Welcome to Mishpachah Beit Midrash, the Family House of Study. Each Shabbat[1] we gather in our home and study the Scriptures, specifically the Torah.[2] It’s a fun time of receiving revelation from the Ruach HaKodesh[3]. Everyone joins in—adults and children—as we follow the Parashat HaShavuah[4] schedule. We devote ourselves to studying the Torah because the Torah is the foundation for all of Scripture. Therefore, a thorough understanding of the Torah will help us more fully understand the rest of the Tanakh[5] and the Brit Chadasha.[6] Furthermore, as Yeshua stated Himself, the Torah teaches about Him. So we study the Torah in order to be drawn closer to Yeshua, the goal of the Torah.
As believers in the Messiah we have discovered the richness
of the wisdom of the sages of
Thematic analysis of Scripture is based on the following premises. 1) Moses wrote the Torah as five separate books as the Ruach HaKodesh inspired him. 2) Since Adonai had him separate those words into five separate books, we surmise that each book has a unique message or theme. 3) Within each book, the words are written with two paragraph-like divisions[7] interrupting the flow of the words. 4) Since Adonai commanded Moshe to separate the individual books into smaller paragraph-like sections or Parshiot, we surmise that each Parsha was written as a separate unit because each of those Parshiot is trying to convey a unique thought, theme, concept or understanding. Therefore, since Adonai inspired these divisions, we think they are VERY important. We use these God-breathed divisions as the basis of our thematic analysis of Scripture. Once you begin to interpret the Scriptures thematically, you will immediately SEE that Adonai wrote His words in a manner consistent with the intent that they be interpreted thematically.
Here is an example of what the Parsha divisions look like …
s—Parsha Stumah (plural, stumot)—A paragraph-like break inspired by the Ruach HaKodesh, still preserved on kosher Torah Scrolls, where there are at least nine blank spaces between a word and the next word, all on the same line of text.
~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla
~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla
~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla~yhla ~yhla
~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla
p—Parsha P'tuchah (plural, p'tuchot)—A paragraph-like break inspired by the Ruach HaKodesh, still preserved on kosher Torah Scrolls, where there are blank spaces extending to the end of a line of text and the subsequent text does not begin until the next line. (Hebrew is read from right to left)
~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla
~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla
~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla ~yhla
Our study is fun and interactive. Everyone contributes to the discussion. The lesson will incorporate information for children. They are responsible for answering questions and completing a WordSearch or some other fun, written activity. Children are naturals at midrashing and connecting Scriptures thematically!
After the Beit Midrash, we will say good-bye to the Shabbat with a traditional Havdalah gathering. So come join with us as we participate in the discussion that was started centuries ago! We feel we are privileged to participate in this ancient discussion, which has practical application for us today. These weekly teachings presuppose that you understand many Hebraic thought concepts. If you are unfamiliar with Torah study, please start by reading the five introductory articles pertaining to these weekly studies. You can find them at…
http://restorationoftorah.org/
Then, just click on the link entitled, Mishpachah Beit Midrash’s Parashat HaShavuah!
This lesson is presented in a self-study format with lots of questions. To view my answers to the questions, simply mouse-over the word Sarah at the end of the questions (HTML) or the highlighted question marks (WORD). If you are viewing this in a regular e-mail format, the mouse-over function will not work; therefore, answers are also provided as footnotes so that you can print the article with answers. This article may also be found at the following link, which will also allow you to see my answers simply by using the mouse-over feature.
http://restorationoftorah.org/WeeklyParsha/MBMChayeiSarah.htm
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Genesis 23:1 -
23:20 s
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Genesis
24:1 - 24:67
p
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Genesis
25:1 - 25:18
p
Understanding the Parsha
Genesis
24:1 - 24:67
Objective—Learn how to 1) interpret the main theme of
a Parsha, 2) make thematic connections to that Parsha and 3) learn how to gain
greater understanding of the Parsha under consideration through its thematic
connections to other portions of Scripture.
Finding a Wife for Isaac
I. Read Genesis 24:1-67. Note that there are no other parsha divisions in this story. We know this means that this entire narrative contains one unique and primary theme. After reading the parsha through, what would you say is its primary theme?[Sarah1] [8]
A. Have you noticed anything peculiar concerning how the Torah speaks of Abraham’s servant?[Sarah2] [9] That’s right. Always take note of instances when the Torah leaves out details we should expect to find. The significance of the nameless servant will be covered in the last section, Messiah in the Parsha.
B. Read Genesis 24:15-25. How is Rivka (Rebecca) described in Genesis 24:15-16?[Sarah3] [10] Her lineage is obviously important because Abraham made the servant promise to only obtain a wife for Isaac from his relatives. Now normally, we may gloss over her description of being beautiful. However, in the past we have learned that if we can make thematic connections to other portions of Scripture, we will see more of Adonai’s wisdom unfold before us. Can you think of any passages thematically related to the statement that Rivka was beautiful?[Sarah4] [11] Could the Torah be making a connection between these two women? I think so. The Torah makes this one statement in hopes that we see the connection between Sarah and Rivka. Why? The Torah wants us to see that Rivka has the same outward beauty as Sarah. Think I’m stretching this too far? Watch this.
C. Read Genesis 24:17-25. Is their any common theme related to Rivka’s actions in these few verses?[Sarah5] [12] As you can see, the Torah repeatedly emphasized how quickly she acted. Can you think of any passage thematically related to Rivka’s actions?[Sarah6] [13] That’s right. In the description of Abraham’s actions when he entertained the three men (Genesis 18:4-8), Abraham’s actions were described as follows: [Vayeira7] “…Avraham hastened…Hurry!…ran…hurried…” As you can see, both Rivka and Abraham had an opportunity to show hospitality to a stranger! Both of them moved with quickness, humility and servanthood to look to the needs of the visitors. Do you think it is a coincidence that the Torah describes Abraham and Sarah’s actions with the same terms? Do you think it’s a coincidence that both of them had an opportunity to display hospitality to a stranger? Of course not.
D. Let’s backtrack for a moment. Read Genesis 24:12-14 to understand the test the servant proposed so that he could discern whom Isaac's bride should be. The test the servant proposed may seem trite until you realize that 1) the servant brought ten camels and 2) a thirsty camel can drink up to twenty five-gallons of water! Now can you see the enormity of Rivka’s act of hospitality? Remember, she continued to run and fill the jugs until all the camels had finished drinking! Note, she did this for a complete stranger! Now that’s hospitality! So why does the Torah thematically connect Rivka and Abraham through their acts of hospitality? Because, the Torah is teaching us that Rivka has the same inner beauty of character as did Abraham. Through the obvious thematic connections to Abraham, we see that these few verses are actually teaching us about the lovely character of Rivka. She is walking in the steps of Our Father Abraham. How appropriate that she should be the mother of the future nation.
II. Read Genesis 24:50-61. Which type of verb is being used over and over?[Sarah8] [14] Note how often the words go, send, proceed, went, etc., are used!
A. Where is the servant trying to get Rivka to go?[Sarah9] [15] From where is he trying to get her to leave?[Sarah10] [16] Note the blessing given to Rivka in Genesis 24:60. Do you think the family understood the promise given to Abraham?[Sarah11] [17] Do you understand the significance of the answers to these last three questions? Based on these answers, is Rivka following in someone else's footsteps?[Sarah12] [18] Now why do you think the Torah has thematically connected Rivka and Abraham concerning their willingness to leave all behind to obtain a promise? The Torah is teaching us that Rivka has the faith of Abraham as well as his hospitality! Often, the Torah does not comment directly on a person's character. Many times, we learn about a person's character through the thematic connections made to them through the narratives of the Torah.
B. Can you think of a descendant of Terach who chose not to
stay with Avraham?[Sarah13] [19] That's right.
C. How is the fact that Abraham's act of hospitality resulted in the blessing of childbirth thematically related to Rivka's life?[Sarah14] [20]
III. Concerning the test of hospitality proposed by the servant, how does it testify of his great wisdom? It shows that he was well aware of Avraham's character strength of hospitality. He had seen it in action for years. He knew that Isaac's potential bride needed to be of equal character in order to build the nation Adonai wanted. Therefore, he chose a test of extreme hospitality as the basis for choosing a bride for Isaac. And on hindsight, we see that the test he proposed was truly an extremely wise choice. ☺
In summary, although this parsha is primarily concerned with finding Isaac a wife, we see, through thematic connections we see that it has lots to say about the character of Rivka.
