Genesis Rabbah 60:13
Talmud Bava Bathra 91b
Words of Idolators
“So they send off [vayeshal’chu] their sister Rebecca…,
and they bless [vayevarachu] Rebecca,
and they say [vayomeru] to her:
‘Our sister,
may you become
thousands [alfey] of myriads [revava]…’”
(Genesis 24:59-60)
It is obvious from their words, “May you become thousands…,” that they are blessing her with words, so only the verb of “sending off” is necessary. The purpose of the two following verbs is to affect their discomfort through the prefixes—“vay” and “vay”—as if to say, “Woe is us!” As Rabbi Ayvu explained, they acted pained and crushed that they were providing her a dowry only of their words!
By the words of Laban and his family, they implied a prayer for her to become a mother, but as they were idolators, what was the value of their prayer? Rabbi Yochanan reported how it was said in the Beth Midrash that one who acknowledges the validity of what they say will fall into their hands, and that if one trusts them, whatever is his will become theirs. In the case of their sister Rebecca, she did not “become thousands of myriads” because of their words:
Rather, “Isaac pleaded with the Eternal on behalf of his wife,
as she was barren;
the Eternal responded to him,
and Rebecca his wife conceived.”
(Genesis 25:21)
Why did Rebecca conceive only after Isaac prayed for her?
Rabbi Berechia and Rabbi Levi in the name of Rabbi Chama son of Rabbi Chaninah:
So that idolators cannot credit their prayers (cf. Deuteronomy 32:26-27)!
But:
“The blessing of the lost [oved] (whom I have helped)
will redound [tavo] upon me [alai].”
(Job 29:13a)
Rabbi Berechia interpreted the verse in the name of Rabbi Levi:
The blessing of the attempted destroyer [oved] of Jacob, viz. Laban
(cf. Genesis 31 and Tsey Ulmad in the Haggadah of Pesach,
interpreting Deuteronomy 26:5 as
“An Aramean [Laban] sought to destroy [oved] my father [Jacob]”),
will come [tavo] upon me [alai] (=Rebecca),
that is, upon the one who deflected a curse from upon her son Jacob (cf. Genesis 27),
saying, “Your curse, my son, be upon me [alai]” (Genesis 27:13), viz. Rebecca!
Indeed, notwithstanding her brother Laban’s role as attempted destroyer [oved]
of her son Jacob and thereby all of his descendants,
thousands [alfey] of myriads [revava] did arise from her:
Thousands through her idolatrous son Esau: “These are the chiefs [alfey] of the children of Esau…” (Genesis 36:15), which we interpret: These are the thousands [alfey] of the children of Esau—but:
Myriads (tens of thousands) through her faithful son Jacob: “Thus declares the Lord God to Jerusalem…I have granted you an increase [revava] like the growth of the field…” (Ezekiel 16:7), which we interpret: To Jacob I have granted myriads [revava]…!
And there are those who say that the thousands [alfey] of myriads [revava] that arose from her were all through Jacob: “When the Ark rested, Moses would say, ‘Return, O Eternal, to the myriads [revivot] of thousands [alfey] of Israel (=Jacob!)’” (Numbers 10:36).
Sedra Summary 