בראשית, פרק כ״ד, פסוק ח׳

Abraham issues his final instructions to his servant regarding the journey to find a wife for Isaac, establishing clear boundaries that balance the desire for a worthy match with the absolute obligation to remain in the Land of Israel. Anticipating the possibility that the woman might refuse to follow the servant, commentators explore the nature of this hesitation. She might indeed be the exact woman destined by Heaven for Isaac, but because God does not negate human free will, she retains the capacity to decline the offer [רש״ר הירש, קונטרס חיבה יתירה]. Alternatively, the woman might agree to the marriage itself but refuse to travel with a mere servant, demanding instead that Isaac personally come to retrieve her [מלבי״ם]. Another perspective suggests a more complex legal fear: she might refuse to leave her homeland only after a betrothal has already taken place. Therefore, Abraham warns his servant against making a conditional betrothal dependent on Isaac traveling to her. If Isaac were to refuse the journey, the condition would fail, leaving the woman legally chained to the marriage without a husband—a tragedy that would desecrate God's name [העמק דבר]. Consequently, the precise formulation of this scenario serves as the foundational legal archetype for structuring legal conditions in Jewish law [תורה תמימה].

Should the woman refuse, the servant is granted a total release from the burden of his oath [רש״ר הירש], an oath deeply connected to the earlier covenant of seven sheep made at Beersheba [מנחת שי]. However, this exemption is carefully limited, sparking a fundamental discussion about its scope. The primary approach among commentators is that the servant is freed only from the obligation to find a wife specifically from Abraham's family. The severe prohibition against marrying a Canaanite woman remains firmly in place. In the event of a refusal, the servant must seek a wife from other non-Canaanite nations, such as the families of Lot or Ishmael [רמב״ן, אור החיים, ביאור יש״ר]. Conversely, another approach argues that if Abraham's family refuses, the servant is permitted to marry Isaac to a woman from the families of Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre. Although they are Canaanites, they are Abraham's closest allies and represent the finest among their people. They are considered a more appropriate choice than the servant's own daughter, who still bears the ancient curse of Canaan's servitude [רש״י, גור אריה, מזרחי, שפתי חכמים].

Throughout these instructions, Abraham is adamant that Isaac must not be taken to Aram. He limits this restriction specifically to Isaac, understanding that his grandson Jacob will indeed travel there in the future [רש״י, ריב״א]. Abraham emphasizes this command out of concern that the servant might not exert enough effort to bring the woman to Canaan, perhaps assuming that since Abraham's descendants are destined to be strangers in a foreign land anyway, their specific location does not matter [לבוש האורה]. The fundamental reason for this strict prohibition is Isaac's elevated spiritual status. Having been offered on the altar, Isaac is considered a pure and holy sacrifice who is forbidden from leaving the Land of Israel, his divine inheritance promised by God [ריב״א, חזקוני, בכור שור, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Furthermore, relocating Isaac to Aram would mean abandoning the unique destiny of Abraham's family, which fundamentally requires physical separation and isolation within the borders of Canaan [רש״ר הירש].

This directive presents a conceptual difficulty regarding the idea of Isaac returning to Aram, given that he was born in Canaan and had never been there. Some explain that the return actually refers to Abraham, who is the primary figure in this narrative, with the son viewed merely as an extension of the father [אבן עזרא, אבי עזר, מחוקקי יהודה]. Others suggest that the act of returning refers to the servant himself, who had been there previously. If Isaac were to join him on the journey, the entire expedition would be characterized as a return based on the companion. This mirrors the biblical description of Ruth returning from Moab; although she had never been to Judah before, her journey was defined by her accompaniment of Naomi [ריב״א, הדר זקנים, דעת זקנים].