Rebekah's Brother Laban

< = = = Long time since I have seen you Mr. Comfort, where have you been?

That is a long story, but it is good to see you. I understand you are going to Israel with a Christian church group in a month or two, how did a nice Jewish boy like you end up in a situation like that?

< = = = A friend of mine from school is going with his family and they invited me. My dad just told me to remember I was a member of the tribe and have fun.

Smile, I have to go to Israel for some business myself, who knows, maybe I can look in on you. Until then, get all your school work done, Rosh Hashanah is coming in a few weeks, don't fall behing, I hope you are looking forward to your mom's Sweet Potato & Carrot Tzimmes, ummm. Well, back to our story, when we last met we were talking about Eleazar, Abraham's servant who went to find Issac a wife from Abraham's tribe. And Rebekah was the answer to his prayer. Now we are going to meet her brother Laban.

After Eleazar told her his mission, Rebekah ran and told her mother's household about these things. She had a brother named Laban, and he hurried out to the man at the spring. As soon as he had seen the nose ring, and the bracelets on his sister's arms, and had heard Rebekah tell what the man said to her, he went out to the man and found him standing by the camels near the spring.

< = = = Was it the gold that got his attention or was he looking out for his sister? You are nodding which is it? Both? Ah.

"Come, you who are blessed by the Lord," he said. "Why are you standing out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels." So the man went to the house, and the camels were unloaded. Straw and fodder were brought for the camels, and water for him and his men to wash their feet.

Then food was set before him, but he said, "I will not eat until I have told you what I have to say." "Then tell us," Laban said.

So he said, "I am Abraham's servant. The Lord has blessed my master abundantly, and he has become wealthy. He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, menservants and maidservants, and camels and donkeys. My master's wife Sarah has borne him a son in her old age, and he has given him everything he owns. And my master made me swear an oath, and said, 'You must not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live, but go to my father's family and to my own clan, and get a wife for my son.'
Then I asked my master, 'What if the woman will not come back with me?' "

He replied, 'The Lord, before whom I have walked, will send his angel with you and make your journey a success, so that you can get a wife for my son from my own clan and from my father's family. Then, when you go to my clan, you will be released from my oath even if they refuse to give her to you--you will be released from my oath.' "When I came to the spring today, I said, 'O Lord, God of my master Abraham, if you will, please grant success to the journey on which I have come. See, I am standing beside this spring; if a maiden comes out to draw water and I say to her, "Please let me drink a little water from your jar," and if she says to me, "Drink, and I'll draw water for your camels too," let her be the one the Lord has chosen for my master's son.' "Before I finished praying in my heart, Rebekah came out, with her jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water, and I said to her, 'Please give me a drink.' "She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels too.' So I drank, and she watered the camels also. "I asked her, 'Whose daughter are you?' "She said, 'The daughter of Bethuel son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to him.' "Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms, and I bowed down and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right road to get the granddaughter of my master's brother for his son.

Rebekah

Well now Mister Cohen, did you enjoy Japan? What did you learn?

<= = = Everything is incredibly expensive. And it was a long plane flight, I watched the move the Watchmen, mom would have never let me see it, but it was playing and I was bored and it was really intense. And keep some toilet paper with you in case you need it since it is not always available. And some of the hotels there are huge, we stayed at the Hotel Nikko. Tokyo. It is incredible, we ate dinner one night as the sun was setting and the city lights started getting brighter, it was really cool. And the Japanese were all very friendly and I was amazed how many people from all over the world were in Tokyo and the same was true of Kobe. We visited the Synagogue at Kitano-cho. It turns out most of the people there are not into fishing, it is actually pearls, but I guess it is similar. But I have a question sir. On Wednesday the Asahi Shimbun newspaper carried a story about the Euphrates. They said it is drying up and that is a sign of the end times and that was predicted in the book of Relevation. The Watchmen had sighs about the end times as well, what exactly are the end times, what does the Torah say about it?

Well, first of all, it is the book of Revelation, the vision of St. John when he was imprisoned on the island of Patmos. In verse 16:12, it says "The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East." However, what is going on in Iraq is not the work of an angel, Turkey and Syria have built dams to keep water from feeding the Euphrates. The Torah refers to "The end of days". The prophet Isaiah says: "And it will be in the end of days, the mountain of the House of YHWH will be established at the head of the mountains, and higher than the hills, and all the nations shall stream unto it. And many peoples shall go and say 'Let us go and ascend to the mountain of YHWH, to the House of the God of Jacob that he teach us from his ways and that we may go in his paths, for the Torah goes forth out of Zion and the word of YHWH from Jerusalem.' And he will judge between many nations and rebuke many peoples. And they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. And nation shall not lift up sword against nation and they shall no longer learn war."

So it is a time of profound reverence to the LORD. If you look around, we are not in such a time. It will be a significant upheaval going from an earth in rebellion to the LORD to a world that reveres the LORD. And of course it will be the time when the LORD is able to bless the families of the world through the offspring of Abraham and so we return to our story, OK?

Then Eleazar the servant took ten of his master's camels and left, taking with him all kinds of good things from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim, (Aram of Two Rivers) and made his way to the town of Nahor, which is called Harran today in Southern Turkey. He had the camels kneel down near the well outside the town; it was toward evening, the time the women go out to draw water.

Then he prayed, "O Lord, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. May it be that when I say to a girl, 'Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,' and she says, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels too'--let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master."


Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, who was the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor. The girl was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever lain with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again.

The servant hurried to meet her and said, "Please give me a little water from your jar." "Drink, my lord," she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink. After she had given him a drink, she said, "I'll draw water for your camels too, until they have finished drinking."

So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels. Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the Lord had made his journey successful. When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels.

Then he asked, "Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night?" She answered him, "I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son that Milcah bore to Nahor." And she added, "We have plenty of straw and fodder, as well as room for you to spend the night."

Then the man bowed down and worshiped the Lord, saying, "Praise be to the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master. As for me, the Lord has led me on the journey to the house of my master's relatives."

Abraham commands Eleazar to find a wife for Isaac

The original photo is here.

< = = = Hello sir, seems like everyone is talking about Michael Jackson, on Twitter he shot past the Iran discussions. What happens when you are dead?

Well, for all intents and purposes Michael Jackson has been dead for a long time, the news is that his heart stopped beating. However to answer your question, he descends to Sheol, or as some people say, the grave. Sheol is a condition, a place for the human spirit. It is a place those who do not know and love God should fear greatly. As Moses told the people about turning from the LORD, "I know that after my death you will become utterly corrupt and will turn from the path I have commanded you to follow. In the days to come, disaster will come down on you, for you will make the LORD very angry by doing what is evil in his sight." When they followed God and avoided foreign gods, God blessed them. " But Israel soon became fat and unruly; the people grew heavy, plump, and stuffed! Then they abandoned the God who had made them; they made light of the Rock of their salvation. And this is what God says about Sheol, the grave, " They have roused my jealousy by worshiping non-gods; they have provoked my fury with useless idols. Now I will rouse their jealousy by blessing other nations; I will provoke their fury by blessing the foolish Gentiles. For my anger blazes forth like fire and burns to the depths of Sheol, the grave. It devours the earth and all its crops and ignites the foundations of the mountains.

< = = = So the lights don't just go out, there is activity in Sheol?

Indeed, the most important activity for those that love and follow God is being redeemed from the grave, as David said, "But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol, For He will receive me." Hosea as well talks about the power of God to redeem from the grave, "Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol? Shall I redeem them from death? O Death, where are your thorns? O Sheol, where is your sting? Compassion will be hidden from My sight." But, for now, let us return to the story of Abraham, who is not far from the grave himself.

Abraham was now old and well advanced in years, and the Lord had blessed him in every way. He said to Eleazar, whose name means God my help, the chief servant in Abraham's household, the one in charge of all that he had, "Put your hand under my thigh. I want you to swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac."

The servant asked him, "What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?" "Make sure that you do not take my son back there," Abraham said. "The Lord, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father's household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, 'To your offspring I will give this land'--he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there. If the woman is unwilling to come back with you, then you will be released from this oath of mine. Only do not take my son back there."

<= = = I read about this before, Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, Germany, pointed out the influence of a Canaanite wife on Isaac would be all the greater since he dwells in the midst of the Canaanite people. Not only the wife but her whole family, extended family and circle of friends and relations would have to be contended with. Issac would have been assimilated into Caanan culture and we would never have come to exist. Abraham is really smart with his directions to his servant.

Very discerning, so the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.

<= = = Sir, one last thing . . .

I know, I know, what's with the thigh, right? That has driven Torah commentators crazy throughout the ages. The scripture rarely mentions anything related to sex or sexual organs outside of the Song of Solomon so that when you see it you are wise to take a close look and ask questions. Abraham is reminding his servant that they are set apart from others, they have the covenant of circumcision with God. I understand you are going to Japan with your United Synagogue Youth leader, are you excited?

< = = = I am sir, it turns out there have been Jews in Japan for almost a thousand years on and off with a modern community that is over a hundred years old, since the great fire burned down the city of Kobe. In recent times, most of them have left for Israel, but there are still some families that fish in Kobe. Most of our time will be in Tokyo, but we will get to visit Kobe as well by train.

Death of Sarah

If you want to see the original image look here!


<= = = Hello sir, it has been a long time. Have you been busy?

Issy, I desired to come see you sooner, but was constrained, things have been a bit crazy.

<= = = Is that the Iran thing?

To be honest with you Issy, the passing of Michael Jackson had more impact on the the minds of people during the time I was gone than the "Iran thing". But I am glad to be here now. We will be talking about the passing of Abraham's wife Sarah.

Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. She died at Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Several Midrashim connect the near sacrifice of Issac to the death of Sarah, died in a panic, died of sadness, her cries are the six cries of the shofar and such, but actually a hundred and twenty-seven years is a good long time, the plain truth Issy is that she died of old age and a good long marriage to Abraham if you can overlook the being passed of as his sister and the indiscretion with Hagar and what marriage doesn't have its bumps?

This was a very sad moment for Abraham. Issy, they had traveled together for so many years, they were very close so then Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.

Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites, the children of Heth, a Canaanite nation. He said, "I am an alien and a stranger among you. I have no property here, I am a sojourner through this land. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead." The Hittites replied to Abraham, of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb for burying your dead." Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites. Please intercede with Ephron son of Zohar on my behalf so he will sell me the cave of Machpelah, which belongs to him and is at the end of his field. Ask him to sell it to me for the full price as a burial site among you."

Ephron the Hittite was sitting among his people and he replied to Abraham in the hearing of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of his city. "No, my lord," he said. "Listen to me; I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. I give it to you in the presence of my people. Bury your dead." Again Abraham bowed down before the people of the land and he said to Ephron in their hearing, "Listen to me, if you will. I will pay the price of the field. Accept it from me so I can bury my dead there."

<= = = So this is bartering of some sort? Ephron offers to give the field for free and Abraham offers full price, but this is the reverse of normal bartering, both of them are starting at their bargaining limit.

Wisely said Issy, if it were your fate to become a businessman, you would be most skilled. Abraham is revered, a legend and the Hittites want to show respect. Abraham knows though, that his time on earth is limited and his household is but a few compared to the Hittite nation so he wants to blend in.

The bargaining continues, Ephron answered Abraham, "Listen to me, my lord; the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver, a vastly overstated price, but what is that between me and you? Bury your dead."

Abraham, who was greatly rich, agreed to Ephron's overpriced terms really surprising the Hittites listening to the negotiation and weighed out for Ephron the price he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weight current among the merchants.

Ephron's field in Machpelah near Mamre--both the field and the cave in it, and all the trees within the borders of the field--was deeded to Abraham as his property in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of the city, where the elders sat for business transactions just like this one.

This and another field with a cave Abraham purchased in Shechem were the first steps in fulfilling God's promise that all of this land would belong to the descendants of Abraham.

Afterward Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre (which is at Hebron) in the land of Canaan.

<= = = Mamre, isn't that where he built the altar. But Mamre is also the name of the Mishneh Torah that my father uses.

Yes, exactly, the place had a very strong significance to Abraham and will have a strong significance to all of the patriarchs. And yes, the Mechon Mamre ( Mamre Institute ) are scholars of the word.

So the field and the cave in it were deeded to Abraham by the Hittites as a burial site.

Rebekah is born

Good afternoon Issy, that is some story about Iran, yes? What have you heard?

< = = = I understand some folks are calling President Ahmadinejad "The George Bush of the Middle East" because he is such a cowboy, Hamas and Syria were quick to show support. I read that the rival candidate, the more moderate Mousavi has been arrested. Some reports say the election was not fair and there is rioting in Iran. At one point they cut cell phone service, which was interesting because text messaging was a big part of Mousavi's campaign organization strategy.

A very powerful tool for a totalitarian government, cutting cell phone service isn't it? Expect to see that card pulled again in the next few years. And you can expect to see an increase in Qassam rockets fired into Israel. Abraham's children continue to contend with each other. But let's return to the story of Abraham. After the test concerning Issac was complete, Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided."

The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, "I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."

<= = = And the Christian faith takes this only son statement as a reference to Jesus Christ, yes?

Yes, though there are differences, they generally state the Angel of the Lord is Christ, speaking about Christ. Issy, we can talk about Christ, Redeemers and Messiah at another time, in fact we should, but there are two points I want you to take from this reading so far.

The first is repetition, God is not senile so when he repeats himself it is not because of memory failure. Rather God is emphasizing how important this promise is, to make Abraham's descendants numerous and that through his offspring the world will be blessed. You have seen this as a unilateral promise, a bilateral covenant, but the point is it will be so.

The second is the only son thing, God is telling Abraham again, that the son of promise, the son of the covenant is Issac. Just because Abraham slept with his wife's handmaiden Hagar does obligate God to bless that offspring. God does to some extent, the children of Ishmael will be numerous, a mighty nation and right now Islam is the fastest growing population group in Europe. But they are not the children of promise.

Then Abraham returned to his servants from Mount Moriah, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba. Some time later Abraham was told about an increase in his tribe back in Ur, "Milcah is also a mother; she has borne sons to your brother Nahor: Uz the firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel (the father of Aram), Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph and Bethuel." Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. Milcah bore these eight sons to Abraham's brother Nahor. His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also had sons: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash and Maacah.

God tests Abraham

Hello Issy, that was a terrible tragedy yesterday at the Holocaust Museum. Have you spoken with your parents about this?

< = = = Yes, but I do not understand. He wasn't stupid, he was a member of Mensa like my parents. Yet he did not believe the Holocaust happened. I can't make sense of it, in my own life I have spoken with people that were in the concentration camp. And this after the attempted bombings of the synagogues, why do people hate us Jews? What did we do?

God's chosen race, anyone that is against God is against you. But, make sure you see the positive, despite von Brunn's intelligence, his hatred blinded him. Of course the Holocaust happened, what did President Obama say?, "I am shocked and saddened by today's shooting at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. This outrageous act reminds us that we must remain vigilant against anti-Semitism and prejudice in all its forms. No American institution is more important to this effort than the Holocaust Museum, and no act of violence will diminish our determination to honor those who were lost by building a more peaceful and tolerant world." I don't know that you will see a more tolerant world as God's restraining force diminishes, but the more the saber rattles, the more you will see His hand on Israel. But you do not want to be one of those confused reformed Jews that doesn't know the scriptures from the Wall Street Journal do you? We will not have any more trouble from von Brunn, let us get started shall we?

< = = = May I ask one more question sir. They say von Brunn is a white supremacist, but I am white. I don't understand.

Issy, I say it again. You are sealed, you are different, you are chosen. And not everyone, but many people can see that, sense that, know that. Those that hate God, hate you. And the time is coming soon when those that hate God will vastly outnumber those that love God.

<= = = What happens then?

That, I will share with you after Bar Mitzvah, but the short answer is: God prevails. Now, time is ticking and we must get to the lesson, so some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," Abraham replied.
Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."

Now notice this characteristic of Abraham, he embraces each day, he does not sleep when there is work to be done or a mission to be accomplished. Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place, Moriah, in the distance.

Abraham said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you."

< = = = Hold it! "We will come back to you" God has told Abraham to sacrifice Issac.

And so he will, but he believes God's promises as well. All of these years Abraham has listened to God and mostly followed, they have a relationship, Abraham has trust. Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?" "Yes, my son?" Abraham replied. "The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"

Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together. When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.

< = = = Woah, as a son, I would like to comment this is really heavy, especially if you read the news.

Sure Issy, but there was no news and we learn something about Issac's character as well. He trusts Abraham who told him God himself will provide the lamb. Keep in mind Abraham is of seriously advanced age, but Issac is a strapping young man. Who carried the wood? Issac carried the wood. Ever carry wood? Enough for a sacrifice? Issac carried it a long way. Issac was twenty five years old at the time at the peak of the speed of his reflexes. Abraham was an awesome warrior, but Issac had Abraham's genes, in a pitched battle there was only one possible outcome Issac wins. However Issac, who carried the wood, the wood he would be sacrificed on, all the way up the mountain, laid down willingly; trust. And as we see, trust that was well placed. But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son." Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.

Abimelech and Abraham make a treaty, even two

Hello Izzy, it is good to see you. This afternoon we are going to have an interesting event, Abimelech, as pagan a king as ever, has noticed that Abraham has the call of God on his life. So, Abimelech came with Phicol, his army commander, to visit Abraham. "It is clear that God helps you in everything you do," Abimelech said. "Swear to me in God's name that you won't deceive me, my children, or my grandchildren. I have been loyal to you, so now swear that you will be loyal to me and to this country in which you are living."

Abraham replied, "All right, I swear to it!"

Then Abraham took the opportunity and complained to Abimelech about a well that Abimelech's servants had taken violently from Abraham's servants. "This is the first I've heard of it," Abimelech said. "And I have no idea who is responsible. Why didn't you say something about this before?" Then Abraham gave sheep and oxen to Abimelech, and they made a treaty.

But when Abraham took seven additional ewe lambs and set them off by themselves, Abimelech asked, "Why are you doing that?" Abraham replied, "They are my gift to you as a public confirmation that I dug this well."

<= = = Sir, you said that Abraham was a great warrior, why didn't he just take the well back?

The scriptural record is clear that Abraham was a great warrior and partly because he never, ever picked a fight. He avoided conflict with Lot, with Pharaoh and with Abimelech. He even tried to avoid conflict between Sarah and Hagar, but that wasn't on the table. If you fight every battle that comes your way, you end up exhausted and unable to fight the battles that matter.

God had told Abraham to come to this place. His descendants would one day own it all if they kept God's commandments. Abraham could dig another well, but this was a godless, lawless place and Abraham used the opportunity to tell Abimelech that. If he had to fight he would. And he would win decisively, Abraham knew that. But after the battle, every third cousin of a fallen Gerarian would slip back in under cover of darkness to avenge family and make off with spoils for their trouble. Abraham gives Issac a special inheritance, in addition to servants and livestock, he gives him a good reputation in the land.

So ever since, that place has been known as Beersheba--"well of the oath"--because that was where they had sworn an oath. After making their covenant, Abimelech left with Phicol, the commander of his army, and they returned home to the land of the Philistines. Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and he worshiped the LORD, El Owlam, the Eternal or everlasting God, at that place. And Abraham lived in Philistine country for a long time.

< = = = Could planting that tree lead to idolatry sir, you said the Philistines worshipped their gods in groves of trees?

"I suppose if you bow down to the tree and call it your god it could be idolatry", Mr. Comfort said with a gentle smile. But planting trees is one thing that sets the people of Israel apart from the rest of the world. You take an American or worse, a South American and show them a tree and they start itching for their chain saw or bulldozer. Show an African a tree and they start breaking off limbs for their cooking fire. Show an Israeli land without a tree and they try to find a way to plant a tree there.

<= = = I guess that is true, sir, when I was born my father planted ten trees in Israel with the Jewish National Fund. I have the certificate in my life scrapbook. And I learned about the importance of trees in school, the roots help prevent erosion and they bring water and minerals to the surface. Abraham set a good example for all of us.