Avraham sends his slave Eliezer to find a wife for his son. Eliezer's first reaction does not demonstrate much faith in his master. He feels Avraham is wrong, and that his own daughter is the fitting wife for Yitzchak. Despite Avraham's wealth and fame, Eliezer openly questions the viability of the mission, expressing doubt that the girl he finds would consent to go with him.
Somehow overcoming these concerns, he commits. Embarking, he says "Hashem, God of my master Avraham, may You so arrange it for me this day, to do kindness with my master Avraham…and may I know through her that You have done kindness with my master Avraham." Then when Eliezer locates Rivka on the first shot, he pronounces "Blessed is Hashem, God of my master Avraham, Who has not withheld His kindness and truth from my master; as for me, Hashem has guided me on the way to the house of my master's brothers." And when Eliezer is requesting permission to take Rivka, he insists simply, "And now, if you intend to do kindness and truth with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, and I will turn to the right, or to the left."
When Eliezer embarks, he speaks simply of "kindness." But once Rivka is found, he speaks of "kindness and truth." Looking for a common denominator to these words, we find "Your Torah is truth…," according to King David, and his son King Solomon identifies it as "…a Torah of kindness."
Rivka, associated with chesed (kindness), is needed to combine with Yitzchak's gevurah (strength/discipline) in order to produce a Yaakov, who represents tiferet (associated with truth). "Your Torah is truth," says King David. Yaakov is the patriarch most closely associated with Torah. As Yaakov's mother, Rivka's kindness is the foundation to his Torah. This is why, though Yitzchak seems to favor Esav, it is Rivka who will lovingly orchestrate Yaakov's securing the birthright.
But first Rivka must be found. Avraham prepares Eliezer for his mission by commanding him to place his hand under Avraham's thigh, which Rashi identifies as the place of brit milah (the covenant of circumcision). Avraham was promised by Hashem that "if you can count the stars, your seed can be counted." Avraham's mission of publicizing Hashem's name is dependent on transmission through future generations. Thus, by touching Avraham there, Eliezer's signified his task as a transmitter of the spiritual seed of Avraham. This theme of seed dispersal is touched on at the end of the parasha. "Avraham gave all that he had to Yitzchak. But to the children of the concubines who were Avraham's, Avraham gave gifts; then he sent them away…to the land of the east." (Rashi identifies these gifts as metaphysical training; these children are thought to have founded the spiritual paths of the east.)
It happens that in the month of Cheshvan we are planting seeds in the land of Israel. A tree sends seeds out in order to ensure that its fruit may increasingly be experienced. Chassidic sources identify the tzaddik, or righteous person, as a tree. Avraham is that tree, Eliezer the transmitter of the seed. This allowed the generations to continue until the Torah of "kindness and truth" could be given to Moshe at Mount Sinai. The Written Torah (the Five Books of Moshe) is the constant, the water of the tree. The Oral Torah was transmitted from Moshe to Joshua, then to the Elders, then the Great Assembly, branching down ever smaller until the twigs of the yeshivas and rabbis of today. And the Torah itself commands us to go according to the rabbis of the current generation.
Moshe, giver of the Written Torah, is associated with netzach (eternity and drive). Netzach is complementary to Hod (humility and acknowledgment). Hod is connected to Chanukah. Chanukah, in turn, is the holiday most closely associated with the Oral Torah, which the Greeks tried to destroy. This is the time of year to get into Oral Torah. It requires the humility of repeated readings of small passages though the entire teaching is practically limitless. We are bolstered by the faith that it has been transmitted unbroken, generation after generation, by those who had the twin attributes of penetrating wisdom coupled with a compassionate commitment to the future. This requires a measure of submissiveness. While the Written Torah is allegorical and subject to interpretation, the Talmud is logical and more specific. It would appear to exclude creativity and individual interpretation. In this era of "individuality" and "self-expression," our impulse is to shun anything that might infringe on that freedom. But the truth is, though we cannot be compared to one another, there are people who have reached a certain high spiritual level. By connecting with these people we are better able to do righteous action and positively influence the world. A talmid chocham, or an agent of Hashem, any Jew, is always a seed. His is always reducing himself to his essence so that he can act most effectively and with divine favor. This is our power. Emptying ourselves, we can expand God.
Avraham is the tzaddik, the rebbe, to whom we go to in order to be able to go beyond ourselves, to surpass our personal limitations. Eliezer is us. Although he is not a Jew, he represents the chassid, the simple Jew who, despite initial lack of faith in his master's instruction, comes to see the hand of Hashem behind it as he submits himself to the larger plan. When the servant makes his will the same as that of his master, he is able to accomplish what had previously seemed highly unlikely. His method is Torah, prayer, and kindness, which the sages identify as the three pillars on which the world stands. Eliezer's Torah was his following Avraham's oath and instruction, then he prayed, then he performed kindness to Rivka and her family, giving gifts. Starting from doubt, he listened to his rebbe, and hoped that the way of Avraham's God would lead to success. He soon was "astonished. "
Similarly for us, if we battle the arrogance and fear that prevents us from a new resolve to exert ourselves in Torah, prayer, and kindness, we can be certain that our current doubt will give way to "astonishing" results in our learning and all the blessings that come with it. This is the light of faith that becomes Chanukah, that allows a tiny army to prevail against all odds. Like the light of winter, Hashem is hidden, but He is real. Through the steady work of the season, we should be blessed to grow the humility, faith, and submission that will allow Hashem to "astonish" us with His light in our generation.