were married at that age at that time. How do you feel about that?
4. In the Stone Edition Chumash, What is the meaning of "she fell off her camel"? (verse 64, p. 120.)
5. What does Rashi teach us about Rebecca living in Sarah's tent? What miracles did Sarah have that Rebecca brought back?
6. According to Rabbi Elie Kaunfer in Text Messages (pp. 20-21), how is Isaac feeling and what is Isaac praying for?
7. According to Sparks Beneath the Surface (p. 26), who is the other woman besides Rebecca who wears a veil? One woman's set of twins is at war, and another woman's set of twins is at peace. What is the mystical meaning of the veil?
Here is the answer to question 6 (in Text Messages):
ReplyDeleteIsaac is feeling very heartbroken and depressed because of the death of his mother. Rabbi Elie Kaunfer says that Isaac is praying for love.
Rabbi Elie Kaunfer mentions that Isaac lost one love, his mother, and found a new one, Rebecca.
-Liora and Alex
Rebecca wasn't his new love as a wife...she was his new love for a mother...that's funny
DeleteHow could you love your mother in that way? Maybe it is showing to different kinds of love.
DeleteI disagree with Rabbi Elie Kaunfer. How could you replace the love for a mother with the love for Rebecca? You don't love your mother the same way you would love either your wife or husband.
DeleteThis is interesting. I wonder if he is looking for someone that can be a motherly figure in his life or a wife figure in his life.
DeleteMaybe Isaac is just talking about the sensation of loving (in general), and being loved back
DeleteTo Liora and Alex It is a different kinda love.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
Deletewhat do you mean? Anyway, thats what Kaufer said, not us. Maybe Isaac loved her romantically and not.
DeleteI think he's talking about love in general.
DeleteLeora and Micah
ReplyDeleteThe commentary is from the Etz Haim Humash commentary. The question we are answering in verse 63, what does לָשׂוּחַ mean? The commentary says that it comes from the arabic word saha, "to take a stroll". We think this means that people would take a walk at night, possibly to explore nature. As jews, we like to be outside and explore the world. Sometimes, we can find something unexpected whenever and wherever we are, just like Issac found the camels.
Also, sometimes people go on strolls to get their mind off of things. Issac might have wanted to get his mind off of his mother's death.
DeleteAnd sometimes people take strolls, to stay focused! Isaac might have wanted to think thoroughly about how he can deal with this problem.
DeleteMicah and Leora
ReplyDeleteCommentator: Plaut commentary
Question: What is the meaning of Rebecca's veil, and what does this have to do with modern Judaism
Answer: It represents the sign to have alot of children and that is what God told us to do
Our thoughts: As a Jewish people we must multiply
What do you mean by multiply?
Delete-Gavy
They mean have a lot of kids
DeleteAnd they should spread out among the world.
DeleteWe answered question 4 (in the Stone Edition Chumash):
ReplyDeleteThe commentary said that the meaning of "she fell off her camel" is that she sort of leaned to one side while still on the camel so she could face away from Isaac.
Liora and Alex
That would make sense because she is a little girl meeting her future husband for the first time. She was also probably a little embarrassed.
DeleteAri and Adin
Yeah. Plus he was like forty years older.
DeleteAwkward...
DeleteFrom Kol and Giselle:
ReplyDeletea. We chose to study Rashi.
b. We chose this question: 5. What does Rashi teach us about Rebecca living in Sarah's tent? What miracles did Sarah have that Rebecca brought back?
c. Rashi said that when Sarah died, Rebecca basically became Isaac's new "mother". Rebecca became his new motherly figure because he needed someone else now that Sarah was gone.
d. Before we read the Rashi, we just thought that Rebecca made him feel better that Sarah died because she was a new woman in his life. Rashi explained that Isaac needed a mother, and Rebecca was the new replacement. Isaac was happy that he had a new mother, rather than a new wife.
Does this mean that Isaac wanted a mother to take care of him more than a wife? If Isaac had a mother, but no wife, he would have to live alone after his mother dies. If he has a wife, there is more of a chance to be together for longer.
Delete-Mia
Here, we have a compromise.
DeleteWe used a poem from the women's commentary written by Amy Blank. This commentary is explaining what the poet thought Rebecca was feeling at the time. The poem said that Rebecca was care free and was prepared to face anything life or God threw at her. We now understand that Rebecca didn't care what happened to her. This was a little confusing because if I was a thirteen year old girl I would be scared of getting married. We also think that getting married at thirteen is wrong but most people were doing it at that time so it was okay.
ReplyDeleteAri and Adin
True. Rebecca does seem to be an exceptionally brave character in the torah.
DeleteA.Our commentary is The Stone Edition
ReplyDeleteB. In the Stone Edition Chumash, What is the meaning of "she fell off her camel"?
C. The Stone Edition thinks that she didn't fall of her camel she just leaned to the side.
D. I learned that sometimes the text exaggerated
-Gavy
I don't think it exactly exaggerated, but just said it in a different way.
DeleteI know, but it must be there for a special reason.
DeleteWhy did she lean to her side? Did she find Isaac sexy?
DeleteMicah and Leora
ReplyDeleteWe are answering the question how Rebecca is feeling in the poem in the Women's Commentary?
Rebecca is feeling that she has a lot of freedom but she feels alone because she doesn't know what is going to happen. She is very uncertain.
Yes, but she is prepared for anything.
DeleteI answered the question: What is the meaning of the verb לשוח? I used the commentator Etz Hayim. Etz Hayim says that the verb לשוח mean to talk, pray or meditate. I also answered the question: What does this have to do with Judaism today? We talk, pray and meditate all the time in Judaism. We do all of these things in our regular day. Lastly, Etz Hayim helped me realize what the word לשוח meant.
ReplyDelete-Mia
Interesting... earlier, Leora and Micah said לשוח means to take a stroll. If we combine the two, we have a pretty good idea of what Isaac was doing at the moment.
DeleteOur commentators name is Rashi. We found his writings in the Stone Edition Chumash.
ReplyDeleteThe question that we created was: Do you think it was fate that Issac and Rebecca met or did God step in?
Rashi wrote that both Issac and Rebecca firmly believed that it was fate that they met at the well; however in reality the situation was all Godś doing.
We agree with Rashi. At the same time we believe in fate, but, we think that in this particular story God pre-arranged the meeting of Issac and Rebecca. We think that this is because them being married is a very important mark in the Jewish timeline and God had to step in to make sure things turned out as they were supposed to for the people.
The text helped us in our understanding of the story because it made us think about the meaning of fate and also how much of our lives is God held accountable for.
By Rebecca Danielle and Ben
Did somebody forget to log out of spanish@ksa-ne.org because it says you are Teresa Cordova
DeleteMaybe that's one reason why the Chassidim prearrange their marriages.
DeleteEtz Hayyim says that before Rebecca came Issac was taking a walk while he was praying. We like the idea of praying while walking. Nowadays people only pray at Temple. We have lost the idea of praying just to pray and that is a very important thing to do.
ReplyDeleteAri and Adin
Yes! I knew someone would combine those two ideas, because they both make sense!
DeleteWhat about Hitbodedut? Us jews love to pray in nature
DeleteMicah and Leora
ReplyDeleteCommentator: Stone Edition Chumash
Question: What is the meaning, she fell off her camel
Answer: Answer she leaned to one side so it would not look like she was staring at him
Our thoughts: We think that she did not want Issac to catch her stare
Maybe this is one of the ways of showing how modest a young girl can be.
DeleteOur question, What does Rashi teach us about Rebecca living in Sarah's tent? What miracles did Sarah have that Rebecca brought back?, was answered by Rashi. He says that once Rebecca lives in Sarah’s tent, Rebecca becomes loved by Sarah. He also teaches us that the miracles were that a candle was burning from one Shabbat to the next, the dough had a blessing, and a cloud was attached to the tent. This answer confused me slightly because I don't exactly know what he means by there was a cloud attached to the tent. What does this cloud symbolize? Is there a reason for the attachment? Other than that part of the answer that confused me, I understood and agreed with the answer. The way it increased my understanding was that it gave me extra detail to analyze, and made me ask more questions that will soon be answered to increase my understanding of the text and commentary.
ReplyDeleteBy,
Itai, Jared, and Noah
but how does he know that rebecca is loved by sara if sara is dead.
DeleteJared
That's one of God's many miracles.
DeleteMaybe this cloud is a prophecy that their children would be guided by a holy cloud like this one.
DeleteCommentator: Rashi
ReplyDeleteQuestion: What happened with Rebecca livng in Sarahs tent with the miracles
Answer: A candle burned from one shabbos to the next when one of those women lived in that tent but it went out when no one was there
Our thoughts: This shows that women always have a prescense
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteMaybe this is also a prophecy that their children would have a menorah, and the seven days of the candle being lit, represents the seven branches of the menorah.
Deletehhmm. candles and flame have a very large presence as guiding figures. dats my 2 cents.
Delete