Sara - As the first matriarch of the Jewish People, Sara Imenu fully understood the significance of that role and how obviously crucial it was for her to bring at least one viable child into the world in order to give continuity to Hashem's nation. Her life until that point was in her eyes inconsequential. The first posuk in this week's parsha is
"ויהיו חיי שרה מאה שנה ועשרים שנה ושבע שנים... " What was truly important in those 127 years? Only the 37 years that she was a mother. ויהיו is gematriya 37
Eliezer - remember him? I wrote about him 2 weeks ago as being the ideal recipient and transmitter of the teachings of Avraham Avenu. In this week's parsha, where even though so much narration covers his accepting and carrying out the vital mission from his master to find a mate for Yitzchak Avenu, we don't see his name mentioned once. No personal glory or agendas for him. His whole persona could simply be defined as the posuk says, "servant of Avraham"; עבד אברהם. But he is only referred to as האיש or plain עבד until his mission is successful. At that point he has realized his tachlis as עבד אברהם which is gematriya Eliezer (with the letters)
Avraham - When a person really wants something he doesn't walk, he runs. And thus the connection in Hebrew between רצון and לרוץ -to run. So too Avraham Avenu was especially known for his זריזות and speed with which he served Hashem. A few parshiot ago the posuk said ואל הבקר רץ אברהםת and to the cattle ran Avraham. Even the simple pshat shows us that he ran to fulfill the mitzvah of hachnasat orchim in first class style (even though he was 99 years old and recovering from his bris milah). But if we look closer at the word הבקר we can find a number of things that Avraham ran to. הבקר is the same word HaBoker- the morning, which stands for Shacharit, the tefilah that Avrham established. הבקר is the same letters as הקבר -the grave; which chazal tell us by the way that in chasing this cow was heaven's way of leading Avraham to מערת המכפלה, which he worked so hard at in our parsha to extract from Efron. הבקר is the same letters as הקרב-the battle; standing for the unhesitating way that Avraham went to battle the 4 kings to rescue Lote. And finally הבקר is the same letters as רבקה - the zivug of his son Yitzchak, the securing of which so concerned Avraham in his latter days so as to ensure the propagation of the Jewish people.
May we each be zoche to find our defining moments and live up to our full potential.
Good Shabbos
Steve
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