Eliezer's Humility: Walking in Darkness, Lit by Hashem

1The Midrash on this parshah (Bereishis Rabbah 60:1) says: “‘And he said: Hashem, God of my master Avraham, please make it happen before me today’ (Bereishis 24:12). ‘Who among you fears Hashem’ (Yeshayahu 50:10): this is Eliezer. ‘Who heeds the voice of His servant’: the voice of Avraham, who was a servant of the Holy One, blessed be He, and so on. ‘Who has walked in darkness’: when he went to bring Rivkah. ‘And has no light’: who lit the way for him? The Holy One, blessed be He. ‘Let him trust in the Name of Hashem and lean upon his God’: ‘And he said... please make it happen before me today.’”

2aThe Midrash may be explained by way of avodas Hashem, following what we said above (section 3) on Rashi's words on the verse “Hashem, God of the heavens” (Bereishis 24:7): “He did not say ‘and God of the earth.’... He said: Now He is God of the heavens and God of the earth, but when He took me from my father's house, He was God of the heavens and not God of the earth.” At first glance Rashi's words are puzzling. Does it not say, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Bereishis 1:1)? But we have already explained at length that this was the error of the ancient nations, who said that the Creator watches only over the upper realms. In their mistaken view, even if they were willing to admit that His divinity is revealed to man too, it would be only to a righteous man, as we wrote above. Then Avraham Avinu came and taught the whole world the way of truth and the light of knowledge, to know Hashem. He said, “Behold, I have begun to speak to my Master, though I am dust and ashes” (Bereishis 18:27). This was his stance: from my side I am dust and ashes, a servant, and the King, the Creator, is the Master.

2bFor even from the earth we can speak to You. With this I strengthen myself: in His great mercy He watches over the lowest of the low and raises him to the heights. Avraham made Hashem's divinity and providence known in the world, as Chazal say (Sotah 10a–b; Bereishis Rabbah 49)¹. Avraham Avinu would take in passersby, and when they had eaten he would tell them, “Bless the God of the world, whose food you have eaten.” For He watches over the upper and the lower beings, and “the eyes of Hashem are in every place” (Mishlei 15:3). “A light shone in the darkness for the upright” (Tehillim 112:4): he made the light of Da'as shine for the upright of heart. This is “I will make you swear by Hashem, Elokei haShamayim v'Elokei haAretz, God of the heavens and God of the earth” (Bereishis 24:3), whose initials form the Name of Da'as, as is known. He gave Da'as, understanding, to every person in the state in which he stood, to weigh himself on the scales of his mind and the balance of judgment. That is Da'as: knowing one's own state. A person who has merited to feel in his soul a tiny bit of holy wisdom, and imagines that he is very close to the light of the face of the King of life, should know in his soul that he is very far from the very gate of holiness. He still stands outside the threshold of the courtyard, at the entrance of the tent, in the “antechamber before the banquet hall” (Avos 4:16).

3aAnd one who has sinned, who takes his many corrupt deeds to heart until his heart is “like wax melted within” him (Tehillim 22:15) at seeing how far he has drifted from the light of the face of the King of life, should still not tell himself, “It is hopeless.” Let him strengthen himself, knowing that he has not, Heaven forbid, been cast away, for the door of teshuvah is still open before him. If he cries out to Hashem and sighs one sigh from the depth of his heart, Hashem will listen to him, for He is gracious, and He will raise him to the eternal light. As David HaMelech said, “If I make my bed in She'ol, You are there” (Tehillim 139:8): even if I am, Heaven forbid, in She'ol, You are there, through one sigh from the depth of the heart. And this is “From the depths I have called You, Hashem” (Tehillim 130:1). Even if I sink, Heaven forbid, to the lowest of the ten depths, from there I call You, Hashem, “for You hear the prayer of every mouth.” Our eyes look to You alone, and in His great mercy He will lift us up from the refuse heap of our poverty [cf. Tehillim 113:7].

3bFrom the brokenness of his heart over his distance from the light of the face of the King of life, he merits to draw near and cleave to the light of the Infinite One. This is the meaning of “Now He is God of the heavens and God of the earth”: even lowly people know the truth, that the Creator in His great mercy watches over them, and if one speaks even from the earth, his prayer rises to the height of the heavens. But “when He took me from my father's house,” He was only “God of the heavens,” for people said that His glory is upon the heavens alone, as explained above.

4aEliezer, Avraham's servant, was a Canaanite, and it is the nature of the nations not to make themselves small and humble themselves. As Chazal say (Chullin 89a), “‘For you are the fewest’ (Devarim 7:7): because you make yourselves small, not like Pharaoh or Nebuchadnezzar,” and so on. Even so, Eliezer was a faithful servant and the disciple of Avraham Avinu, and he learned from him the trait of humility, “I am dust and ashes.” This is what the Midrash says: “‘Who among you fears Hashem’: this is Eliezer; ‘who heeds the voice of His servant’: the voice of Avraham.” As Chazal say, “Eliezer Dammesek of his house” (Bereishis 15:2) means that he “drew and gave others to drink” of his master's Torah [Yoma 28b], that is, he humbled himself before his master. “Who has walked in darkness”: when he went to bring Rivkah. Eliezer knew the holiness and precious worth of Yitzchak Avinu, and knew how low his own worth was by comparison; in his own eyes he was nothing at all. He thought: Who am I to be the messenger who brings about this match? Is this to come about through me?

4b“And has no light” refers to the humility he learned from his master, as explained above. In the merit of his humility he merited “ein, no, light to him.” By the power of his humility he aroused mercy from the holy upper world called Ayin, “Nothingness.” It is a level higher than high, hidden from every eye, which no thought can grasp at all, as is known [Tikkunei Zohar, Introduction]. That was the light for him. As the Midrash says, “Who lit the way for him? The Holy One, blessed be He, lit it for him.” This was because he “trusted in the Name of Hashem and leaned upon his God,” and not on himself. That is why Eliezer said, “Please make it happen (hakreh) before me”: as if by chance (akrai), not by my own worth. Only by Your kindness, Hashem, bring it about for me: make my way succeed, and bring about a fitting match for Yitzchak, to bring forth the generations of Israel. And “before me” (lefanai) means: in the merit of the great mercy, which belongs to the innermost level called Lifnai, as is known. Therefore, please let this come about even through the least of men, Avraham's servant.

5This is what the Midrash says further on: “‘A wise servant’: this is Eliezer.” That is, he was a servant with Da'as, understanding. “And what was his wisdom? He said: The curse of that man [Canaan] is already upon me. Perhaps some Cushite will come and enslave me. Better for me to be enslaved in this house.” That is: from my own side I have no life at all. The power of my life is that I am attached to that tzaddik, to the true life. Better for me, then, to be enslaved in this house.² “He will rule over a son who shames, who shamed the whole world,” and so on: through his true humility he ruled over the son who shames, for he merited to bring Yitzchak his true match. “And among brothers he will share an inheritance”: through his humility he knew that all this came to him only as an inheritance, as the Aramaic expression has it, “he inherits it.” For “Hashem will not forsake His people, nor abandon His inheritance” (Tehillim 94:14). Even a bad son inherits, as Chazal say (Kesubos 53a)³: “Do not be among those who transfer an inheritance, even from a bad son to a good son.” And through his humility he merited to share in his inheritance.

6aWe have already said that the holiness of Shabbos also comes as an inheritance, “he inherits it,” not because of our preparation and our deeds, but only through the holiness of Hashem's Name. As we say, “who gives rest as an inheritance to His people Israel, in His holiness, on the holy Shabbos day”: as an inheritance, by the power of the holiness of the Giver, Hashem. “In His holiness,” precisely, and not from our side. To receive the holiness of Shabbos a very great preparation is needed. But who can prepare himself to go out and greet the Shabbos Queen? Yet when a person begins to enter the holiness of Shabbos, he reflects on all his conduct during the six workdays. And especially when he sees how fierce the darkness is before Shabbos, he becomes humbled and lowly. For before the wondrous light of Shabbos's holiness appears and shines, the darkness grows strong in all its force, as the holy Arizal wrote. In the merit of this humility he merits to feel the light and the wondrous taste of the holiness of Shabbos.

6bAs the Mishnah says, “On Erev Shabbos as it grows dark” (Shabbos 34a). The preparation for Shabbos is the humility that comes from the darkness before Shabbos, and through it a person merits erev Shabbos, the sweetness (arev) of Shabbos. Through keeping Shabbos one merits “an inheritance without boundaries” (Shabbos 118a): without any boundary or fence that holds him back, interrupts him or separates him from ascending “the mountain of Hashem” (Tehillim 24:3). This is what the holy Zohar says on this parshah⁴: “‘Toward evening, the time when the women who draw water go out’ (Bereishis 24:11): ‘toward evening’ is the sixth day, Erev Shabbos.” Perhaps this hints at what we said: Eliezer's preparation for Avraham's mission was like a person's preparation for Shabbos.

7This is what Chazal said in this parshah (Bereishis Rabbah 60:8). R' Acha said: “The conversation of the Avos' servants is finer than the Torah of their children,” and so on. Even though Eliezer “drew and gave others to drink” of his master's Torah, as Chazal read “Dammesek Eliezer,” he still spoke with great humility. He said that his whole being and greatness came only from being a servant of the Avos, attached to “the pure one,” Avraham. As Chazal say (Midrash Tanchuma, Chukas): “‘Who can bring a pure thing out of an impure one? Not one!’ (Iyov 14:4): this is Avraham.” And whatever is attached to the pure is pure. This is what the Midrash says further on: “‘Among brothers’: among Israel. Just as they invoke the merit of the Avos, I too invoke the merit of the Avos.” For all our prayer is in the merit of the Avos, and the first blessing of Shemoneh Esrei corresponds to Avraham, as is known. And Eliezer too prayed only in the merit of “my master Avraham.”

8a“And do kindness with my master Avraham” (Bereishis 24:12): “You began: complete!” These words of the Midrash are healing medicine for the Jewish soul. They speak to people who have walked in darkness, the darkness of lacking Da'as, who say: “If a soul has sinned” and drifted far from the light of the face of the King of life, there is no longer any cure or remedy for its sickness, for He does not watch over the lowly, over people like me. About this Chazal told us, “You began: complete!” From the beginning of a person's existence you can judge the end. This follows the teaching of Chazal (Avos 3:1): “Consider three things... know where you came from.” “Look to the rock from which you were hewn, to the pit⁵” (Yeshayahu 51:1): where you came from, from something despised and loathsome. Yet the Creator, Master of all generations, brings being out of nothing and breathes a living soul into it. Without the flow of His power and life it could not exist or endure for even one moment.

8bFrom this beginning, since you too admit that He watches over everything, even the lowest of the low, you can judge the end: afterward too He watches over the lowest of the low. So let no one say to himself, “It is hopeless.” This is the meaning of the verse “who has walked in darkness and has no (ein) light”: the ein, the nothingness hinted at in “know from where (me'ayin) you came,” lights up the darkness of his heart. Then he will not be saddened, nor caught in the trap and net of the yetzer hara, which saddens him and casts him down to the ground. Let him rather strengthen himself and take courage, and trust in Hashem and His salvation, for He has mercy on all. “And You, Hashem, will light my lamp” [cf. Tehillim 18:29].

9“And do kindness with my master Avraham.” “Everyone needs kindness, even Avraham, for whose sake kindness rolls through the world” (Bereishis Rabbah 60:2). This is as we wrote at the beginning: even when a person reaches great levels, he needs Hashem's kindness to merit the light of true Da'as, so that he knows how to draw near and cleave to the Creator. The closer he comes, the more he knows “the ultimate knowledge, that we do not know” [cf. Bechinas Olam]: that he is still far from the very essence of the inner light of holiness.

10aIn the same vein we can explain the holy words of the Ba'al Shem Tov, cited in the holy books, on “And I came today to the spring” (Bereishis 24:42). Rashi explains, “From here we learn that the earth leapt for him.” From this very verse a Name emerges for the leaping of the earth; see their words there. Following what we have said, we can add this. It is known that the Name of Da'as in its proper order is Alef-Heh-Vav-Heh. The initials of v'avo hayom el ha'ayin also hint at the Name of Da'as, but with Vav-Heh first. Chazal say (Sotah 5a) of the arrogant person, “I and he cannot dwell together.” The arrogant person cannot grasp Hashem's dwelling, I mean Hashem's exaltedness. But from true humility, from knowing his own lowliness, a person merits to know and grasp the exaltedness of Hashem. As David HaMelech said, “For Hashem is exalted, and the lowly will see” (Tehillim 138:6): the lowly one sees Hashem's exaltedness.

10bEliezer, Avraham Avinu's disciple, learned the trait of humility from him, as explained above. He knew his own lowliness and how little he was worth, and so he merited to see Hashem's exaltedness. This is the meaning of “the earth leapt for him.” The letters Vav-Heh, which hint at v'es ha'aretz, “and the earth,” and signify his own lowliness, come first in the verse v'avo hayom el ha'ayin. The hint is as we said: first he had true humility, and from it he later merited to contemplate Hashem's exaltedness. That is true humility: that through it a person afterward rises to greatness and to the service of Hashem, to contemplate Hashem's greatness and serve Him, and not to lie down in his lowliness. That is not humility, but pride and the counsel of the yetzer hara.

11This is the meaning of the verse “For in six days Hashem made es hashamayim v'es ha'aretz, the heavens and the earth” (Shemos 31:17), which hints at the Name of Da'as. All through the six workdays a person imagined that he had done everything required of him, and that he knew and grasped Hashem's exaltedness as befits the perfection of a Jewish soul. But “on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed (vayinafash),” from nefesh, soul: holy Shabbos gives a living soul for the light of Da'as, and Da'as is life itself. Then he knows that until now he walked in darkness. The light of Da'as was darkened for him; he is without knowledge, “without a man's understanding” (Mishlei 30:2), and has not even begun. And he takes it upon himself, from this day on, to serve Hashem.