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Why do we recite Lavan's blessing to Rivka at the bedeken when Lavan himself had no sincere intent behind the words? The shiur develops the idea that precisely because Lavan didn't mean the blessing, he gave the optimal, unlimited blessing—no self-interest restrained him. The blessing's fulfillment came not from Lavan's power but from HaKadosh Baruch Hu and the merit of the recipients. That's why we use it: it defines the ideal with no boundaries.
The shiur opens with a question that has long troubled Rabbi Zweig: Ashkenazim have a custom for the father to bless his daughter at the bedeken with the words "achotenu at, hayei le'alfei revavah" (our sister, may you become tens of thousands). This blessing is taken from Bereishis 24:60, where Lavan and his family bless Rivka as she departs to marry Yitzchok. Why, Rabbi Zweig asks, would we take a blessing from Lavan—a rasha—when there are so many other suitable blessings from righteous figures in the Torah (תורה)? Why rely on Lavan's words? The Midrash Rabbah addresses this blessing and makes three seemingly contradictory points. First, the Midrash states that Lavan and his household's blessings were "devarin shefufin hayu"—they were insincere, superficial words, like the cunning of a snake. The blessing was merely for appearance, not from the heart. Second, the Midrash notes that Rivka did not become pregnant from the blessing; Yitzchok had to pray for her ("vayeitar Yitzchok le'nochach ishto"). This demonstrates that Lavan's blessing had no efficacy at all—it required Yitzchok's tefilah to bring about children. Third, however, a different statement in the Midrash seems to say the opposite: that the blessing was fulfilled—"revavos" (tens of thousands) came from Yaakov's descendants, and "alufim" (chieftains/leaders) came from Eisav's descendants. So was the blessing effective or not?
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Bereishis 24:60
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