Rabbi Frand on Parshas Vayeitzei
These divrei Torah were adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi Yissocher
Frand's Commuter Chavrusah Tapes on the weekly portion: Tape # 394,
Accepting Tzedaka from Women. Good Shabbos!
Eisav Had It Easy. Yaakov Travels A Different Path
The first Rashi in the parsha notes that the pasuk [verse] beginning "And
Yaakov departed" appears to be a little out of place. At the end of Parshas
Toldos, the pasuk already said, "So Yitzchak sent away Yaakov and he went
toward Paddan-Aram to Lavan, son of Besuel, the Aramean..." [28:5].
Parshas Vayietzei should not begin with Yaakov's itinerary, because we
already know where he was going. The parsha should begin with the pasuk "He
encountered the place and spent the night there because the sun had set..."
[28:11]. What is gained by repeating that which we already know?
Rashi explains that the pasuk had to "reset the narration," so to speak,
because it was sidetracked at the end of Toldos. Eisav saw that Yitzchak
sent Yaakov away from home to find a wife because he was not pleased with
his Canaanite daughters-in-law whom Eisav had married. Therefore, Eisav
went to marry his cousin, Machlas the daughter of Yishmael [28:9]. This
tangential story diverts our attention from the main narrative of Yaakov's
journey, making it necessary to repeat the basic details of that journey
before continuing on with the story.
But we must stop and ask ourselves, why did we get off the track? This story
was not narrated by a speaker departing from his prepared text. The
narration comes from the Master of the World. There must be an important
reason for inserting the detail regarding Eisav's marriage to Machlas at
precisely this point.
Rav Yosef Salant provides an interesting insight in his sefer, Be'er
Yosef. Our patriarch Yaakov is the prototype of exile [galus]. As we have
quoted on many occasions, "What occurs to our forefathers foreshadows that
which will occur to their descendants." The children are able to persevere
in difficult circumstances by virtue of the fact that their ancestors
already successfully experienced -- to some extent -- the same trials and
tribulations.
As Jews of the exile, Yaakov Avinu -- more than any of the other Patriarchs
-- is really our role model. He lived the life of a Jew living in exile --
outside the Land of Israel. He lived a life of constant troubles, one thing
after another happening to him and his family. Yaakov's departure from the
Land of Israel began in this parsha when he left Be'er Sheva. Since this
parsha represents the beginning of the exile and the beginning of the
troubles for Yaakov, the pasuk emphasizes: This is where it all began.
Eisav and Yaakov were brothers. They received a similar upbringing. They
both had righteous parents. Eisav wanted to find a match. What did he do? He
went to his uncle Yishmael, he married Yishmael's daughter Machlas. It went
one two three. He had it easy.
Yaakov Avinu wanted to find a match. He had to travel a great distance to
reach his uncle Lavan. Lavan forced Yaakov to work for seven years for the
wife that he wished to marry. Then after the seven years, Lavan switched
sisters and forced Yaakov to work for another seven years. Yaakov had
trouble with shidduchim [match making]. It took him years to marry the woman
he wanted to marry.
This was the beginning of Yaakov's sojourn in exile. Therefore the pasuk
interrupts the narration to contrast how easy it was for Eisav to be able to
marry the woman who he was seeking, compared with how difficult it was for
Yaakov to marry the woman who he was seeking. In spite of all the troubles,
Yaakov accepted his lot. He never bemoaned the fact that his lot was a much
more difficult one than that of his twin brother. He never questioned G-d's
justice; rather he accepted it with love.
Rav Matisyahu Solomon adds a further insight to the words of the Be'er
Yosef: Where do we see that Yaakov did not bemoan his lot and willingly
accepted what G-d had in store for him? Rav Solomon says this is explicit in
the first pasuk of this week's parsha: "And Yaakov departed from Be'er Sheva
and went to Charan."
The Haftorah of this week's parsha describes what actually happened to
Yaakov a bit more bluntly: "And Yaakov fled (vaYivrach Yaakov) to the field
of Aram..." [Hoshea 12:13]. It was not really "Vayetzei Yaakov" implying
that he leisurely left Be'er Sheva. No! It was "VaYivrach Yaakov." Yaakov
was fleeing for his life. Even in the Torah itself, when Rivkah told Yaakov
to leave, she did not say "Go have a nice trip". She said "Arise, run for
your life!" (kum, berach lecha) [Bereshis 27:43]. That described the actual
situation.
But how did Yaakov view the event? "And Yaakov went out (vaYietzei) from
Be'er Sheva and he journeyed (vaYelech) to Charan." He went, at his own
pace, with confidence that G-d would watch over him. This is the key to
Yaakov's existence in Galus. It may appear like he had to run for his life,
and that is in fact what happened. But he did it with calm and equanimity,
knowing that he would be protected by G-d. It is that faith that has stood
us well through these long years of exile.
This write-up was adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi Yissocher
Frand's Commuter Chavrusah Torah Tape series on the weekly Torah portion.
The complete list of halachic topics covered in this series for Parshas
Vayeitzei are provided below:
Also Available: Mesorah / Artscroll has published a collection
of Rabbi Frand's essays. The book is entitled:
