The crickets chirping around the tent conveyed a feeling of
tranquility, even as the whistling wind caught the fallen
leaves and made them dance. Abraham was sitting alone
in his tent, reclining against a big pillow filled with wool
sheared from his own sheep. A smile rose to his lips as he recalled a
meeting from a few hours earlier.
He had encountered a young man in the study hall. The newcomer
seemed to be struggling to comprehend a philosophical point. He
approached Abraham determinedly and said: “I’m sorry, but I can’t
stop thinking about what you said earlier, that it is inconceivable for
God to be limited in any way.”
Abraham chuckled and replied: “But I did not tell you that.”
The student looked at him puzzled: “So now you’re telling me
that God has limits?”
“Certainly not!” Abraham retorted, prepared for the young
man’s confusion.
“But you just said that you didn’t tell me God is limitless, so
doesn’t that mean the opposite is true?!” The student looked upset
and unmoored.
“Heaven forbid! That God is limitless is quite true. However, it
is not I who told you that, young man. I surmise that it was my son
Isaac, whom you discussed the issue with.”
“Your son, Isaac?!”
Abraham laughed agreeably: “Ah, my young friend, you are still
new to our camp, correct?”
The young man nodded, befuddled.
“Let me resolve your confusion. My son Isaac arrived at the camp
only a few days ago. My son and I look like twin brothers, there are
almost no noticeable differences between us. That is why you have
mistaken me for him.”
A look of astonishment came over the tyro.
“You know what? I will show you! Wait right here,” Abraham
requested and left the tent. A few minutes later, he returned with
his son Isaac.
The novice did a double take, unsure whom he had spoken to and
when. “It really does not make sense!” he protested in frustration, “it
is impossible to tell who is the father and who is the son!”
After the new student had taken his leave, Abraham relaxed
again, running his hand over his black beard, and looking at Isaac.
While he was grateful for the youthful vigor God had allowed him
to maintain in his old age, he could not help but think that it would
perhaps be better if a supercentenarian and his young son did not
look exactly the same. He calmly closed his eyes, sinking into a
pleasant sleep.
“Father!” Isaac’s alarmed voice awoke him abruptly.
Abraham opened his eyes to find Isaac bent over him, his body
shaking, and his face terrified. “Father, what happened to you?” he
asked apprehensively, relieved that the patriarch had not breathed
his last.
“What’s the matter? I just fell asleep for a bit...” Abraham smiled,
marveling at his son’s sense of urgency.
Isaac looked mesmerized. “That’s not what I meant,” he said anxiously,
“Father, look at your beard.”
Abraham did so, and he was stunned to see that over the course
of his brief nap, his facial hair had turned white as snow.
“Apparently, the Lord decided that people should be able to distinguish
between us,” he said gracefully.
“But how? Why?” Isaac was concerned about his father’s strange
appearance. However, Abraham gave him a look that seemed to
rebuke the child. “Of course, Father, it’s probably for the best,” his
son conceded, suddenly realizing the importance of the matter.
Still, while his new visage was not a matter of concern for Abraham,
his soul was indeed troubled. His face abruptly became very
pensive, as if he were diving into the depths of his mind. There was
a look of sadness on his face that was not typical of him. His mind
seemed to be wandering into distant lands, into the mists of the past.
“Father, is something else bothering you?” Isaac asked anxiously.
“You know, my son, that your mother and I, may her memory
be a blessing, got married when she was fifteen years old, and I was
twenty-five years old, but we did not live together until quite a few
years later.” Abraham seemed to warmly embrace the memories of
his wife. “We lived a full and beautiful life; it was not always easy, but
your mother was always by my side when I needed support. Even
though you were born many years into our marriage, we always had
each other.
“Now, the life of a married person differs vastly from that of a
single person. The bonds of matrimony totally change the people
who enter that covenant. The commitment to caring for another
fills each person with a completely different purpose. Moreover,
when children are born, a person changes even more. One’s life
does not truly begin before one has taken on the twin responsibilities
of marriage and family.”
Isaac looked at his father, realizing where he was going with this
talk. “I think the time has come, my son, for you to marry and start
your real life,” Abraham declared wholeheartedly. “Indeed, that is
the reason I summoned you from the academy of Shem and Eber.
You studied with them for three years, but now the time has come
for you to start building your own family.”
Isaac looked at his father trying to find the right words: “But who
am I to marry? There are a lot of families in our camp, but…”
“No, absolutely not!” Abraham cut off his son. “Marrying one
of the girls from our camp is not an option. You know they are all
Canaanites; their conduct is decent right now, but consider where
they come from. You have no way of knowing if they may return
to their corrupt habits a few years down the road. They cannot be
trusted at all!”
Abraham sighed. “I know these people well. For years I have
walked this land, its length and its breadth, and I have attempted to
spread the faith. I can testify that apart from Eliezer — who is not
from here but came with me from Harran — none of my followers
have stayed for more than a few years. As long as it’s easy and nice
for them, they follow me. To my great dismay, they are not following
the Lord, but only me. They waver constantly, as nothing is truly
rooted in their hearts.”
Abraham kneaded his face with his hands, rubbing his eyes as if
he were seeking a solution.
“So maybe Eliezer’s daughter? ...” Isaac asked nervously.
“God forbid!” Abraham was shocked, “Eliezer is a righteous and
abstemious man, but he is still a descendant of Ham, whom Noah
cursed. Can we cleave to a family line which is accursed?”
“So, who? The daughters of Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre?”
Abraham shook his head. “You probably do not realize, but I
have been thinking about this ever since the Binding. I shiver as
I think what would have happened had the Lord not stayed my
hand from sacrificing you. Just the thought of your passing before
you could produce offspring makes my hair stand! If you had been
married and had started a family, at least your sons would remain
after you to continue your line.
“One day, as I mused about this, God’s word came to me in a revelation
in which He told me what had happened with my brother.
His wife Milcah bore him eight sons, while his concubine Reumah
bore him four more. The youngest of Nahor and Milcah’s children is
named Bethuel. Bethuel has become a father too, and his little daughter
was born three years ago — on the very day of your Binding.
“This child, named Rebecca, must be destined to be your wife.
The wonderful thing is that she was born on the same day as you
were bound to the altar. If Rebecca were not destined to be your
mate, why would the Lord deliver such a prophecy to me? I think
we should try and take this daughter of Bethuel, for you, as a wife.”
Isaac lowered his eyes, but hiding deep within his heart was the
hope that perhaps he might finally find a mate. For a while, he had
been plagued by the idea of having to marry one of the girls in their
camp; now, this horror dissipated. He realized that it was not for
nothing that his father had received a prophecy that came to inform
him of the growth of his brother’s family, that there was a reason
behind it.
“As you wish, Father,” he finally said, beaming to match the smile
blooming on Abraham’s face; of course, the secrets of Isaac’s heart
were an open book to the father who loved him so.
“Eliezer,” Abraham turned to his servant, who had come running
to his tent, “There is a very important task I need you to do for me.”
Eliezer nodded, ready to give his life for his master.
With a serious expression, Abraham said to his servant: “And I
will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of
the earth, that you shall not take a wife for my son of the daughters of
the Canaanites, among whom I dwell. But you shall go to my country,
and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son, even for Isaac.”
The pain of disappointment washed over Eliezer: “But my lord...
I thought that perhaps… if you would agree, then...” Eliezer stammered,
desperately trying to speak the thing he wished for most of
all. “You know I have my little daughter... she’s a very good girl…
and I thought...”
Abraham looked at his servant out of the corner of his eye, distressed
that he had to disappoint him. “Eliezer ...”, he said gently,
trying to appease him.
“Yes, I know…” A tear ran down his cheek: “I just thought that
maybe if Isaac took her for a wife, she would make him very happy…”
Abraham put his hand on his friend’s shoulder to comfort him:
“You understand that she cannot marry Isaac.”
Eliezer wiped the tear from his eye: “Yes, my lord, I fully understand.
You know, these are just the thoughts of a doting father.”
“Do not worry, I will find her a suitable groom soon,” he promised
his servant. “However, I need you to travel back to the land of
my family. That is where you may find a suitable wife for my son
Isaac,” Abraham insisted.
Eliezer thought for a moment, “But, sir, if the woman does not
want to follow me here, should I take Isaac there?”
“Absolutely not!” Abraham said emphatically. “One of the reasons
I want you to go and bring a woman to my son from afar is
to cut her off from her father’s house! Do you know what effect a
corrupt society has on human beings? Moreover, when the family
itself is corrupt, then the influence upon the individual is all the
more pernicious. That is why I command you to go far away and
take a woman for Isaac from the other end of the earth. That way,
she will be severed from the dangerous and malevolent stimuli of
her family home.”
Hesitantly, Eliezer raised a concern: “It may be that the woman
will not be willing to leave her home and her family.”
Abraham’s reply was confident and categorical: “The Lord, the
God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house, and from the land
of my nativity, and who spoke to me, and who swore to me, saying: To
your seed will I give this land; He will send His angel before you, and
you shall take a wife for my son from there. And if the woman be not
willing to follow you, then you shall be clear from this my oath; only
you shall not bring my son back there.”
Eliezer agreed, taking an oath upon a sacred object that he would
faithfully carry out his mission.
It was noon, and Eliezer and nine of Abraham’s servants finished
loading up their mounts, each man bearing fruits, vegetables, and
delicacies. Silver vessels, gold vessels, and jewelry were also placed
upon the camels.
Abraham and Isaac looked at the convoy that was preparing to set
out. Before them was a long-expected journey of seventeen days, a
journey through deserts and mountains towards Harran, northeast
of the land of Canaan. The ten servants were dressed in their best
robes, as befitting the importance and respectability of their master.
Abraham approached Eliezer, handing him a rolled-up scroll:
“Here is my will, in which I bequeath all that I have to my son, Isaac.
It may be of help to you.”
Eliezer bowed to his master and mounted the camel, ready for the
long and arduous journey
