One of the most amazing features of Biblical literature is the extent to which attention has been paid to the narratives concerning the Patriarchs and Matriarchs.
When we survey the bulk of the Five Books of Moses we discover that it contains hundreds of commandments. (There are, as is well known, 613 Biblical commandments. However, many of these commandments are repeated several times, so the total number of legal directives in the Torah may actually be in the thousands.) Yet, most of these commandments are expressed in the most succinct fashion. Frequently, the Talmud will demonstrate how multiple laws can be derived from one verse and even from one word or letter! Rarely does the Torah discuss any commandment extensively and broadly. It is up to the Oral tradition to expound on the laws as they are mentioned in the Torah.
By stark contrast, when the Torah relates the story of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, these stories are recounted in vivid detail. And there is no place in the Torah where this phenomenon is more pronounced than in this week's Torah portion: Chayei Sarah. After Sarah's passing, Abraham sends his trusted servant Eliezer to his home country to find a wife for his son Isaac.
The Torah then proceeds to tell the story, not only with all of its particulars, but, in addition, it is repeated several times: First the Torah tells us what Eliezer did and said in order to find Rebecca. Then the Torah tells us how Rebecca reported the things Eliezer said and did. Eliezer subsequently recounts these same events to Rebecca's family. The same story, with some variation, is repeated three times! Yet, some of the most important pieces of Divine legislation are contained in or derived from one verse or less!
Rashi, citing Rabbi Acha, a Talmudic Sage explains: "The talk of the servants of the Patriarchs is more beautiful to G-d than the Torah of their children."
At first glance, this explanation does not really address the difficulty as to why the Torah repeats the story of Eliezer; it merely serves to highlight the question. Why, indeed, is the Torah enamored with the servants of the Patriarchs? Why is the Torah, which means "instruction," less concerned with the instructions to the Jewish people to whom the Torah was given and for whom these Mitzvot and laws form the basis of their existence than it is with the stories of their progenitors?
One answer to this question will become apparent if we allow for a slightly different translation of the foregoing aphorism: Instead of "The talk of the servants of the Patriarchs is more beautiful to G-d than the Torah of their children," the Hebrew wording allows for: "The talk of the servants of the Patriarchs is beautiful to G-d from the Torah of their children."
Whereas in the standard translation of Rabbi Acha's aphorism the point being made is that the Torah prefers the stories of the Patriarchs (and even their servants) over the Torah given to the Jewish people "the children"), in the "revised" translation, the Torah given to the children is what makes the story of the lives of the Patriarchs and their servants so beautiful and meaningful.
To explain:
When one looks at the way we ("the children") have embraced and implemented the intricate teachings of the Torah that were transmitted to us in just a few, often cryptic, words, the question is where did we get the inspiration to be so faithful to every nuance of G-d's will? How could a people be so conscientious about what might seem as the "minutiae" of a religion that was given thousands of years ago?
The answer is, it was the devotion of our fathers and mothers and the lives that they lead. When we think back at our ancestors, going all the way back to the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, we can learn so much from their behavior. Every thing they did was pregnant with feeling, sensitivity, faith reverence and love. Even their servants were so inspired and affected by their close relationship to them that their actions also expressed these wonderful traits.
In other words, our unparalleled actions are testimony to the greatness of our fathers and mothers. Every time we perform a Mitzvah it not only attests to our own loyalty to G-d, it testifies to the devotion of our ancestors as well.
We can take this new translation a step further. When we read the stories of the Torah we may tend to think of them as interesting, nice, exciting, even inspiring descriptions of the lives of our forebears. However, when we study the Torah teachings given to us, the "children," i.e., when these same stories are reflected through the prism of the "Torah of the Children" these narratives acquire much greater beauty and relevance.
When the Torah was given at Sinai they received more than just that which appears in the Five Books of Moses. Our Sages tell us that all of Jewish knowledge was transmitted by G-d at Sinai. In their words: "All the innovative teachings that will ever be introduced by any worthy student have been given to Moses at Sinai."
However, every hidden nuance that was implicit in the original communication at Sinai has its special time when it is right for it to be introduced into our consciousness through some "worthy student."
In the "Torah of the Children," we discover that every detail of the Biblical stories is replete with a multitude of levels of meaning. Each meaning conveys a timely message that was intended for us to apply to our own lives. No longer are these cute reminiscences of our past; they are instruments of Divine knowledge, no less instructive than the laws of the Torah themselves.
Hence, we can discover the beauty of the narratives of our Patriarchs by delving into the teachings of "the children," especially when we study the mystical teachings of the Torah that were transmitted via the Kabbalists and the Chassidic masters that were revealed in recent past, the stories of our fathers become so much more meaningful and poignant.
Concerning the Messianic Age, the prophet declares that we will see a "new Torah" come from G-d. It is abundantly clear from numerous Biblical verses that the Torah can never change. The meaning of a "new Torah" then is that Moshiach will reveal heretofore hidden dimensions of Torah that for us and all of our predecessors will be new despite the fact that they were implicit in the communication at Sinai. We now have a sample of that "new knowledge" in the spiritual teachings of the Chassidic Masters that were revealed and have become popularized in the last two centuries.
When Moshiach will reveal these new approaches to Torah, we will then be further exposed to the depth and beauty of the narratives of the Torah concerning our Patriarchs and Matriarchs. May we experience the unleashing of this new knowledge imminently!
COURSE A -- THE FOUNDATIONS OF JEWISH LIFE: WHAT DO JEWISH BELIEVE?
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