וַיְהִי יִצְחָק בֶּן־אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה בְּקַחְתּוֹ אֶת־רִבְקָה בַּת־בְּתוּאֵל הָאֲרַמִּי מִפַּדַּן אֲרָם אֲחוֹת לָבָן הָאֲרַמִּי לוֹ לְאִשָּׁה׃

Yitzchak was forty years old when he took Rivka, daughter of Besuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, sister of Lavan the Aramean, as his wife. (25:20)

Rashi cites the Midrash that asks, hasn't it already been written in last week’s parsha that she was the daughter of Besuel and sister of Lavan of Padan-aram? The answer is that we are proclaiming Rivka’s praise here. She was the daughter of a wicked man, sister of a wicked man, and her native place was one of wicked people. Yet she did not learn from their behavior.

The question is why is this point being made here- it could have been made when the Torah first related that Yitzchak married Rivka?

The next verse reads:

וַיֶּעְתַּר יִצְחָק לַד' לְנֹכַח אִשְׁתּוֹ כִּי עֲקָרָה הִוא וַיֵּעָתֶר לוֹ ד' וַתַּהַר רִבְקָה אִשְׁתּוֹ׃

Yitzchak pleaded with Hashem opposite his wife, because she was barren; and Hashem responded to his plea, and his wife Rivka conceived. (25:21)

Perhaps the Torah mentions here the praise of Rivka because it was part of Yitzchak’s prayer on her behalf.

Rashi points out on the words, “Yitzchak pleaded with Hashem opposite his wife,” that he stood in one corner and prayed while she stood in the other corner and prayed. But the words, "and Hashem responded to his plea,” implies that Hashem responded to Yitzchak but not to Rivka. This is because Yitzchak’s prayers were from a righteous person, the child of a righteous person while Rivka’s prayers were from a righteous person, the child of a wicked person. The prayers here needed what is called zechut avot- the merits of the fathers which Rivka was lacking.

On the other hand the fact that her father was wicked brought out her praise that she didn’t follow him or her wicked brother or the wicked environment she was born into. It was that merit of her’s that Yitzchak incorporated into his prayers on her behalf. At the end, what held back Rivka’s prayers, Yitzchak turned into a merit for the prayers on her behalf to be accepted.

Perhaps Rivka’s merit can be explained in an additional manner.

Pirkei Avot (Chapters of our Fathers) states:

עֲשָׂרָה נִסְיוֹנוֹת נִתְנַסָּה אַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ עָלָיו הַשָּׁלוֹם וְעָמַד בְּכֻלָּם

With ten trials was Avraham, our father (may he rest in peace), tried, and he withstood them all. (Avot 5:3)

Rav Chaim Volozhiner writes in his commentary on Pirkei Avot called Ruach Chaim that there is a very specific reason why Avrohom is referred to her as אַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ, our father Avrohom. Parents pass on genes to their children. As the father of the Jewish nation, Avrohom passed on to us the genes that carry the spiritual qualities that he developed through withstanding the tests he faced.

This should be true of all the Avot and Imahot (the Patriarchs and Matriarchs) of the Jewish people that they too passed on to us the genes that carry their spiritual qualities.

So when Yitzchak incorporated into his prayers Rivka being the child of wicked people from whom she did not learn from, he was presenting that not just as a merit but as a reason for her to have a child. That child and its descendants would receive from her a vital gene that would guarantee their survival as Hashem’s chosen people- the strength to withstand the influences of a negative environment.

The negative influences that surround us and our children in our society can be overwhelming. But we should find strength in the fact that standing up and avoiding these influences is part of who we are.

It’s the legacy passed on to us by our mother Rivka.

Shabbat Shalom!
Yitzchak