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  |      (C) Dr Hendel, Summer 2000                          |
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VERSE: Gn24-17a

BACKGROUND
==========
Recall that Eliezer went to a strange city to obtain a wife
for Isaac. Gn24-17 says that Eliezer ran towards Rivkah. WHY?

Rashi suggests >He ran towards her because when she went down
to get water from the well, the well water sprang towards her<

It is tempting to interpret this literally...the water really
sprang up towards her. But a careful examination of the
verses which support this Rashi (cited from Midrash Rabbah)
suggest that >Rivkah obtained the water without alot of
drawing<. In other words what happened was extraordinary
but not miraculous---the water didnt spring up towards
her but rather she gathered the water quicker than usual

We derive this by ALIGNING the following verses

----------------------------------------------------------------
Gn24-16  She went down to the well, Filled her bucket, & went up
Gn24-45  She went down to the well, drew water
                                    *1                    *2
----------------------------------------------------------------

NOTES
-----
*1 Eliezer, in Gn24-45, when he spoke to her parents/relative,
   played down the miracle and simply said she >Drew the water<
   But Gn24-16, which relates what actually happened states
   that she >Filled her bucket<

   The simplest way of explaining >filling her bucket< vs
   >drawing the water< is that >She filled the bucket
   quickly without alot of redrawing< (How much you
   draw from a well depends on how much water is flowing
   at that time)

*2 The difference between a >quick filling up< and a >long
   filling up< is that after a >quick filling up< you can
   leave the well immediately while during a >long filling up<
   you have to stay at the well and dont have time to go up.

In conclusion the combined statement >she FILLED the bucket and
WENT UP< suggests a quick fill; by contrast the statement >she
drew water< suggests an ongoing process


THE POINT
=========
As emphasized above the explanation we have given, that Rivkah
was able to fill the bucket quickly is more palatable than the
idea that the >water sprang up towards her<. Our interpretation
also has a connotation of >Divine intervention< without involving
extraordinary physical events.


RASHI RULE USED: DOUBLE PARSHAS
---------------------------------------------------
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Volume 8 Number 9


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