In Pirkei Avot, it says that the world stands on three pillars, Torah, avodah, and chessed.
Avraham, being the perfect paradigm for chessed in all of Judaism, in this weeks parasha, Parshat Chayei Sarah, asks his servant, Eliezer, to go find Yitzchak a wife. He makes a whole game plan, because after all nothing is successful with a plan. He will wait by the well with his camels, ask women if he cold drink some of their water, the woman who agrees to not only give him water but his camels water as well, is the women destined to marry Yitzchak. The Torah continues to say immediately, even before he finished speaking Rivkah came along and did just that. What was it that Eliezer really wanted to find Yitzchaks future wife? Chessed, not only chessed but immediate chessed, it was just that brought Rivkah to the eternal position of one of our matriarch’s. The funny things is that most of us, especially in the Los Angeles community everyday have the opportunity to reach levels or Rivkah Imeinu, we just don’t use our full potential. We should all take an hour or two a week, a month, doing something good for the community, and maybe we can reach higher levels and great rewards like Rivkah Imeinu.
Shabbat Shalom
Yosef Nemanpour
VP Outreach