GEN1172 Procreation is essential to the continuity of life. In the animal world the perpetuation of the species is generally achieved without the benefit of a familial relationship resembling matrimony. The character and behavior of animal herds are mostly predetermined by fixed laws of nature, with the role of parents limited to the physical preservation of their offspring. A young animal does not need a “home” in the moral sense which this term is assumed in human society. Man, endowed with a free will, does not develop his character by a predetermined pattern of evolution. The influences of the home are essential to the transmission of moral values and perceptions. The spiritual dimension of a human being, and to a large extent of society as a whole, is based on parental guidance and instruction provided in the home. Hence the Judaic stress on the importance of background as determining factor in an individual’s qualification as a good mate. The importance of background is emphasized in the Biblical account of the choice of Rebecca as a wife for Isaac. Abraham entrusted his loyal servant Eliezer with the task of finding a proper wife for his son. He ruled out any choice of a local Canaanite girl because of the immoral environment of Canaanite homes. Abraham was convinced of the lingering effects of the undesirable influences of one’s youth.   He therefore instructed Eliezer to go to his native land to find a suitable girl of a Semitic family. Genesis 24:3-4.   Eliezer’s choice of a bride is highly illuminating.   The decisive consideration was not her wealth or the prominence of her family but her character. Standing at the well, he prayed: “So let it come to pass that the damsel to whom I shall say: ‘Let down thy pitcher, I beg of thee, that I may drink,’ and she shall say: ‘Drink and I will give thy camels drink also,’ let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac” [This verse]. Such a response, he felt, would qualify her to marry Isaac and would also be a token of G–d’s approval. BLOCH 213-4 (Continued at [[EXOD540]] Exodus 21:10 withhold BLOCH 214-5)

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GEN1173 Someone who loves to do chesed will do more than he is asked to do.   … Eliezer, the devoted servant of Abraham, had learned from his great master to appreciate the profound significance of helping others.   Chesed is not merely a kind act, but a manifestation of one’s belief in God.   Doing chesed is an act of emulating Him whose kindness is without bounds. Eliezer realized that the woman who would be deemed worthy of becoming a mother of the Jewish people must be the paragon of chesed.   … Rivkah ran (verse 20) to water the camels – an act which she was not even asked to perform.   On her own volition, she offered to draw enough water for ten thirty camels.  This act of chesed indicated that she was worthy of being Avraham’s daughter-in-law.   (Rabbi Isaac Sher in Leket Sichos Mussar, p. 38-39).  PLYN 88-9

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GEN1174 Mercy is so strong a part of our tradition that a substantial body of Jewish law and practice prohibits any kind of cruelty to animals, a duty that the rabbis said was commanded by the Torah Shabbat 128b The acts forbidden because they generate tzar ba’alei hayyim, the pain of living things, have their source in the narratives as well as the legislation of the Bible. Rebecca tended to Eliezer’s camels as soon as she saw that he had slaked his thirst. This so impressed Abraham’s servant that he knew she was the right woman to be Isaac’s wife [this verse]. “R. Judah said in the name of Rav: A man may eat nothing until he has fed his animals. For the Torah the first indicates, ‘I will give grass in your fields for your cattle,’ and only later says, ‘You shall eat and be satisfied’ [Deuteronomy 11:15] Berachot 40b.   A related law prohibits a person from buying an animal unless he first has enough food to feed it adequately. Yerushalmi Yevamot 15:3 “It says something about a person’s goodness when his animals are well fed and satisfied” Sifre Deuteronomy 43.  A Talmudic tale about Judah ha-Nasi, the Patriarch of the Palestinian Jewish community in the late second century C.E. and the chief compiler of the Mishnah law code, stresses the importance of these laws. “The sufferings of Rabbi came because of an act he did that lacked compassion, and left because of an act that he did that was full of compassion. One day a calf was being taken to the slaughterhouse. It broke away and hid under Rabbi’s robe.   ‘Go,’ said Rabbi, ‘for this you were created.’ Because of this hardheartedness, sickness came upon him. Sometime later, Rabbi’s maidservant was sweeping his house when he saw that she was about to sweep away a nest full of weasel pups. ‘Let them be,’ he said to her, for it is written, ‘And God’s compassion is over all God’s works’” [Psalm 145:9] Bava Metzia 85a.  The detailed laws of the kosher slaughtering of animals, shehitah, rest upon this compassion for animals, requiring that when we kill them for food, we make sure that they die instantly and painlessly. Thus we must use a perfectly sharpened knife, one free of any nicks or rough edges Aaron, Sefer Hahinukh [The book of instruction], 451. To this day the shohet must test his knife before using it. Should he find an imperfection, he must immediately sharpen it away or set it aside and use another knife. In the same spirit, citing the negative example of the biblical hunter Esau, the rabbis prohibit killing merely for sport.  Avodah Zarah 18b. BOROJMV 75-76

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GEN1176 What Judaism Should Teach Today.   So scientific has our world become that even the milk of human kindness has been condensed.   Nations are becoming as heartless to universal suffering as the inventions that inflict their misery. Now, more than ever, must Jewish ethics be gain promulgated from the New Judea if humanity is to be restored to a balanced mode of existence. Solicitude for the rights of the weak, the poor and the lowly; kindness towards all, be they men or animals, are the desiderata to-day.  “Tenderness to animals”, said Lecky, “is one of the most beautiful features of the Old Testament writers.” The lives of the leading characters of the Bible bear ample evidence of their reaction towards sympathy and consideration for all. Rebekah’s qualification to become the wife of Isaac was her kindness to Eliezer and his camels [this verse]; Jacob was chosen as the father of the founders of the Twelve Tribes of Israel by reason of his tenderness for his flock. Genesis 29:7; 33:13. Balaam was warned that if he struck his faithful ass, he would be slain Numbers 22:30f and the Psalmist praises God who “openth His hand, and satisfieth the desire of every living being.” Psalms 145:16 LEHRMAN 323-4

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GEN1175 Rabban Gamaliel said: Provide yourself with a teacher, and free yourself from doubt … Pirkei Avot I:16  If a teacher is to guide you toward certainty so as to resolve your doubts, he must first be quite sure of himself and illuminate a path of life that is clear and consistent. Such a feeling of self-confidence and certainty an only be grounded in a deep knowledge and grasp of Jewish law. We are being advised therefore as to the qualifications to demand from a teacher and preacher whom we may appoint. Too many communities require only that their rabbi be an accomplished speaker, adept at socializing and raising funds. Of these qualities they make certain. But when it comes to the man’s piety or his learning, they conjecture and estimate; in short, they are in doubt.   An analogous situation exists in choosing a wife. A man can never be certain of all the qualities and characteristics of his intended spouse. But each person makes sure of those qualities which he values most. One suitor will ascertain that his fiancée cooks well; another that she dances well; a third that she is interested in the arts. When Eliezer the servant of Abraham went to seek a bride for Isaac, he made certain about another set of values altogether. The “test” which he imposed on the girl to be chosen probed for character, for kindness and generosity. [this verse]. Our Mishnah instructs us, then, that in choosing a teacher and spiritual guide, make certain of his basic qualifications, so that he can resolve your doubts and allay your uncertainties.  SINAI1 102

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GEN1177 A person who wishes to do chesed should publicize that he has something which others might need.  Rabbi Yonoson Eybescheutz notes that the Torah emphasizes the fact that Rivkah carried her water pitcher upon her shoulder.  Others would hide their pitchers to avoid the bother of lending them out.   Rivkah, however, publicized the fact that she had a pitcher so that people might ask to borrow it.   (Tiferes Yonoson, on this verse).   It was customary in ancient Jerusalem that a cloth would be placed on the outside of the door to indicate that strangers are welcome to come inside and partake of a meal.  Baba Batra 93b.  I have seen notices in present-day Jerusalem advertising cassette tapes of Torah lectures which can be borrowed from a certain private individual free of charge.   Other signs publicize an offer to lend medical supplies free of charge.   PLYN 90

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GEN1178 If we want to judge others fairly, we should pay most attention to their character, not their physical appearance of professional accomplishments.   This goes counter to the manner in which many of us assess others – namely, focusing primarily on the person’s looks, wealth, and success.  The Bible’s view is different.  Thus, although the matriarch Rebecca was beautiful [this verse], what most appealed to Abraham’s servant, who was seeking a wife for Isaac, was her great kindness.  Genesis 24:18-19.  When the prophet Samuel was looking for a successor to King Saul, and was struck by the appearance of one of David’s other brothers, God said to him, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him [as a potential king]. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at.   Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks into the heart” Samuel 1 16:7.  In later Jewish writings, the Talmud emphasizes that, though the first- and early second-century sage Rabbi Joshua was very ugly, he was extraordinarily esteemed both for his scholarship and for his acts of kindness Ta’anit 7a.   Because people know that they are judged largely on the basis of their appearance, many people spend far more time working on how they look than on how they behave.   TELVOL 1:88

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GEN1179 Chesed reveals a person’ virtues.   The Midrash cited by Rashi [Genesis Rabbah 60:5] states that Eliezer ran because he saw the water from the well miraculously rise to meet Rivkah.   Although Eliezer witnessed this event, he did not consider it sufficient evidence to prove that she was worthy to be Yitzchok’s wife.  A test of her eagerness to do chesed was still necessary.   From here we see that even if a person is worthy of having miracles performed on his behalf, he is not deemed truly worthy unless he performs acts of chesed.  [Heard from Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, Rosh Hayeshiva of Brisk in Jerusalem].   PLYN 90

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GEN1180 Although animals have priority when it comes to eating, human beings come first when it comes to drinking.  As the Sefer Chasidim (13th century) rules: “If both a man and an animal are thirsty, you should quench the man’s thirst before giving water to the animal, and so it says, [this verse and Genesis 24:46]. We also read that Moses was told [by God]: “Provide drink for the community and their beasts” Numbers 20:8; first the community and only then the beasts.   But when it comes to eating, animals take precedence … and so we read: “I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and [then] you shall eat your fill” Deuteronomy 11:15.   The Sefer Chasidim likewise notes that when Eliezer arrived at Rebecca’s home, his animals were given straw, and only then was food set before him Genesis 24:32; paragraph 531.   TELVOL 1:312

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GEN1181 (Continued from [[GEN33]] Genesis 2:7 living SACTAB 216). As we continue forward in the Torah, we note the important role of animals in the lives of our biblical ancestors. The search for a wife for Isaac is one example of such a story. When Abraham’s servant is sent to find a wife for Isaac, he prays that the right woman will extend an offer of drink to his camels. And so we read, (this first). Rebecca's compassionate act toward the animals helps identify her as suitable to be the next matriarch of the Jewish people. (By Rayna Ellen Gevurtz, "Kindness to Animals: Tzaar Baalei Chayim") (Continued at [[DEUT1166]] Deuteronomy 22:10 together SACTAB 217).

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