Rabbi Frand on Parshas Vayeitzei
These divrei Torah were adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi
Yissochar Frand's Commuter Chavrusah Torah Tapes on the weekly Torah
portion: Tape #74 Honoring Parents Who Are Not Observant. Good Shabbos!
Even The Departure of a "Tent Dweller" Makes an Impression
At the start of this week's parsha, we find one of the most famous comments
of Rash"i in Chumash. The pasuk [verse] says, "And Yaakov went out from
Beer Sheva and went to Haran." [Bereshis 28:10] Rash"i quotes the
statement of our Sages that this pasuk teaches us that the departure of
a Tzadik [righteous person] from a city makes an impression. "The
Tzadik is the beauty and glory of the city. Once he leaves, the beauty
and the glory of the city have departed."
We can question this, because we see that prior to this incident, Avraham
left where he was living and went down to Egypt. Yitzchak, too,
left where he was living and went down to Gerrar. This Rash"i, one might
think, is a couple of parshiyos late! Rash"i should have made this
comment in Lech Lecha when Abraham left, or at least in Toldos when
Yitzchak left, and then it would have been obvious that the same applied
when Yaakov left. Why does Rash"i wait until Parshas Vayeitzei to tell
us that when a Tzadik leaves a city, it makes an impression?
I saw an answer to this question from the Avnei Shoham. The Avnei
Shoham says that it is obvious that when an Avraham leaves the city, it
makes an impression. Avraham, after all, is the very personification of
Chessed [generosity, kindness], who puts up every single guest who passes
through the city. Avraham was an activist, well-known by all. Obviously,
his departure made an impression.
Yitzchak, too, was a well-known man. He had dealings with his neighbors.
He had dealings with Avimelech. He was wealthy. Certainly his departure
from the city had an impact.
But Yaakov Avinu was a "simple man who sat in the tents." Yitzchak was
still alive at the time. Yaakov, at this time, spent his time sitting
in the Beis Medrash [house of study], learning! He was not involved, perhaps,
in outreach activities. He wasn't involved, perhaps, in communal Chessed
projects. That was still Yitzchak's domain. Yaakov was sitting and learning!
Therefore, Rash"i has to tell us that even in this case, the departure of a
Tzadik makes an impression. Perhaps, we do not sense his presence.
Perhaps, Yaakov does not do anything for us other than sit and learn. But
if he closes his Gemara [volume of Talmud] and leaves the city, that makes an
impression. The Strength of Torah will be diminished in that city.
Let us not, G-d forbid, minimize the strength of outreach and the
strength of Chessed. But let us not make the mistake to think that if a
Tzadik who does nothing more than "sit in the tent" leaves town -- that
it makes no difference. If, perhaps, it is not recognizable on a physical
level, certainly on a spiritual and on a metaphysical level it does make an
impression. It is no longer the same city.
The mere fact that a person sits and learns is an amazing thing. If we
want to truly appreciate the importance of Torah, we must remind ourselves
constantly that Torah study has an impact on larger society, even when we
don't realize it ourselves. Whether a person directly benefits from that
learning or not, the Tzadik learning in the city makes an impression. If (G-d
forbid) that learning were to stop, it would make a terrible impression on
the city. That is why Rash"i has to wait until Yaakov to tell us that the
departure of a Tzadik from a city makes an impression.
The "Special Torah" Taught in the Yeshiva of Shem and Ever
Where did this Tzadik, Yaakov, go after he left Beer Sheva? Our Sages
say that he went to study for 14 years in the Yeshiva of Shem and Ever.
This is a strange thing. Until now, Yaakov has also been sitting and
learning. Now it is time to go -- time to go into exile. So what does
he do? He goes and sits and learns literally day and night for another
14 years!
Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky says that Yaakov had something to learn, and that
is why he had to go to the Yeshiva of Shem and Ever. We all know that
the holy patriarchs had their own schools of learning. The Talmud [Yoma
28b] says that our patriarchs constantly had their own Yeshivas. But,
nevertheless Yaakov had something specific to gain from the Yeshiva of
Shem and Ever. What was it?
Shem was the one who withstood the Generation of the Flood. He had a
"special Torah" to teach -- the Torah of how to exist in a hostile
society, one filled with theft and immorality and corruption. Ever was
the one who withstood the heresy of the Generation of the Dispersion (at
the Tower of Babel). He, too, had a special Torah to teach.
So now, when Yaakov knew that he was going into Exile, to live with the
deceitful Lavan, he had to learn a "different Torah" than he had learned
with his father and his grandfather. He had to learn how a Jew survives
in Exile, outside the Land of Israel. That is why he had to go to the
Yeshiva of Shem and Ever.
Rash"i cites that all that Yaakov learned in the Yeshiva of Shem and
Ever he gave over to Yosef. It was this Torah of how a Jew exists in a
hostile society, that Yaakov had to give to Yosef, specifically. For
Yosef also went down to a hostile environment (Egypt). He, too, needed
this "special Torah."
Ladder = Money = Poverty: With Each One Can Go Up or Down
The Medrash comments on the verse "And behold, a ladder was standing on the
ground, and its top reached the Heavens" [Bereshis 28:12] that G-d showed
Yaakov two individuals: Korach (who was swallowed up by the ground) and
Moshe (who ascended up to the Heaven).
Why are Korach and Moshe hinted to by the ladder? There is a very
interesting Ba'al HaTurim on this week's parsha. The Ba'al HaTurim says
that the numerical ["Gematria"] value of the word ladder
(samech-vov-lamed-mem) [60+6+30+40=136] is equal to the numerical value of the
word money (mem-mem-vov-nun) [40+40+6+50=136], and it is also equal to the
numerical value of the word poverty (ayin-vov-nun-yud) [70+6+50+10=136].
A ladder can be used as a parable for money. Just as a ladder can be used to
climb to great heights or descend to the depths, so is the case with
money. A person can be blessed with money, do the right things with money,
and go up the ladder. On the other hand, money corrupts. Money can be a
terribly destructive force.
The same applies with poverty. Poverty can be a terrible thing. The
Talmud says that poverty can cause one to transgress the Will of his
Creator. On the other hand, the 'Test of Poverty' if dealt with correctly,
can make a person the happiest person around. He will no longer be
encumbered by money and the problems that it brings.
There are some people that can cope beautifully with poverty, such that
they don't even know that they are poor. I heard a true story that
happened here in Baltimore, MD. The woman involved went shopping for a
"shaitel" [a head-covering (wig) commonly worn by married Orthodox women]
with her 12-year-old daughter. All of a sudden she saw a "shaitel" that she
liked and she said "I like that one." The saleslady tells her, "That one is
not for you." But the woman insists, "I like it; I like it." Again the
saleslady tells her it is not for her and again the woman insists she wants
it.
Finally the saleslady is forced to tell her the truth. She told her
"You can't afford that 'sheitel.'" The customer responded, "Honestly, I
can't afford any of them; let me at least, however, take the one I like."
The woman's 12-year-old daughter was sitting there and said to her mother
incredulously, "We can't afford it? We're poor? We're not poor! Why can't
we afford it?"
Come and hear. It is so well-known that the family is poor, that the
saleslady knows she has to keep the customer away from her expensive
"sheitlach," and yet the daughter is blissfully unaware of the economic
situation in her own home. That is dealing with poverty. Those parents are
using poverty to go up the ladder.
This perhaps is what the Medrash means when it says that Yaakov was
shown Korach and Moshe. Our Sages tell us that Korach had exceptional
wealth. He was so wealthy that he did not crave additional money, he
only craved power. It was his money that corrupted him and made him
challenge the leadership of Moshe and Aharon. Yaakov was shown the
ladder (sulam = mammon), and was shown what money can do to a person.
Yaakov was also shown Moshe. Our Sages comment on the words "Pesol lecha"
(carve out for yourself) [Shmos 34:1] that G-d told Moshe to take for
himself the material removed from the carving of the two tablets on
stone - from which he too became very wealthy. But how did that affect
him? Not at all. He went on to become the Master of all Prophets, the
Rabbi of all Israel. Money is the ladder. It can bring up (as in the
case of Moshe) or it can bring down (as in the case of Korach).
It is our test -- whether it be the ladder of poverty or the ladder of
wealth -- that we should cope with it and deal with it -- that we should
go up the ladder and not down the ladder.
Glossary
sheitel -- (Yiddish) wig; sheitlach (plural)
sulam -- ladder
mammon -- money
oni -- poverty
Personalities & Sources:
Rash"i -- (1040-1105) R. Sh'lomo ben Yitzchak; Troyes and Worms, France; "Father of all Torah
Commentaries."
Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky -- (1891-1986) Rav of Tzitevian, Lithuania;
Toronto, Canada; and Rosh Yeshiva of Mesivta
Torah Vodaath, New York.
Ba'al HaTurim -- (1268-1340) Commentary on the Torah by R. Yaakov ben Asher. The son of
the Ros"h also is most famous for his authorship of the Tur, one of the early codes of Jewish Law.
This week's write-up is adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi
Yissochar Frand's Commuter Chavrusah Torah Tapes on the weekly Torah
portion (#74). The corresponding halachic portion for this tape is:
Honoring Parents Who Are Not Observant. The other halachic portions for
Vayeitzei from the Commuter Chavrusah Series are:
Also Available: Mesorah / Artscroll has published a collection
of Rabbi Frand's essays. The book is entitled:
and is available through your local Hebrew book store or from
Judaica Express, 1-800-2-BOOKS-1.
