Chayei Sarah 5782

There is a well-known Rashi that explains the actions of Eliezer when he gives gifts to Rivkah at the well. Before he even knows who she is, Eliezer proceeds to give her bracelets and a nose ring; only then does he ask for more information. When he retells the story to Rivkah's family, he switches the details and says he asked her first before giving the gifts. Rashi explains that Eliezer put his trust in Avraham's merits that Rivkah was the right woman for Yitzchak. He only switched the details later on so that he wouldn't be bombarded by questions about his judgement.

The Be'er Basadeh (24:47) expands on this explanation and points out that the verse says he merely took the items, not that he actually put them on her as he tells the story ("Vayikach" and not "Vayasem"). Additionally, he points to Rashi's wording in saying Eliezer switched the details and not that he straight out lied. The Be'er Basadeh explains that Eliezer wasn't 100% relying on Avraham's merits; he put the gifts on Rivkah that signified that they were given only as deposits and not full fledged gifts.

Chayei Sarah 5778

At the beginning of the parsha, we read about Avraham buying the Cave of Machpela from Efron and the Hittites. At first, they offer him free passage to the cave without any kind of fee; but Avraham insists to pay for the cave and its field. This isn't the first time Avraham turns down gifts from others. In Lech Lecha, he turns down the offer of the king of Sodom that he would take the captives while Avraham takes their property. Avraham refuses so that no one would say that the king made him rich. This can be based on the verse from Proverbs (15:27): "The greedy ruin their house, but the one who hates gifts shall live." Avraham lived by these words and made sure not to be accustomed to getting things for free; he did not want to create a mindset of entitlement.
There is another understanding of these two stories, and Avraham shows us the midpoint between two extremes. In regards to the story with the king of Sodom, Avraham turns down the offer to show that everything in this world is from Hashem. You might receive gifts and items from people, but in essence you received it all from Hashem. Avraham wanted to get that point across to the masses as well as show that he was happy with what he had. When Avraham buys the cave, he shows that he's willing to put in effort to attain things. He's not expecting miracles to happen and everything he needs will just fall right out of the sky.
The two extremes are how one views his/her effort and G-d's part in it. One extreme is saying everything is from G-d and therefore one can sit back and wait for things to happen. The other extreme is putting in effort into everything, but forgetting G-d in the process (a sense of pride that *you* did everything yourself with no divine help). Avraham finds the balance between the two. He knows everything is from G-d, yet he continues to put effort into everything he does.
A good example is bread. For months, a person plows his field, grows wheat, harvests it, grinds it into flour, kneads it into a dough, and bakes it. When he finally sits down to eat it, he says a blessing: Blessed are You, G-d, Who has taken bread out of the ground." But he just did everything himself! Why is he attributing it all to G-d? Because that's exactly it; he is thanking G-d for giving him the ability to make the bread and for the natural processes for taking place.

Chayei Sarah 5775

When Eliezer brings Rivkah back to Yitzchak, Rashi notes that he tells Yitzchak of all the miracles that occurred during his searching for Rivkah. In the next verse, Onkelos explains that Yitzchak saw that her deeds were good and proper like Sarah's. Why was it necessary for Yitzchak to do so? Wasn't it enough to recognize those deeds through the miracles that occurred to Eliezer? The Brisker Rav answers that miracles don't testify for a person's nature and character; one can only see and experience those things firsthand with him/her.

Chayei Sarah 5773

Avraham remarries at the end of the parsha to Keturah. Rashi says this was Hagar and was called Keturah because her actions were nice as ketores (the incense). But didn't Rashi say last week she went back to doing avodah zarah (idolatry) after leaving Avraham? The Kli Yakar explains that Hagar had done teshuvah and the actions of a ba'al teshuvah become good and are like a nice smell (kivyachol) for Hashem, just like the ketores is. Avraham had named her Keturah to tell people she had done teshuvah.