What would you say is the most important Mitzvah? Would you say it’s Shabbat, or perhaps the Holidays? Honouring your parents or being kind to all people?
What interesting to note, is that while these are very important, they are summed up in the Torah in a mere line or two each, with many of their intricate laws not even written clearly in the Torah, rather passed down through oral tradition.
On the other hand, we find that in this week’s Torah portion we are told at great length all the details and miracles involved when Avraham’s servant Eliezer went to find a match for his son Yitzchak. We are told how he travelled to Charan, the city Avraham instructed him to go to and find a girl from his brother’s family. When he got there, we are told how he prayed for a sign to find the right girl and then how his prayers are answered. The Torah then elaborates on the whole back and forth discussion with her parents and even repeats the entire story as part of Eliezer’s speech to her parents.
So why is it that while some of the most fundamental parts of the Torah are written in just one line or even one word, the story of the marriage of Yitzchak and Rivka spans an entire portion repeated twice?
The answer is that this story teaches us what the Torah is truly all about.
The marriage of Yitzchak and Rivka was not just a union of two souls, but a union of two worlds. Yitzchak was at the ultimate level of holiness attainable during life; he had allowed himself to be bound to the Altar prepared to sacrifice his life for G-d. Rivka grew up in a pagan land; her parents worshipped gold, silver and physical comfort above all else. Through the trusted servant Eliezer, she was able to break free of her surrounding and enter in a blessed union with Yitzchak from which the Jewish people were born.
That is why this story is so important because it sums up the purpose of the entire Torah and by extension the story of our lives. Just like Eliezer some many years ago bridged that gap between the worlds of Yitzchak and Rivkah, we are here to bridge the gap between the material and the spiritual. When we take our hard-earned money and instead of spending it on ourselves we use it to do a favour for someone else, we have made it something special. When we take a few minutes in the morning to pray to G-d that he should bless us with a successful day, then we have elevated that entire day.