Here are three Divrei Torah on the parsha that I wrote many years ago, and which I am sending out for the first time. I still have some good stuff in my archives that I will send out periodically. After the Torah are links to more good material.
[This disagreement, sans the rebuttal of the second opinion, also appears in Bava Basra 16B, with Rabbi Meir taking the position that Avraham didn't have a daughter and Rabbi Yehuda responding that he did.]
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חיי שרה
בכל
[כד:א] וְאַבְרָהָם זָקֵן בָּא בַּיָּמִים וַיהֹוָה בֵּרַךְ אֶת אַבְרָהָם בַּכֹּל:
בראשית רבה (נט:ז)
וה' ברך את אברהם בכל, רבי יודן ורבי נחמיה. רבי יודן אמר שנתן לו נקבה. אמר לו רבי נחמיה, עיקר ביתו [גירסה אחר "בתו", ועיין שם במפרשים] של מלך אין כתוב בה ברכה! אלא וה' ברך את אברהם בכל, שלא נתן לו בת כל עיקר:
Q: It is highly unusual for disputants in the Gemara to take positions that are polar opposites of one another. Generally they disagree only about the limits and finer points of a Halachic matter or philosophical principle. It is difficult to accept that some tannaim believed that having a daughter is a blessing, while others would argue that specifically not having a daughter would be a blessing!
The latter opinion requires elucidation in any case – how could it be that Rabbi Nechemia and Rabbi Meir could interpret not having a daughter as the fulfillment of an all-encompassing blessing? (Some misguided Jews would take this opinion literally and as "proof" that Chazal denigrated women – but it is not our purpose to debate nonsensical beliefs and their intellectually dishonest bearers.)
A: Indeed, no one would seriously argue that not having a daughter is a blessing under any kind of normal circumstances. However, Avraham was not living under normal circumstances. Despite his lifetime of heroic dedication to spreading the concept of one living God, the world remained filled with idolaters, to the extent that his chosen son and immediate descendants married daughters from idol-worshipping families. Especially in ancient times, a husband could compel his wife to follow his spiritual path if necessary, and thus the tremendous difficulty in finding an appropriate spouse was ameliorated somewhat for his male progeny.
If Avraham were to marry off a daughter, she would be at the mercy of her husband, in a society where mercy in spiritual matters would not be easily forthcoming. Indeed, the only explicit mention of daughters to the avos is Deena, whose tribulations provided nothing but heartache to Yaacov. In light of this, it may well have been a blessing for Avraham to be spared the tzoros – and perhaps inevitable tragedy – of trying to find an appropriate husband for a daughter.
Rabbi Yudan and Rabbi Yehuda would argue that even in those uniquely perilous times, the blessing of having a daughter outweighed the perils and challenges of assuring her spiritual protection and fulfillment.
As always, the words of Chazal are vindicated, and any failure to discover and appreciate their integrity and Truth is our own.
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חיי שרה
השיבתו על ראשון ראשון
[כד:כג-כה] (כג) וַיֹּאמֶר בַּת מִי אַתְּ הַגִּידִי נָא לִי הֲיֵשׁ בֵּית אָבִיךְ מָקוֹם לָנוּ לָלִין: (כד) וַתֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו בַּת בְּתוּאֵל אָנֹכִי בֶּן מִלְכָּה אֲשֶׁר יָלְדָה לְנָחוֹר: (כה) וַתֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו גַּם תֶּבֶן גַּם מִסְפּוֹא רַב עִמָּנוּ גַּם מָקוֹם לָלוּן:
רש"י (פסוק כד)
השיבתו על ראשון ראשון ועל אחרון אחרון:
[לא:כו-לב] (כו) וַיֹּאמֶר לָבָן לְיַעֲקֹב מֶה עָשִׂיתָ וַתִּגְנֹב אֶת לְבָבִי וַתְּנַהֵג אֶת בְּנֹתַי כִּשְׁבֻיוֹת חָרֶב: (כז) לָמָּה נַחְבֵּאתָ לִבְרֹחַ וַתִּגְנֹב אֹתִי וְלֹא הִגַּדְתָּ לִּי וָאֲשַׁלֵּחֲךָ בְּשִׂמְחָה וּבְשִׁרִים בְּתֹף וּבְכִנּוֹר: (כח) וְלֹא נְטַשְׁתַּנִי לְנַשֵּׁק לְבָנַי וְלִבְנֹתָי עַתָּה הִסְכַּלְתָּ עֲשׂוֹ: (כט) יֶשׁ לְאֵל יָדִי לַעֲשׂוֹת עִמָּכֶם רָע וֵאלֹהֵי אֲבִיכֶם אֶמֶשׁ אָמַר אֵלַי לֵאמֹר הִשָּׁמֶר לְךָ מִדַּבֵּר עִם יַעֲקֹב מִטּוֹב עַד רָע: (ל) וְעַתָּה הָלֹךְ הָלַכְתָּ כִּי נִכְסֹף נִכְסַפְתָּה לְבֵית אָבִיךָ לָמָּה גָנַבְתָּ אֶת אֱלֹהָי: (לא) וַיַּעַן יַעֲקֹב וַיֹּאמֶר לְלָבָן כִּי יָרֵאתִי כִּי אָמַרְתִּי פֶּן תִּגְזֹל אֶת בְּנוֹתֶיךָ מֵעִמִּי: (לב) עִם אֲשֶׁר תִּמְצָא אֶת אֱלֹהֶיךָ לֹא יִחְיֶה נֶגֶד אַחֵינוּ הַכֶּר לְךָ מָה עִמָּדִי וְקַח לָךְ וְלֹא יָדַע יַעֲקֹב כִּי רָחֵל גְּנָבָתַם:
רש"י (פסוק לא)
השיבו על ראשון ראשון...:
Q: What's the significance of responding to a series of questions or comments in the order in which they are presented, to the extent that Chazal should make an issue of it? Also, wouldn't it make more sense to give sequential preference to matters of great importance?
A: It is quite common for people engaged in a disagreement to give little or no credence to the arguments of the other side. In fact, they attempt to zero in on perceived weaknesses in the other side's arguments and ignore everything else. Their goal is not to engage in intellectually honest, genuinely respectful dialogue, but to score points for themselves and whatever agenda they are dogmatically upholding. (Tragically, this sort of thing has become standard practice even in matters directly pertaining to Torah observance, with political and personal agendas superseding Truth and the retzon Hashem. Those who abuse their knowledge of Torah in this fashion would have been better off never being born – see Taanis 7A and Tosafos there, as well as my comments in Sefer Keser Chananya.)
When one responds to his friend's comments point by point, he accomplishes several things. First, he demonstrates that he has paid at least basic attention to everything his friend has said. Second, that he heard what his friend was saying, not merely the isolated comments that he wished to hear; after all, he organizes his response based on his friend's order of importance, not his own. Finally, he takes all of his friend's points into account before responding, and thus is less likely to take something out of context in this fashion.
Indeed, responding in sequential order is a great matter of derech eretz and basic kavod for the other person.
[It should be noted that Yaacov did not favor Lavan's more ludicrous remarks with a response, but he still responded in sequential order.]
[Also see Bereishis 32:19 and Shemos 3:12 for more examples of rishon rishon.]
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חיי שרה
יפה שיחתן של עבדי אבות
רש"י (פרק כד פסוק מב)
. . .אמר רבי אחא יפה שיחתן של עבדי אבות לפני המקום מתורתן של בנים, שהרי פרשה של אליעזר כפולה בתורה, והרבי גופי תורה לא ניתנו אלא ברמיזה:
בראשית רבה (פרשה ס אות ח)
אמר ר' אחא יפה שיחתן של עבדי בתי אבות מתורתן של בנים, פרשתו של אליעזר שנים וג' דפים הוא אומרה ושונה, ושרץ מגופי תורה, ואין דמו מטמא כבשרו אלא מריבוי המקרא:
Rabbi Acha notes almost plaintively that the Torah devotes so much space to a detailed recounting of Eliezer's experience, while many fundamental halachos are revealed to us only through derashos on the most minimal textual superfluities. We see from here that even the "ordinary conversation" of the servants of the forefathers is more precious to Hashem than the scholarship of Chazal.
Q: It is impossible to take this statement at face value. After all, Eliezer and the avos themselves had many conversations over the course of their respective lifetimes that are not recorded for all time. Surely there is more significance in the recording of this one than a quaint demonstration of affection for the avos.
Q: Why indeed should so much space be devoted to this story, considering the perfectly parsimonious wording of the Torah? Wouldn't we be better off if the Torah simply stated "And Eliezer told them all that had happened", and used the rest of the space to teach us any number of things?
A: If you read through the two accounts of the story carefully, you will find many subtle discrepancies between what actually happened and how Eliezer recounted it. Rashi and the Ohr Hachaim note several of these discrepancies, and explain that Eliezer changed some of the details to avoid making an unfavorable impression on Rivka's family.
For example, Eliezer said his tefilla with the details of the test aloud, but he recounted that he only thought it to himself. Otherwise, the relatives would have claimed that Rivka passed the test only because she knew of it in advance, and Hashem's intervention had nothing to do with it. Eliezer gave Rivka the jewelry before even asking her identity, but he recounted it differently, lest the family question his moral integrity, if not his very sanity, for giving jewelry to a strange girl.
The parsha is filled with many such discrepancies, most of which are unexplained by the meforshim, thus leaving a treasure-trove of insights for the thoughtful reader to discover. All the discrepancies, however, center around the same idea: Eliezer recognized that even one wrong word or one statement taken out of context would jeopardize the shidduch.
Even a truly God-fearing family would hesitate to send a young daughter away to be married off and entrust her with a strange man of suspect character. Eliezer measured his every word with impeccable precision to gain their trust and demonstrate that this was truly the will of Hashem. And this wasn't "only" a shidduch at stake, but the very future of the Jewish people!
In light of this, it's no wonder that Hashem deemed this sicha extremely precious and worthy of several columns in the Torah. Those who read this story year after year have much to learn from it, moral lessons that transcend the technicalities of halacha. To clarify the latter we must study rigorously, turning every letter of the Torah this way and that. To teach us the power of every word, and the great appreciation for this demonstrated by a "mere" eved of the avos, is well worth a lengthy description.
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R&B Medical War Crimes #11 - The Farbers
This was a very inspiring discussion with a heroic family that is fighting the good fight in Israel.
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Not sure how "safe" the shots are, but they are definitely effective...
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8 Hours of Expert Testimony Before a Beis Din, Oct 26
I didn't listen to the whole thing, but Dr. Peter McCullough provided some powerful information, as always. His presentation starts about a half hour in.
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