Chayei Sarah: Trust with Confidence!

ויהי כאשר כלו הגמלים לשתות ויקח האיש נזם זהב בקע משקלו ושני צמידים על ידיה עשרה זהב משקלם: ויאמר בת מי את הגידי נא לי היש בית אביך מקום לנו ללין

And when the camels finished drinking, the man took a golden nose-ring, weighing a beka, and two bracelets on her arms, weighing ten golden shekels. And the man asked her, "Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to stay?"

Why, asks Rashi, did Eliezer give Rivkah the jewelry before he was sure that she was the right girl for Yitzchok? The answer is that after seeing the miraculous success of his mission so far, he was certain that in the merit of Avraham, Hashem was blessing his efforts and this was the intended wife for Yitzchok.

At first glace, Rashi's answer only kicks the question down the road. Yes, he seems to be on the right path, and yes, there is the merit of Avraham. But what’s the rush? Why did Eliezer have to risk the jewelry? Why jump to conclusions when he is anyway about to inquire regarding her and her family?

We see from here that when Hashem is clearly guiding us, the proper reaction is to place our trust in Him even more. Until now, Eliezer was being cautious and not taking any risks with the eligible candidate for Yitzchok. But now, seeing that Hashem is there, he confidently places his trust in Him alone.

The Baalei Mussar discuss this concept often. The more trust we place in Hashem, and the more we look out to see Him in our lives, the more we will see. It becomes an upward cycle, trust bringing more revelation, more revelation bringing more trust!

Contrast this with Lavan and Besuel. Later in the Parsha, when Eliezer recounts the events to Rivkah’s family, he conveniently omits this detail. He relates that he first asked regarding the family, and only then did he give the gifts. Rashi explains that Eliezer knew that they wouldn’t understand his "leap of faith" and he would lose his credibility with them.

Even after the sequence of events was so clear that Lavan and Besual declared, “this has been orchestrated by G-d”, Eliezer was still afraid that they would not understand how he could take a risk and be confident in his trust.

Non-believers don’t want to trust, even after they are forced to admit, while believers are looking for ways to place their trust, and want to trust and love even more.

May we continue to see Hashem in our lives, and strive to place our faith in Him even more!

Have a wonderful Shabbos!