After burying Sarah, Avraham sends his servant Eliezer on a mission to seek out a wife for Yitzchak. When he sends Eliezer on this mission, he makes him take an oath that he will not take a wife for him from Canaan. Rather, he instructs him to go to Haran and find a wife from there.
Rabbi Zecharia Wallerstein asks why Avraham would insist Eliezer to choose a wife from among a group of people as evil as Haran. In fact, Rashi comments that Lavan was so wicked "he leaped to answer ahead of his father." Surely Avraham was aware of the lack of morals in Haran - so why want a wife from there?
R' Wallerstein answers this question that while the people of Haran may have been wicked - they were wicked to the core!! In other words, they could not be persuaded one way or the other regarding their beliefs no matter what they were offered. The people of Canaan, on the other hand, could easily be persuaded.
Avraham knew that the day would come where B'nei Yisrael would be faced by assimilation. As such, we needed a trait like the people of Haran - we needed the stubbornness to be steadfast in our ways and not waiver. Rivka Imeinu gives us this trait. Had Yitzchak's wife come from Canaan, we would not have it.
To bring this message home, I remember while I was learning in Yeshiva in Israel having a conversation with one of my Rebbeim. I presented him with a question to which he responded "what has enabled Klal Yisrael to last as long as we have, b"ah, is the fact that we do not assimilate".
I guess Avraham Avinu got his wish...
Shabbat Shalom!
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