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בן ארבעים שנה FORTY YEARS OLD — For when Abraham came from Mount Moriah he received the news that Rebecca was born (22:20). Isaac was then thirty-seven years old, because at that time Sarah died and from the birth of Isaac until the Binding — when Sarah died — there were 37 years since she was 90 years old when Isaac was born and 127 when she died, as it is said, (23:1) “And the life of Sarah was [one hundred and twenty seven years]” — thus Isaac was then 37 years old. At that period Rebecca was born and he waited until she was fit for marriage — 3 years — and then married her (Seder Olam).

בן ארבעים שנה, he is described as 60 years old when the twins Esau and Yaakov were born to him by Rivkah. (verse 28) From the combination of these two verses we know that Rivkah had remained barren for 20 years.

אחות לבן הארמי, and from her emerged Esau who was similar in character to the brother of his mother.

ויהי יצחק בן ארבעים שנה, When Isaac was forty years old, etc. The reason the Torah reports the age at which Isaac married, something that we were not told concerning Abraham, is in order to to explain why Isaac married so late. The words בקחתו את רבקה, explain that he had to wait that long in order to marry this particular girl. The words: "לו לאשה" "for him as a wife," spell out that only this woman could have fulfilled the role of becoming Isaac's wife. Prior to Rebeccah's birth no בת זוג, suitable potential wife, had existed for Isaac. We have explained in the last פרשה that Rebeccah was very young, having only been born when Isaac lay bound on the altar (at the age of 37) and thus became capable of fathering issue. Under the circumstances no criticism can be levelled at Isaac for not getting married earlier. Rebeccah was only three years old when Isaac married her.

ויהי יצחק, the verse tells us that G’d intervened benevolently in Yitzchok‘s life just as He had done in the life of his father; Rivkah too was barren, unable to conceive children unless through a miracle. The fact is proven when we consider that Yitzchok married her at 40 and until he was sixty he could not father a child. G’d had deliberately intervened in the bodies of our matriarchs in order to demonstrate to the nations of the world that He loved Avraham and Yitzchok and therefore He performed miracles to enable their wives to bear children for them. Our sages in Yevamot 64 conclude from the above that G’d so looked forward to the prayers of the patriarchs that He quasi provoked them into praying for the gift of children.

קחתו את רבקה, “when he married Rivkah, etc.” Rashi claims that Rivkah was only three years old when she became married to Yitzchok. This is very difficult to accept in view of the fact that the Torah had referred to her repeatedly as נערה, a term used for girls at least 12 years old. This in turn would raise the question why Yitzchok did not divorce Rivkah after she had not born a child after 10 years of marriage, and according to the Talmud Ketuvot 64, in that event a husband should divorce his wife. If so why did Yitzchok even wait for 20 years before he prayed for Rivkah to have children? The Talmud answers the question by explaining that Yitzchok’s situation was unusual in that Rivkah had been biologically unable to have children during the first ten years of her marriage as she had been too young to bear a healthy child. In the Sifri, a sage is quoted giving Rivkah’s age at her marriage as 14 years. Such divergences of opinion between different sages quoted in a Midrash are not unusual, although in this instance that sage has to confront the question why it took Yitzchok 20 years before he prayed for children.

For when Avraham returned from Mount Moriah... The verse’s statement that Yitzchok was forty needs no support. Rather, Rashi is answering the question: Why did Yitzchok not marry when he was eighteen or twenty? He fulfilled all the Torah, and was a beloved, only son to his father and mother. They should have married him off as soon as he was fit to have children. Rashi answers [that they waited for his destined mate to be born]: “For when...” (Re’m)

Nicht umsonst hören wir, dass Jizchak bereits vierzig Jahre alt war, als er Rebekka heiratete. So sehr es Abrahams innigster Wunsch und ängstliche Sorge war, dass Jizchak die entsprechende Gattin bekomme, ließ er ihn doch erst vierzig Jahre alt werden, obgleich er bei seinem hohen Alter doch nicht wissen konnte, wie lange er noch leben würde. Allein eben diese Zögerung dürfte aus derselben Sorge erwachsen sein. Jizchaks Charakter sollte erst volle, männliche Selbständigkeit und Reife erlangt haben, damit er nicht nur materiell, sondern auch geistig die ganze Stütze der Gattin werden konnte. Deshalb auch das, nach der Überlieferung, noch vollkommene Kindesalter der Rebekka (worauf ja auch schön oben das הסר) נַעְַרָ) hinweisen würde — siehe daselbst — wenn sie nicht als אילונית gleichwohl an Jahren schon älter gewesen sein könnte), damit sie unter dem um so mächtigeren Einfluss des abrahamitischen Geistes umsomehr eine Sara werden könne. Wir haben schon den schneidenden Gegensatz zwischen Rebekka und ihrer Umgebung kennen gelernt. Gleichwohl erinnert uns die Schrift nochmals an ihre aramäische Herkunft und Verwandtschaft. War gleich Jizchak Abrahams Sohn und hat Abraham und nur Abraham auf ihn einen Einfluss geübt, und war er so zu einem echten Sohn Abrahams gereift, so war Rebekka doch, trotz ihrer unleugbaren Vorzüge, die Tochter eines Aramiten, in Aram geboren und erzogen, und die Schwester eines der ausgeprägtesten Aramiten: Labans! Wenn nach dem Erfahrungssatz unserer Weisen die meisten Söhne den Mutterbrüdern ähneln — רב בנים הולכים אחר אחי האם — welche Kinder würden aus dieser Ehe zu erwarten gewesen sein, wenn die meisten Ebenbilder ihres Oheims geworden wären? — und so sind wir von vornherein auf den später hervortretenden Zwiespalt vorbereitet, werden uns nicht wundern dürfen, dass auch ein Esau erscheint, werden uns wundern, neben ihm doch einen Jakob zu finden.

ויהי יצחק בן ארבעים שנה, Yitzchok was forty years old, etc.” According to Rashi, the forty year old Yitzchok married a three year old Rivkah. This is difficult as we have learned from the Sifri that there were three people who reached the same age, i.e. Kehat, Ben Azzai and Rivkah, and the Torah stated that Kehat died at the age of one hundred and thirty three. (Exodus 6,18.) If this were correct she must have been eleven years older than three when she married Yitzchok. [There is no Sifri on the Book of Genesis, but the Midrash hagadol, which originated in Yemen, also claims that Rivkah was 14 years old when she married Yitzchok. Ed.] Rashi’s calculation goes as follows: Rivkah was married at 3 years, and was 23 years old when she gave birth to Esau and Yaakov. Yaakov was 63 years old when he fled to Padan Aram as Rashi explains at the end of this portion. He then spent 14 years in the academy headed by Ever, great grandson of Noach. After that he worked 20 years for his uncle Lavan. He spent 2 years on his return journey home during which time he was informed by Rivkah’s nursemaid that his mother had died, as Rashi explains at the end of parshat Vayishlach, in connection with the burial of that nursemaid called Devorah, and the naming of an oak tree after her. According to this calculation, Rivkah could not have lived to an age older than 123 years. This is also the opinion of Rabbi Yehudah according to whom Rivkah must have been 14 years old when she got married. If you accept that view, Rivkah died at the age of 133. According to this calculation, what we read in seder olam, chapter 1, that Avraham was informed about the birth of Rivkah while on the way home from the binding of Yitzchok, she must have been 11 years old already at that time. This is what bothered Rabbi Moshe Shlomoh ben Avraham known by the acrostic אנסימא"ן, when discussing that a virgin is given 12 month between betrothal and consummation of the marriage (Talmud tractate Ketuvot, folio 57) The Talmud there derives this from the words in our portion, when Rivkah’s family demanded 12 months delay from Eliezer before Rivkah going with him. If Rivkah had been 14 years old already, she would have been considered an adult, and her father would not have had the right to tell her what to do (unless she still continued to live in his house) The Talmud there gives a girl who is over twelve and a half years old at betrothal only thirty days before becoming wed to her fiance, just as the length of time required before a widow can remarry. Our author leaves the question open, not having heard how to reconcile these data to the satisfaction of all scholars.

ויהי יצחק בן ארבעים שנה, Rashi’s comment on this apparently historically irrelevant detail, is that the Torah informed us that Yitzchok, after marrying Rivkah, waited for three years until she was old enough to engage in intercourse and become pregnant. (14 years old) [In his commentary on Genesis 24,16, item 91 Rabbi Kasher in his Torah Shleymah, deals at length with the conflicting opinions about Rivkah’s age at marriage. Sifri on Deuteronomy 34,7 claims that Rivkah lived to the age of 133 years, same age as that of Kehat, son of Levi. Our author calculates that if Rivkah had only been 3 years at the time when she was married that calculation would be wrong by eleven years. He proceeds to give details tracing the various ages of our patriarchs and matriarchs down to the birth of Kehat. He also understands the Midrash according to which Avraham heard about the fact that Betuel had fathered Rivkah as not meaning that this had occurred at the same time as the akeydah, but that Avraham had belatedly heard about this. As proof that Rivkah could not have been only 3 years old when Eliezrer met her, he cites the fact that her brother and mother refer to her as a נערה, a term never applied to someone younger than 12 and a half years of age. The well known traditional historic text known as seder olam in its first chapter, also writes that when Avraham returned from the Akeydah he was told that Rivkah had been born. The meaning of that Midrash was that she had been born some time ago. Another proof that she was of age is that we have an iron clad rule that parents must not marry off a girl who has already reached puberty unless she has been asked and given her consent.] The fact that in our chapter Rivkah’s family proceeds to ask for her consent proves that without it the parents could not have married her off.

בת בתואל מפדן ארם אחות לבן THE DAUGHTER OF BETHUEL THE SYRIAN OF PADAN-ARAM, THE SISTER TO LABAN —Has it not already been written that she was the daughter of Bethuel and sister of Laban of Padanaram? But we are told these facts once more to proclaim her praise — she was the daughter of a wicked man, sister of a wicked man, and her native place was one of wicked people, and yet she did not learn from their doings (Genesis Rabbah 63:4).

מפדן ארם, from the fields of Aram. Padan Aram is referred to as the field of Aram in Hoseah 12,13. Also in Arabic, the place is known as “the field of Padan.” Alternatively, according to Bab Kama 96, it is possible that the word פדן describes a pair of something, such as a pair of oxen being referred to in the Talmud as פדנא דתורי. There were two countries [according to our author. Ed.] both of which straddle the river Euphrates, one being Aram Tzova, the other Aram Naharayim. This is why each is described as if it were a pair. We know of other “Arams” that are “pairs,” such as ארם דמשק and ארם בית רחב, (Samuel II 10,6). Seeing these localities were each very close to the other they are referred to as if they were twin cities, pairs. It appears that פדן ארם was part of the land known as אור כשדים, whereas ארם נהרים was part of the region known as חרן.

אחות לבן הארמי, “sister of Lavan from Aram.” It is customary for the Torah to provide the name of the elder brother of a girl as part of her genealogy.

And at that time Rivkah was born. He waited for her... Otherwise, why did he wait so long and not marry her as soon as he received the news? [This question arises] because properly speaking, Yitzchok should have married earlier — but could not, as Avraham did not want to marry him to a Canaanite woman. We see this from, “After these words... Milkah has also born children to Nachor” (22:20). There Rashi comments, “The words of the thoughts that came about as a result of the Akeidah...”

בת בתואל הארמי…אחות לבן, the daughter of Bethuel from Aram,..sister of Laban. The Torah does not repeat this information in order to remind us who Rebeccah was but in order to defend Rebeccah against possible accusations. Inasmuch as the Torah tells us in the next verse that G'd responded to Isaac's prayer (though both of them prayed simultaneously), someone might have concluded that Rebeccah did not merit that her prayer should be answered by G'd; the Torah explains therefore that the only reason G'd did not respond to her prayer at the time was the fact that her father was the wicked Bethuel. Repeating the information that this Bethuel was an ארמי, is an allusion to the other way of spelling these letters, i.e. רמאי, swindler. The Torah deliberately did not mention the town Bethuel lived in in order to have a chance to allude to the fact that the man was a swindler.

מפדן ארם, according to Rashi, this is identical with the region elsewhere described as שדה ארם, (Hoseah 12,13 also sometimes described as שדה פדן. In Arabic it appears as פדן שדה. Yaakov is described in Hoseah 12,13 has having fled from .שדה ארם

מפדן ארם FROM PADAN-ARAM — Because there were two Arams — Aram-Naharaim (Mesopotamia) and Aram-Zoba — it is called Padan-aram, (Padan meaning pair). It has the same meaning as צמד in the phrase צמד בקר (Samuel 11:7) which we know signifies a pair of oxen and which is translated in the Targum by פדן תורין a Padan of oxen, so that we see that Padan means a pair. Some, however, explain Padan-aram to be the same as (Hosea 12:13) “the field (country) of Aram”, because in the Arabic language a field is called Padan.

אחות לבן הארמי, because the family was known through him and he conducted the affairs of that house, as we have explained at the time.

Until she was fit for marriage — three years — whereupon he married her. Although she was not fit to conceive, he married her nonetheless, so he would not have improper thoughts.

The reason that the Torah again mentions that Rebeccah was a sister of Laban, something we already knew from the encounter of Eliezer and Laban at the well, is in order explain why such a fine woman gave birth to the wicked Esau. Having both a father who was a swindler and a brother who was a master swindler in her background, the marvel was Rebeccah's innocence, not the fact that one of her sons might turn out to be wicked. Baba Batra 110 already remarks that most sons turn out to have a character resembling that of their mother's brothers. The Torah attests that Rebeccah herself was an absolutely righteous woman when Isaac her husband is described as praying in the presence of his wife. Should you ask why Isaac did not examine Rebeccah's brother's character before he decided to marry her, we have already answered that she was the only woman who was his בת זוג, divinely appointed to become his wife. Had this not been so Isaac would never have married the sister of a wicked person such as Laban.

אחות לבן הארמי, the sister of Lavan from Aram. It is the custom of the Torah to describe the elder brother of a girl/woman as someone’s ancestry. Compare: מרים אחות אהרן, “Miriam, Aaron’s sister” (Exodus 15,12) or מחלת אחות נביות, “Machalat, Nevayot’s sister.” (Genesis 28,15)

That she was the daughter of a wicked person and the sister of a wicked person... You might object that the question still stands. When it said before that she was Besueil’s daughter and Lavan’s sister, we could have learned the same lesson, [so why is our verse needed?] The answer is: By writing this verse, Scripture is testifying that she truly was righteous and did not learn from their deeds.

The words אחות לבן also allude to the reason that Rebeccah was barren for so many years. According to Bereshit Rabbah 60,13 this was in order that her fertility could not be credited to the blessings bestowed upon her by her brother Laban in 24,60. The Torah therefore alludes to the cause of barrenness before mentioning the fact that she could not conceive. It was because she was Laban's sister that she needed to wait to conceive until her husband's prayer.