From the Search for the Tzaddik, Torah is Made

WHY DOES THE TORAH GO INTO SUCH LENGTH ABOUT THE MATCH OF YITZCHAK AND RIVKA?

THE HOLY WORDS OF RABBI SHLOMO ELMELIACH SHLIT”A:

This is what Rav Berland shlit”a has always said about Parshat Chayei Sarah – we see that the Torah says, “Sit in Succot for seven days” (Vayikra 23:42), but it doesn’t explain how we sit in the Succah, from what we make the Succah, how many walls a Succah should have, and so on.

In fact, all the laws of the Succah are learned from the Oral Torah; but the story of the match of Yitzchak and Rivka, it’s possible to wonder what happened that it would go into such length?  They brought a match to Yitzchak.  So what?  The Torah makes an entire chapter out of this match.  An entire chapter?  Now really!

Rav Elmeliach asks:  Is it written in the Torah about the match of Avraham and Sarah?  [Why does Eliezer, Avraham’ slave, repeat the story of the match so many times?]  So that now they’ll make Torah out of me because of the match I made.  So why does the Torah go back and repeat:  Today, I came to the spring and said to her, “Give me something to drink” – very nice, she gave you and the camels something to drink.  So she gave him something to drink!?

SO RAV [BERLAND] MADE [OUT OF THIS] AN AWESOME PROCESS IN WHICH HE EXPLAINS THAT ALL THE TESTS WHICH ELIEZER, AVRAHAM’S SLAVE, WENT THROUGH DURING THIS MISSION, FROM ALL OF THIS, TORAH IS CREATED.

OUT OF THE SELF-SACRIFICE WHICH A PERSON MAKES IN ORDER TO FIND THE TRUE TZADDIK, TORAH IS MADE.

LIKUTEY MOHARAN, LIKUTEY HALACHOT WERE CREATED THROUGH WHO?  THROUGH WHOSE EFFORT?  NOT BY RABBENU [NACHMAN]!  RATHER, THEY WERE CREATED THROUGH THE EFFORT OF RABBI NATAN WHO RAN AFTER HIM AND FOUND HIM.

RABBI NATAN SEARCHED AND SEARCHED.  ONCE HE TRAVELLED TO BERDICHOV, ONCE HE WAS HERE, ONCE HERE.  EVERY TIME ANOTHER PLACE.  SO IT WAS THAT THROUGH SEARCHING, THROUGH FINDING THE TZADDIK, FROM THIS LIKUTEY HALACHOT AND LIKUTEY MOHARAN WERE BORN.  ABOUT THESE, RABBEINU SAID THAT THEY WERE ALL RABBI NATAN’S.

ALL THE CONTINUITY OF RABBEINU IS THROUGH RABBI NATAN, AND THIS IS CALLED – SEARCHING FOR THE TZADDIK.

The faith in the Tzaddik is the root of the entire Torah, “And they believed in Hashem and in Moshe His servant” (Shemot 14:31).