I am a Servant
In our Parsha we read that Eliezer, servant of Avraham, traveled to Charan to seek Rivkah’s hand in marriage to Yitzchak. When he appeared before her family he prefaced his presentation with the words, “I am a servant of Avraham.” The Talmud teaches that even the casual dialogue of our patriarchs’ servants was instructive. What instruction can we take from this introduction?
Eliezer completely understood his mission and was eminently capable of carrying it out. He could have taken ownership of it and said “my name is Eliezer and, on behalf of Yitzchak, I am here to ask for Rivkah’s hand.” Instead he declared that, though he may be a party to the discussion, he is only here in deference to Avraham. He was, on every occasion and in every sense of the word, his master’s servant.
Two Categories of Mitzvos
In the Torah, there are Mitzvos that are beyond our understanding such as the requirement for the red heifer and the prohibition against wearing a blend of wool and linen. We perform these Mitzvos in deference to G-d. We accept that his reasons are good and acknowledge that divine logic is simply beyond usThere are also Mitzvos that are within the realm of human comprehension such as the requirement for charity and the prohibition against theft. Though we understand the logic of these Mitzvos we recognize that G-d must have had a far deeper logic then the one available to us.Our reasoning is finite, as is the logic of the Mitzvah presented to us. But G-d’s infinite mind must surely have conceived of an infinite logic that completely transcends our finite capacity. It is therefore important that we perform these Mitzvos, not only out of our limited understanding of them, but also in deference to a G-d whose reasons utterly transcend that of our own.
Point of Reflection
We must, on every occasion and in every sense of the word, be our master’s servants.
