Why is the word "Ulai" missing a 'Vav'?
Rashi: Without a 'Vav' it can be read 'Elai' (to me). This tells us that Eliezer had a daughter whom he hoped Yitzchak would marry. 1
Ha'amek Davar: Refer to 24:39:152:4.
Refer to 24:39:151:1; refer to 24:39:152.
Rashi said that Eliezer hoped that Yitzchak would marry his daughter. On what grounds did Avraham not consider it?
How does Rashi learn from the word "Ulai," that Eliezer hoped that Yitzchak would marry his daughter? Ulai is the same with or without the Vav. Eliezer needed to ask, in the literal sense, what to do if she does not want to come!
Divrei Eliyahu, Kol Eliyahu: One says "Pen" 1 for a possibility he does not want to occur, and "Ulai" if he wants it to occur. 2 Why would Eliezer want that she will not want to come, if not that he had a daughter... 3
Malbim (to Yehoshua 9:7) says that Ulai implies that this probably is the case. Perhaps it is written Chaser to hint that this was not true. Eliezer said this due to his bias (his hope that she would not want to come, and his daughter could then marry Yitzchak). (PF)
Normally, "Pen" follows an action that should not be done, but there are exceptions, e.g. Devarim 19:6, 29:17. Also here, it could have said "Pen," had Eliezer wanted that she want to come!
The Magihah in Kol Eliyahu resolves three seeming exceptions to this rule. Refer to 27:12:151:1, refer to 50:15:2:2; refer to 50:15:2:3. (Bnei Yisrael said to the Giv'onim, "Ulai b'Kirbi Atah Yoshev!" (Yehoshua 9:7). Perhaps they hoped so, for then they could demand taxes and servitude from them (refer to Yehoshua 9:21:2:1 ? PF)
Rashi wrote that without a 'Vav' it can be read 'Elai'! The Vilna Gaon must hold that this is not enough to expound that Eliezer (one of nine Tzadikim who entered Gan Eden while alive - Derech Eretz 1) had such an intent. (PF)
Eliezer asked Avraham, "if she will not want (a) to follow me, (b) to this land" (24:5). Why did he tell Rivkah's family only the first?
Malbim: He wanted them to understand that even if she wants to go to Eretz Yisrael, just that she does not want to go with a slave, he is exempt from the oath.
Avraham had said (24:7) "HaSh-m took me and my seed from there." Why did Eliezer omit this?
Malbim: It implies that Avraham despised his birthplace. This is unlike his claim that Avraham wants a girl from his family.
QUESTIONS ON RASHI
Rashi writes: "'Perhaps (Ulai), the woman will not follow me' - [The word 'Ulai'] is written [without a Vav, as if to say] 'Elai' (to me). Eliezer had a daughter... Avraham said to him, 'My son is blessed, whereas you are cursed....'" Why does this hint appear only here in Eliezer's story, and not in Eliezer's initial dialogue with Avraham (24:5)?
Moshav Zekenim: Only now that he ceased to be cursed (refer to 24:31:1:2), 1 he thought that his daughter is proper for Yitzchak.
Lev Eliyahu (Bereishis, p. 79): Now, after he ceased to be cursed, he realized his intent.
The Kotzker Rebbe (cited in Lev Eliyahu Bereishis p. 79, b'Hagahah): After he saw that Rivkah is destined for Yitzchak, his bias departed, and retroactively he recognized his intent.
Ha'amek Davar: Here, Eliezer hinted to her family that it is unlikely that she will not want to go, so they will understand that it is good for them.
Gur Aryeh: Certainly, Eliezer had said 'Ulai,' and not 'Elai.' But the fact that he asked this question at all, rather than going on his mission immediately, in full reliance on Avraham's merit, shows that he was seeking an excuse that Yitzchak should marry his daughter. Avraham intuited his intent. In our verse, as Eliezer recounted the story to Rivkah's family, he thought they might not understand his original intentions, so he spelled it out for them. 2 He wished to share Avraham's response (that Yitzchak is blessed), so that they would readily agree to marry off their daughter to Yitzchak.
