The story of how Eliezer, the servant of Avraham, found Rivkah, the future wife of his master’s son, Yitzchok, is punctuated in the parsha with the statement, “The man (Eliezer) was astonished,” when he saw that his efforts were on the verge of success. Coming from the home of Avraham Avinu, is it possible that something like this could “astonish” Eliezer? He not only witnessed miracles and angels in Avraham’s home - he took part in them!

   The Beis Halevi, R’ Yosef Dov Soloveitzchik zt"l explains, that as part of his “challenge,” Eliezer specifically requested that Rivkah give him to drink from the pitcher itself, so that he could observe what she would do with the water remaining in the jug. It would be wrong for her to bring the water home for further use. Perhaps he had some communicable disease, which might, in turn, have infected the water. On the other hand, she could not spill the water out onto the ground. That would indicate that she suspected he might be ill, which would be a blatant insult to him.

   Rivkah’s only viable option would be to water the camels. If she offered to do so, it would be clear evidence that she possessed not only good middos, but the intelligence to decide upon a proper course of action when it was necessary.

   Not only did Rivkah pass the test, but she offered to give the camels, “so they drink their fill.” She managed to reduce any possible insult to Eliezer, by implying that she was not pouring the water into the trough in order to avoid insulting him - which in itself would have been mildly insulting - but to allow the camels to have their fill. Indeed, she added that she would refill the pitcher so the animals would have even more water. Eliezer’s honor was made a non-issue by Rivkah.