Chain Reaction I
The Torah’s seemingly prosaic term “And he said” was part of the most important chain of events. It linked the beginning of civilization to its end; the highest and most sublime spiritual energies with the lowest physical entities. It united opposite ends of the spectrum that will finally link the beginning of history, when G-d’s plan was first enunciated, with the end of history when it will be fully realized.
Tonto in the Torah
In American culture, Tonto was the American Indian sidekick of the Lone Ranger. In Torah literature, “ToNTO” is an acronym, for the four characteristics inherent in Biblical words. The letter “tet” stands for “ta’amim-musical notes, or “trop” as they are known in Yiddish. The letter “nun” stands for “nekudot” or vowels. The letter “tav” stands for “tagin-crowns” that adorn the letters and the letters themselves, which are represented by the letter “aleph”: “otiyot.”
Most of Torah interpretation revolves around the letters and vowels of its words. However, every now and then we come across interpretations of the words that are based on the musical notes that are attached to each word or phrase.
Shalsheles
This approach of interpreting the notes is more apparent when a musical note appears rarely in the Torah. One of the rarest notes in the Torah is the triple- zig-zag one called “shalsheles.” Literally the word means a chain and its shape and its sound are a long chain of winding notes, going up the musical scale. This note appears only four times in the Torah; one of these is in this week’s parsha in the narrative regarding the marriage of Isaac to Rebecca; the very first marriage described in the Torah. Here is some background.
Eliezer, the servant of Abraham, was sent by his master to find a wife for his son Isaac from his homeland. Eliezer travels to Aram Naharayim, Abraham’s birthplace, with camels laden with the wealth of his master.
Eliezer arrives in the evening at the outskirts of the city where the well was situated, at the time they would draw water for the camels. Eliezer turns his attention to G-d and says (Vayomar):
“O G-d! The G-d of my master Abraham. Please let something happen to me today, and do kindness to my master, Abraham.”
This prayer set into motion a flurry of events, where Rebecca’s kindness was tested and clearly demonstrated, and where, in the end, her father and reluctant brother finally let her go to marry Isaac.
Now, the word “Vayomar-And he said,” that prefaces his prayer, is one of the four places in the Torah that are sung to the tune of the winding shalsheles note. And here the question can be asked: If the shalsheles note is so significant, why would it be attached to a word so prosaic such as: “And he said?”
Judaism’s Seminal Event
Upon deeper reflection it is clear that the events that were to unfold were some of Jewish history’s most important seminal events. Isaac’s marriage to Rebecca was the first Jewish marriage (inasmuch as all previous marriages occurred before Abraham’s covenant with G-d through circumcision). It is also the first marriage described in vivid detail in the Torah.
In Chassidic and Kabbalistic literature, this union is seen as the paradigm for all future marriages, as well as for the ultimate marriage between G-d and Israel that began at Sinai and will be completed in the Messianic Era. Kabbalah teaches us that the spiritual dynamics for these future unions, individual, national and cosmic were all set into motion at the marriage between Isaac and Rebecca.
When Eliezer opened his mouth “And he said,” he tapped into a divinely orchestrated Master Plan that would soon unfold and span the expanse of history.
His words (that whichever girl would show kindness by providing water not just for him but also for his camels) ultimately proved to be prescient and provided the sign that Rebecca was indeed the chosen for Isaac. He now tapped into a dynamic that encompassed all of what Kabbalah calls “seder hishtalshelus,” which can be loosely translated as the “entire order of existence from the highest primordial realms to the lowest forms of physical existence.” The term “hishtalshelus” is related to the musical note, the “shalsheles,” which translates literally as a chain. A chain is a series of interlocked links that can extend from one distant place to another, and it serves as a metaphor for the entire range of existence.
The Torah’s seemingly prosaic term “And he said” was part of the most important chain of events. It linked the beginning of civilization to its end; the highest and most sublime spiritual energies with the lowest physical entities. It united opposite ends of the spectrum, which will finally link the beginning of history, when G-d’s plan was first enunciated, with the end of history when it will be fully realized.
An Atypical Prayer
Moreover, according to the Midrash, Eliezer’s prayer was one of the most unique prayers in history. Even before he finished his prayer, G-d had already answered him and sent Rebecca, whom he had chosen as Isaac’s wife. The Rebbe (See Gutnick Chumash p. 151) demonstrates how G-d had already orchestrated events before Eliezer even began praying. Rebecca’s arrival could not have been a response to Eliezer’s prayer, since she had left her home to come to the well before Eliezer began praying.
Hence, a straightforward reading of the words “And he said” indicates that his saying was not a typical prayer. In the normal sequence of events prayer precedes the response to the prayer. Here the order was reversed. First G-d sets into motion a process that will lead to Rebecca coming to the well, where she exhibits incredible kindness, thereby passing the test of eligibility for marriage to Isaac.
Based on this premise we can add further explanation why the winding, and seemingly endless note is used to describe the opening of Eliezer’s monologue/prayer.
What seems to be a simple prayer, turns out to be nothing less than one small, but, as stated earlier, significant, detail in a Divine orchestration of events that led to the discovery of Rebecca, who becomes the Matriarch of the Jewish people, and whose role then effected all of Jewish and world history, including our very existence today and that will lead, inexorably to the coming of Moshiach.
Prosaic or Poetic?
The question as to why a seemingly prosaic word/phrase as “Vayomar-And he said” would be punctuated with one of the rarest, longest, most complex and winding sound and notes is now fully answered, carrying with it a powerful message for all times, particularly ours.
There are times when we say or do simple and inconsequential things and they set into motion major events. They can be a link in the chain that can affect the entire order of “hishtalshelus,” all of existence. Lighting one match in a forest can lead to catastrophic results far beyond the power of one little, but hardly unimportant, act of striking the match.
There are also other times when we say or do things that are rather insignificant, and they, in and of themselves, have little impact, but they are the pieces that fit into an elaborate puzzle that was orchestrated by G-d, without which that puzzle will not be complete.
When Eliezer opened his mouth to speak, he felt that he had become G-d’s instrument to bring about this historic union of Isaac and Rebecca; s union that would have many twists and turns (similar to the “shalsheles” note that zigzags). He sensed that he was part of a cosmic exercise, and that is what gave him the confidence that he would succeed. He would not take no from Rebecca’s family as an answer. He was determined to see this through.
We are similarly called upon to do what we think seems undistinguished. We should never underestimate the power of our actions and words. We can be playing a part in the ultimate drama of history in finishing that which Eliezer started: The bringing together of the pieces that are needed to make the world a world of peace between G-d and us, as well as peace between all of existence.
Before we consider saying something or doing something that might seem unimportant, think about the shalsheles note above the words (“And he said”): If what we say or do is positive we can become an integral link in the chain that leads from G-d’s first generation of energy to bring about existence to the last link that is a perfected physical world; the world of the Messianic Age, when G-d’s presence will be fully manifested in our lives and throughout the universe.
From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Chayei Sarah by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
