Parshas Chayei Sarah
The Gift That Keeps on Hinting1
The man took a golden nose ring weighing a beka, and two gold bracelets
on her arms, ten gold shekels was their weight.
Rashi: Beka, because it alluded to the mitzvah of machtzis ha-shekel, which
is described by the Torah as “beka lagulgoless{2}.”
Rashi finds it necessary to explain away the beka as a symbol, rather than
something significant in its own right, because it grates on what seems to
be the plain intent of the verse. The Torah appears to depict Eliezer’s gift
as a large one. The bracelets, indeed, were formidable at ten shekels. A
beka, however, is literally a small fraction of that, since it is identical
to a half a shekel. Its value must have been in its symbolic representation.
Eliezer made his point subliminally. He wished to say something about the
people that would ensue from the union he planned to bring about between
Rivka and Yitzchok. Their progeny would merit involvement with true avodah.
(The machtzis ha-shekel will appear later in two forms that are connected to
avodah: as the adanim, the support bases for the kerashim, and as the annual
contribution of every Jew to finance the offerings in the mikdosh throughout
the year.)
We need not assume that Rivka understood the meaning of the allusion.
Paraphrasing the gemara{3} in a different context, “even though she did not
understand, her representative angel understood. Thus, Eliezer’s message
impacted her on some unconscious level.
Just what was the message? Chazal tell us{4} that the world stands on
three things: Torah, avodah, and chesed. Eliezer was witness to her
outstanding accomplishment in chesed. He meant to inform her that her chesed
made it appropriate for her to achieve the other two pillars, which are
related to chesed and flow from it. Because of her chesed, she would be a
suitable match for Yitzchok and his superlative avodah. Between the two of
them, they could produce a Yaakov, the one who would “dwell in tents” {5}
and study Torah. (The beka symbolized avodah, as we said before; the two
bracelets represented the two tablets of the Aseres Hadibros.)
Moreover, avodah and Torah would follow along from chesed not only because
of their organic connection. Klal Yisrael would, of necessity, need to
possess all three. The avos serve as a foundation for all of the world. If
the world rests on three pillars, then those pillars needed to have been in
the firm possession of the avos. In the course of time, the children would
carry on the work of the avos; they too, would need to possess all three.
Eliezer hinted to Rivka that by becoming one of the matriarchs, she would
play a role in creating a people that would, of necessity, lay claim to
Torah, avodah, and chesed.
The allusion to the half-shekel of the yearly korbanos conveys an additional
message. Hashem authored a complex system of offerings to cover a gamut of
Jewish misdeeds. Why? The apparent explanation is that He values the purity
and elevation of each Jewish soul, and created an elaborate system of
offerings to safeguard and preserve the integrity of each soul by providing
ample opportunities for atonement. The beka, therefore, alludes to the
perfection of the soul – just as the reference to Torah (by way of the two
bracelets) alludes to the perfection of the intellect.
1. Based on Gur Aryeh, Bereishis 24:22
2. Shemos 38:26
3. Megilah 3A
4. Avos 1:2
5. Bereishis 25:27
