Camels Camels Camels
It's a transition
Immediately after the Torah relates the news about the death of Sarah and the subsequent purchasing of the Mearas HaMachpela, we learn about Avraham sending his servant Eliezer on a mission to find a wife for Yitzchak. Most of the parashah describes the conversations surrounding this mission and ultimately Yitzchak meeting his wife Rivka, in full detail.
One of the details that stood out to me while learning the parashah is the repeated theme of camels. I believe camels are mentioned 18 times in this week's parashah. They are rarely mentioned elsewhere in the Torah. In fact, if one were to study the different modes of transportation mentioned in the Torah, the predominant mode was walking. There is barely a mention of horses, aside from Pharaoh and the laws pertaining to a king not to have too many horses. Donkeys would definitely be the runner up, as we find that a donkey was used by Avraham, the Shevatim, Bila’am, and Moshe. It is interesting that in this week's parashah the animal used for traveling is a camel. What is the significance in the use of a camel by Eliezer and Rivka over the use of any other animal?
As I tried researching this, I came up empty handed as I could not find this discussed in my regular go-to seforim. I asked this question to some friends and the common answers were along the lines of a camel being an animal befitting royalty, or an animal befitting a long journey. I felt that there must be something deeper going on here, so I turned to Google. I came across an article by a conservative rabbi explaining how camels provide for an uncomfortable, wobbly ride and this was intended to prepare for the often bumpy road of life. While beautiful, this did not sit well with me. Other articles pointed to the approach of biblical criticism that camels simply were not indigenous to Israel until much later on in history, and then there were articles rebuffing that theory. It was time to turn to Hashem, so I put in a prayer to find a solution to the deeper meaning of camels. The next morning, I had the solution waiting for me in the form of an article sent to me by Rabbi Zave Rudman and a new shiur on this topic by Rabbi Daniel Glatstein.
I will attempt to put their words together to understand the importance of camels in this mission to find Rivka.
Rabbi Rudman writes:
To find spouses, all the Avot can do is go back to their source. Even though the family of Terach worshipped Avoda Zara, that failure was an intellectual challenge that could be overcome. The essence of the family who were descended from Shem and therefore their Midot were correct. The people of Canaan, even if they believed in Hashem had a lack of Midot that could not be repaired.
Thus all the Imahot come from a great distance to join Klal Yisroel.1 This crucible gave them the ability to create the foundations of the Jewish people. The special enthusiasm of someone who discovers a new idea therefore permeated the house of the Avot. These homes were a mixture of the tradition of Avrohom, and the zeal of the newly converted Imahot.
A journey like this is not made in one day, but is a transition. Therefore they needed a process to separate themselves from the impurity they lived in to come and join the Avot. In general, one cannot jump straight from impurity to holiness.
The camel was the vehicle for this transition.
Rabbi Glatstein explains the etymology of the Hebrew word for Camel, Gamel. He explains the juxtaposition of the burial of Sarah and the mission to find a wife for Yitzchak, based on the Kli Yakar2. As we know the best way to understand someone's personality is to see how well they handle money and the loss of it. Efron initially offered, very generously, the Mearas HaMachpela to Avraham for free. When Avraham insisted on paying for it, Efron suddenly turned greedy and charged an exorbitant amount for the cave.
After observing this behavior, Eliezer wanted to formulate how he would know if the intended wife for Yitzchak was a good person and had Middos Tovos. Therefore, Eliezer determined that if he would stand by the well and ask for a drink, if she gives generously that means she is a good person.
When someone loves something, they love anything that sounds like that thing. So if you love Gemilus Chasadim, you love camels, which are Gamalim.
When Rivka said that she would feed the camels, it was a demonstration of her love for Gemilas Chasadim. Camels are very nice to each other which is why they are named after Chesed.
Let’s dig a little deeper with a few more obscure facts about camels.
As we know, camels are tamei animals because they do not have split hooves even though they do chew their cud, which is the other key point to being a tahor animal.
Additionally, camels are notorious for trespassing and eating food from areas which are not in their domain.
In the Midrash3, we find that the nation of Bavel is represented by a camel. Bavel is the concept of mixture. The camel’s ability to chew its cud is the ability to extract usable material from even the most difficult to digest food.
The Kli Yakar4 explains that the camel symbolizes Bavel, because on the outside they were nice to the Jews, like when they were nice to Mordechai and Daniel, but it was only to advance their own purposes.
The Zohar5 teaches that Nebuchadnezzar ate meat and milk together every day - as Bavel is the epitome of mixture of good and bad.
An additional note, as explained in my previous essays and the basis of my father’s book, Beginnings, the mission of the Avos was to bring a tikkun for the Etz Hadaas which caused the forces of Tov and Ra to get mixed into each other.
We see that the camel was used as the vehicle for transitioning Rivka from the house of Haran and Besuel to the home of Avraham and Yitzchak. This transition could not be done with an animal that is completely kosher, since Rivka is still found in the depth of impurity, in the mixture of Tov and Ra and there is a need to utilize a vehicle that has within itself this mixture to extricate her from it. For this reason Avraham made sure that muzzles would be put on the camels to stop the mixture.
On the one hand, the camel represents chesed, yet on the other hand it represents a mixture of good and bad. This is exactly the same as Bavel.
The Midrash6 relates that when Hashem made Adam, the Malachim tried bringing Adam down. The ministering angel of evil, called by the letters of his name Samech Mem, devised a plan. He asked the Nachash to make himself appear as a camel, which SM would then ride upon and entice Chava to eat from the Eitz HaDaas. The Nachash was also a mixture of good and evill. In fact the Arizal7 tells us that Rivka was a tikkun of Chava, so she rides on a camel to be metakein. Once this phase of the tikkun was complete, the Torah tells us that Rivka fell off the camel, as when Rivka finally sees Yitzchak she has purified herself sufficiently, and then she does not need the camel anymore, so she removes herself from it.
The Midrash8 teaches us that the mixture of the camel represents the mixture of Yaakov and Esav. We find earlier that when counting the inventory of Avraham Avinu’s wealth, one of the items mentioned is his camels. However, in Parshas Vayishlach when Yaakov is sending gifts to Esav to appease him, we do not find that he sent him camels. Rabbi Glatstein explains that Yaakov was saying that now the force of good and bad are distinct, as they are split again. However, Esav is now compared to a Chazir which is the epitome of mixture being that it has the more obvious kosher sign, split hooves, but does not chew its cud.
We cannot talk about animals without mentioning Perek Shirah.
The camel is saying: “ … Hashem roars from on high, from His holy dwelling He gives forth His voice; He surely roars over [the loss of] His dwelling.”9
Rebbetzin Shoshana Tugendhaft in her book Exploring Perek Shirah explains:
The roar of Hashem that sent shock waves over the world in the wake of the destruction of His Beis Hamikdash was a terrifying one. It combined anger and grief and vengeance, and it shook up the entire world.
The chapter in Yirmiyahu from which this shirah is drawn, describes how the sins of the Jewish People will eventually catch up with them and Bavel, the agent of destruction, will destroy many civilizations in its path.
Rav Chaim Kanievsky10 explained that most animals wait in ambush when they are hungry and then pounce on their prey when the prey least expects it. Camels roar and give a warning before pouncing on their prey. Just like Hashem. Hashem warns Klal Yisrael not to get caught up in their ways or the Beis HaMikdash will be destroyed, you need to separate the good from the bad.
Our lives, as we know it, are often composed of a mixture of good and bad. It is our job to separate the good from the bad and bring about the final phase of the tikkun.
Terach was Avraham’s father. Sara was a grandaughter, Rivka a great granddaughter, Rachel and Leah were great great granddaughters, so they came from the same family from Shem, but they group up in Charan, which Avraham had left in Lech Lecha.
Chayei Sarah 24;14
Vayikra Rabba 13;5
Kli Yakar - Shemini 11;4
Zohar - Chelek 2; 125b
Pirkei Rebbe Eliezer - Perek 13
Likutei Torah - Chayei Sarah
Bereishis Rabba 60;14
Perek Shirah 5;69
Perek BeShir 69
Thank you for this.