Reflections from Rabbi Ellis

We are now in the fifth Parsha of the Torah and it is… unremarkable. For the last four weeks we were treated to some of the most amazing moments of history and heard the voice of G!d. This week, we have a funeral, an engagement and silence from G!d. While the events that take place in our Parsha are of great historical relevance, Avraham comes to possess the first property owned by the Children of Israel in the land of Israel and the first Jewish marriage ever, they are not particularly interesting or engaging. If not for their historical importance it is not clear why they should occupy any space in the Torah at all.

Our Parsha is unique then for what it lacks namely - Jews. Avraham and Yitzchak play only minor roles in our Parsha. The heroes of the Parsha are Avraham’s servant, Eliezer, and Rifka, the young woman who becomes Yitzchak’s wife. One of the points our Parsha seems to make is the high level of ethical and spirituality that is obtainable by people who are not members of our nation. Eliezer the servant of Avraham is able to have his prayers answered immediately, recognize this and even convince a family of idol worshipers that he is fulfilling the will of the creator of the universe. Rifka, knowing nothing of Yitzchak or G!d agrees, with no hesitation, to marry Yitzchak, convert and be the progenitor of a nation dedicated to serving G!d.

At the same time the Parsha makes a point of the necessity of the Children of Israel to protect itself from the non-Jewish world. At the beginning of the Parsha when Avraham needs a place to bury Sarah, even though he is offered a grave from the Hittites, the nation that he lives with, he insists on his own place for Sarah, establishing the first Jewish cemetery. Likewise, when it comes time to find a wife for his son Yitzchak, Avraham insists on seeking a bride from his family in Babylon, and that she must leave her family behind. If Eliezer finds the right woman, but she refuses to leave her home then the match is off, and Eliezer should return home empty handed. Better that Yitzchak remain single, than leave the land of Israel and be corrupted by Babylonian culture.

There is a tension between the righteousness of non-Jews and the underlying moral bankruptcy of non-Jewish culture. The Torah makes it clear that other cultures and nations have much to offer us, while warning us of the dangers they pose as well. Ultimately though no matter what we are offered it comes at a price. From our inception we have been a nation that dwells apart and though we have many friends and supporters our future, always unclear, is only possible when it is in our hands alone. The gifts, love and support of other nations will ultimately come to an end while their threats and demands will remain. In the end we owe much to the world we live in, morality above everything else. What we don’t owe them is an explanation for our stubborn insistence to keep living a life of holiness in a world so often full of the opposite.

Shabbat Shalom!

Yehoshua