Avraham Avinu dispatches his servant Eliezer to Charan to find a match for his son Yitzchak. Upon his arrival, Eliezer begins his speech to Besu'el and Lavan with the statement, "... עֶבֶד אַבְרָהָם אָנֹכִי/… I am Avraham's servant." (Breishis 24:34) The Zohar[1] says that this is the classic fulfillment of the pasuk, "בֵּן יְכַבֵּד אָב וְעֶבֶד אֲדֹנָיו .../A son will honor his father and a servant his master ..." (Mal'achi 1:4) Why does the Zohar consider Eliezer's statement a display of honor towards Avraham? After all, Eliezer simply put his remarks in context by prefacing them with a statement of who he was.
The Zohar tells us that Eliezer was good looking. He certainly did not look like a slave. Chazal teach us that he came from royalty[2] The Chiddushei HaRim explains that Eliezer's statement showed Besu'el and Lavan that he considered it an honor to be Avraham Avinu's servant. This was certainly a great display of honor towards Avraham.
The Sfas Emes gives another explanation as to why Eliezer's statement was a way of honoring Avraham. Lavan knew that Eliezer was righteous. He said to Eliezer, "... בּוֹא בְּרוּךְ ה' .../… Come, blessed one of God …" (Breishis 24:31) But how could he be blessed? Servitude is a curse and he was a servant. Not only was he a servant, he came from the cursed family of Canaan. The answer, Chazal[3] explain, is that Eliezer merited becoming blessed because he served Avraham Avinu faithfully. Eliezer honored Avraham by attributing his blessed status to him.
This idea can help us understand a Midrash[4] on this pasuk. The Midrash learns from Eliezer's first statement that a person should begin a speech with a self-deprecating statement. But why was this statement self-deprecating? As we noted earlier, Eliezer was simply putting his remarks in context. According to the Sfas Emes's idea, though, it was self-deprecating because through this statement Eliezer was attributing his blessed state to Avraham instead of taking credit for it himself.
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