The following is a brief summary of a thought said over by R' Frand in his shiur this evening. I have attempted to reproduce this vort to the best of my ability. Any perceived inconsistencies are the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Frand.
In Bereishis 24:1, the Torah recites "V'Avrahahm zakein ba bayamim..." which is translated as "Now Avraham was old, well on in years..." The Midrash states in the name of R' Yehudah, that Avraham is the first person who was called old in the Torah. He explains that Avraham requested from Hashem that he be allowed to bear the physical characteristics of his age because people could not tell the difference between him and Yitzchak as they both appeared to be the same age. Avraham reasoned that in order to allow people to show the older individual the proper respect, the human being should be permitted to show characteristics of age in order to make it obvious who was senior. The Midrash concludes that Hashem agreed with Avraham and permitted this change in the teva.
R' Frand commented that in the current era, people spend billions of dollars (collectively) in an effort to avoid showing their age - from buying hair coloring agents to botox. He also mentioned in the name of R' Shimshon Pincus that even in the frum community one can see that age is protected as the elders from Europe were called the Alter M'Slobodka or the Alter M'Kelem, but in Israel they were not called the Zaken M'Kelem. Rather, the titles given were the Sabba M'Kelem to avoid the branding of age. [Ed. Note - Our connection to the host site failed at this point and I missed a few moments]
R' Frand then explained that to Avraham, age was not something to be ashamed of as he wore his senior status as a badge of honor. He explained that one who is proud of what he has achieved in life does not seek to hide his age. Only someone who feels that he has not yet accomplished what he needs to do, seeks to prevent a showing of his true age in order to give the impression that he has more time left to make something of his life. Avraham did not have this problem.
The second vort of the evening involved Avraham's instructions to Eliezer about choosing a wife for Yitzchak. In Bereishis 24:3, Avraham tells Eliezer that he wants him to swear by Hashem the G-d of the heavens and the earth that Eliezer will not take a wife for Yitzchak from the daughters of Canaan. Later in 24:7, Avraham again talks to Eliezer about Hashem, however he merely says Hashem of the heavens who took me from my homeland.
Rashi on 24:7 explains that Avraham is telling Eliezer in the latter pasuk that he has made Hashem the G-d of the earth because the people of the world did not know who Hashem was, but Avraham introduced the concept of monotheism and brought people to recognize Hashem.
R' Dov Weinberger in his sefer Shemen Hatov asks - why did Avraham need to invoke that Hashem was the G-d of the earth when giving instructions to Eliezer? He answers, that Avraham was trying to impress on Eliezer that when going to find a mate, it is vital to have the assistance of Hashem of the heavens and the earth. It is well documented in shas (and apparent in our daily lives) that it is difficult to make shidduchim. To underscore this point, Avraham says to Eliezer, you need to make sure that you have the assistance of Hashem of the earth in your quest to find a bride for my son.
If you have seen this post being carried on another site such as JBlog, please feel free to click here to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up!
In Bereishis 24:1, the Torah recites "V'Avrahahm zakein ba bayamim..." which is translated as "Now Avraham was old, well on in years..." The Midrash states in the name of R' Yehudah, that Avraham is the first person who was called old in the Torah. He explains that Avraham requested from Hashem that he be allowed to bear the physical characteristics of his age because people could not tell the difference between him and Yitzchak as they both appeared to be the same age. Avraham reasoned that in order to allow people to show the older individual the proper respect, the human being should be permitted to show characteristics of age in order to make it obvious who was senior. The Midrash concludes that Hashem agreed with Avraham and permitted this change in the teva.
R' Frand commented that in the current era, people spend billions of dollars (collectively) in an effort to avoid showing their age - from buying hair coloring agents to botox. He also mentioned in the name of R' Shimshon Pincus that even in the frum community one can see that age is protected as the elders from Europe were called the Alter M'Slobodka or the Alter M'Kelem, but in Israel they were not called the Zaken M'Kelem. Rather, the titles given were the Sabba M'Kelem to avoid the branding of age. [Ed. Note - Our connection to the host site failed at this point and I missed a few moments]
R' Frand then explained that to Avraham, age was not something to be ashamed of as he wore his senior status as a badge of honor. He explained that one who is proud of what he has achieved in life does not seek to hide his age. Only someone who feels that he has not yet accomplished what he needs to do, seeks to prevent a showing of his true age in order to give the impression that he has more time left to make something of his life. Avraham did not have this problem.
The second vort of the evening involved Avraham's instructions to Eliezer about choosing a wife for Yitzchak. In Bereishis 24:3, Avraham tells Eliezer that he wants him to swear by Hashem the G-d of the heavens and the earth that Eliezer will not take a wife for Yitzchak from the daughters of Canaan. Later in 24:7, Avraham again talks to Eliezer about Hashem, however he merely says Hashem of the heavens who took me from my homeland.
Rashi on 24:7 explains that Avraham is telling Eliezer in the latter pasuk that he has made Hashem the G-d of the earth because the people of the world did not know who Hashem was, but Avraham introduced the concept of monotheism and brought people to recognize Hashem.
R' Dov Weinberger in his sefer Shemen Hatov asks - why did Avraham need to invoke that Hashem was the G-d of the earth when giving instructions to Eliezer? He answers, that Avraham was trying to impress on Eliezer that when going to find a mate, it is vital to have the assistance of Hashem of the heavens and the earth. It is well documented in shas (and apparent in our daily lives) that it is difficult to make shidduchim. To underscore this point, Avraham says to Eliezer, you need to make sure that you have the assistance of Hashem of the earth in your quest to find a bride for my son.
If you have seen this post being carried on another site such as JBlog, please feel free to click here to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up!
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