Parashat Chayei-Sara describes the mission undertaken by Avraham's servant to go to Charan and find a suitable wife for Yitzchak. As we know, the servant declares that the girl whom he would ask for water and would give for both him and his camels will be the girl destined to marry Yitzchak. The servant tells all this to the family of Rivka, who indeed offered water to the servant and his camels. The family, expressing their consent, responds: "The matter was decreed by the Lord; we cannot speak to you bad or good" (24:50).

"And Yitzchak came from the vicinity of the well of Lachai-ro'i..."(24;62)

Rashi comments: "Since he went to bring Hagar to Avraham his father, so he could marry her." Indeed, that is the place where Hagar was miraculously saved (16;14). And afterwards, when Avraham marries his second wife, Ketura (25;1), Rashi quotes the Midrash (Bereishit Rabba, 61;5) which identifies her as Hagar.

It is logical to presume that Eliezer, called in 15:2 by Avraham "my household's steward," is the selfsame "servant, elder of his household, who ruled over all he owned" of 24:2. Yet this only begs the question: why is Eliezer's name withheld? What necessitates the subterfuge of referring to him only via the awkward term of "Avraham's servant"?

לפניכם קטע מתוך דף הלימוד של "מתן על הפרק" בו תמצאו שאלות מנחות והרחבות לעיון והעמקה בפרק:

What symbolic message is the raven meant to send in the stories of Noah and Eliyahu?

Is there any particular significance to the dietary laws as far as the story of Noach is concerned?

 Cham sought gratification and entertainment at the expense of his father's honor. He enjoyed a certain sense of superiority by witnessing Noach's shame.

Commenting on the opening verse of Parashat Noach, Rashi cites a famous dispute in the Gemara as to the meaning of the Torah's praise for Noach. The verse describes Noach as righteous "in his generation." The first view understands this term as emphasizing that were Noach to have lived in a more just and upright society, where he was not subject to the moral ills that characterized his lifetime, he would ascended to even greater spiritual heights. We must therefore read the verse as, "even in his generation" Noach was righteous.

According to the Netziv, the Tower of Bavel was to serve as a watchtower, from which guards would ensure that the city's population would remain within its walls. Herein lies the sin of the generation: the quest for a monolithic, homogenous population where no foreign ideas or lifestyles may be legitimized.

Parashat Noach begins with the words, "Eileh toledot Noach" – "These are the descendants of Noach… " After reading these words, we would expect the verse the continue by presenting Noach's progeny, by listing the names of his children. We do, indeed, find a list of Noach's three sons, but only in the next verse. This opening verse, however, reads, "These are the descendants of Noach – Noach was a righteous man; he was blameless in his age." Why did the Torah prepare to present the names of Noach's offspring, only to digress to the issue of his piety?