Parashat Chayei Sarah: A
Letter from Eliezer | Shoshana Michael Zucker, Cheshvan 5786
Every person has a name
given by God: image, likeness.
And given by their father
and mother: “Dammesek” to recall their hometown Damascus, before the war, captivity and slavery in the household
of Terah in Ur.
Every person has a name given
by their job: Rancher, sheep breeder and farm manager.
And that their employer
gave him: “Eliezer” as a prayer that on his new adventure his God would help
me.
Every person also has a
journey: Ur of the Chaldeans, Haran, Nablus, Elon Moreh, Beit-El, the Negev,
Egypt, Beit-El, Dan, Hebron, Gerar, Beersheba, Hebron. Back and forth, and back
again: I followed Abraham, whose head was in heaven.
And I – with God’s help, thank God – earned a living, organized things and cared.
Every person has a name
that has been forgotten.
Abraham buried his wife
Sarah, looked at his son and understood that if Isaac remained alone the
covenant, the promise of being “the father of a multitude of nations,” would
die with him. He assigned the task to me, but forgot my name.
The servant swore. The
servant took. The servant went. The servant prayed. The servant spoke to the
damsel, but Dammesek Eliezer was absent.
Rebecca called me, “My lord”
but did not ask for my name. For her, and for Laban, I was a “man” without a name.
The God of Abraham aided me and I was successful. We set out on the return journey.
Days passed in silence. One
evening, as we neared our destination, Isaac went out to the field. We encountered
him by chance.
Isaac and Rebecca met and
married without a ceremony or a feast. Not even a word of thanks. Abraham, too,
did not ask for a report, and did not express gratitude.
I was silenced, silent,
invisible.
Not everyone has a name given
by their death. When I died, my name was forgotten.
Please, do not forget Dammesek
Eliezer. Remember that without my efforts, Jacob would not have been born, and
the people of Israel would not exist.
And when you hear, reador remember Zelda’s words, take them to heart.
Every person has a name.
Every worker, every helper,
every person – has a name, and deserves to be thanked for their work.
Please, I beg you
Dammesek Eliezer
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