Megillat Esther – A Leiner’s-Eye View

 

                                                                                                                                                                     BS”D

One of the ‘advantages’ (or otherwise) of not growing up Jewish is I have little in the way of midrashic baggage when approaching Tanakh. So, despite the blog title, my comfort zone is usually p’shat.

A great example of this is Megillat Esther. This year was b”H my tenth of leining from the Megilla. And what I’ve realised is this - learning Megillat Esther this way is very different from being a passive listener (where your attention wanders after Haman gets hanged) or growing up with kid-friendly midrashim like Vashti growing a tail.

Learning to lein requires active close reading of the p’shat. Every single word has to be mastered, together with the trop. And because women usually learn a section at a time instead of the whole Megilla, you master it in layers – which makes it easier to spot patterns over different parts of the Megilla than if you learn it all in one go.[1]

Is this an argument for wider learning of Tanakh with the trop rather than just leaving this to bar mitzva boys? I’ll leave that thought hanging 😉

What follows are my observations from the bits of Megilla that I’ve learnt so far (if you don’t see much about Chapters 1 or 10, it’s because I haven’t tried learning them yet). They aren’t particularly coherent and there’s no specific message I’m trying to convey – take it as an information dump for further research[2].

Trop observations are all for nusach Ashkenaz only (sorry to any Sephardi readers).

Megilla text breaks vs (modern) chapter breaks

When you actually read the klaf, it becomes obvious these don’t match up. See below. Hopefully this also helps as a plot summary.  

Megilla section	Chapter/ Modern ‘Perek’
The King throws a party	1
Vashti rebels	1
The King asks – what to do with Vashti?	1
Memuchan solves the Vashti Problem	1
The King’s next problem – no Queen. His servants solve the problem.	2
Mordechai and Esther introduced. Esther forced into the palace, becoming Queen	2
The Bigtan and Teresh Plot	2
Haman introduced. Mordechai rebels. Haman gets genocidal. He casts lots which ‘choose’ Adar.	3
Haman bribes the King, getting the royal seal and a free hand. On 13th Nissan Haman issues letters decreeing genocide against the Jews.	3
Mordechai mourns, very publicly (as do the Jews). Esther investigates. Mordechai persuades her to act. Esther declares a 3-day fast, then risks her life going to the King. The King and Haman go to Esther’s first feast. Haman’s good mood is spoilt by seeing Mordechai on his way home. Haman’s wife and friends suggest the gallows solution. Haman builds the gallows.	4 and 5
The King can’t sleep and asks for some midnight reading, reminding him of Mordechai’s (unrewarded) role in stopping the Bigtan and Teresh Plot. Haman shows up to ask if he can execute Mordechai and is roped into devising his reward instead. Haman parades Mordechai through Shushan, going home humiliated. Second feast with Esther, the King and Haman. Esther reveals death sentence against her and her people.	6 and 7
The King gets angry. Esther calls out Haman. Haman begs for mercy while the King gets some air. The King finds Haman in a compromising position, is told about the gallows for Mordechai, and orders Haman’s immediate execution thereon.	7
The King gives Haman’s estate to Esther and his royal seal (previously with Haman) to Mordechai.	8
Esther gets emotional and begs the King to save her people.	8
The King fobs off Esther and says she and Mordechai can write what they want using the royal seal. On 23rd Sivan Mordechai issues letters allowing Jews to destroy their enemies.	8
Mordechai parades again in Shushan. All the Jews are happy. The non-Jews are afraid, especially of Mordechai. On 13th Adar the Jews kill their enemies including the ten sons of Haman. The King grants Esther an extra day for the Shushan Jews to kill their enemies (plus hanging Haman’s sons). The Jews celebrate and make a holiday. Mordechai sends a letter clarifying how to do the holiday. A summary (in case we’d forgotten) of what Haman planned and why we celebrate Purim. Lots of emphasis on the Jews accepting this.	8 and 9
Esther and Mordechai send a second letter about Purim, this time mentioning fasting and mourning. Esther orders ‘these matters about Purim’ to be written in a book	9
The King taxes his empire. Mordechai is very important and does his best for the Jews. Most of the Jews like him.	10

 

For the rest of this piece, I’ll refer to the modern chapter numbers.

LET’S GET WORDY

Motif – clothes and crowns

-         Chapter 1 – Vashti is asked to appear with her keter (crown).

-         Chapter 2 – Esther is crowned Queen with a keter.

-         Chapter 4 – Mordechai dresses in sackcloth and refuses to put on the clothes sent by Esther, which prompts Esther to send her servant to investigate.  

-         Chapter 5 – Esther dresses in malchut for her life-risking visit to the King.  

-         Chapter 6 – Mordechai is dressed in the King’s clothes and a keter as his overdue reward for saving the King’s life.  

-          Chapter 8 – Mordechai again goes out, now dressed in malchut with a keter.  The colours of his clothes match the furnishings at the King’s big party in Chapter 1.

Half my kingdom…or not

Once Esther comes to the King in Chapter 5, the King keeps repeating the following line to her to as he tries to work out why she risked her life:

מַה־שְּׁאֵלָתֵךְ וְיִנָּתֵן לָךְ וּמַה־בַּקָּשָׁתֵךְ עַד־חֲצִי הַמַּלְכוּת וְתֵעָשׂ

However, by the time we get to Chapter 9 and Esther has satisfied his curiosity, we are missing the key words ‘I’ll give you up to half of my kingdom’. Instead, we just get:

וּמַה־שְּׁאֵלָתֵךְ וְיִנָּתֵן לָךְ וּמַה־בַּקָּשָׁתֵךְ עוֹד וְתֵעָשׂ

 

Is this a sign that the King’s interest is waning? Esther takes the opportunity to ask for another day’s grace for the Jews to fight back in Shushan. Did she sense that she couldn’t push any further?

 

 

Repeated words/phrases within Megilla

וַיִּיטַב הַדָּבָר בְּעֵינֵי [X] וַיַּעַשׂ כֵּן

X being at various points the King, Haman etc.

וַתִּיטַב הַנַּעֲרָה בְעֵינָיו

This is said a few times about Esther

אִם־מָצָאתִי חֵן בְּעֵינֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ וְאִם־עַל־הַמֶּלֶךְ טוֹב

Re: the first part of this phrase, see also other Tanakh links below.

נָפַל פַּחַד

This is repeated at least three times at the end of Chapter 8 and the start of Chapter 9 about the non-Jews. Clearly a focal point for events here. 

Tricky Persian-sounding words...

Because they make you stumble. Chapters 3 and 8 showcase these when the letters are sent out – for example הָאֲחַשְׁדַּרְפְּנִים and הָאֲחַשְׁתְּרָנִים . Usually a sign of the Persian state apparatus being involved?

Key connections with other parts of Tanakh

The most obvious one is where the Eicha trop kicks in[3]. See – the keilim at the King’s party, Mordechai’s history, the transition between Chapters 3 and 4, Esther’s dedication to her mission near the end of Chapter 4, and finally Esther’s plea to the King in Chapter 8. Some also slip a bit of this in when Esther reveals the plot against the Jews in Chapter 7. [4]

There are others:

אַחַר  הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה

Both Chapters 2 and 3 open with this. I’ve been immersed in the Avraham narratives recently, so to me this screams out ‘opening of the Akeida’. An AlHaTorah search reveals this phrase is actually used 6 times in Sefer Bereishit – 3 times about events in Avraham’s life (including the Akeida) and 3 for Yosef’s life. The next most frequent uses are in Sefer Melachim and – you’ve guessed it – Megillat Esther.

וְהַנַּעֲרָה יְפַת־תֹּאַר וְטוֹבַת מַרְאֶה

וַתְּהִי אֶסְתֵּר נֹשֵׂאת חֵן בְּעֵינֵי כׇּל־רֹאֶיהָ

וַיֶּאֱהַב הַמֶּלֶךְ אֶת־אֶסְתֵּר מִכׇּל־הַנָּשִׁים

 

All these descriptions of Esther echo those of Rachel and Yosef. Potentially significant – Esther and Mordechai are from the tribe of Binyamin and Mordechai ends up taking on a Yosef-like role for the King.

And finally…

וַיִּזְעַק זְעָקָה גְדוֹלָה וּמָרָה

Mordechai’s cry in Chapter 4 echoes Esav’s cry when he finds out Ya’akov has tricked him out of his blessing. (Yes, I know this is well-commented on).

LET’S GET STRUCTURAL

Huh? What’s going on here?

There’s two parts where I really don’t have a good explanation (yet).

The end of Chapter 2 – Esther tells King about the assassination plot against him ‘in Mordechai’s name’. This is obviously key to later events. However, at this point Esther is still hiding her Jewish identity. How does she pass on this message to the King without arousing suspicions over her relationship with Mordechai - either as a Jew, or in general as someone outside the palace who she is regularly in touch with? Remember, this is the quick-tempered King who just got rid of his previous Queen for disrespecting him.

And then there’s Chapter 10. Why do we even have this? What’s the point? This is especially obvious in readings where you’re dividing up the leining – Chapter 10 becomes a little stub at the end whose only saving grace is that a) some total beginners want to have a go at it and b) it’s tied in with the closing bracha.

If you do chiasms, Chapter 6 is the turning point – and very funny too

Chiasms are the ‘in thing’ in some quarters. This is where you break down a series of events or themes into an ABCDCBA structure, where D is a standalone turning point. Applying this to the Megilla, Chapter 6 comes out as the watershed scene.  

This whole chapter is sharply comic[5], and the trop only accentuates this. You could probably act the whole chapter out as a comedy scene without deviating from the text – and it’s not just Haman who is the target. I’d have to do a standalone post to point out all the details, but some highlights:

-            When the King asks his servants whether Mordechai ever got rewarded, the trop gets really flowery introducing the servants before coming back down to earth with their reply that…err…nope, nothing’s been done.

-            When Haman consults his friends at the end, they start out as אֹהֲבָיו but become חֲכָמָיו when pointing out that he’s doomed to fail at Mordechai’s hands. Haman’s probably wondering – you egged me on to build gallows for Mordechai, and now you’re the ‘wise guys’? Come on…

Otherwise, Chapter 8 is the turning point which either mirrors or resolves earlier points

Earlier Chapter	Chapter 8
2 – Esther hides her people and background from the King	Esther reveals her relationship with Mordechai ‘HaYehudi’ to the King
3 – King gives his royal seal to Haman	King gives his royal seal to Mordechai
3 – 13th Nissan letters decree to kill all the Jews and loot their belongings	23rd Sivan letters allow the Jews to do exactly the same thing to their enemies as the 13th Nissan letters decreed against the Jews
3 – 13th Nissan letters to kill the Jews are addressed to each nation in their own language	23rd Sivan letters for the Jews to kill their enemies are addressed to each nation in their language, PLUS the Jews in their own language. Implication - the first letters weren’t addressed to the Jews like this!
3-4 – the Jews across the empire are in mourning. See also Eicha trop	The Jews across the empire are happy and making a ‘Yom Tov’
5 – Esther enters the King’s chamber and is saved by him extending the golden sceptre	8 – Esther prostrates herself before the King and he extends the golden sceptre. Did she go into the inner chamber uninvited again?

 

And finally Chapter 9 – two (OK, three) interesting points

a)       Given Chapter 8, it’s now clear that the Jews are only able to defend themselves thanks to Mordechai’s royally-endorsed edict. This is all subject to the King’s patience, which is now running thin (see earlier re: Half my Kingdom). If you’re running with a geopolitical interpretation, this is an important dynamic.

b)       Despite being permitted to do so, the Jews don’t actually lay hands on any of their enemies’ loot. The Megilla emphasises this at line ends:

וּבַבִּזָּה לֹא שָׁלְחוּ אֶת־יָדָם

 

c)       The Purim mitzvot are set out repeatedly, but with different nuances:

a.       First, the people mark Purim themselves on 14^th Adar with feasting, a Yom Tov and Mishlochei Manot.

b.       Mordechai’s first letter decrees the holiday elements should be feasting, Mishlochei Manot and Matanot L’Evyonim. He also insists that Purim be marked on both the 14^th and 15^th of Adar.

c.       The Megilla’s description of the second letter (from Esther and Mordechai) doesn’t mention any of the Purim mitzvot, but compares accepting Purim to accepting days for fasting and crying.

And finally finally - which ‘Sefer’ is this all being written into at the end?

 

With that, I wish you a Purim Meshulash Sameach!

RPT

---

[1] For example, Chapter 8 was one of the earlier perakim which I learnt – so the table below about Chapter 8 is mostly based on my noticing things while learning earlier perakim after mastering Chapter 8.

[2] Before you ask – yes, I know about Rabbi Dovid Fohrman’s book, which I have now read. These thoughts were put together before I read his book – they were not inspired by it.

[3] I know this sounds wrong, but I actually really like the Eicha trop. Apparently I’m not alone in this.

[4] It’s not a Tanakh link, but some also have the tradition to open Chapter 6 with a Kol Nidre-like tune. Again, I love doing this.

[5] as, tbh, are some parts of Chapter 7

Eliezer - Heir, Interrupted

 BS"D

N.B. This was mostly written before Simchat Torah – I ended up rewriting the conclusion.

For the z'chut of those we have lost, those we have found, those still missing, and the chayalim fighting for us all. 

Sometimes, the Torah includes ‘minor’ figures who we think we know well - but on closer inspection, there's a lot more behind the scenes. One such figure is Avraham's servant Eliezer, sometimes referred to as 'Eliezer of Damascus' (although even this isn't clear!).

We all know Eliezer is the servant who travelled to Avraham's family, met Rivka at the well and fetched her to be Yitzhak's wife. Right?

But how do we know it was Eliezer – he isn’t even named?! Oh, and did you know he secretly wanted to sabotage the whole trip to make a shidduch between his own daughter and Yitzhak?[i] Finally – how relevant is Eliezer’s internal struggle for us today?

Let's take a look. 

Who is Eliezer?

Bereishit 15:1-4 (Parshat Lech Lecha)

אַחַר  הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה הָיָה דְבַר־יְהֹוָה אֶל־אַבְרָם בַּמַּחֲזֶה לֵאמֹר אַל־תִּירָא אַבְרָם אָנֹכִי מָגֵן לָךְ שְׂכָרְךָ הַרְבֵּה מְאֹד׃

וַיֹּאמֶר אַבְרָם אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה מַה־תִּתֶּן־לִי וְאָנֹכִי הוֹלֵךְ עֲרִירִי וּבֶן־מֶשֶׁק בֵּיתִי הוּא דַּמֶּשֶׂק אֱלִיעֶזֶר׃

וַיֹּאמֶר אַבְרָם הֵן לִי לֹא נָתַתָּה זָרַע וְהִנֵּה בֶן־בֵּיתִי יוֹרֵשׁ אֹתִי׃

וְהִנֵּה דְבַר־יְהֹוָה אֵלָיו לֵאמֹר לֹא יִירָשְׁךָ זֶה כִּי־אִם אֲשֶׁר יֵצֵא מִמֵּעֶיךָ הוּא יִירָשֶׁךָ׃

 

Some time later, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision. He said,

"Fear not, Abram,
I am a shield to you;
Your reward shall be very great."

But Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what can You give me, seeing that I shall die childless, and the one in charge of my household is Dammesek Eliezer!”

Abram said further, “Since You have granted me no offspring, my steward will be my heir.”

The word of the LORD came to him in reply, “That one shall not be your heir; none but your very own issue shall be your heir.”

 

This is the only place where the Torah actually names Eliezer, Avraham's loyal servant. Even here, the language is cryptic – what should be key facts are unclear. Does 'Dammesek Eliezer' mean he is from Damascus? Not necessarily – Rashi cites a midrash that this is because he helped Avraham pursue his enemies as far as Damascus. Radak and Shadal speculate that Dammesek was his birth name, and Eliezer the Hebrew name which Avraham gave him. Chizkuni uses this phrase to place Eliezer as a grandson of Nimrod. 

Whatever his origins, Chazal hold Eliezer in high esteem. As Rashi also points out, the Gemara in Yoma 28b places Eliezer alongside the Avot as a ‘zaken’ – an Elder – sitting in the beit midrash. Notably, here he is the only other person described in this way. Chazal explains 'Dammesek Eliezer' to mean ‘doleh’ and and ‘mashke’ - drawing and giving drink to others from his master's Torah. So, Eliezer was both Avraham’s student and a teacher helping to spread the Torah on Avraham’s behalf.

Eliezer as Heir

 

Let’s go back to our first source in Lech Lecha. Eliezer is not present – Avraham is talking about him in a prophetic encounter with G-d. Timing-wise, the Torah presents this just after the 'Battle of the Five Kings' where Avraham has rescued his estranged nephew Lot, been acknowledged as a respected local leader and servant of G-d, and may have received the 'baton' of priesthood from Malchitzedek aka Shem (see here). 

 

Avraham's big worry here is that he is still childless, despite G-d's promises to 'make him a nation'. He protests that Eliezer - a trusted servant, but not a blood relative - will be his heir. This is not a simple inheritance question - bear in mind what the Torah has taught us so far both about Enoch's short-lived leadership (see here) and Terach's angst about his family line continuing (see here). Avraham may well be worried that his life's work - bringing others closer to G-d and carrying on his ancestral role – will fail if he is succeeded by a disciple outside his own family line. 

 

G-d promises that Avraham's own child succeed him. Avraham is reassured. But for Eliezer, surely this is a blow. As heir to both Avraham's material wealth and spiritual leadership, Eliezer has much to lose if Avraham has a child. However, as he is 'offstage' during this exchange, we have no idea what he thinks (or even knows).

 

Eliezer’s Mission(s)

 

In time, Avraham fathers Ishmael, then Yitzhak. Each son pushes Eliezer further away from his original role as heir. Then we reach the events of Chayei Sarah. Avraham's final mission is to find Yitzhak a wife. Once again, history hangs in the balance. If Yitzhak doesn’t find the right wife, there will be no third generation to carry on Avraham’s mission.

 

Enter Eliezer. Throughout this episode, he is nameless - referred to only as 'ish' or 'aved'. It is tradition that tells us this ‘senior servant’ is the same Eliezer referred to in Lech Lecha. 

 

Avraham makes Eliezer swear a two-fold oath – not to take a Canaanite wife for Yitzhak, and to look for a match in Avraham’s hometown/with his family. Before swearing, Eliezer raises a question – what if the bride he finds for Yitzhak will not travel back to Eretz Yisrael? Is Yitzhak to leave Eretz Yisrael? Or is Eliezer released from any part of his oath?

 

Famously, the Torah gives us two versions of Eliezer's matchmaking mission - one in 'real time', the other in Eliezer's retelling to Lavan's family. This includes Eliezer’s conversation with Avraham:

 

Version 1 - Bereishit 24:2-6

 

וַיֹּאמֶר אַבְרָהָם אֶל־עַבְדּוֹ זְקַן בֵּיתוֹ הַמֹּשֵׁל בְּכׇל־אֲשֶׁר־לוֹ שִׂים־נָא יָדְךָ תַּחַת יְרֵכִי׃

וְאַשְׁבִּיעֲךָ בַּיהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵי הַשָּׁמַיִם וֵאלֹהֵי הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר לֹא־תִקַּח אִשָּׁה לִבְנִי מִבְּנוֹת הַכְּנַעֲנִי אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי יוֹשֵׁב בְּקִרְבּוֹ׃

כִּי אֶל־אַרְצִי וְאֶל־מוֹלַדְתִּי תֵּלֵךְ וְלָקַחְתָּ אִשָּׁה לִבְנִי לְיִצְחָק׃

וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו הָעֶבֶד אוּלַי לֹא־תֹאבֶה הָאִשָּׁה לָלֶכֶת אַחֲרַי אֶל־הָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת הֶהָשֵׁב אָשִׁיב אֶת־בִּנְךָ אֶל־הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר־יָצָאתָ מִשָּׁם׃

וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו אַבְרָהָם הִשָּׁמֶר לְךָ פֶּן־תָּשִׁיב אֶת־בְּנִי שָׁמָּה׃

יְהֹוָה  אֱלֹהֵי הַשָּׁמַיִם אֲשֶׁר לְקָחַנִי מִבֵּית אָבִי וּמֵאֶרֶץ מוֹלַדְתִּי וַאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר־לִי וַאֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע־לִי לֵאמֹר לְזַרְעֲךָ אֶתֵּן אֶת־הָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת הוּא יִשְׁלַח מַלְאָכוֹ לְפָנֶיךָ וְלָקַחְתָּ אִשָּׁה לִבְנִי מִשָּׁם׃

וְאִם־לֹא תֹאבֶה הָאִשָּׁה לָלֶכֶת אַחֲרֶיךָ וְנִקִּיתָ מִשְּׁבֻעָתִי זֹאת רַק אֶת־בְּנִי לֹא תָשֵׁב שָׁמָּה׃

 

 

“And Abraham said to the senior servant of his household, who had charge of all that he owned, “Put your hand under my thigh, and I will make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I dwell, but will go to the land of my birth and get a wife for my son Isaac.”

 

And the servant said to him, “What if the woman does not consent to follow me to this land, shall I then take your son back to the land from which you came?”

 

Abraham answered him, “On no account must you take my son back there! The LORD, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from my native land, who promised me on oath, saying, ‘I will assign this land to your offspring’—He will send His angel before you, and you will get a wife for my son from there. And if the woman does not consent to follow you, you shall then be clear of this oath to me; but do not take my son back there.”

 

 

Version 2 - Bereishit 24:37-40

 

וַיַּשְׁבִּעֵנִי אֲדֹנִי לֵאמֹר לֹא־תִקַּח אִשָּׁה לִבְנִי מִבְּנוֹת הַכְּנַעֲנִי אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי יֹשֵׁב בְּאַרְצוֹ׃

אִם־לֹא אֶל־בֵּית־אָבִי תֵּלֵךְ וְאֶל־מִשְׁפַּחְתִּי וְלָקַחְתָּ אִשָּׁה לִבְנִי׃

וָאֹמַר אֶל־אֲדֹנִי אֻלַי לֹא־תֵלֵךְ הָאִשָּׁה אַחֲרָי׃

וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָי יְהֹוָה אֲשֶׁר־הִתְהַלַּכְתִּי לְפָנָיו יִשְׁלַח מַלְאָכוֹ אִתָּךְ וְהִצְלִיחַ דַּרְכֶּךָ וְלָקַחְתָּ אִשָּׁה לִבְנִי מִמִּשְׁפַּחְתִּי וּמִבֵּית אָבִי׃

 

 

“Now my master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I dwell; but you shall go to my father’s house, to my kindred, and get a wife for my son.’

 

And I said to my master, ‘What if the woman does not follow me?’

 

He replied to me, ‘The LORD, whose ways I have followed, will send His angel with you and make your errand successful; and you will get a wife for my son from my kindred, from my father’s house.”

 

Much commentary is spun out from the word אוּלַי or אֻלַי – ‘what if’ – in the bolded lines above. In the second version, this word is spelt without a vav – making it a homonym for אֵלַי, ‘to me’.  Rashi, bringing a midrash from Bereishit Rabba 59:9, comments on this that Eliezer wanted a shidduch between his own daughter and Yitzhak. He therefore wanted to scupper the entire mission so that Yitzhak would end up coming ‘to me’ i.e. into his own family.

 

Other commentators expand on Rashi’s comment and the אֵלַי parallel, including why this only comes up in Eliezer’s retelling. Chizkuni suggests that Eliezer just used this as a negotiating tactic with Rivka’s family, hinting that Eliezer’s own daughter was a rival to encourage the Rivka-Yitzhak match.[ii] On the other hand, the Zera Shimshon (remember him?) has an elaborate explanation, based on protocols for engagement meals and bridal gifts, where Eliezer tries to trick Lavan’s family into believing he has betrothed Rivka for himself, as a servant, so that they reject the match.[iii] However, regardless of the incentive for Eliezer to marry off his own daughter instead, something about the Zera Shimshon’s approach doesn’t ring true.   

A more psychologically plausible explanation is attributed to the Kotzker Rebbe (c. 1787 – 1859).[iv]  The Torah only uses the אֻלַי spelling in Eliezer’s retelling because it is only now, after Rivka has been revealed as Yitzhak’s intended, that Eliezer reflects and realises his subconscious motivation for questioning Avraham. At the time, Eliezer thought he was being sincere and didn’t recognise the subtext to his own question – that what he really wanted was a way out which let him marry off his daughter to Yitzhak.

This is a far more human Eliezer than the ‘Machiavelli’ of the Zera Shimshon’s commentary. Importantly, the Kotzker’s Eliezer also resonates with parts of our community, right up until the present day.

Does Eliezer walk amongst us?

Yes. But only if we open our ears and eyes.

Every Yom Tov, as part of their ‘bumper issue’ Mishpacha magazine publishes a set of standalone short stories. Called ‘Calligraphy’, this collection is a cut above the standard ‘frum magazine serial’ – there is some genuinely good, and (Chareidi) boundary-pushing writing going on here.

Last Sukkot 5783 (a world away by now), Calligraphy featured a story by Rochel Somet about an older giyoret, Rus Yaffa, who longs for a Jewish family of her own. Trying to keep a relationship with the birth family she left behind while integrating into her husband’s family, Rus Yaffa feels the pain of not having her own descendants follow in her footsteps. While she sees signs of hope in a granddaughter, by the end she is reconciled to stepping back and letting things take their course without pressuring her birth family.[v]

Every convert’s experience is different, and this story was an eye-opener even to me. Then, in online communities for gerim and those still ‘in the process’, I saw the same thing in real life. Older members sharing their grief and worries over losing ties with much-loved children and grandchildren. Or mourning the Jewish family they never had, because they converted too late in life to have children with a Jewish spouse.

While Rus Yaffa is fictional, her pain is very real. The pain of joining such a family-orientated people - where passing our values and beliefs to the next generation is fundamental – and yet being unable to give this gift to one’s own family. Despite Eliezer’s key role in founding what would become the Jewish nation, perhaps we can also feel his pain at his own descendants not being part of this legacy.

What can Eliezer teach us?

Firstly, values. Avraham’s instructions to Eliezer on a suitable bride for Yitzhak only seem to cover geography and family. Don’t choose a Canaanite. Go to my homeland where my family lives. Make sure Yitzhak doesn’t leave Eretz Yisrael.

Eliezer’s test – waiting at the well to see who would bring him and his camels water – was of his own choosing. When Rivka showed up, he recognised her as passing that test even before knowing her name and family. What does this tell us? That, for Eliezer, the key trait for Yitzhak’s wife and the mother of Avraham’s grandchildren was kindness to strangers, the vulnerable ‘other’.

Secondly, uncertainty. Children are precious, both for their own sakes and for the continuation that they represent. But that continuity cannot be taken for granted. Our short story is a poignant example of a parent who left behind her children to follow a new ‘derech’ – but there are many different situations with the same underlying message. Some grapple with childlessness. Others – lo aleinu – are blessed with children only to lose them again. Still others grapple with the challenge of children who, for whatever reason, end up on a very different path to that their parents imagined for them. In all cases, we cannot take for granted that our legacy will be continued by our children.

Lastly, hope. Eliezer may have missed out on being physically part of our Jewish heritage. Yet he does have an important role – both in ensuring Yitzhak’s marriage to Rivka, and according to Chazal as a teacher and spreader of Torah. There is even a Midrashic tradition that Eliezer was one of the few tzaddikim who entered Gan Eden alive[vi].

Eliezer did not choose his origins or the ‘hand’ that was dealt him regarding family. Yet he made the most of the opportunities he did have to influence others and play a role in history. Eliezer’s legacy is the mark he left on others’ lives – and is all the more powerful for that.

Shavua tov

RPT

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[i] Tbh, if you grew up learning Chumash with Rashi you probably knew this bit. I grew up with the ‘Hertz Chumash’ (big on anti-Biblical Criticism and the Code of Hammurabi), so this was news to me.

[ii] Radak, on the other hand, throws cold water on the very idea that any meaning can be found from this difference in Eliezer’s retelling (or any other differences). Oh well.

[iii] I’m not being entirely fair to the Zera Shimshon here – from reading around his other essays, his take on Eliezer fits into a wider ‘commentary arc’ about Eliezer’s journey from slave to free Jew, and other issues around how much of halacha the Avot kept. Worth a fuller look.

[iv] See the Artscroll/Stone Chumash on this verse. It’s worth noting that, in direct contrast to the Zera Shimshon, the Kotzker Rebbe left no published works and apparently burnt all his manuscripts before he passed away. I’m sure he had his reasons, but this does make accurate source citation a headache.

[v] The author did her research – not only does she capture the ‘ei’ confusion over Yiddish words (shey-tal vs shy-tal in my case), she also showcases a ger’s view on being stuck on a platform as the ‘token inspirational figure’ against their will.

Asked to address a local girl’s school ahead of Rosh Hashanah, Rus Yaffa prepares a traditional dvar Torah only to realise that she was expected to share her own – deeply personal and painful – life story with an audience of strangers for their own gratification. The story shows her emotional reactions – from naïve confusion to embarrassment and humiliation.

This is absolutely not a dig at gerim who volunteer for these presentations – but there’s a huge difference between deliberately using your life story to inspire others and being expected to ‘spill the beans’ at the drop of a hat. Especially over the Shabbat table. Thank you to the author and Mishpacha for calling it out – hopefully it made their readers think twice!

[vi] See, for example, in Derekh Eretz Zuta.