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How could Eliezer define the perfect test for Yitzchok's wife when making signs is forbidden? The test was not a sign but the absolute Torah (תורה) definition of chesed (חסד). As Avrohom's servant, Eliezer absorbed Avrohom's God-like instincts through constant exposure to his body language and total reality, enabling him to articulate chesed perfectly—which is why his words are "greater than the Torah of the children."
This shiur addresses fundamental questions about Parshas Chayei Sarah, beginning with why the Jewish people needed to descend from Avrohom, Yitzchok, and Yaakov when other nations were also offered the Torah (תורה) at Har Sinai. Rabbi Zweig also explores why Eliezer—described as a master of Avrohom's entire Torah and capable of teaching it—was unsuitable as a match for Yitzchok, while Lavan and Besuel, clearly wicked people, were acceptable sources for a wife. The shiur examines the puzzling statement of Chazal that "the conversation of the servants of the forefathers is more beautiful than the Torah of the children" (yafeh sichasan shel avdei avos m'torasan shel banim). What does it mean that Eliezer's words surpass the Torah learned by Klal Yisrael? Additionally, why does the Torah devote so many verses to Eliezer's mission and dialogue, and why specifically in this parsha?
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Bereishis 24 (Parshas Chayei Sarah)
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