Chayye Sarah
Gen. 23:1-25:18
Précis: The parasha begins with the counting of the life of Sarah (chayye Sarah) and with her death. It continues with a detailed description of the purchase of the cave of Machpela by Abraham for a family burial site. Abraham orders his servant to go to Abraham’s ancestral home to obtain a wife for Isaac, and after a series of fulfilled signs, the servant finds Rebecca. Rebecca returns with the servant; she and Isaac meet, fall in love at first sight, and become man and wife. The parasha ends with the death of Abraham, and his burial by Isaac and Ishmael in the family plot.
Gen. 24:12 “Eternal One, God of my master Abraham, please bring me luck today, and do a kindness for my master Abraham.”
We’ve all see those television commercials where groups of sports fans engage in a range of improbable and unusual superstitious acts in the hope that their head rubbing or chanting in unison (or drinking a certain beer) will bring “good luck” to their favorite teams. Elizabeth Dunsker has written about the Jewish concepts of prayer and luck [Ten Minutes of Torah (11/14/11)], suggesting that we face a theological problem when contemplating good fortune (luck) with prayers of petition.
In the verse cited here, we find Eliezer praying to God for luck while on his mission to find a wife for Isaac. He seeks a sign that Isaac’s intended (“bashert”) can be identified, and even tells God exactly what the sign should be. This created controversy among the Sages, who feared that the story could be interpreted to mean that the trusted servant was engaging in prohibited divination or sorcery. Rashi calms those fears by suggesting that sorcery really only applies to situations where the outcome has no rational basis; here, the “test” prayed for is reasonable. Further, to suggest that Eliezer’s prayer for “luck” was improper would undermine the appropriateness of Rebecca’s selection as wife for Isaac.
We are, however, left with a question about the power of his prayer: does asking for a specific sign, and then acting on it, constitute sorcery, or is the prayer an expression of belief in the power of prayer and God’s omnipotence? Dunsker suggests that the fitness of Eliezer’s prayer has something to do with the fact that the prayer was on another’s behalf.
We commonly pray for the welfare of others (the misheberach for the ill is but one example), and there is indeed a powerful emotional impact on the entire congregation during such prayers. Are they efficacious? Do those who recover from illness do so because of the power of prayer, or because they are “lucky?”
As we approach Thanksgiving this year, we find a remarkably divided America still reeling from an unprecedented election. A recent poll by the Pew organization found that while 16% of all marriages in the United States today are interracial, only 9% of marriages are between Republicans and Democrats! We have rarely been so divided by our politics. On this Thanksgiving, my prayer will be one of thanks that we live in a country, under a constitution which protects our rights. I will also pray, like Eliezer, for luck for all of us.
