Rabbi Michael Laitner
If you have comments please feel free to e-mail Rabbi Laitner at: michael@southhampstead.org

Parshat Chaye Sarah

‘And Abraham was old, advanced in days, and G-d had blessed Abraham with kol’ (Bereishit 24,1)

The word kol means all or everything. Yet Rashi, the premier Torah commentator, explains that here it instead means a son (the word ‘ben’ meaning son has the same numerical value as kol). This blessing of kol refers to the birth and growing up of Isaac, which mean that Abraham has to look for a wife for Isaac – hence the despatch of Abraham’s servant Eliezer to Abraham’s homeland to this end.

Both Rashi’s explanation and his choice of this as the explanation are puzzling. The Talmud, in several places, discusses the use of the word kol in this verse and provides different explanations, such as Abraham’s mastery of his evil inclination, or his place in the world to come ( TB Bava Batra 17a which is the source for the phrase ‘bakol mikol kol’ in benching). If the best meaning of kol in our verse is ‘ben’ why did the Torah not use the word ‘ben’ instead of ‘kol’?

An answer is suggested by Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, a leading 20^th century Rabbi. The word kol refers to more than just Isaac alone. Isaac had to carry on the traditions he had learnt from his father, and pass them onto his children, who would eventually become the Jewish people. By using the word kol, the Torah seems to allude positively to Isaac’s task and his suitability to carry it out. For Abraham, this was a true blessing as a sign that his life’s work was to pass into good hands.