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At the heart of this obsession are Stats. To know baseball, you have to know the statistics behind it: That the distance from the pitcher to the batter is 60 feet, 6 inches, while the distance between each base is 90 feet. You have to know how far it is from home plate to the outfield fences, and you certainly have to know the individual players' stats: Their walks, hits, home runs or stolen bases; whether they pitch left or right-handed and their strikeouts or earned-run averages. There is even a term invented for all these facts and figures: "sabermetrics." Any kid worth his baseball cap must know all of these numbers - by heart, immediately, even subconsciously.
"OK, so what does all this possibly have to do with our Parsha?!" you wonder incredulously.
Well, here's a stat for you that I find incredible: The central story of our Sedra is the mission of Eliezer, at Avraham's behest, to find a suitable wife for Yitzchak. This episode, which takes up the entirety of the 24th chapter and comprises no less than 67 p'sukim, minutely details the events of the search. And how many times is Eliezer - a central character of this narrative - mentioned by name in these 67 verses? Not even once!! He is referred to as "eved-slave" 13 times, and he is called "Ish - a man" 8 times, but never once is he called Eliezer! The other players in the game all get name-recognition: Avraham, Sara, Yitzchak, Rivka, Lavan, Betuel, even Lavan's grandmother Milka and Avraham's brother Nachor - but not Eliezer.
Hashem help me ("Eliezer!") if this stat didn't boggle my mind!
So there are those who suggest that perhaps Eliezer is not named because he was just a functionary, a messenger sent on a mission whose identity is essentially unimportant and inconsequential. Others note that Avraham rejected Eliezer's daughter as a possible match for Yitzchak - the Medrash even says that Avraham told him, "My son is blessed and you, as a Canaanite, are cursed" - and so the Torah does not want to accord Eliezer any particular honor or recognition, not even uttering his name.
But I think I have a kinder, gentler approach. In a sense, each of us is an "eved," a servant of G-d brought to this world to accomplish our own particular mission. That task is imposed upon us, to be honest, for no one asks to be born; Hashem commands it from above. But when we execute our mission, when we validate our life by seeing our unique service through to its fruition, we graduate from "eved" to "Ish." That term "Ish - Man," say Chazal, is always a title of honor and admiration, proudly bestowed upon those (Noach, Yakov, Mordechai, etc.) who faithfully fulfill their assignments.
In that sense, Eliezer - clearly with G-d's help - successfully completes his task. He will never be mentioned again, but for at least this crucial moment in our history - as the torch passes from one leader to the next - Eliezer makes it all the way to home base and he is, simply, The Man.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
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Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 9 - "Seeing is Believing" (parag. 21-30)
These paragraphs elaborate on the theme that seeing and knowing is better than any attempt to prove logically, and begins explaining the difference between Israel and gentiles.
Ein Aya Various Universal Stages of the Geula Process
Rav Kook examines the various stages of redemption, explaining how (in addition to the obvious oft-mentioned stages of ingathering the exiles, reviving the Hebrew language, army, state etc.) the messianic dream of world prosperity, the State of Israel and world unity can and are realistically and logically gradually coming true.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
How do we know that the "claim" of mass revelation to 2,000,000 witnesses at Mt. Sinai is really true? This important class answers all of the questions skeptics ask about this claim of the Kuzari.
Ein Aya Armies Still Necessary for Balance & the War Against Wars
Rav Kook explains why the world was originally divided into the various seemingly contradicting ideologies and cultures, in order to develop each one respectively. Swords or armies symbolize how each respective ideology defends themselves, as well as deters their opposing ideologies and cultures. On the other hand, the messianic era will be one of peace, and Rav Kook explains the transition to that stage, which mankind is already undergoing.
The Land of Israel LGBT'S IN ISRAEL
The question was asked, how can one make Aliyah with the LGBT parades?
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 7 - Five Accumulative Proofs of G-d
As a preparation for the Kuzari's classic proof of G-d from the mass-revelation at Sinai, we start here with 5 other directions to strengthen our belief which also contribute to what the Kuzari will present as well.
Ein Aya Muscle & Meaning: The Dual Nature of Gevurah (Physical Strength)
Is physical strength and fitness a necessity or an ideal? Although it if often totally overlooked among topics of Judaism, Rav Kook writes that it clearly is also a necessity to deter the many enemies of Israel, but even in Y'mot HaMashiach, in the Messianic era, to a certain extent, it's ideal continues even after our enemies will have been finished off.
