Parashat Hayyei Sarah
by Rabbi Isaac Mann
After Abraham buries his wife Sarah, he attends to the future of his offspring, in particular to the marriage of his son Isaac. In rather strong terms, he instructs his servant to go to his birthplace, to Haran, to find a wife for Isaac. Abraham has his servant take an oath that he will not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan “amongst whom I dwell” (Gen. 24:3).
Several commentators take note of the latter expression and question the need for that comment. Surely Abraham’s servant (traditionally assumed to be Eliezer, but never named as such in this narrative) knew that Abraham lived in Canaan. Why the need to emphasize it?
Among the solutions that I read, I found the most insightful to be that of the Keli Yekar, a popular commentary of R. Ephraim Luntschitz (17th century). In explaining the above phrase, he asked why Abraham was so insistent that Isaac Read More >