Parshas Vayeitzei
Seekers of HASHEM
By Rabbi Label Lam
And Yaakov made an oath saying, “If You will be a G-d with me and protect me
on this path that I am going and give to me bread to eat and clothing to
wear and I will return in peace to the house of my father ...” (Breishis
28:20-21)
Bread to eat: Like it is written in the promise of an earlier verse, “I will
not abandon you”. One who looks for bread (food) is called abandoned, as it
says in Tehillim (37:28): “I was young and now I am old and I never saw a
Tzadik abandoned and his children in search of bread…” (Rashi)
Why does Yaakov need to specify that bread is for eating and clothing is for
wearing? What are the other options? Is there perhaps clothing that’s for
eating and food for wearing? Of course not! Why the extra verbiage?
The Mesilas Yesharim states, “The desire for honor tugs at a person's heart
more than any of the other longings and desires in the world. If not for
concern over his honor, a person would be content to eat whatever was at
hand, to clothe himself with whatever would cover his nakedness, and to
dwell in a house which would afford him protection from the elements. He
would obtain his livelihood with little effort and would feel no need to
exert himself to become rich. But so as not to see himself as lower and
lesser than his friends, he places a yoke upon his neck, and there is no end
to all his labors.”
Reb Gifter ztl. explained the Yaakov’s use of language, “bread to eat” and
clothing to wear” that he was not looking for elaborate gourmet banquet food
to gain high praise from society or clothing so ornate and fancy to impress
the eyes of onlookers. No, Yaakov wanted food not for show but to eat. He
requested food not for display but for eating, which allows more time,
energy, and resources to devote to Torah study!
In that verse from Tehillim quoted by Rashi, where Dovid HaMelech declares
that in all his days he never saw a Tzadik abandoned and his children
searching for bread”, a major question leaps into the minds of many a good
reader. Of course we have heard of people, perhaps during the Holocaust or
the depression, who are presumed to be Tzadikim and yet they and their
children were left to search desperately for bread!
Reb Moshe Feinstein was oft quoted as decrying a common Yiddish phrase he
claims broke the spirit of many a Jewish home. “Shver Z’zein a Yid!”-“It’s
hard to be a Jew!” He would correct it, “It’s beautiful and wonderful to be
a Jew!” Many families who gave up their jobs each week to maintain the
integrity of Shabbos struggled financially for that sacrifice and with a
sigh they would say, how hard it is to be a Jew. That statement left a
bitter flavor in the mouths of their children who then moved away from
Jewish centers or life, making “materialism” –“the search for bread”- the
main goal in life. Then the large house in the burbs became their measure of
success. That sigh sent a generation running!
Now we can revisit the word of King David who testifies that in all his
years he never witness a Tzadik, a truly righteous person who, when he was
“abandoned” and without bread complained in such a way that his children
then became “seekers of bread”. Rather, “yismach lev m’vakshei’ HASHEM!”
–“Happy is the heart who seeks HASHEM!”
Reb Simcha Zissel zl, the Alter from Kelm said, that usually a person is not
content until he finds what he is looking for but when it comes to searching
for HASHEM a person is happy and satisfied even with the search! Those
authentic Tzadikim who endured even temporary abandonment, their children
remained seekers of HASHEM!
DvarTorah, Copyright © 2007 by Rabbi Label Lam and Torah.org.
