“And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, ‘I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.’” Genesis 24:19
Torah glorifies Rivka’s kindness, her beauty and innocence, all proper female attributes.
Rivka should be glorified not only for these proper attributes, but because she was one strong woman.
Rivka drew water for 10 camels. One thirsty camel can drink 25 gallons… which means she needed 250 gallons.
A gallon weighs approximately 8 pounds… so Rivka had to draw up 2000 pounds - a ton - of water from the well.
The average pitcher would have held, according to some historical estimates, roughly 2.5 gallons - thus weighing 18 pounds.
Rivka had to draw up water from the well, pour it into her pitcher, carry the 18-pound pitcher from the well to the drinking trough, empty the water into the drinking trough, walk back to the well and repeat.
One Hundred Times Yes, Rivka was one strong woman.
And Issac, that motherless young man whose father had almost killed him, got the woman he needed - a woman of kindness and incredible strength.
