Commentaire de citation sur La Genèse 24:13

והיה העיר, “and it shall be that the city, etc.;” it will be up to the elders or inhabitants of the site closest to where the slain person was found to take a female heifer of the herd, etc.;” the inverted use of the male pronoun for a female i.e. עבד “he was worked,” instead of: “she was worked,” is also found in Genesis 24,13, with the word: הנערה

So, too, is one who sets certain signs for himself etc. This is a gross error, for such thing is, indeed, permitted. Perhaps the text (Hullin, 95b) misled him, as he saw there, saying: "Such divination which is not like the divination of Eliezer (Gen. 24. 13–14) and Jonathan (I. Samuel, 20. 21–22) is not considered divining", and he evidently thought that the subject there is concerning a charge against such practice. Whereas it is not all so, for the meaning thereof is this: It is not proper to depend upon it. I wonder how he could think that way of such righteous men. Indeed, had they been present when he said it, they would have applied tongues of fire to his face.^*Maimonides does not quote the text verbatim, as he omits Jonathan. Eliezer was of the sons of Noah, against whom no charge of divination holds. He really acted in full reliance upon the sign he set for himself by giving her the presents without inquiring as to who she was. Such is forbidden to an Israelite. Jonathan merely set a sign to caution his lad. He did not practice divination, as he was righteous in his observance of the laws of the Torah. The text (Hullin, 95b) does refer to a charge against such practice, what Jonathan did, if one believes it divination. Maimonides deserves no tongues of flame in his face; here as everywhere he shines like a beacon of light. C. G.

According to Bereshit Rabbah 75,2, Solomon taught us something here about the true measure of a righteous person. When you observe such a person falter in the face of the superior might of a wicked person, such a weakness is only momentary; it does not represent a capitulation of the righteous in face of evil. He will recover from such weakness (with the help of G’d.) This is why Solomon already wrote in Proverbs 24, 16: “For the righteous will rise even if he falls seven times.” In the end he will regain his composure and his honour and dignity. The whole matter can be compared to a well of spring water which someone steps into and momentarily causes the waters in that well to become murky. After a short while of leaving those waters to themselves they will become clear again. Similarly, the righteous will regain his composure and hence his dignity. The wicked is unable to permanently suppress the superior qualities of the righteous.
Why did Solomon, or the sages who interpreted these verses of Proverbs, choose this comparison between a murky well and a polluted fountain? It is a well known fact that a river is fed by a fountain whereas the fountain draws on an original source of water. Both are recipients of their respective waters. The reason why the fountain is called מעין, i.e. something derived from עין, and we have the expression עין המים, (Genesis 24,13 where Eliezer met Rivkah) is that the eye, i.e. עין receives its water from the דמעה, the tear. Tears originate in the brain. When someone indulges in too much weeping he causes his brain to dry out. The מקור, “the source,” does not rely on outside sources for its input. It is a “self-starter.” Its waters keep increasing and never stop flowing. This is why the name מקור is an apt name applied to G’d, seeing that He is the fountainhead of everything, and seeing that because of this there is no danger that this source will ever fail. This is reflected in Jeremiah 17,13 מקור מים חיים את ה', that “the source of (life-giving) spring water is G’d Himself.” We also have Psalms 36,10 where the psalmist describes the source of such water as being with G’d, i.e. כי עמך מקור חיים, “with You is the fountain of life.” These considerations prompted Solomon to describe a righteous person who falters in the presence of a wicked person as comparable to murky waters and a polluted fountain. Both of these defects are temporary in nature and the force of the clear water is bound to reassert itself in time.

אל בית אל EL-BETH-EL — the Holy One, blessed be He, is in Beth-El; i.e. His Divine Presence has revealed itself in Bethel. Sometimes the prefix ב “in” is omitted from a word: e.g., (2 Samuel 9:4) “Behold, he is (בית) in the house of Muchir, the son of Ammiel”, which is the same as בבית in the house of Machir; (24:13) בית אביך is the same as בבית אביך ,‘in the house of thy father”.