Parshat Chayei Sarah
Rabbi Avrohom Gordimer

Parshas Chayei Sarah is one of the shorter and seemingly simpler sedras of Sefer Bereshis. It contains the narratives of Yitzchak's betrothal and the miraculous events which led to his match with Rivka. The parsha also discusses the deaths of Avrohom, Sarah, and Yishmael, and we are furthermore taught briefly about later progeny of Avrohom Avinu and their fate. Is there any one theme which unites the topics of Chayei Sarah?

It may be suggested that the unifying theme is elucidated in the haftara. The haftara recounts some of the last words and deeds of Dovid HaMelech as he approached the end of his life. Rather than allowing Adoniyahu ben Chagis to wrest control of the throne after Dovid's passing, we read how Nosson HaNovi and Bas-sheva courageously worked out a plan to reinforce and assure the kingship of Shlomo, and Dovid intervened to confirm the establishment of Shlomo as the next king.

The haftara's relationship to the parsha is clear. The idea of putting forth superhuman effort and commitment to pass down our mesorah, our Torah tradition, is the core theme which the Torah portion and haftara bring out. Mesorah dictated that Shlomo reign over Israel, as indicated in previous passages in Shmuel II, and the brave steps taken by Dovid, Nosson and Bas-sheva for the sake of the future in accord with Torah's tradition are the lesson of the haftara. Shlomo was designated to be the generation's next Torah leader, and safeguarding the mesorah associated with this was exemplified by the actions of Dovid, Nosson and Bas-sheva.

With the deaths of Avrohom and Sarah came the rise to prominence of Yitzchak as the leader in avodas HaShem. Avrohom sought to marry off Yitzchak and enable him to meet his potential as the next of the Avos, building Beis Yisroel and staying the course. Avrohom's directives to Eliezer thus flowed from this vision, and several nissim (miracles) were needed to provide for the correct mate for Yitzchak. Avrohom knew that the task of finding an appropriate partner for his son would not be easy, as is evidenced by the pesukim, but Avrohom was fully aware that compromise has no place in passing down the mesorah and building a Torah future.

In the same vein did Avrohom keep the Bnei Keturah completely separate from Yitzchak (25:6 - see Rashi from Medrash there). Avrohom understood that the mesorah of Torah requires purity of transmission, unchallenged and unfettered by foreign influences, and he acted accordingly, despite his extreme openness in bringing outsiders close to God, as demonstrated in earlier parshiyos. Although one must be open in bringing others near to God, he must be rigid in maintaining Torah tradition. (The separate paths taken by Yitzchak and Yishmael are also contrasted at the end of Chayei Sarah and the beginning of Toldos, and they are likely described as such in order to further illustrate the need to keep our mesorah distinct and its transmission untouched.)

This notion may answer an age-old question posed by many commentators. They ask why it was necessary for the Torah to record in full Eliezer's rendition of his successful quest for Rivka. Since we, the readers, already know the precise facts of the story as it unraveled during its occurrence, why do we need to read the same details once more as related by Eliezer? Could the Torah not have just paraphrased the story and written, "And Eliezer told them all that had happened to him...", without going through every single punch-by-punch detail again?

Perhaps the lesson is that the mesorah of Torah is not just its teachings, ideas and laws. Rather, the way in which we understand the world around us and the manner in which we interpret events and perceive our surroundings are also part of the mesorah and require the same cautious transmission. So, too, even the deeds, experiences and expressions of our Avos and sages attain the status of mesorah, and they are often as precious as the Torah's direct teachings. Thus, Eliezer's narrative was recorded with full detail so that we should learn that the way in which he approached and verbalized the entire episode and its accoutrements are as much a part of our mesorah as the Torah itself, and the effort to relate the story to Rivka constituted passing down mesorah. Eliezer's understanding and expression that all which occurred to him was according to Providence, and his ability to piece together the many parts of his travels into one divine plan, were assuredly learned from Avrohom, his master. It was necessary for Rivka to hear the story as interpreted by Eliezer (that it was all hashgacha pratis), and the story's repetition is established as mesorah by its recollection in full detail as part of the core event which sets the eternal Jewish precedent and example for passing down mesorah. (This may very well be the intent of the Gemara's observation that "The conversation of the Avos' servants is more dear that the teachings of their descendants, for the story of Eliezer is recorded in full..." [Rashi on 24:42 from Bereshis Rabbah.] That is to say, that the Torah's background stories - which embody values as to how to approach life - are themselves endowed with the title "mesorah" and need to be passed down with extreme care.)

May we be ever so cautious to pass down the entirety of our mesorah in purity, so that it endure, with HaShem's Will, and be a light unto others.

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