Did Eliezer pick the wrong woman for Issac?

 Was Rivka the right match for Yitzchak or did Eliezer drop the ball!

In this weeks parsha it says that Eliezer (the servant of Abraham) arrived at the well(to find Issac a shiduch)-

יב  וַיֹּאמַר--יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי אֲדֹנִי אַבְרָהָם, הַקְרֵה-נָא לְפָנַי הַיּוֹם; וַעֲשֵׂה-חֶסֶד, עִם אֲדֹנִי אַבְרָהָם.

יג  הִנֵּה אָנֹכִי נִצָּב, עַל-עֵין הַמָּיִם; וּבְנוֹת אַנְשֵׁי הָעִיר, יֹצְאֹת לִשְׁאֹב מָיִם.

וְהָיָה הַנַּעֲרָ, אֲשֶׁר אֹמַר אֵלֶיהָ הַטִּי-נָא כַדֵּךְ וְאֶשְׁתֶּה, וְאָמְרָה שְׁתֵה, וְגַם-גְּמַלֶּיךָ אַשְׁקֶה--אֹתָהּ הֹכַחְתָּ, לְעַבְדְּךָ לְיִצְחָק, וּבָהּ אֵדַע, כִּי-עָשִׂיתָ חֶסֶד עִם-אֲדֹנִי

" And he said: 'O LORD, the God of my master Abraham, send me, I pray Thee, good speed this day, and show kindness unto my master Abraham.

Behold, I stand by the fountain of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water.

So let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say: Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say: Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also; let the same be she that Thou hast appointed for Thy servant, even for Isaac; and thereby shall I know that Thou hast shown kindness unto my master.'"

The Rambam writes in Hilchot AZ- perek 11 halacha 4

אֵין מְנַחֲשִׁין כַּגּוֹיִים, שֶׁנֶּאֱמָר "לֹא תְנַחֲשׁוּ" (ויקרא יט,כו).  כֵּיצַד הוּא הַנִּחוּשׁ:  כְּגוֹן אֵלּוּ שֶׁאוֹמְרִין הוֹאִיל וְנָפְלָה פִּתִּי מִפִּי, אוֹ נָפַל מַקְלִי מִיָּדִי, אֵינִי הוֹלֵךְ לְמָקוֹם פְּלוֹנִי הַיּוֹם, שְׁאִם אֵלֵךְ אֵין חֲפָצַי נַעֲשִׂין; הוֹאִיל וְעָבַר שׁוּעָל מִיְּמִינִי, אֵינִי יוֹצֶא מִפֶּתַח בֵּיתִי הַיּוֹם, שְׁאִם יָצָאתִי, יִפְגָּעֵנִי אָדָם רַמָּאי.  וְכֵן אֵלּוּ שֶׁשּׁוֹמְעִין צִפְצוּף הָעוֹפוֹת וְאוֹמְרִין יִהְיֶה כָּךְ וְלֹא יִהְיֶה כָּךְ, טוֹב לַעֲשׂוֹת דָּבָר פְּלוֹנִי וְרָע לַעֲשׂוֹת דָּבָר פְּלוֹנִי.  וְכֵן אֵלּוּ שֶׁאוֹמְרִין שְׁחֹט תֻּרְנְגוֹל זֶה שֶׁקָּרָא עַרְבִּית, שְׁחֹט תֻּרְנְגֹלֶת זוֹ שֶׁקָּרָאת כְּמוֹ תֻּרְנְגוֹל.  וְכֵן הַמֵּשִׂים לְעַצְמוֹ סִימָנִים, אִם יֵארַע לִי כָּךְ וְכָּךְ אֶעֱשֶׂה דָּבָר פְּלוֹנִי, וְאִם לֹא יֵארַע לֹא אֶעֱשֶׂה, כֶּאֱלִיעֶזֶר עֶבֶד אַבְרָהָם.  וְכָל כַּיּוֹצֶא בַּדְּבָרִים הָאֵלּוּ, הַכֹּל אָסוּר; וְכָל הָעוֹשֶׂה מַעֲשֶׂה מִפְּנֵי דָּבָר מִדְּבָרִים אֵלּוּ, לוֹקֶה

" It is forbidden to practice soothsaying as idolaters do, as [Leviticus 19:26] states: "Do not act as a soothsayer."

What is meant by a soothsayer? For example, those who say: Since my piece of bread fell out of my mouth, or my staff fell from my hand, I will not travel to this place today, since if I were to go I would not be able to accomplish my desires.

Since a fox passed on my right side, I will not go out of my door today, since if I were to go out I would meet a deceiver.

Similarly, [this category includes] those who hear the chirping of a bird and say: This will happen or this will not happen; it is beneficial to do this or it is detrimental to do this. [Also, it includes] those who say: Slaughter this rooster that crowed like a raven; slaughter this hen that crowed like a rooster.

Similarly, a person who sets up omens for himself; e.g., if this and this happens, I will do this. If it will not happen, I will not do it, as Eliezer, the servant of Abraham did, and the things of the like - all this is forbidden. Anyone who does one of these things because of such omens is [liable for] lashes."

The Rambam is clearly saying Eliezer practiced soothsaying which is prohibited and he would be liable for malkut(if he was a jew after matan torah). 

The Rambam further says in the same perek-

יח  כָּל הַמַּאֲמִין בִּדְבָרִים אֵלּוּ, וְכַיּוֹצֶא בָּהֶן, וּמְחַשֵּׁב בְּלִבּוֹ שְׁהֶן אֱמֶת וְדִבְרֵי חָכְמָה, אֲבָל הַתּוֹרָה אָסְרָה אוֹתָן--אֵינוּ אֵלָא מִן הַסְּכָלִים וּמֵחַסְרֵי הַדַּעַת, וּבִכְלַל הַנָּשִׁים וְהַקְּטַנִּים שְׁאֵין דַּעְתָּן שְׁלֵמָה.  אֲבָל בַּעֲלֵי הַחָכְמָה וּתְמִימֵי הַדַּעַת, יֵדְעוּ בִּרְאָיוֹת בְּרוּרוֹת--שֶׁכָּל אֵלּוּ הַדְּבָרִים שֶׁאָסְרָה תּוֹרָה, אֵינָן דִּבְרֵי חָכְמָה, אֵלָא תֹּהוּ וְהֶבֶל שֶׁנִּמְשְׁכוּ בָּהֶן חַסְרֵי הַדַּעַת, וְנָטְשׁוּ כָּל דַּרְכֵי הָאֱמֶת בִּגְלָלָן.  וּמִפְּנֵי זֶה אָמְרָה תּוֹרָה, כְּשֶׁהִזְהִירָה עַל כָּל אֵלּוּ הַהֲבָלִים, "תָּמִים תִּהְיֶה, עִם ה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ" (דברים יח,יג).

"Whoever believes in [occult arts] of this nature and, in his heart, thinks that they are true and words of wisdom, but are forbidden by the Torah, is foolish and feebleminded. He is considered like women and children who have underdeveloped intellects.

The masters of wisdom and those of perfect knowledge know with clear proof that all these crafts which the Torah forbade are not reflections of wisdom, but rather, emptiness and vanity which attracted the feebleminded and caused them to abandon all the paths of truth. For these reasons, when the Torah warned against all these empty matters, it advised [Deuteronomy 18:13]: "Be of perfect faith with God, your Lord."

In other words, what Eliezer  did was complete nonsense and in fact "not a sign at alll", that he picked the right woman for his masters son!

This is a pretty wild idea!

Is it possible that this was all a big mistake and as a  result of Eliezers actions, Yitzchak married the wrong woman, which eventually led to the destruction of the first temple...?

Think about it...

Rivka came up with idea that Yaakov should steal the first born. This created eternal animosity between Yaakov and Esav(amalek).

The stealing of  the first born caused future friction between yosef and his brothers; as they thought yosef was trying to do the same as their father. 

Animosity between the brothers/tribes continued all the way to the incident of the concubine of Gibeah. Almost the entire tribe of Benjamin was wiped out as a result. 

Finally the division of the govt of Israel through a Civil War between yerovom and rechovom, was the final nail of the first temple coffin.

Was all this because Eliezer picked the wrong woman...:)

Is this another danger of the consequences of voodoo judaism...? :)

Maybe in the end, Eliezer did make  the right decision, despite his practice of soothsaying.  Did this turn out to be the rachamim of God?

Third option is, that even though Eliezer messed up, we still managed to make a good thing out of a bad thing by later accepting and following the Torah. By now walking in the ways of God, it no longer matters if Rivkah was the right woman. It has nothing to do with genetics but more about continuing the path of Abraham and the denial of idols/voodoo.

We can now judge Eliezer as a result of the Torah and philosophies that we inherited. We can now be critical of Eliezer with halacha and teach future generations the lie of voodoo beliefs and the false actions/beliefs of Eliezer...