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ברך את אברהם בכל [THE LORD HAD] BLESSED ABRAHAM IN ALL THINGS — The numerical value of the word בכל is equal to that of בן (a son) — suggesting that God had blessed Abraham with a son and since he had a son he had to find him a wife.

AND ABRAHAM WAS OLD, WELL STRICKEN IN AGE. Scripture reiterates [Abraham’s old age although it has already mentioned it]⁵⁷Above, 18:11. in order to inform us of the reason that he adjured his servant. Thus Scripture says that because Abraham saw himself to be very old and he thought that if he will send the servant to the land of his origin, perhaps before the messenger would return, he will have gone to his long home,⁵⁸Ecclesiastes 12:5. he therefore adjured his servant — whose counsel Isaac would follow since he ruled over all that he had⁵⁹Verse 2 here. — that he should not take for him a wife from the daughters of Canaan.
In Bereshith Rabbah,⁶⁰48:19. the Rabbis said: “Here⁶¹That is, above, 18:11, where Scripture says, Now Abraham and Sarah were old. it was old age combined with vitality; further on⁶²That is, in the verse before us. it was old age without vitality.” By this the Rabbis wanted to explain that ba’im [literally: “coming” in days — mentioned above]⁵⁷Above, 18:11. — means the beginning of the days of old age, as the word ba’im indicates the present, just as, ‘Haba’im’ (those that come) in at these gates.⁶³Jeremiah 7:2. But here it says that he was very old for already he was ba bayamim [literally: “he had come in days” — past tense], just as: Thy brother ‘ba’ (came) with subtlety.⁶⁴Further, 27:35.

1 He was advanced in years. This is to say, the time had come to marry off his son during his lifetime.

Avraham was old. He was concerned that he might die without seeing his son married off; therefore he resolved to seek a wife for him without delay. Place your hand. Because of his wealth Avraham was concerned that someone unworthy might bribe Eliezer into taking his daughter for Yitzchok. For this reason he made him swear not to take a Canaanite woman.

ואברהם זקן, And Abraham was old, etc. Inasmuch as Abraham felt that he had aged and also in view of the fact that G'd had greatly blessed him, he worried that the servant who was in charge of all this wealth while his master was visibly aging would develop notions of marrying his daughter to Isaac. Eliezer might want to secure Abraham's wealth for himself through the marriage of his daughter to Abraham's son. This is the reason Abraham made Eliezer swear an oath concerning the fact that his son was not to marry someone of Canaanite descent. Eliezer would thus get the message that his daughter was not suitable marriage material for a son of Abraham who was blessed whereas the Canaanites were cursed (compare Bereshit Rabbah 59,9).

ואברהם זקן, this is either past tense of the verb, or an adjective;

ואברהם זקן בא בימים, “Avraham had become old, advanced in years.” The Torah writes this comment at this point in order to inform us that as a result of the death of Sarah, symptoms of old age suddenly became manifest in Avraham’s whole demeanour. This is also what the sages had in mind when they said” “a wife’s death primarily affects her husband.” True, the Torah had already described both Avraham and Sarah as זקנים באים בימים, “old, advanced in years” (18,11), the matter has been repeated because as a result of Sarah having become pregnant and given birth to Yitzchok both she and her husband had become rejuvenated. Avraham now reverted to being an old man. It is also possible to justify the mention of Avraham having become an old man at this point in view of what follows, i.e. his empowering Eliezer to choose a wife for his son Yitzchok, seeing G’d’s promise that he would die at an old age בשלום, i.e. having seen his major hopes fulfilled, this could not occur until Yitzchok had been married and had produced an heir. We know from Psalms 128,6 וראה בנים לבניך שלום על ישראל, “and live to see children of your children, peace be unto Israel,” that until one has been blessed with grandchildren one does not consider oneself as having died בשלום. He therefore had concluded that the time was overdue to see to it that Yitzchok would marry. The Torah testifies that Avraham considered himself as blessed in all areas of life, i.e. וה' ברך את אברהם בכול, although he was too old now to undertake a strenuous journey to Aram Naharayim. The word בא in our verse is to be understood as being in the past tense as in Genesis 27,35 בא אחיך במרמה, “your brother has already come, deviously, etc.”

Since he had a son he needed to find a wife for him. Otherwise, why does it say this here? The reason Scripture does not write outright [that he had a son] is to teach us that the son was considered like “all things.” Before he had a son, he said (15:2), “What will You give me since I continue to be childless?” But now all his blessings were complete. (Gur Aryeh)

Dieser einleitende Satz enthält das Lebenssummarium Abrahams: er war בא בימים ,זקן, und Gott hatte ihn בכל gesegnet, sein Leben war abgeschlossen, er hatte für sich nichts mehr zu erstreben und zu erreichen; seine einzige Sorge durfte nur noch seinem Sohne und seinem ihn überlebenden Hause gelten.

ברך את אברהם בכל, “He blessed Avraham in all respects.” This was due to the merit he had acquired when tithing the loot of the war against the Kings with Kedorleomer and giving it to the “priest,” who was the King of Shalem. (Genesis 14,20)

ואברהם זקן, “and by now Avraham had visibly aged;” he could no longer move around easily, and that is why he sent his servant (to select a bride for Yitzchok).

2. And God blessed Abraham [with everything] - this is to inform/explain to us about what is said in [the text in] front of us, that Abraham did not send his servant to take a wife [for Isaac] on account of lack of women in the Land of Canaan or because no one wanted to mate with him, because Abraham had been blessed with everything and the entire world desired to mate with Isaac, but because he only wanted a spouse for Isaac from his family. This is why Abraham's servant said: "And Adonai blessed my master very much and he has become wealthy." And it is for this reason that the text needed to explain first that God had blessed Abraham "with everything," as in a similar instance: "And Ham was the father of Canaan" (Genesis 9:18).

בא בימים, the years when man thinks about his departure from this earth and is concerned to make sure that his son or children are safely married while he is still around.

וה' ברך את אברהם בכל, “and the Lord had blessed Avraham in every way; material wealth, property, long life, and all the things which man aspires to make his life enjoyable. The only thing missing in Avraham’s life were grandchildren who would become the heirs of his prominent stature. He therefore decided to take a hand in bringing this about.

AND THE ETERNAL HAD BLESSED ABRAHAM IN ALL THINGS. I.e., with riches, possessions, honor, longevity and children, which are all the treasures of man. Scripture mentions this in order to say that Abraham was perfect in every detail, lacking in no respect save seeing his son have children who would inherit his superior position and his honor. This was why he desired it.
Now our Rabbis have a wonderful insight into this verse. They said:⁶⁵Baba Bathra 16b. “And the Eternal had blessed Abraham ‘bakol’ (in all things). Rabbi Meir said that Abraham was blessed in that he did not have a daughter. Rabbi Yehudah said that he did have a daughter. Acheirim⁶⁶Literally “other ones,” other Rabbis besides those mentioned. Rabbi Meir is sometimes called by this name. Here, however, it could not refer to him since his opinion has already been stated. Acheirim here refers to anonymous authorities or to the opinion of Rabbi Meir’s master, Elisha ben Abuyah, who was also known as Acheir. See Chagigah 15a. say that he did have a daughter and her name was Bakol.”⁶⁷The profounder meaning of this saying will be explained further in the text. Rabbi Meir thus explained that Abraham did not have a daughter. This was a blessing for Abraham for he could not have married her except to the cursed sons of Canaan. If he were to send her to his country, she would also worship the idols as they did because a woman is subject to the authority of her husband. Indeed, Abraham did not want his worthy children from his wife Sarah to go outside the Land, and surely not that they worship the idols. Rabbi Yehudah, however, explained that Abraham did have a daughter since the Merciful One did not even cause him to lack a daughter, and that was the blessing implied by the expression, in all things, for he had everything that people desire, completely without exception. Then came Acheirim and mentioned the name of the daughter. Now truthfully, the intent of Acheirim and their controversy with Rabbi Yehudah were not merely to inform us of the name of this daughter. Far it be from them to expend the great and generalized blessing of Abraham on this matter, i.e., that Scripture is saying that G-d blessed him with one daughter with that name. However, Acheirim established a new interpretation on this verse, a very profound matter, and they explained with it one of the secrets of the Torah. Thus they said that the word bakol hints at a great matter, namely, that the Holy One, blessed be He, has an attribute called Kol (All), so called because it is the foundation of everything. It is with reference to this attribute that it says, I am the Eternal that maketh ‘Kol’ (all).⁶⁸Isaiah 44:24. And this is also what Scripture says, And the profit of the earth is ‘bakol’ (in all),⁶⁹Ecclesiastes 5:8. that is to say, the profit of the earth and the abundant goodness that is bestowed upon all that come into the world is on account of this attribute Kol. It is the eighth attribute of the thirteen attributes.⁷⁰See Ramban Exodus 34:6. And there is another attribute called bath [literally “daughter”] that emanates from it, and with it He moves everything. This is “the Court of the Holy One, blessed be He,” that is hinted at in the word, Vahashem (And the Eternal), in all places. It is called kalah (bride) in the book of The Song of Songs because it is comprised of hakol (the All), and it is this attribute which the Sages have surnamed Knesseth Yisrael (the assembly of Israel) in many places because it is the gathering of hakol (the All). It was this attribute which was to Abraham as a bath because he was the man of kindness, and he conducted himself in accordance with it. This was why Acheirim said that this blessing with which Abraham had been blessed in all things does not allude either to his having begotten a daughter from his wife Sarah, as Rabbi Yehudah said, or not, as Rabbi Meir claimed, but instead it hints at a great matter, i.e., that he was blessed with an attribute called bath which is contained in the attribute Kol, and is therefore also called Kol, being analogous to the expression, For My name is in him.⁷¹Exodus 23:21. Thus Abraham was blessed in heaven and on earth. This is why he said, By the Eternal, the G-d of heaven and the G-d of the earth.⁷²Verse 3 here.
This matter is to be found hinted at in the traditions of our Rabbis in many places. Thus they said in the Midrash Chazita:⁷³Another name for the Midrash Rabbah on the Song of Songs. The name Chazita is derived from the first word in the verse with which this Midrash opens. ‘Chazita’ (Seest thou) a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings. (Proverbs 22:29.) The Midrash quoted is found ibid., 3:21. “Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai asked Rabbi Eliezer the son of Rabbi Yosi, ‘Have you possibly heard from your father of the meaning of the verse, The crown wherewith his mother hath crowned him?’⁷⁴Song of Songs 3:11. He said to him, ‘Yes.’ He asked, ‘How?’ He replied, ‘It is like a king who had an only daughter whom he loved very much, and he would call her “my daughter.” This did not completely express his love for her until he called her “my sister.” Still he was not satisfied until he called her “my mother.” In the same way, the Holy One, blessed be He, loved Israel in the beginning and called them “My daughter.” It is this which Scripture says, Hearken, O daughter, and consider.⁷⁵Psalms 45:11. This did not completely express His love for them until He called them “My sister,” as it is said, Open to me, my sister, my love.⁷⁶Song of Songs 5:2. Still He was not satisfied until He called them “My mother,” as it is said, Attend unto Me, O My people, ‘ule’umi’ (O My nation).⁷⁷Isaiah 51:4. The word is written le’imi (O My mother).’ Then Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai arose and kissed him on his head, and he said to him, ‘Had I come to listen to this word of yours it would have been sufficient.’…”
Now, had the commentator who prides himself on his knowledge of the Torah’s secrets⁷⁸Reference here is to Ibn Ezra who often prides himself on knowing the secrets of the Torah but who, in the case of this Midrash concerning Abraham’s having a daughter by the name of Bakol, criticizes the interpretation by commenting that if that were the case, the word bakol should have had an additional letter beth preceding it and meaning “and G-d blessed Abraham ‘with’ bakol.” known this, his lips would be dumb and not deride the words of our Rabbis. Therefore, I have written this in order to silence those who speak arrogantly against the righteous one.⁷⁹See Psalms 31:19.

זקן. Es ist schon oben Kap.19, Raw Hirsch on Genesis 24: 4 auf die Verwandtschaft dieser Wurzel mit סכן und זין hingewiesen, die diesem Begriffe die Bedeutung der "gereiften Erfahrung" vindiziert, im Gegensatz zu נער, der Jugend, die noch alle Eindrücke leicht "abschüttelt", nichts an sich haften lässt, noch nichts durchs Leben lernt, vielmehr noch den Trieb hat, alles aus sich heraus zu entwickeln.

וה' ברך את אברהם בכל, he lacked nothing, and did not need anything in this life except to see his son well married.

Dadurch unterscheidet sich זקן von ישן, der anderen Bezeichnung von "alt". ישן wovon ja auch שנה der Schlaf, bezeichnet eine Abnutzung der Kräfte, ein Erschlaffen und Dunkelwerden, daher auch אישון: das Dunkel. זקן aber bezeichnet den durch die Lebensarbeit errungenen Gewinnst, die Reife der Persönlichkeit. Daher die Worte der Weisen: זקן זה שקנה חכמה, oder der noch umfassendere Satz: זה שקנה שני עולמים, der beide Welten erobert. Die jüdische Weisheit erkennt überall den Wert des diesseitigen Lebens neben dem des jenseitigen im vollen Maße an und verleiht ihm Ausdruck. Es ist jüdische Weisheit, die spricht: יפה שעה אחת בתשובה ומעשים טובים בעולם הזה מכל חיי העולם הבא, eine Stunde des sittlichen Fortschrittes und der guten Taten in diesem Leben überwiegt das ganze zukünftige Leben, wenngleich sie ebenfalls hinzufügt: ויפה שעה אחת של קורת רוח בעולם הבא מכל חיי העולם הזה und eine Stunde geistiger Befriedigung im jenseitigen Leben überwiegt das ganze diesseitige. זקן ist ihr derjenige, der mit seinem hieniedigen Dasein beide Welten erworben, die diesseitige für die künftige, indem er der hieniedigen Welt den Stempel des Göttlichen aufgedrückt. צדיקים ישכינו שכינה בארץ, bereiten die Erde zur Stätte des Göttlichen.

So auch nach derselben Anschauung das בא בדופלין :בא בימים, er hatte das Zwiefache, das Irdische und Göttliche durchgemacht, בא בפילון מפולש לחיי עה"ב, seine Lebenstage waren ihm פילון מפולש, ein gerade und offen zum Jenseits führender Gang. Die Tage hatten nicht ihn überwunden, er hatte sie durchschritten, sie waren ihm die Meilenzeiger auf seinem Wege zur Ewigkeit.

ברך את אברהם בכל die Weisen fügen zu diesem Satz die Worte Jizchaks ואוכל מכל und diejenigen Jakobs (Kap.27. 33): יש לי כל und, in diesen (Kap.33, 11) drei Ausdrücken: בכל ,מכל ,כל, die Quintessenz des Lebensinhalts dieser drei Männer erkennend, sprechen sie dabei die bedeutsamen Worte aus: שלשה הטעימן הב"ה מעין עה"ב ואלו הן אברהם יצחק ויעקב דכתיב בהו בכל מכל כל diese drei Väter, so verschieden ihre äußere Lebensstellung gewesen, Abraham, dessen ganzer Lebenslauf eine immer im Segen steigende Linie bezeichnet, und der am Ende seines Lebens als נשיא אלקי׳ unter den Völkern dastand, — dagegen seinen Enkel Jakob, der mit dem Stecken in der Hand aus der Heimat in den Knechtesdienst bei einem ränkevollen Oheim pilgern musste, — und in der Mitte seinen Sohn Isaak, in dessen Hause wir schon die abwärts steigende Sonne des Glücks gewahren — alle drei habe doch Gott schon hienieden einen Vorgeschmack der ewigen Seligkeit empfinden lassen: denn sie empfanden alle drei Gottessegen: בכל ,מכל ,כל.

Verstehen wir diese Worte recht, so bezeichnet Abrahams hieniedige Seligkeit, dass Gott ihn durch alles gesegnet habe. Es kann einem Menschen alles gesegnet werden, ihm alles gedeihen, er selbst aber bleibt unglücklich mitten im Segen, alles Seine blüht, er aber ist nicht שמח, wächst nicht, blüht nicht innerlich; Abraham aber fühlte sich selbst gesegnet und blühte durch allen Segen.

Schwächer wäre der Ausdruck bei Jizchak: ואוכל מכל, es entspräche dem: עוברים בעמק הבכא מעין ישיתהו, ,auch die Träne weiß sich der Fromme zum Segensquell" umzuwandeln", שומר מצוה לא ידע דבר רע, "wer sein ganzes Leben unter dem Begriff der Pflicht betrachtet, der kennt nichts Böses", der schält sich aus dem Trübsten den Kern der nun zu erfüllenden Pflicht, und die Lösung der Aufgabe, die auch das Unglück bringt, macht ihn glücklich: er "genießt" von allem. —

Das höchste, und gleichwohl von allen in jeder Lebenslage zu Erreichende, wäre Jakobs: יש לי כל ihm fehlt nie etwas, weil er überhaupt nur leisten, nichts haben will, und so selbst in der tiefsten Erniedrigung wie Jakob seine seligste Lebensbefriedigung findet. —

Baba bathra 16, 2 werden noch drei Erläuterungen zu dem ודי ברך את א׳ בכל gegeben, die wohl erwogen sein wollen. R. Meir: Der Segen habe darin bestanden, dass Abraham keine Tochter gehabt. R. Jehuda: Der Segen habe vielmehr darin bestanden, dass Abraham auch eine Tochter gehabt. Andere meinen, er habe eine Tochter gehabt, die בכל hieß. R. Elieser Hammodai fügt hinzu: Der Ruf von Abrahams großer astrologischer Kenntnis habe bewirkt, dass alle Könige des Morgen- und Abendlandes ihn täglich aufgesucht. R. Schimeon ben Jochai: Abraham sei mit einer köstlichen Perle geschmückt gewesen, bei deren Anblick jeder sogleich Heilung gefunden etc. Nun kann sicherlich hier nicht jene Gesinnung haben ausgedrückt werden sollen, die den höchsten Segen darin findet, überhaupt keine Tochter zu haben. Abgesehen davon, dass ja dieselben Weisen den Zweck einer jeden Ehe nur in Sohn und Tochter erreicht erblicken (Jebamoth 61, b.), wäre ja auch keine Stelle ungeeigneter zu einer solchen Äußerung, als gerade ein Kapitel, dessen Inhalt, Sara und Rebekka, wie kaum ein anderes der Verherrlichung des Weibes dient. Vielmehr dürfte allen diesen Aussprüchen das בכל, Gott habe Abraham in allem gesegnet, dahin erschienen sein: in allem d. h. selbst in solchen Verhältnissen, in welchen ohne besondere göttliche Fürsorge eine Trübung seines Lebensglückes zu erwarten gewesen wäre. Gerade an dieser Stelle nun, in welcher Abrahams große Sorge hervortritt, für seinen einzigen Sohn eine entsprechende Frau zu finden, eine Sorge, für deren Lösung er nur einer ganz besonderen göttlichen Fügung vertrauen zu müssen glauben durfte, liegt der Gedanke unendlich nahe: welche Sorge, ja welcher kaum zu beseitigende Kummer wäre Abraham daraus erwachsen, wenn er eine Tochter gehabt hätte und für eine Tochter seines Hauses einen Gatten aus den kanaatischen oder aramäischen Männern hätte suchen müssen!! Ein Sohn Abrahams wird zuletzt selbst eine Tochter Kanaans oder Arams zu sich hinüber gewinnen in den Geist eines abrahamitischen Hauses. Allein aus gleichem Grunde wird auch die abrahamitische Tochter dem Geiste und dem Hause Abrahams durch einen kanaanitischen oder aramäischen Gatten verloren gehen. Denn der Sohn baut das Haus des Vaters weiter, aber die Tochter geht über in das schwiegerelterliche Haus, das sie mit als Mauer (חמיה) umfängt. Kanaanitischem oder aramäischem Götzendienste hätte Abraham seine Enkel geboren sehen müssen, wenn er eine Tochter gehabt hätte — vor diesem Schmerz, meint R. Meir, habe Gott ihn segnend bewahrt, indem er ihm keine Tochter geschenkt.

R. Jehuda führt den Gedanken weiter und meint, im Gegenteil, nicht durch Versagung, durch Gewährung sei Abraham selbst in diesem Punkte gesegnet gewesen. Gott habe ihm eine Tochter geschenkt und diese sei selbst in der Ehe "sein" geblieben, habe somit die Brücke gebildet zwischen dem isolierten Hause Abrahams und der übrigen Welt, habe somit einen Segen gewährt, der in der Isolierung unerreicht geblieben wäre, abrahamitischen Geist in die nichtabrahamitische Welt zu verpflanzen.

Dazu jedoch, meinen andere, habe es der leiblichen Tochter nicht bedurft. Das Band, das eine Tochter mit der nichtabrahamitischen Welt geknüpft hätte, bewirkte in noch stärkerem Maße das "בכל", der in allem sichtbare Gottessegen, wodurch Abraham die Augen der Welt auf sich zog, und die Gemüter zur Achtung und Beachtung seines Wandels geweckt wurden.

Dies wird durch R. Elieser und R. Schimeon nun veranschaulicht. Wäre ein Abraham arm, oder auch nur eines bescheidenen Glückes teilhaftig gewesen, er selbst hätte sicherlich nichts zur hieniedigen Glückseligkeit entbehrt; allein unbemerkt wäre er durch die Welt gewandelt. Und hätten die Menschen geglaubt, Abrahams glänzendes Glück beruhe nur auf der Grundlage seiner hohen Sittlichkeit, man hätte ihn angestaunt, aber hätte ihn ebenso isoliert seines Weges ziehen lassen. Denn nicht um zu lernen, wie man sittlich werde, kommen die Menschen zu laufen. Allein, wie bei jedem Menschen eines außerordentlichen Glückes, glaubten die Zeitgenossen, besonderer geheimer Wissenschaft und Zauberklugheit verdanke Abraham sein Glück, und das führte die Großen der Erde zu ihm, um dem "glücklichen Einsiedler" "den Stein der Weisen" abzulauschen.

Nicht nur sein äußeres Glück, bemerkt endlich R. Schimeon, schon die Persönlich keit Abrahams war eine so außerordentliche und wohltuende, dass sie schon allein genügte, die leidende Menschheit in seine Nähe zu führen. —

Jedenfalls haben die Weisen uns hiermit einen Wink gegeben, welche Ansichten über Abraham unter seinen Zeitgenossen verbreitet gewesen sein mögen. —