Parashat Chayei Sarah/Chayyei Sarah, 5774/2013 edition

Basics here.

Genesis Chapter 24 בְּרֵאשִׁית

ג  וְאַשְׁבִּיעֲךָ--בַּיהוָה אֱלֹהֵי הַשָּׁמַיִם, וֵאלֹהֵי הָאָרֶץ:  אֲשֶׁר לֹא-תִקַּח אִשָּׁה, לִבְנִי, מִבְּנוֹת הַכְּנַעֲנִי, אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי יוֹשֵׁב בְּקִרְבּוֹ.	3 And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell.
ד  כִּי אֶל-אַרְצִי וְאֶל-מוֹלַדְתִּי, תֵּלֵךְ; וְלָקַחְתָּ אִשָּׁה, לִבְנִי לְיִצְחָק.	4 But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son, even for Isaac.'
ה  וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו, הָעֶבֶד, אוּלַי לֹא-תֹאבֶה הָאִשָּׁה, לָלֶכֶת אַחֲרַי אֶל-הָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת; הֶהָשֵׁב אָשִׁיב אֶת-בִּנְךָ, אֶל-הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר-יָצָאתָ מִשָּׁם.	5 And the servant said unto him: 'Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land; must I needs bring thy son back unto the land from whence thou camest?'
ו  וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו, אַבְרָהָם:  הִשָּׁמֶר לְךָ, פֶּן-תָּשִׁיב אֶת-בְּנִי שָׁמָּה.	6 And Abraham said unto him: 'Beware thou that thou bring not my son back thither.

Regarding Yitzchak/Isaac not marrying a C’naanit, I heard a theory that it was important for Yitzchak to remain an outsider so that he wouldn’t assimilate, which is why he was supposed to (a) continue to live in a land in which he had little extended family and (b) marry a foreigner.

סו  וַיְסַפֵּר הָעֶבֶד, לְיִצְחָק, אֵת כָּל-הַדְּבָרִים, אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה.	66 And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done.
סז  וַיְבִאֶהָ יִצְחָק, הָאֹהֱלָה שָׂרָה אִמּוֹ, וַיִּקַּח אֶת-רִבְקָה וַתְּהִי-לוֹ לְאִשָּׁה, וַיֶּאֱהָבֶהָ; וַיִּנָּחֵם יִצְחָק, אַחֲרֵי אִמּוֹ.  {פ}	67 And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her. And Isaac was comforted for his mother. {P}

What, no fancy wedding with the chuppah (ceremony) preceded by a smorg?  J

Genesis Chapter 25 בְּרֵאשִׁית

Note that, while none of the children of Avraham and Keturah returned to participate in their father’s funeral, the much-maligned Yishmael/Ishmael did.

Some of my oldies but goodies, with highlights:

• Chayei Sarah (Sunday, November 07, 2004)

“she was married to her half-brother, Avraham, who twice asked her to lie about their marital status out of fear for his life. She was a barren woman who lived to regret giving her servant to her husband as the first surrogate mother on record (to the best of my knowledge). She was chastised by G-d for laughing when He told her husband that they’d have a child in her old age, though her husband had also laughed at a previous such prediction and gotten away with it (see Parshat Lech Lecha/ Genesis, chapter 8, verse 17). Later, when she’d had enough of Hagar’s son Yishmael/Ishmael’s mockery of her own son Yitzchak/Isaac, she had them expelled from their home. But Hagar got the last laugh—midrash (rabbinic legend/interpretation) tells us that Sarah died of a broken heart when she found out that Avraham had taken Yitzchak, her only child, to be sacrificed.”

• Parshat Chayei Sarah (Wednesday, November 16, 2011)

“Interestingly, much of the story of Rachel's (Sat., Nov. 10, 2012 post-Shabbat correction--Rivkah) encounter with Avraham's servant would be, for all practical purposes, impossible in current Chareidi (fervently Orthodox) society, in which, especially for an unmarried person, speaking to just about any person of the opposite gender other than one's parent is considered scandalous behavior.”

• Conservadox says that matchmaking hasn’t changed much.  J  
• If you haven’t already done so, I strongly recommend that you read The Sacrifice Of Sarah, by Phyllis Chesler and Rivka Haut, which originally appeared in the October 26, 2010 Jewish Week,.