What Does Judaism Think

Matchmaking is not a simple thing. Just observe the care with which Abraham tasked his servant, Eliezer, with the mission of finding a wife for Isaac. All of us who wish to set people up can learn a lot about how to succeed at it from this section of the Torah.

The first thing to note is that Abraham gave his servant the job, rather than leaving his son to find his own beloved. It raises the question of whether matchmaking is simply a logistical process (a sort of search engine for potential mates), or is it a counseling process. The answer to this question will help make us better matchmakers, if we seek that role. Read More

Why all of this attention on Lot? The book of Genesis has many important main characters. Adam, Noah, Abraham and Sara, Isaac, Jacob and his sons, etc. They are all part of the ancestry of the Jewish nation. But Lot was simply Abraham's nephew, not one of our patriarchs.

Indeed, he does not seem to be the most impressive person either. This is a man who willingly chose to live in the most evil city of the day, Sodom. There doesn't seem to be anything remarkable that warrants the amount of attention this man gets.

And yet, there is something extremely remarkable about him. It is the most important character trait known to man. Read More