Parashat HaShavua - Chayei Sarah
The Torah is sparing in its use of direct dialogue. While we assume that our ancestors had many conversations as they went about their daily lives, only key conversations are shared with the reader. Avraham’s final reported conversation takes place in this week’s parasha, Chayei Sarah. Avraham has just tasked his most trusted servant, Eliezer, with returning to his homeland to find a wife for his son, Yitzchak. Afraid that perhaps the chosen woman won't return to Canaan with him, Eliezer asks Avraham; if the woman won’t come back with me, should I bring Yitzchak to her in Haran? Avraham responds with these, his final, words:
On no account must you take my son back there! The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from my native land…will send his angel before you… And if the woman does not consent to follow you, you shall be clear of this oath to me; but do not take my son there. (Bereshit 24:6-8)
Why does Avraham object so strongly to the idea of bringing Yitzchak to Haran? Rabbeinu Bahya (14th century Spain), suggests that Avraham does not want Yitzchak to leave Israel because “he had once been designated as a sacred offering, and something sacred must not be desecrated by reverting to a secular status.” In other words, since Yitchak had once been chosen as an offering to God (although, thankfully, he was never offered!) his sacred status remains, so he must stay in the holy land. Radak (12th century France) suggests that Avraham was concerned with maintaining his claim on the land, so he therefore did not want Yitchak to leave, even for a short trip.
Both of these explanations respect Avraham’s zeal for following the letter of the law, but overlook his passionate concern for his son. Avraham begins and ends his response with the words “my son” and “there.” It seems that Avraham is afraid of what would lie in store for his son, if he would go “there.” In our eleventh grade Tanakh class, we recently encountered an instruction that is similar to Avraham’s. Moshe, speaking to Bnai Yisrael before they enter the Land of Israel, gives the people the laws that their future kings will be required to follow. One of the laws is as follows: “Moreover, he [the king] shall not keep many horses or take the people back to Egypt to add to his horses, since the Lord has warned you, ‘You must not go back that way again…’” (Devarim 17:16) The phrase “or take the people back to Egypt/וְלֹֽא־יָשִׁ֤יב אֶת־הָעָם֙ מִצְרַ֔יְמָה’” echoes Avraham’s “on no account may you take my son back there/ פֶּן־תָּשִׁ֥יב אֶת־בְּנִ֖י שָֽׁמָּה.” Both Avraham and the people of Israel left their respective dwelling places (Haran and Egypt) at God’s command, through great hardship, and with God’s guidance. Compelling either a beloved son or a beloved nation to go back to these places is forbidden. This instruction is so important that it merits Avraham’s last spoken words in the Torah.
Avraham’s protective care for his son pushes us to consider how his wisdom applies to our own context. What are the places we have left, to which our children must not return? In what ways, either knowingly or unknowingly, do we compel them to return to those places? How can we, like Avraham, help to protect and guide them toward a better future?
Rabbi Miriam Greenblatt
High School Learning Specialist, Tanakh and Teffilah Teacher
