Commentaire sur La Genèse 24:32

ויפתח HE UNGIRDED — He removed their muzzles, for he had closed their mouths by them so that on the journey they might not graze in other peoples’ fields (Genesis Rabbah 60:8).

AND THE MAN CAME INTO THE HOUSE. Eliezer is the man who entered the house. And he ungirded the camels — this refers to Laban who acted ethically towards his guests, unharnessed their camels and gave them straw and fodder, and he also gave water to wash the feet of Eliezer and the feet of the men that were with him. It must refer to Laban for it would be unlikely that it was Eliezer who gave water to wash his own feet and those of his men. A similar case is the verse, And there passed by Midianites, merchantmen, and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit.¹²⁶Further, 37:28. The words, and they drew, refer back to the brothers of Joseph mentioned in the preceding verse, and not to the Midianites. And so in the verse, Then said Ziba unto the king [David]: According to all that my lord the king commandeth his servant, so shall thy servant do; but Mephibosheth eateth at my table as one of the king’s sons.¹²⁷II Samuel 9:11. [The concluding words, but Mephibosheth eateth], are the words of David and not Ziba. There are many such verses.
Now the purport of the expression, and he ungirded the camels, is that he unloosened the bands on their necks, as it was customary to lead them knotted, or perhaps they travelled with saddles girded upon them, just as is expressed in the verses: Let not him that girdeth on his armor boast himself as he that putteth it off,¹²⁸I Kings 20:11. Loose thyself from the band of thy neck.¹²⁹Isaiah 52:2.
Now Rashi wrote, “He removed their muzzles for he had closed their mouths so that they might not graze in other peoples’ fields.” And in the words of Bereshith Rabbah,¹³⁰60:1. “He removed their muzzles. Rabbi Huna and Rabbi Yirmiyah asked Rabbi Chiya the son of Rabbi Aba, ‘Were not the camels of our father Abraham like the ass of Rabbi Pinchas ben Ya’ir,¹³¹A Sage of the Tannaitic period. He was a son-in-law of Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai. He was celebrated for his great piety; even his ass refused to eat untithed corn. etc.?’” This question is intended to contradict [the interpretation which maintains that the ungirding refers to] the removing of the muzzles for it is impossible that the piety in the house of Rabbi Pinchas been Ya’ir should have been greater than that in the house of our father Abraham, and just as the ass of Rabbi Pinchas ben Ya’ir did not have to be guarded against eating things which its master was forbidden to feet it, all the more so were the camels of our father Abraham. There was thus no need to muzzle them for no injustice befalleth the righteous.¹³²Proverbs 12:21.

ויפתח, the word is used in the same sense as in Kings I 20,11 אל יתהלל חוגר כמפתח, “let not him who girds on his sword boast like him who ungirds it.”

ויבא....ויפתח, Laban released the various straps, etc., of Eliezer’s camels, something that is done when beasts of burden arrive at their destination. According to an aggadic interpretation quoted by Rashi the expression ויפתח applies to the muzzles which Eliezer had placed around the camels’ mouths to prevent them from eating grass or stalks belonging to private individuals along the route they had been traveling. According to our sages (Bereshit Rabbah 60,8) on

ויבא האיש הביתה, “As soon as the man entered the house,” the man referred to was Eliezer.

ויפתח הגמלים, “he unmuzzled the camels.” Rashi comments that he unmuzzled the camels which he had muzzled before so that they would not graze in land owned by others. This is taken from Bereshit Rabbah 60,8. Rabbi Yirmiyah there asked whether the camels of Avraham were not as pious as the donkey of Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair who would not eat grass in another’s field even without being muzzled. [In fact these donkeys were reported once to have remained without fodder for three days due to their piety.] The matter is raised in the Midrash as it was difficult for people at that time to imagine that the piety in the house of Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair should have exceeded that in the household of Avraham. Keeping this in mind, Rabbi Yirmiyah interpreted the word ויפתח to mean that Eliezer loosened the yokes that these camels normally wore around their necks, and from which the bags they carried were suspended. A parallel of this expression is found in Isaiah 52,2 התפתחי מוסרי צוארך, “loosen the bonds from your necks!” The word ויפתח actually refers to Lavan who performed this task and provided the camels with straw to lie on, fodder to feed, and water to wash the feet of the men traveling with Eliezer.

(32-33) Elieser muss selbst für seine Kamele — vielleicht auch für sich und seine Leute sorgen, das Subjekt ist zweifelhaft — ויישם (von ישם wie טוב und יטב) und יושם — dass das Essen ihm nur so vorgesetzt wurde, mit deutlicher Unentschiedenheit, wie viel Laban dabei tätig gewesen! Alles dies beweist, wie Laban durch Eliesers Bescheidenheit schon herausgefühlt hatte, dass er es nicht mit einem selbst reichen Manne zu thun haben müsse und kennzeichnet den Charakter, wie wir ihn noch bis im späten Alter wieder finden werden.

לרחוץ רגליו ורגלי האנשים, “to wash his feet as well as the feet of the men accompanying him;” even though Rivkah’s brother was an idolater he knew about the customs in Avraham’s house. When he said that he had “cleaned the house already,” he referred to the removal of idolatrous images. At any rate, he respected other people’s religious convictions and did not wish to offend their sensitivities.

ויתן תבן ומספוא, Rabbi Acha concludes that mundane conversation of men such as Avraham’s servant Eliezer is esteemed more highly by G’d (the Torah) than the learned discussion of Torah by the children of the patriarchs; he derives this from the inordinate amount of detail provided by the Torah to the minutiae of the story of Eliezer at the well. On the other hand, basic legislation in the Torah concerning ritual impurity is often only hinted at by a letter here or an extra word elsewhere in the text. The same scholar continues: the washing of the feet of the servants of our patriarchs ranks as more worth reporting than details of the impurities of certain creepers and if the blood of such creepers confers ritual impurity similar to their bodies. This goes so far that the greatest scholars were not able to resolve their understanding of these rules by reference to what is actually written in the text of the Torah.

ויפתח הגמלים ויתן תבן ומספוא לגמלים, “he untied the camels and provided them with fodder and straw to lie on.” Here the verse reverts to activities performed by Lavan who displayed concern for the well being of his guests and their beasts. Apparently, the camels had been tied to one another while they had been wandering. He also gave water for Eliezer and his men to wash their feet after what had been a lengthy journey.

Auffallend ist der Name ׳ה in Labans Munde, zumal er später (31, 53) nur an אלהי נחור appelliert. Es ist möglich, dass Rebekka das ברוך ד׳ אלדי אדני וגו aus Eliesers Munde gehört und Laban wieder erzählt hatte, woher denn Laban bereits sein "Glaubensbekenntnis" kannte. Dass ein Laban überhaupt den Namen Gottes, oder seines Gottes, im Munde führte, gehört mit zum Charakter. Je egoistischer im Herzen, umsomehr die Sprache verbrämt mit "frommen" Phrasen. — ויאמר דבר, Laban führt immer entweder allein, oder vor Vater und Mutter her das Wort!