Toldot 5774: Rivka (Part 2)

“And Yitzchak (Isaac) was 40 years old when he took Rivka (Rebecca), the daughter of Betuel the Aramean of Padan Aram, the sister of Lavan (Laban) the Aramean, to himself for a wife.” (Bereishit/Genesis 25:20)   This week’s Torah portion begins with a recap of the marriage of Yitzchak and Rivka. Rashi explains that Torah repeats Rivka’s family history in order to show that although she has been born into and raised in an immoral environment, her birth family’s influence does not taint her spiritually. (Kehot Chumash) After 20 years of infertility, Yitzchak’s and Rivka’s prayers are answered favorably and Rivka becomes pregnant with twins. It is a difficult pregnancy. “And the children struggled within her, and she said, ‘If so, why am I like this?’ And she went to inquire of the L-rd. And the L-rd said to her, ‘Two nations are in your womb, and two kingdoms will separate from your innards, and one kingdom will become mightier than the other kingdom, and the elder will serve the younger.’” (Bereishit 25:22-23) Writes Mrs. Dina Coopersmith on aish.com: “She [Rivka] chooses not to tell Yitzchak of this prophecy which points to the superiority of the younger son. Instead, she keeps the information to herself, until such time when she must act to preserve its fulfillment.” Two boys are born, Esav (Esau) first, then Yaakov (Jacob). Although they appear distinct from one other at birth, at age 13, differences in their personalities emerge. “And the youths grew up and Esav (Esau) was a man who understood hunting, a man of the field, whereas Yaakov (Jacob) was an innocent man, dwelling in [study] tents. And Yitzchak loved Esav because [his] game was in his mouth, but Rivka loved Yaakov.” (Bereishit 25:27-28) Rivka and Yitzchak actually love both sons, but Esav is able to fool Yitzchak with false piety and scholarly questions and to “bribe” his father with freshly hunted game. By contrast, writes Mrs. Coopersmith, “[Rivka], with characteristic feminine insight, as well as her firsthand childhood experience with deceit and façade, sees through Esav.” When Yitzchak reaches old age, he senses it is time to confer the blessing on his firstborn, Esav. Rivka overhears his plan. In order to fulfill the prophecy she heard before the sons’ births, she devises a scheme to have Yaakov receive the blessing instead of Esav. She takes advantage of Yitzchak’s blindness (his elderly eyes can no longer see), dresses Yaakov in Esav’s clothing and covers Yaakov’s arms with goatskin so they will feel like those of Esav. Mrs. Coopersmith writes that Rivka is more comfortable with subtly deceiving her husband than boldly confronting him. She explains that by tricking Yitzchak and allowing him to experience for himself the results of this deceit (by the eventual arrival of the real Esav), Rivka ensures that Yitzchak gives the blessing to Yaakov with a full heart, without her influence or persuasion. Further, when he realizes that he has been tricked, Yitzchak experientially appreciates the existence of deceit, and finally understands Esav’s longtime deception, without Rivka’s telling him directly. Writes Dr. Lisa Aiken in To Be a Jewish Woman: “Esav used guile for evil purposes, but it could also be used for good. Rivka used deception to show her husband and son the power that evil can have when it is harnessed in the service of good, thereby enabling the good to reach its tremendous spiritual heights.” Esav is extremely angry with Yaakov for taking the birthright blessing and he plans to kill Yaakov. Through Divine inspiration, Rivka understands that Yaakov is in mortal danger. To keep the brothers apart, she devises a plan to send Yaakov to her brother, Lavan. Because it would upset Yitzchak to hear about Esav’s hatred for Yaakov, Rivka avoids telling him outright and does not insist that he send away Yaakov. Instead, she makes it seem as if Yitzchak has come up on his own with the plan for Yaakov. In the only conversation recorded in Torah between Yitzchak and Rivka, Rivka says, “I am disgusted with my life because of the Hittite women [Esav married]. If Yaakov marries a Hittite woman, what good will life be to me?” (Bereishit 27:46) Yitzchak immediately calls Yaakov, blesses him and sends him to find a non-Hittite wife from his birthplace, outside of Canaan. Torah makes no mention of Rivka’s death or the number of years she lives. The Midrash equates her lifetime with the 133 years of Kohat, the grandfather of Moshe (Moses). Rivka’s death is alluded to in the Torah portion Vayishlach. “Devorah, Rivka’s nurse died.” (Bereishit 35:8) Rivka is buried in Kiryat-Arba alongside Yitzchak, Chava (Eve) and Adam, Sarah and Avraham, and later, Leah and Yaakov. http://www.aish.com/jl/b/women/Women_in_the_Bible_Rivka.html http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/rebekah-midrash-and-aggadah

Chaye Sarah 5774: Rivka (Part 1)

“And it came to pass after these matters that it was told to Avraham, saying: ‘Behold Milka, she also bore sons to Nachor, your brother. Uz, his firstborn, and Buz, his brother, and Kemuel, the father of Aram. And Kesed and Chazo and Pildash and Yidlaf, and Betuel. And Betuel begot Rivka (Rebecca).’” (Bereishit/Genesis 22:20-23)

Rivka’s birth is recorded at the end of the Torah portion Vayeira, immediately after “these matters,” the near-sacrifice of Yitzchak (Isaac.) The Midrash (Bereishit Rabbah 57:1-3) recounts that Avraham realizes that Yitzchak has almost died, and the future of the Jewish nation might have died with him. He understands it is time to find a wife for Yitzchak. Rashi writes that G-d then announces to him that Rivka, Yitzchak’s soulmate, has just been born.

Rivka’s birth also coincides with the death of Avraham’s wife and Yitzchak’s mother, Sarah. The Midrash (Bereishit Rabbah 58:2) relates that G-d provides a successor for Sarah before He takes her soul. 

Rivka is Avraham’s nephew’s daughter, which makes her Yitchak’s cousin. In the Torah portion Chaye Sarah, Avraham asks his servant Eliezer to return to Avraham’s birthplace (where Betuel and Rivka reside) to find a wife for Yitzchak.

Eliezer stops in the evening at a well where women come to draw water. He begins to ask G-d for a sign so he can find the right woman. Before Eliezer finishes his prayer, Rivka appears at the well.  “And the maiden was of very comely appearance, a virgin, and no man had been intimate with her.” (Bereishit 24:16) Most commentators say that by now Rivka is 14 years old and Yitzchak is 40; other interpretations put forth that she is a three-year-old.

Rivka fills her pitcher and Eliezer asks for a drink, which she provides. “And she finished giving him to drink and she said, ‘I will also draw for your camels.’” (Bereishit 24:19) The Midrash (Bereishit Rabbah 60:5) says that the well water miraculously rises to fill Rivka’s bucket.

When the ten camels finish drinking, Eliezer gives Rivka a gold nose-ring and two gold bracelets. Only then does he ask who her father is and if there is room in her father’s house for him to spend the night. She tells him she is Betuel’s daughter and that there is room. Then she runs ahead to tell her mother. Meanwhile, her brother, Lavan (Laban), sees that Eliezer is wealthy and sets his sights on Eliezer’s fortune. Anticipating a monotheistic guest, he removes idols from the house (Kehot Chumash.)

The Midrash (Bereishit Rabbah 60: 7-9) describes what happens when Eliezer meets Rivka’s family. The Midrashic account points out the moral differences between the families: Rivka's family tries to poison Eliezer! (An angel switches the bowls and Eliezer lives.) When presented with the opportunity to leave her family, Rivka does not hesitate, even though she would go against her family’s will. “And they [her family] summoned Rivka, and they said to her, ‘Will you go with this man?’ And she said, ‘I will go.’” (Bereishit 24:58)

Eliezer, Rivka and Rivka’s nursemaid Devorah return to Canaan. It is shortly before sunset and Yitzchak is in the field saying his afternoon prayers. Rivka is overwhelmed by Yitzchak’s aura of holiness (Kehot Chumash.) “And Rivka lifted her eyes, and saw Yitzchak, and she let herself down from the camel. And she said to the servant, ‘Who is that man walking in the field towards us?’ And the servant said, ‘He is my master.’ And she took the veil and covered herself.” (Bereishit 24:64-65)

The Netziv in Haamek Davar writes that Rivka covers up “out of reverence and shame, as if she realized she is not worthy of being his wife.” He goes on to say that this initial interaction shapes how Rivka communicates with Yitzchak throughout their marriage.  She is “not like Sarah with Avraham or Rachel with Yaakov, who felt equal to their husbands and never feared to confront them with complaints or criticism.”

Writes Rivka Zakutinsky in Finding the Woman of Valor: “Sarah was direct. Having been raised among royalty, she was used to being heeded. Rivka’s family was different. She was born in the house of the trickster Lavan and she therefore knew how to keep the peace through deliberate discretion, avoiding confrontation with her husband.”

Mrs. Zakutinsky comments on the couple’s first meeting. “This…was by no means a case of love at first sight. Yitzchak only saw camels from a distance and by the time he approached, Rivka was veiled…and apparently this act of modesty was a sign she was worthy to enter the tent of his mother.”

“And Yitzchak brought her to the tent of Sarah his mother, and he took Rivka, and she became his wife, and he loved her. And Yitzchak was comforted for [the loss of] his mother.” (Bereishit 24: 67) 

Writes Mrs. Dina Coopersmith on aish.com: “The text emphasizes that after Yitzchak marries her [Rivka], he then loves her. The more he gets to know her, the more she gains his love and respect. Rivka’s feelings of inferiority are her own, not encouraged or shared by Yitzchak.”

The Midrash (Bereishit Rabbah 60:16) relates that when Rivka enters the tent, all three of the miracles attributed to Sarah resume: the candles burn all week; the challah bread stays fresh all week and eating only a small piece provides satiety; and G-d’s presence, the Shechina, hovers in a cloud over the tent. These miracles relate to the three mitzvot (commandments) directed to Jewish women: lighting Shabbat candles; baking and “taking” challah (reserving a small piece before baking for a special blessing); and bringing G-d’s presence and holiness into the home through observing the laws of family purity (mikvah). 

http://www.aish.com/jl/b/women/Women_in_the_Bible_Rivka.html

http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/rebekah-midrash-and-aggadah