It Is All About Our Struggles

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This week's parsha, Vayeitzei, is all about our forefather Yaakov and his descent to Charan. 

Yaakov is considered "The chosen of our forefathers," because the greatness and the holiness of other forefathers didn't reach all their children, "Avraham - Yishmael came out of him," "Yitzchak - Eisav came out of him." On the other hand, Yaakov's greatness and holiness reached all of his children. 

Because he is the "chosen of our forefathers," we have to learn more from him than from any other of our forefathers. That is why the Torah tells us so much about him and his struggles. 

This is the meaning of the passage of the Talmud, "The beauty of Yaakov was similar to the beauty of Adam." That his life has a similar impact on our lives as the life of Adam, just as Adam was the father of all of humanity and his actions affect each and every one of us. As we know, that there were certain people who were so holy and free of sin, that the only reason they died, was because of Adam's sin, eating from the tree of knowledge, which brought death to the world. So too, Yaakov is the father of all of the Jewish people, and all of his actions affect us. 

From this is understood, that all of the details of Yaakov's life that the Torah tells us, is a lesson for every Jew, even more so than Avraham and Yitzchak. 

What are some of the things we learn from Yaakov? 

In parshas Vayeitzei, it tells us how Yaakov left Israel and descended to Charan. Before leaving Israel, it says, "And he met the place," which was Mount Moriah, the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Then it tells us how he had to deal with the sly Lavan, got married, and built a beautiful family, the fathers of the tribes, all of them righteous. And finally, it tells us that upon his return to Israel, "The angels of Hashem met him." 

Israel is symbolic of our spiritual cocoon, the place of Torah. Charan is the physical world with all its struggles, as Rashi says about Charan, that it is "Charon af shel Makom baolam (the place that angers Hashem in the world)." Lavan is symbolic of the corrupt notions of society, the pressure to follow the pack to make a buck even though it might not be so honest, and the pressure to conform to the ways of the world, although it might not be the Torah way. 

Our job is to leave our Israel, our spiritual cocoon, and go down to Charan, into the hustle bustle of the world, business, shopping and even leisure, and to stand up to Lavan, to follow the Torah way. If we do this, we reveal the true G-dly essence of the world. 

When we act this way, Hashem makes us successful, as it says about Yaakov, "And the man became exceedingly prosperous." We have success with our children, just as Yaakov did, and we merit that angels greet us, just as they did Yaakov. 

The Zohar says, that when Yaakov left Israel, before he went down to Charan, it says, "And he met the place," which means that he had to search for the place, and he finally came to the place of G-dliness. However, after he completed his work in Charan, after his mission was done, it says, "And the angels of Hashem met him," they came searching for him. The Midrash says that there were 600,000 angels and it brings a second opinion, that it was 1,200,000. But the Zohar tells us that Hashem Himself came to meet Yaakov. 

That is a lesson from the general overview of Yaakov's descent to Charan. Now we will take a look at some of the details, and we will see what made his life in the lowest place so successful.

The Midrash tells us, on the words, "and he laid down in that place," which was Mount Moriah, and had the dream of the angels going up and down the ladder, before he went down to Charan, "here he laid down to sleep, but the fourteen years that he was hidden in the house of Ever, he didn't lie down to sleep."

Before he went down to Charan, Yaakov hid in the yeshiva of Ever, studying Torah for fourteen years.

Another opinion in the Midrash, is that "The twenty years he was in the house of Lavan, he didn't lie down to sleep."

The question is: It makes sense that he didn't lie down to sleep in the yeshiva of Ever, being a diligent student of the Torah, a lofty spiritual pursuit, but why didn't he lie down to sleep in the house of Lavan?

Yaakov understood that he was in Charan by Lavan for a reason. He was there to release the sparks of G-dliness hidden there. In the lowest places lie hidden the greatest sparks of G-dliness. But being in the lowest place, and with the most conniving person, Lavan, he had to remain alert and make sure that everything was according to Hashem's wishes. This way, he would surely succeed in his mission.

Lavan had the complaint we struggle with to this very day, and "you are an old Jew, from the old country and the old ways, if you want to be religious, fine. But your children are growing up in a modern world, why do you want to ruin them, with the old ways of integrity, honesty, and to follow in the ways of Hashem? How will that help them get ahead in the rat race?"

Lavan said, "The daughters are mine, and the sons are mine." You could be the way you want, but the children are going to follow my corrupt notions.

Lavan continued, "The sheep are mine." Sheep were the main business of the time. He was saying, "if you want to make a living in this world, you have to be dishonest like me. How do you expect to make a living, following the rules of the Torah?"

This is why he didn't lie down for twenty years, because his mission was to follow the ways of Hashem, despite Lavan and his corruption, thereby revealing and releasing the G-dly sparks that were there, and making sure that his children remained his and the sheep remained his, meaning, according to the Torah.

The Midrash asks, "What was he saying," all the time he was in the house of Lavan? The Midrash answers, that he was saying the fifteen psalms that begin with, "Shir hamaalos, a song of ascent," Another opinion, is that he was saying the whole book of Psalms.

What is the meaning of this question, "What was he saying?" It is asking, what kept him going? What gave him the strength to accomplish his mission?

And it answers, that he recognized that without Hashem's help, he wasn't going to accomplish his mission. It was his humility and self nullification to Hashem, that would be his biggest strength.

And this is the lesson to us from Yaakov. That in order for us to succeed, we need two things. First, before we go down to our personal Charan, we have to ensconce ourselves in a environment of Torah and Teffilla, like a yeshiva. And second, that when we are in our Charan, only our hands should be doing the work, our hearts and minds should be with Hashem, saying words of Torah, Tehilim, Mishnah, Tanya, etc. To be given over to Hashem with all of our hearts, and He will surely help us complete our missions.

This is true for our daily descent to Charan, into our jobs, into the daily grind. We should begin the day with a foundation of Torah and Teffilla, first davening and then Torah study. And when our hearts and minds are filled with a strong connection to Hashem and a sense of purpose, we are ready to take on the Charan we are given. Of course, while we are involved in our work, we should recite Tehilim, Mishnah, Tanya, etc. Recognizing that it is Hashem, Who gives us the strength to accomplish the mission.

We should be like Yaakov, doing our mission in the physical world with truth, with courage and with all our strength, to uncover the G-dliness that is truly there. We shouldn't be afraid to open our home to the those we deem less observant, because you can uncover the neshama in him or her, and let the G-dliness shine openly in them too. And when we do, Hashem with all the angels will come and greet us, on our way into Israel, with the coming of Moshiach. May he come soon.