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Tzippora Bat David
If we take a look at the chain of events around the marriage of Yitzchak and Rivka, we will see that major family matters were taking place. The next event mentioned after the aforementioned pasuk was that Avraham married a woman named Ketura (traditionally understood to have been Hagar). In fact, Chazal tell us that as Eliezer was bringing Rivka, Yitzchak had gone to get Hagar for Avraham. What was the significance of the timing here? While it is possible that it was an emotional issue, that Yitzchak felt bad if he would get married while his father was widowed, there is likely a more spiritual element to the matter as well.
Sarah’s death had caused a void in the critical role of matriarch, necessary for the holy family to function as the promoters of Hashem’s Name in the world. Hagar could be a companion for Avraham, but she could not be a matriarch. Apparently, there was a makeshift partnership of sorts between Avraham and Yitzchak, whom he was training in his future role as the next patriarch. One might expect that Avraham would remain the sole patriarch until his death, but, examining the p’sukim, we will see that he disappears from the text, which transfers to the life of Yitzchak’s family while Avraham was still alive. When does this happen? Exactly when Yitzchak married Rivka. Interestingly, the same phenomenon exists when Yaakov marries, as Yitzchak disappears from the Torah as a result. In other words, the patriarch, who is certainly a righteous man in his own right, is the one who is married to the matriarch.
This perhaps gives further meaning to the pasuk that stresses the significance of marriage on the relationship between child and parents. "For a man shall leave his father and mother and cling to his wife" (ibid. 2:24). Not only is there a physical and emotional change in the balance of relationships, but also the presence of the wife enables the son to reach an independence to begin assuming positions of prominence. At some point, sometimes marked by the death of one parent, a parent may look to his child not only as a near equal but even as the new leader.
When Yitzchak knew that his father had decided to arrange a wife for him, he prepared a non-matriarch wife for Avraham. When he married her and learned that indeed she was a not only a wife but a spiritual successor of his mother, he realized that it was time for him to take center stage. This allowed Avraham to subsequently marry Ketura, with the knowledge that he would have to send away the children that he would have after his "patriarchal retirement" (ibid. 25:6).
The Mitzvah of Settling the Land Land of Israel: G-d-Given Right or Legal Right?
Translated by Hillel Fendel
Chemdat Yamim Moreshet Shaul: Twin Foundations
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 690
P'ninat Mishpat P'ninat Mishpat: Complaints about Contractor’s Work – part II
(based on ruling 83037.1 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
Rabbis in Midrash
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P'ninat Mishpat P'ninat Mishpat: Complaints about Contractor’s Work – part II
(based on ruling 83037.1 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
(based on ruling 83037.1 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
Chemdat Yamim Moreshet Shaul: Twin Foundations
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 690
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 690
D'varim Judaism’s Social Vision
Re’eh
Giving is more than an act of generosity—it is an essential part of human dignity that belongs to everyone, rich and poor alike. The ultimate goal of help is to empower others to stand on their own.
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.
