D'var Torah

As we read in the Zohar:  “God creates new worlds constantly by causing marriages to take place.”  Having just returned from officiating at my son’s wedding, I have love stories on my mind.  The new couple has a fun tale of how they fell in love, and, as is often the custom these days, they tell their story at their wedding website. In this week’s parasha, Chayei Sarah, there is an extended story of how Isaac and Rebekah’s relationship started. We learn that Isaac was not involved at all in the selection process; rather, Abraham’s servant was sent on a mission to find a wife for his son.  Rebecca, on the other hand, once chosen, is asked if she consents to the marriage.   Surprisingly, she is eager to do so, without ever having laid eyes on Isaac.  And when the two finally meet, it’s “fireworks.”  Rebecca is immediately impressed with her intended.  Isaac, we are told, is “comforted after the death of his mother” (Gen 24:67) in bringing Rebecca into his tent.  Like many stories about how couples find each other, there is a fairy tale like quality to this one and the couple’s union seems, as we say in Yiddish, “bashert,” meant to be.