[Avodah] A few Notes on Parshas Chaye Sarah and Toldos

[SBA]

Rashi 23:1 "Bas 20 kebas 7 leyofi"

Q: Since when do we praise a nifteres about her beauty?
Sure, a kallah is 'noeh vechasideh' and Rivka and Rochel had their beauty
mentioned when they were in the shidduch parsha - but as a hesped??

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23:2 Rashi "BeKiryas Arba": "Al shem arba anokim shehoyu shom - Achiman,
Sheshay veSalmahy ve'avihhem."

Q: Why isn't the father's name mentioned?

But see Yehoshua 14:15 Rashi dh "Ha'adam Hagadol": "Avihem shel Achiman
Sheshay veSalmay "Arba" hoyo shemoy.."

So now  the question is, why Rashi here, when giving 2 reasons, for the name
"Kiryas Arba" - doesn't give that 3rd explanation?

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A nice "vertel" from the Baal haTurim on the 1st posuk.
He asks why does the Torah use "shney" chayei Sarah -  rather than "yemei"
chayei Sarah?

He explains, that Sarah was young and then old, then she became young again
and again got old - thus she lived TWO ["shnei"] lives...

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BhT 24:29 writes that Yitzchok's eyes were weakened by the smoke of the
Avodo Zoro of Esav, adding that this did not affect Rivka as she was inured
from this, having seen plenty of it in her father's home (adding that he had
been a komer le'AZ).

Mashma lechoreh that one can be 'innoculated' against such things..
(OTOH, maybe only towards AZ but not other averos...)
For another reason why Rivka wasn't affected, see the Daas Zekenim Parshas
Toldos 27:1.

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And a milsa bedichasa I heard explaining why Rivka fell off the camel when
seeing Yitzchak davvening (24:64).

It was late in the afternoon and she was told that Yitzchak had just
davvened. Rivka thought it was Tefilas Shachris - and was shocked to learn
that her choson the famous tzaddik davvened so late..

She relaxed when she was informed that he had just created Tefilas Mincha...

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TOLDOS

Baal haTurim 27:3 dh 'Tzayid' - includes most of the halochos of Shechita -
bekitzur.


Baal haTurim 27:29 says that "Bizechus Yaakov yored geshem vesheleg".
Anyone know of a source for this?

Daas Zekenim 25:25 cites a Midrash that Esav did not have a bris.
For the first 2 years of his life, Yitzchok was concerned about the 'ADmoni"
aspect - think he had some blood problems. At age 2, Yitzchok decided to
wait until he was 13 - just as Yishmael.

But at 13 Esav refused to have a bris.

SBA

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