I fell in love… and fell off a camel!

I had always been fascinated by the story of how Rebecca reacted the first time she saw Isaac. Some English translations translate "va'tipol" as alighting from the camel, I translate this word as she fell off the camel. The visual of Rebecca actually falling off the camel  always appealed to me as a young girl when I first engaged with this text. Additionally, my hebrew name is Rivka/Rebecca so I have been called to write about Rebecca and her story. This is the first midrash I ever wrote.  Enjoy! 

 I fell in love… and fell off a camel!

The Original Order of the Verses in Bereshit/Genesis 24: 64-65

(סד) וַתִּשָּׂא רִבְקָה אֶת־עֵינֶיהָ וַתֵּרֶא אֶת־יִצְחָק וַתִּפֹּל מֵעַל הַגָּמָל: (סה) וַתֹּאמֶר אֶל־הָעֶבֶד מִי־הָאִישׁ הַלָּזֶה הַהֹלֵךְ בַּשָּׂדֶה לִקְרָאתֵנוּ וַיֹּאמֶר הָעֶבֶד הוּא אֲדֹנִי וַתִּקַּח הַצָּעִיף וַתִּתְכָּס:

(64) Raising her eyes, Rebekah saw Isaac. She fell from the camel (65) and said to the servant, “Who is that man walking in the field toward us?” And the servant said, “That is my master.” So she took her veil and covered herself.

The Reordering of the Verses for the Purposes of this Midrash

 וַתִּשָּׂא רִבְקָה אֶת־עֵינֶיהָ וַתֵּרֶא אֶת־יִצְחָק... וַתֹּאמֶר אֶל־הָעֶבֶד מִי־הָאִישׁ הַלָּזֶה הַהֹלֵךְ בַּשָּׂדֶה לִקְרָאתֵנוּ וַיֹּאמֶר הָעֶבֶד הוּא אֲדֹנִי ...וַתִּפֹּל מֵעַל הַגָּמָל...וַתִּקַּח הַצָּעִיף וַתִּתְכָּס:

Raising her eyes, Rebekah saw Isaac… and said to the servant, “Who is that man walking in the field toward us?” And the servant said, “That is my master.”… She fell from the camel… and she took her veil and covered herself.

I fell in love… and fell off a camel!

My family gave me a powerful blessing – the promise of Avraham – of continuity – of peoplehood – that was to flow through me and only me. As much as I love my immediate family, even I recognize that it is filled with those who practice deceit as easily as most draw breath. These are the ones who blessed me to create a people – can the source of a blessing turn it into a curse? Am I even worthy to be the wife of a tzaddik like Yitzchak? Or am I inherently evil as well? These are the thoughts that occupied my mind as I journeyed to meet my intended.

After a long while I lifted my eyes and saw a man walking across a field toward me. Even from where I sat on my camel I could see that he was the most beautiful man I had ever seen. He was glowing and there was an angel walking beside him. I asked the servant who is that man (ha-lazeh) and he informed me that it was my husband-to-be, Yitzchak.

Is it possible for one’s life to change forever in the space of just a few moments? At the very moment I fell in love I received a terrible vision from Gd. From this union, from my joining with my beloved, from me, a child would be born who would cause misery and injury to his brethren for thousands of generations!

Suddenly I could not breathe. The world began to spin around me. The next thing I knew I was falling from my camel. I quickly covered my face with my scarf so the servant would not notice my pale face, my distress… my panic. I took a breath and rose to meet my future.

Let me know if you are interested in the sources for this midrash and I will post them.

Shabbat Shalom.

Pray for Peace

Parshat Vayerah: Knowing Our Moral Compass and Speaking our Truth

            There are many lessons to be learned from Vayera, this week’s Torah Portion (Genesis 18:1 - 22:24). There is an unspeakable war raging in Israel and Gaza. One thing that jumped out at me as a Jew living in the Diaspora during this soul wrenching time is that we all must live and speak our truth and be ready to defend this truth when it is challenged. We must know ourselves and we must speak up. At the same time, we see daily that there are consequences in every country in the world right now to speaking our truth and living our values but that does not allow us to stop doing so. 

            Brief recap from a section of this week’s Torah portion: God hears a crying out from Sodom, one of 5 cities God ultimately destroys due to their embrace of evil. In Genesis 18:17-21 God wonders whether or not to share the intention of destroying Sodom with Abraham, a testament to the particular relationship between God and Abraham. We assume that God does share God’s plan because a couple of verses later we encounter the following exchange (Gen 18:22b-32): 

 

22b … Abraham remained standing before the Lord. 

23 Abraham came forward and said, "Will You sweep away the innocent along with the guilty? 24 What if there should be fifty innocent within the city; will You then wipe out the place and not forgive it for the sake of the innocent fifty who are in it? 25 Far be it from You to do such a thing, to bring death upon the innocent as well as the guilty, so that innocent and guilty fare alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?" 26 And the Lord answered, "If I find within the city of Sodom fifty innocent ones, I will forgive the whole place for their sake."

27 Abraham spoke up, saying, "Here I venture to speak to my Lord, I who am but dust and ashes: 28 What if the fifty innocent should lack five? Will You destroy the whole city for want of the five?" And He answered, "I will not destroy if I find forty-five there." 

29 But he spoke to Him again, and said, "What if forty should be found there?" And He answered, "I will not do it, for the sake of the forty."

30 And he said, "Let not my Lord be angry if I go on: What if thirty should be found there?" And He answered, "I will not do it if I find thirty there." 

31 And he said, "I venture again to speak to my Lord: What if twenty should be found there?" And He answered, "I will not destroy, for the sake of the twenty." 

32 And he said, "Let not my Lord be angry if I speak but this last time: What if ten should be found there?" And He answered, "I will not destroy, for the sake of the ten."

 

            What an amazing exchange! Abraham, a mere human, has the audacity, the chutzpah to challenge the Supernatural All-Powerful God of the Torah.  Not just to challenge to but to scold and bargain to boot – all in the name of saving innocent lives. The rabbis teach that the reason we are descended from Abraham and not from Noah is this very moment. Abraham actuated his morals and values and went to bat with God for innocent people that he did not even know while Noah did not even pray to save those that he did know.  

                        In the end, God could not locate 10 innocents in Sodom. God rains fire upon Sodom, Gomorrah and 3 neighboring cities known for having a skewed moral compass, for being evil, for endangering the poor and the stranger and anyone who tried to help them. 

            What was Abraham feeling right before and during that exchange? Fear? Moral indignation? Resignation that his personality was such that he must do what he must do, consequences be damned? I can’t even begin to discuss where his faith comes into all of this. In the end, though, we will never know what he was thinking and feeling. The best we can do is figure out how we would feel and act in a similar circumstance – or perhaps recall how we have felt and acted when we stood up for what’s right. When we spoke our truth. When we have lived our values. 

            Is this what our fellow Jews are feeling worldwide as they stand up for life, tolerance, safety, the gift of being Jewish and the right of our homeland to exist? Is this how those who are working to free those innocent hostages – the adults, the elderly, the children, the babies! – are feeling right now? 

            My blessing for each of us this Shabbat is that we are able to recognize our values and to speak our truth. We can speak aloud; we can speak softly. I used to thing that there is no right or wrong way to speak, to declare our truth but I was wrong. The wrong way is to be silent. I am in no way saying every one of us must shout and protest. But we must be honest enough with ourselves to identify and own exactly what is our truth and how do we bring it out into the world. Therefore, the key is to know our moral compass, and, for those who are able, to speak our truth and accept the outcomes of that action. All the while knowing, from Pirke Avot 2:16, ֹא עָלֶיךָ הַמְּלָאכָה לִגְמֹר, וְלֹא אַתָּה בֶן חוֹרִין לִבָּטֵל מִמֶּנָּהל - that even if we personally cannot impact the outcomes of events, that does not mean we are allowed to desist from trying. 

             

עם ישראל חי!

 

Note: This Dvar was originally written in 2020 but has been updated to reflect things I’ve been feeling/thinking about as the war in Israel and Gaza and the rise in hatred for Jews and the right of Israel to exist rages world wide as well as here in America, particularly on our college campuses. I can't help wondering if I am doing enough.