Parshat Vayetzei - 5773

7/30/2019 Parshat Vayetzei - 5773

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Not being a citizen of the State of Israel, I do not believe that I have

earned the right to weigh in on this debate, but I would like to draw a

parallel to the story of Yaakov Avinu in our parsha.

For this was not the first time in history that members of the Jewish

people endured crisis and death threats in the city ofBeer Sheva;

indeed, many years earlier their ancestor had undergone a similar

trauma:

: (). , ; ,

Yaakov finds himself in a precarious situation, fleeing for his life, and on

his way to Charan to meet up with his future father-in-law. What

events had precipitated such that he came to this decision?

Immediately beforehand, in the end of Parshat Toldot, we read about

an event which seems, at first, to have little significance:

. , , ,,-;---, ---.

Esav, seeing that Yitzchak did not favor the women of Canaan, travels

to the home of his uncle Yishmael, to look for a new wife.

The , Rav Nata Spira, a 16th

Century Polish Kabalist and

student of the Maharam of Lublin, presents an intriguing twist on Esavs

decision (quoted in the " , ):

, "

" ,

" "


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Esav saw that he was not effective in defeating his brother directly.

Evidently, the missiles and fancy weaponry were not sufficient to

undermine the security system of Yaakovs iron dome (the

), and so he develops a Plan-B he travels to the world ofYishmael, where he learns about dishonesty, and how to undermine

Yaakov from a place of love.

Esav understands that if a direct war is ineffective, he must resort to

peace treaties and handshakes.

In fact, when the two re-engage later on, Esav embraces his brother as

Yaakov makes valuable monetary concessions; By that point their war isno longer about an arms race or a body count, rather, it has entered

the realm of diplomacy. And yet the Chazal understood that beneath

the hug and the tearful reunion was a sinister grin, famously suggesting

that Esav didnt kiss the nape of his brothers neck, rather he bit it. Its

just that sometimes a bite appears like a kiss.

Esav learns that if he wants to go head to head with Yaakov in the

modern world, he needs to lose the turban, trim his beard and don an

Armani suit.

The Shem MiShmuel goes on to describe that even before he must face

off with the new and improved Esav, Yaakov encounters a man of

dubious character, steeped in the ways of doublespeak and deception:

Lavan Harasha.

And so, to establish the setting of our parsha, we find Yaakov in

between a rock and a hard place, between Iranian made Fajr-5 missiles

and a peace orchestrated and designed by the Muslim Brotherhood.


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It is easy to understand why Yaakov was fearful, why he felt alone in his

world.

But just at that moment, when utter despair was about to set in,

something happened to Yaakov he was given a moment of absolute

serenity.

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. ,' , ,' , ; ,--. ,

; , -

, . ,-, ,- , , : - ,-.

, , , '. , ;, ,-, : ,-. , ,

Where exactly was Yaakov when he had this dream?

According to Rashi: : ""... the

verse doesnt state a location because perhaps what this really means

is that this place doesnt actually exist right now.

Yaakov is temporarily whisked away into a place in which Angels appear

out in the open, in which the Temple stands atop Har Habayit and in

which fear no longer resides in mans heart. Yaakov is shown a crystal

ball, a prophetic vision of a world that will one day come to be, and

where love will replace hate and plowshare will replace the sword. And

though it seems like a fantasy, and though he knows that peace is

elusive and a long distance away, it doesnt stop Yaakov from dreaming.

Alas, he is woken up from his dream and he will continue his battle yet

another day, but for now Yaakov can breathe and enjoy the ceasefire.


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He leaves behind the bombs of and has ahead of him a long

and arduous journey filled with land mines and booby traps, but, for

the time being there is a moments reprieve, a few seconds in paradise.

The Sages point out that Yaakov slept here for the first time in 14 years:

"" , : "

"

This Midrash is usually interpreted to mean that the years spent

immersed in intense Torah study allowed Yaakov to remain above

nature and thus he did not ever feel the need to take a nap. But

perhaps we can suggest that Yaakov does not sleep well at night how

could he with Esav on one hand and Lavan on the other?! But for this

brief wrinkle in time, he actually makes it through the night one time!

I was speaking to my sister in Israel this past week. She mentioned her

apprehension over the cease-fire but also noted to me, anecdotally that

it would be nice to have a rest.

She described how when the code-red alerts are sounded, they

interrupt the radio programs with an . And you might find

yourself in the middle of a song and the DJ will interject with "

" , or " , , ". And its hard to describe

but it has to be a very difficult thing to deal with that something as

beautiful as a song cannot exist in a war torn land. My sister explained

that for several days in a row, not one track had been played through

from start to finish without being rudely interrupted once or twice (and

sometimes more). Such is the life for many of our brethren in Israel.

But something peculiar happened on Wednesday, even before the

cease-fire was called, they were able to get through a four minute block


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with no bombs! An entire song, from start to finish was heard without

interruption, without the frightening raucous of" ". And as the

song finished the DJ announced , "

" .

And when I heard this story I understood in an instant the emotional

experience of Yaakov Avinu when he proclaimed:

"', ;" There exist Godliness in this place, and yet I had no idea of it

And so, as we weigh in on the political ramifications of the cease-fire,remember that there are people involved who need to rest, and who

havent slept through a night in many days, and who havent been

afforded the dignity to listen to one little song on the radio.

The Jews in Israel today are all on the front lines. They are our heroes,

and they sacrifice the comforts of everyday life so that one day when

Yaakovs vision is brought to fruition, we too can listen to the songs of

the Leviim, and observe . That day has not

yet arrived; we have many more encounters with Lavan and Esav ahead

of us. But, in my humble opinion, we must thank God, and his helpers

down on this Earth for the moments rest that we have been granted.

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Parshat Vayetzei - 5773