The Servant's Conversation

            It is a fascinating fact that in this week’s parasha, we hear more words from Eliezer, servant of Abraham than we hear from the mouth of Isaac in all of Torah. Rashi (24:42), implies surprise at this fact and quotes Breishit Rabba (60):

Rav Aḥa said: the ordinary conversation of the Patriarchs’ servants is more pleasing to God than even the Torah of their children, for the chapter of Eliezer is repeated in the Torah, whereas many important principles of the Torah (gufei Torah, literally “bodies of Torah”) are given only by hint

            Perhaps the explanation of Rav Aḥa’s comment is the following: while “gufei Torah” may be given only by hint, our Sages elaborate on such hints and teach us their true meaning. One who wants to properly observe “gufei Torah” needs only to open the Shulḥan Aruch, find the appropriate chapter and learn the accepted Halacha.

But beyond fulfilling the Halacha, there is behaving as a zaddik (righteous person). This is not taught in Shulḥan Aruch, but must be learned by observing how a zaddik behaves.

            Throughout the years that Eliezer served Abraham, he was able to learn, through observation, how a righteous person behaves.

The influence on Eliezer of what he learned in this way is immense, as we read in Breishit Rabba:

Canaan (who was cursed by Noah [Genesis 9:25]) is Eliezer, and since he served Abraham faithfully, he left the category of the cursed into the category of the blessed, as is written (Genesis 24:31): “come, Blessed of God”.

The Midrash continues with the practical lesson:

Says Rabbi Ya’akov, in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan of Bet Guvrin: If Eliezer, through faithfully serving a zaddik, went from accursed to blessed, Israel, who deal kindly with their great ones and small ones, all the more so.