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Why did Rivka go to Shem instead of asking Avrohom or Yitzchok about her difficult pregnancy? The Gemara (גמרא) says she feared they would discover a reason to divorce her. The shiur resolves this by distinguishing between "what's good for me" and "what must be done" — Rivka had the right to ask her own shailah (what's best for her), while Yitzchok or Avrohom would have been forced to pasken on what's best for them and their legacy.
This shiur addresses a profound difficulty in understanding Rivka's behavior during her troubled pregnancy in Parshas Toldos. The Gemara (גמרא) states that when Rivka went to inquire of Hashem (ה׳) ("Vateileich lidrosh es Hashem"), she specifically went to Shem rather than to her husband Yitzchok or father-in-law Avrohom. The Gemara explains that she avoided them because they might discover something problematic about her and either Avrohom would advise Yitzchok to divorce her, or Yitzchok himself would dismiss her. Rabbi Zweig finds this Gemara extremely difficult to understand. Rivka was genuinely searching for truth and answers to her question "Im kein lamah zeh anochi" (if so, why am I like this?). If Shem would tell her she has real problems and is unworthy, she herself would want to leave the marriage. And if Shem would say she has no problem, then Avrohom would receive the same message from Hashem through prophecy. So what difference does it make whom she asks? If she's truly seeking truth, why would she hide information that would lead to her being sent away?
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Bereishis 25:22 (Parshas Toldos)
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Why didn't Noach daven for his generation while Avrohom advocated for Sedom? Noach viewed each person as an independent island responsible only for their own teshuvah. Avrohom understood that all humanity is interconnected through shared perspective and values, making prayer for others both possible and necessary.
