DEVOTION

Dear Family,

I hope that everyone is well.

Mazal Tov to Penina on her birthday this Shabbos. Wishing you a wonderful year Penina with lots of exciting developments, nachas from your children and success with their chinuch, and sholom bayis, all with much joy!

It is the yohrtzeit of Uncle Dave ah this coming week and we wish long life to Sid and Brian. Uncle Dave's neshamah should have an Aliyah. We have many warm memories of Uncle Dave visiting our home in SA almost every week, with his happy nature . I never saw him in any other mood. He was always happy! - We can learn from him.

In this week's parsha Chaye Sarah we have voluminous discussion relating to the DEVOTED AND TRUSTED SERVANT OF AVRAHAM ie Eliezer who was a Cananite servant.

Avraham is sending Eliezer on a mission to a far- away land to find a wife for his son Yitzchak.

Eliezer himself was pulled by dual devotions, because the Midrash tells us that Eliezer was hoping that his own daughter would be the one to marry Yitzchak. Therefore the success of his mission would bring an end to his personal aspiration! Yet he sets out undeterred!

Eliezer gets instructions and goes on his mission, and miraculously arrives at his destination in super-quick time.

He then starts praying to Hashem with a long conversation of who he is looking for and under what circumstances.

Then in V 24:15 it says that "He (Eliezer)had not yet finished speaking, when Rivkah came out.."

Now in Midrash Bereishis Rabbah 60;4, it says that only 3 righteous people had their prayers answered straight away, and that was Eliezer (Avraham's servant), Mosheh Rabbeinu, and Shlomo Hamelech.

This is astounding! How is it possible to make a comparison between Eliezer, a Canaanite servant, and Mosheh and Shlomo?

And the matter is even more astonishing in that Eliezer's prayer was answered even before he finished talking, whereas with Mosheh and Shlomo, it was only after they finished talking!?

In an article by Rabbi Menachem Feldman, he explains an answer to this based on a Sichah of the Rebbe as follows: (summarized)

We have 3 great Patriarchs and 4 great Matriarchs, and they had great children and relative.

And we all admire their great qualities, each in their own way.

Yet, even although we have inherited some of these qualities, we find it hard to fully identify with them and their greatness. We each have our own agendas, challenges, joys and sorrows etc.

But with Eliezer, we can identify.

He was a simple independent human being with his own personality, perspectives and agenda.

AND YET, IT WAS ELIEZER, DESPITE HIS MISGIVINGS ABOUT HIS MISSION, WHO, WITH HIS OWN INITIATIVE AND CREATIVITY, AND EMPLOYING HIS OWN JUDGEMENT, SUCCEEDED IN ARRANGING THE MARRIAGE OF YITZCHAK, WHICH WOULD PERPETUATE AVRAHAM'S LEGACY FOR ALL FUTURE GENERATIONS OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE!!

The purpose of Creation is carried out by ordinary people like ourselves, and by combining our own special identity with the will of the Divine, we are able to use our personal gifts, talents and unique touch to carry out the vision of the Creator.

Gut Shabbos to all