Dear Friends,
In this week’s Torah portion Abraham mourns the death of his beloved Sarah and then, knowing that the future of our people relies upon him doing so, sets out to find a partner for his son Isaac. He tasks his servant Eliezer with the job. Eliezer sets out and devises a plan to determine if the individual he meets would make an appropriate spouse for Isaac.
Eliezer says to Abraham,
“And it will come to pass, that the individual to whom I will say, “Let down your pitcher, I pray you, that I may drink”; and she will say, “Drink, and I will give your camels drink also,” she will be the one that You have appointed for your servant Isaac; and thereby will I know that you have showed kindness to my master. (24:14)
One of the early Hasidic masters read this passage and noted,
Eliezer was trying to find a woman who excelled in every area, whereas this test only proved that she had a good heart. How, then, did Eliezer know that the woman’s other qualities would also be superior?
He then references a teaching from the small section of the Talmud known as Pirke Avot—Ethics of the Fathers—which states,
[The teacher] said to them:
Go out and see which is the straight path that a man should cling to.
Rabbi Eliezer said: A good eye.
Rabbi Yehoshua says: A good friend.
Rabbi Yossi says: A good neighbor.
Rabbi Shimon says: to see what is born (out of one’s actions). Rabbi Elazar says: A good heart.
[The teacher] said to them: I see the words [as better than] all of yours, for his words include all of yours.
(–Pirke Avot Chapter 2 Mishnah)
Eliezer saw Rebecca’s kindness and knew that countless other positive qualities would flow from it and in the process inspire others to act likewise. That was enough for him to know with certainty that she was the right individual to help create the future of the Jewish people.
In a world that is increasingly harsh, impatient and divided, a good heart is more important than ever. For when we lead with the heart we see and act in the world with greater kindness. And when we do that we can, like Rebecca, inspire others to do the same.
This weekend why not make time to do a few random acts of kindness? The goodness you show may seem small to you but you never know the ripple effects of goodness you initiate when you do.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Daniel Cohen