When I initially learned the story of Rivka falling off her camel upon seeing Yitzchak for the first time, I felt badly for her. How embarrassing to start your relationship that way, and then have it recorded and repeated for all time!
I was relieved to study the parsha further as an adult and have the opportunity to re-explore what may have actually occurred to/with Rivka.
The text uses the word “vatipol” to describe what happened to Rivka/what she did when she saw Yitzchak. There are several possibilities, some voluntary and some involuntary, including:
She lowered herself off the camel, to show respect; she lowered her head, not her entire body, again out of respect; she fell out of fear; she fell out of romantic shock (like the contemporary phrase “she fell for him”).
This re-evaluation casts Rivka, and a defining moment of her life, in an entirely different way.
Can we do that for each other – reevaluate moments we used to see in one way in a new light?
