Eliezer and his 20/20 Vision – Parshas Chayey Sarah 5771
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Eliezer the servant of Avraham Avinu and the messenger to acquire the shidduch for Yitzchak relates his miraculous journey in how he came to Besual and Lavan. “I came today to the well” [24,42]. Rashi quotes the Chazal today I left and today I arrived. From here we learned that the earth jumped for him shortening his travel distance. What is the significance of this “fast lane” travel especially as it relates to the shidduch that he was seeking?
Our Chazal tells us that Eliezer was tremendously tested on this mission. He had what he considered a very suitable daughter for the shidduch of the next Gadol Hador. After all he was known as Damesek Eliezer which signified that he was the exclusive interpreter and amplifier of his Rebbi’s Torahs. He was an incredibly trusted servant to his master for Avraham signed over to him all his wealth to be the guardian for Yitzchak. His merits were bountiful for it was him alone that Avraham took along to battle the four mighty kings. So what could be wrong for Yitzchak to marry his daughter and have him as an illustrious shver? This underlying self interest could have easily misguided his mission to unconsciously manipulate it to doom and failure. However, Eliezer nevertheless overcame his personal ego and desires and made every possible super human effort to ensure his mission would be successful as his master requested. What could have easily become for Eliezer an almost insurmountable challenge of clouded and blurred vision of purpose, was diverted to evolve into a clear and unobstructed vision without any compromise or opaqueness.
To this personal victory over his inclination, Eliezer proudly proclaims I came today to the well. Ayin also means an eye. Eliezer was stating that by removing all self prejudice and personal motives from his mission he arrived at “the eye” the clarity of vision, the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth. He further adds on by saying I went out today and I came in today. In the deeper meaning, with this statement Eliezer reveals how he was able to subdue his natural self interests and place his master’s over his own personal agenda. Our Chazal say in Avos three things take a person out of this world jealousy, lust, and honor. Eliezer made a profound introspection on himself that perhaps these three fundamental shortcomings are distorting his clear vision of his mission. For all three have to do with the eye. Lust is brought about through the eye as Chazal state on the passuk lo sasuru acharei levavchem veacharei eineichem that the eyes see and the heart desires. Jealousy also is aroused by seeing someone else’s benefits whether it be physical material or even spiritual. The Maharal writes that the malaise of a tzar ayin, the individual who possesses a “narrow eye”, is that he is very stingy with granting kovod to others. For the source of desiring to receive and to give kovid is all in the eye, how he wants others to perceive him and also how he looks at others if they are deserving of his kovid to them.
All of these three are effected by the eye which is the spy for the ever hungry “I”. If they not corrected and set straight they can take a person out of this world. In a simplistic understanding this means that all three stem from gaavah haughtiness the feeling that one “deserves” better than his present situation and that what he desires is “coming to him”. Concerning gaavah our Chazal give us the insight that Hashem declares Me and the baal gaavah cannot dwell in the same world. Therefore, one who has anyone of these middos that follows the distortion of the eye and whose origin is in gaavah is considered as if he went out of the world – meaning the world in which Hashem dwells in. His I has removed him from Hashem’s presence.
Eliezer in his righteousness treated himself after a deep self analysis, as if he was truly affected with all three maladies of these middos to the point where they took him out of this world. He therefore immediately did teshuva and perfected all of them by nullifying his I and ego and brought himself back into this world with a corrected eye. This is alluded to in his statement I came to “the eye” by my self introspection of the three middos that take one out and in of this world. This is what he meant today I went out and today I came in. I have rid myself of any self interest. “Eved Avraham anochi” my entire anochi – I, is of the essence of eved Avraham and void of any interest of my own.
Twenty twenty vision is the perfect vision. The lashon hakodash of twenty is esrim which is gematria karais – the punishment of being cut off from Hashem. Karais commences only from twenty years old gematria esrim. But esrim also spells keser which means crown. Perfect vision means that one sees that Hashem is the king of kings 20/20, it is His world He sustains it at every millisecond and our I has to be nullified to fulfill His will alone. 20/20 vision means that one recognizes that the blueprint of the world was the Torah which is all contained in the fundamental Ten Commandments which contains keser [620] amount of words. The perfect vision is the Torah vision and that nature must fit into the Torah and not vice versa.
Testimony to his success of his personal victory over his middos was demonstrated by the “fast lane” of his journey. The mefarshim explain the passuk Hashamayim shamayim lahashem vehaaretz naasan livnai adam as follows: Hashem made the heavens heaven [spiritual], and the earth He gave to man to make into shamayim [spiritual]. The mission of man is to transform this earth into shamayim. The Medrash explains that the shamayim symbolizes the head and intellect of man while the aretz symbolizes the heart the middos and emotions. The purpose of man is to negate his heart to his head, subjugate his emotions and middos to his intellect. Eliezer was called an “eved maskil” one who successfully accomplished this feat as evidenced by ensuring a successful mission for the shidduch of Yitzchak. When one elevates earth to heaven then his earth that he walks on takes on a spiritual quality. The earth earned its name eretz from the word ratz which means to hurry and run, for it ran to fulfill the wish of its creator. When man negates his earth to his heaven, it then brings out the spiritual quality of the earth which is to hurry and to quicken hence to shorten the distance of normal travel. Eliezer’s introspection of “today I left the world and today I came back” into the world merited him the shortening of his journey.
If we closely at the words of the Baal Shem Tov we can see a hinting to our interpretation. He explained that the holy “name” that causes the earth to jump is found in the acronym of the first passuk of the Torah in the words es hashamayim vees haaretz the letters of אהוה These letters are the identical acronym of the words ואבוא היום אל העין I came today to the well. The difference between the two is that in Eliezer’s statement the acronym is almost completely backwards. In the light of what we explained the words of the Baal Shem Tov illuminates how Eliezer merited for the miraculous shortening of his trip? The answer is that this secret lies in one’s negating his aretz to shamayim by taking his aretz - middos, his I and eye, and transforming them into shamayim, subjugating them to his intellect to his neshama.
Now we see how the passuk and the derashos of Chazal brought in Rashi all support this one concept of Eliezer’s personal achievements during this mission. By doing a chesbon hanefesh to ensure the success of his mission so not to allow the interference of personal gains, he went out and in this world by fixing what he considered a shortcoming in his three middos of kinah, taavah, and kovod. By doing so, he was able to arrive at “the ayin” a true unadulterated clarity of vision. His tremendous self effacement and self scrutiny for absolute truth was made evident by the miracle of his supernatural shortened travel time and distance. He was one of those who successfully brought his aretz to shamayim
Chazal say that Eliezer is the guard standing in front of the Meoras Hamachpeila not to allow anyone to enter. This befittingly is his resting place amongst the avos hakedoshim. For Chevron is the city as it name suggests that connects the heavens and the earth. Machpaila means double for it possesses a double quality of both earth and heaven together. All the neshamos on their way to Gan Eden pass through this cave on their journey to bask in the light of the Shechinah. Eliezer with this mission earned this prestigious status during his lifetime that he merited that even after death his body could be both on earth and shamayim. 20/20 VISION!
Gut Shabbos
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Rabbi Shmuel Brazil, the Rosh HaYeshiva of Yeshivas Zeev HaTorah in Yerushalayim, and composer of “Regesh”, has been a Rebbi in Yeshiva Shor Yoshuv for over three decades, during which he has taught and shaped the lives of hundreds of talmidim. His new sefer Bishvili Nivra Haolam is now available in sefarim stores. It has over 400 pages with detailed indexes on the parshiyos, topics, and Yomim Tovim. It’s is, as the title suggests, a handbook of incredible chizuk interwoven with derush, remez, sod and stories to guide and help each person in realizing his unique individuality and thereby complete his mission on this earth. Don’t shortchange yourself going through life without bringing out that extraordinary potential and talents that you alone possess, and that can deliver to you that special deep gratifying feeling of accomplishment in avodas Hashem and personal growth. This sefer will greatly empower you and change the way you look at yourself, the immediate people in your surroundings and the world at large. It has haskamos from Rav Jaeger, Rav Moshe Wolfson, Rav Gamliel Rabinowitz, Rav Chaim Kohen of Toldos Aron and Rav Shimon Susholtz ‘shlitas”.
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Categories: Chumash, Hashkafah, Inspiration, Parshas Chayei Sarah
