Chayei Sarah 24:2 · unit 2

TT #20 · Parashas Chayei Sarah · Passuk 24:2

The Complete Passuk

וַיֹּאמֶר אַבְרָהָם אֶל־עַבְדּוֹ זְקַן בֵּיתוֹ הַמֹּשֵׁל בְּכָל־אֲשֶׁר־לוֹ שִׂים־נָא יָדְךָ תַּחַת יְרֵכִי׃

And Avraham said to his servant, the elder of his household who ruled over all that was his, “Please place your hand under my thigh.”

Source Citation

Responsa of the Rosh, Klal 84 — the wording “ha-moshel b'chol asher lo” denotes apotropos, guardianship, rather than an outright gift.

הַכּוֹתֵב לְאֶחָד שֶׁיִּהְיֶה מוֹשֵׁל וְשׁוֹלֵט בְּכָל אֲשֶׁר לוֹ אֵינוֹ לְשׁוֹן מַתָּנָה אֶלָּא לְשׁוֹן אַפּוֹטְרוֹפְּסוּת, שֶׁכֵּן מָצִינוּ בֶּאֱלִיעֶזֶר עֶבֶד אַבְרָהָם דִּכְתִיב בֵּיהּ הַמֹּשֵׁל בְּכָל אֲשֶׁר לוֹ.

Appointing someone to rule over all that one owns denotes guardianship rather than an outright gift; Eliezer is the biblical example.

On the daf / in context: The verse is used to distinguish the language of appointment as steward from the language of absolute gift. Because Avraham later gave everything to Yitzchak, Eliezer’s “rule” could only have been fiduciary.

Type of Learning

Custom (halakhic inference — language of apotropos)

What Is Learned

Designating someone as “ruler over all that one has” creates a guardianship, not an outright gift; Eliezer’s status under Avraham is the Torah’s paradigm for that language.