Chayei Sarah: The Fine Line Between Divine Signs and Divination

This morning (10/29/21), in our "Machshavah Lab" series for women, we had two objectives: (1) to examine the permissibility of Eliezer's actions in this week's parashah in light of the Torah prohibition of nichush (divination/omen-reading), and (2) to clarify on a theoretical level the distinction between permissible and prohibited ways of utilizing signs. We examined this topic in light of the Gemara which is the source of these halachos, which we analyzed according to five Rishonim: Rambam, Raavad (including Rashi and Tosafos), Sforno, Radak, and the Ran. Our most difficult challenge was attempting to make sense of R' Yochanan's actions in the Gemara, which - according to the Rambam - would seem to be both prohibited and utterly foolish.