בס׳ד

"Where does it say that you have a contract with G-d to have an easy life?"

the Lubavitcher Rebbe



"Failure is not the enemy of success; it is its prerequisite."

Rabbi Nosson Scherman



22 Oct 2013

The real motive

The pasuk states, Eliezer told Lavan and Besuel - "Ulay Lo Saylech HaIshah Acharay" - "Perhaps the woman won't go after me" - Maybe she won't want to come back with me to Eretz Canaan. Rashi notes that the word "Ulay" - "Perhaps" is spelled here without a "Vov' - it is spelled like "Aylay" - "to me". Eliezer had a daughter and hoped that Yitzchok would marry his own daughter. He therefore said, - "Perhaps the woman won't go after me" - his intention was "Aylay" - and then you will come to me and let Yitzchok marry my daughter.
The Meforshim ask, why is the missing letter stated the second time this story is mentioned? The story of Eliezer going to find a Shidduch for Rivka is repeated twice in the Torah - once as it happens, and a second time when Eliezer relates the story to Lavan and Besuel. Why is "Aylay" first said in the repetition and not the first time?
The Kotzker answers, sometimes while a person does a certain action he can't really know what his true intentions are. He might have ulterior motives, but doesn't realize it while he is in the midst of the act. It is only after he takes a step back that he realizes his true motives. When the episode occurred, Eliezer really thought that his question was LiShem Shamayim - What if Rivka does not want to come? What should I do then? When he related the story to Lavan and Besuel, it then hit him what his real motive for the question was... To get Yitzchok for his own daughter!
http://revach.net/article.php?id=1235


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