The Torah relates that our forefather Avraham instructed his faithful servant Eliezer to travel from the land of Israel to his birthplace, Aram Naharyim, to find from his family, a suitable wife for his son Yitzchok.
Avraham sent Eliezer with ten camels laden with gifts. Our Sages tell us that Avraham’s camels stood out from among the other camels because they were muzzled while they traveled, so that they would not graze in the property of other people.
An interesting question is raised: The Talmud relates that the donkey of Rebbe Pinchas ben Yair was stolen and it refused to eat for three days. The thieves did not want to be stuck with a soon dead donkey and let the donkey out. The donkey returned to its owner’s home, yet even when it was given food it did not eat. Rebbe Pinchas asked his family if all tithes were separated from the food for the Kohain, Levi and the poor. They responded, “no”, but it is fit for animal consumption. Rebbe Pinchas answered, “Yes, it may be fit for an average animal, but my animal is stringent and would only eat from food that is definitely tithed.”
As strange as this may sound, the donkey of the righteous and sage Rebbe Pinchas, picked up its owner’s stringencies and sensed that the food was not on the highest levels of ‘Kashruth’ and instinctively refrained from eating it.
Now, if the donkey of Rebbe Pinchas ben Yair would not eat stolen or untithed food, why was it necessary for our great forefather Avraham to muzzle his camels to prevent them from eating that which was not theirs? Avraham’s righteousness should have infused his camels not to eat from the property of others without a muzzle!
Commentators point out that, in fact, Avraham’s animals did not need the muzzle to prevent them from eating in other people’s fields. However, Avraham who introduced Monotheism, righteousness, Tzadaka and judicial laws into society, was a role model of how people should conduct their lives with honesty, integrity and faithfulness. He therefore made it his business to muzzle his animals to teach and inspire others how to correctly conduct themselves even regarding their livestock.
Additionally, he did not want to rely on a miracle to prevent his animals from grazing improperly.
Rabbi Zalman Sorotzkin o.b.m. points out a basic difference between the way Avraham conducted himself by muzzling his cattle and the donkey of Rebbe Pinchas ben Yair.
Even if Avraham was certain that his cattle would not graze in other people’s fields, he still would have muzzled them because Avraham was humble and he did not want to show off the greatness of his righteousness. He wanted to inspire people by doing the right thing, rather than drawing their attention to something that would be the cause of self-aggrandizing.
The story of the donkey of Rebbe Pinchas ben Yair was different. It happened in a passive way. The animal’s particularities of eating what was tithed was only discovered after it was stolen, and his own family members weren’t even aware of it.
Were Avraham’s cattle to be deliberately left unmuzzled and they still would not veer off into the property of others it would set people up to say, “Wow! Look at that miracle!”
Miracles are short-lived for impressing people. Conducting oneself with good character and doing good deeds is felt forever.
In this Parsha, when Eliezer met Rivka – Yitzchok’s future wife ― at the drinking well, he noticed a miracle. When Rivka approached the well, the waters rose toward her! Eliezer knew that this would only occur for someone fit for Avraham’s family, for this miracle was a regular occurrence back home.
Yet, this miracle did not convince Eliezer that Rivka was the right match for Yitzchok. It was only after Rivka displayed her willingness and then actually performed a tremendous act of Chesed by supplying water for Eliezer’s camels that Eliezer became convinced that she was the one.
He gave her engagement gifts even before he asked her if she was related to Avraham. Why? Because when one displays Chesed and good character, especially to strangers, it means that it is ingrained within her. It was something that she worked on and would continue to grow and blossom.
I remember a story that happened with Mr. Landy, a trustworthy and modest man who lived in Scranton. He was very meticulous about the laws of Kashrus. When he became advanced in years, he suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. One day his attendant accidentally fed him non – kosher jello. A while later, when the mistake was realized his family noticed that all the jello that he was fed, still remained in the cheek of his mouth; he had never swallowed it. Our Sages point to the story of the donkey of Rebbe Pinchas ben Yair and say, “If G-d does not allow the animals of the righteous to stumble and eat what is not fitting, He certainly does not allow a mishap to happen to the righteous themselves!”
