Parshas Vayishlach
Conquering the Land
Harried and pursued, faced with a seemingly implacable foe, Yakov
returns to the Land of Israel. He will suffer a crippling injury in his
encounter with the angel and alter ego of Eisav. He will endure shame and
tremendous sadness when the local chieftain of the tribe that inhabits the
city of Shechem rapes his daughter Dena. Yakov disowns the actions of
Shimon and Levi when they exact revenge on Shechem for dishonoring their
sister and he is forced to separate himself from his children, creating a
lasting tension in his family. His beloved wife, Rachel, dies in
childbirth while delivering Yakov's twelfth son, Binyamin. All in all, the
parsha is certainly not a happy one in describing Yakov's life and his
return to the Land of Israel. It seems that he was perhaps better off
staying in the house of Lavan, in the exile of Aram Naharayim, rather than
attempting to reestablish himself in the Land of Israel. Yet, he returns
home, because the Lord told him to do so. And eventually he is able to
overcome all of the difficulties that befell him on his return to his
homeland. Eisav leaves him for greener pastures, he is healed from his
crippling injury, the incident of Shechem finally passes after wars and
struggles with the local population, and Yakov establishes his home in the
Land of Israel. His heart is never healed from the death of Rachel and the
tension in the family between he and the brothers, as well as between the
brothers themselves is subdued but present. Returning home to the Land of
Israel was a great challenge for Yakov, fraught with problems, dangers and
tragedy. Yet, he is happy to be home for he knows that there is where God
wishes him to be.
The events of the fathers illuminate the lives of their descendants. Over
the past two centuries the children of Yakov have returned home to the
Land of Israel. They have encountered wars, enmity, tragedy and enormous
difficulties. The adventure of this later return has caused enormous rifts
within the Jewish world itself. The brothers of Israel do not see eye to
eye regarding its significance and direction. The struggles have been
mighty and continue to be daunting. Yet somehow, God has brought together
over five million Jews into their homeland where they have prospered and
built a first world country and nation. The continuing, relentless war
against the Jews mounted by the Arabs has crippled us in many ways, as has
the continuingly growing list of tragic casualties. Yet, we hope to
emulate our father Jacob and return home whole in spirit, whole in body
and mind, whole in wealth and prosperity. This is no small order but since
Yakov accomplished it so will we be able to do so as well. The dictum of
the rabbis that the events of the fathers are the harbingers of the
circumstances of their descendants has been proven true over and over
again throughout Jewish history. So we should be confident of an eventual
positive outcome to our generation's difficulties as well.
Shabat shalom.
Rabbi Berel Wein
Text Copyright © 2004 by Rabbi Berel Wein and Torah.org
Visit www.rabbiwein.com for a complete selection of Rabbi Wein's books and tapes.
