Chaiai Sarah: guidelines
Chaiai Sarah: guidelines
I am interested in how people follow guidelines. What does a doctor mean when she says she is following guidelines? How strict is the adherence? How strict should it be?
In this week's portion, we have the story of Abraham giving his servant guidelines regarding finding a mate for his son, Isaac. Abraham tells the servant that, above all, he wants a woman from the family, from the old country. He does not like the locals and does not want to obtain rights of settlement in the land through marriage. The servant is to go back to Charan, Terach's ultimate place of encampment, and find someone from the family for Isaac to marry. The servant asks about the potential obstacles in his quest ( What if the woman won't come to the wilds of Canaan? ) and goes.
The servant then concocts a test, a way to identify the appropriate mate for his master. She must be a person that anticipates the needs of others and fulfills them, before she is asked . Seeing a good looking woman approaching the well, he tries his test...
This is not the criterion that Abraham specified. This is a new standard. Maybe it is a better standard, it evaluates a (possibly) desirable quality. The servants plot would identify a quality that is highly desirable...especially in servants. But it is not Abraham's specification. And we do not know the basis of Abraham's decisions. The servant is using a new criterion.
The woman, Rebecca, passes the servant's trial, and he bestows the betrothal gifts upon her, after that, he asks about her heritage ( what Abraham was interested in). When he retells the story of the episode, he asks about her background before he gives her the gold. Did he follow the guidelines? Should he have?
The story ends well. Rebecca literally falls in love with Isaac and they become the monogamous founding couple. Whose criteria led to this fortunate outcome? Both? Neither?
It is the results that matter. Following the guidelines can increase the chances of a good outcome, but there are no guarantees.
The servant then concocts a test, a way to identify the appropriate mate for his master. She must be a person that anticipates the needs of others and fulfills them, before she is asked . Seeing a good looking woman approaching the well, he tries his test...
This is not the criterion that Abraham specified. This is a new standard. Maybe it is a better standard, it evaluates a (possibly) desirable quality. The servants plot would identify a quality that is highly desirable...especially in servants. But it is not Abraham's specification. And we do not know the basis of Abraham's decisions. The servant is using a new criterion.
The woman, Rebecca, passes the servant's trial, and he bestows the betrothal gifts upon her, after that, he asks about her heritage ( what Abraham was interested in). When he retells the story of the episode, he asks about her background before he gives her the gold. Did he follow the guidelines? Should he have?
The story ends well. Rebecca literally falls in love with Isaac and they become the monogamous founding couple. Whose criteria led to this fortunate outcome? Both? Neither?
It is the results that matter. Following the guidelines can increase the chances of a good outcome, but there are no guarantees.
posted by Sheldon Goldberg at 10:05 PM
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