***Torah Tidbits - Parshat Vayeitzei - Issue 1541***

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Yerushalayim Shabbat Times Parshat Vayeitzei
Candles 4:01 PM
Havdala 5:15 PM
Rabbeinu Tam 5:54 PM

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***Dear Torah Tidbits Family***

Rabbi Avi Berman

Every so often, I hear people of my generation express concern for today’s youth for being glued to their smartphones, addicted to TikTok, Instagram, WhatsApp, and all the rest. “What’s going to be with the next generation?”, they’ll wonder aloud. If the last month and a half has shown me anything, it’s assured me that our youth are going to be fine. There are countless personal stories I can share with you about how young adults, teens and pre-teens, have stepped up in a real way to volunteer and help, taking on tremendous responsibilities for people their age, and with tremendous passion.

This week’s parsha, Vayetzei, describes the beginning of the journey of how we went from a small family to how we became Bnei Yisrael. Avraham and Sarah had a small family, with two children. Yitzchak and Rivka had another two children. Suddenly, with Yaakov, the family unit expands rapidly, with eleven children born in this week’s parsha. This teaches us that we became a Jewish nation through our youth.

The Midrash states (Bereshit Rabbah 71:4, quoted by Rashi on Bereshit 29:35) that it was known that Yaakov was going to have twelve sons, and each of the mothers of the 12 tribes tried to have as many as she could to fulfill this promise and build Bnei Yisrael. When Leah had a fourth child, one more than what she perceived as her allotted amount, she thanked G-d, naming him Yehuda.

The Imahot knew something that I have been discovering over the past few weeks: it is our youth that should be our focus. We must guide the next generation and trust that they will determine our future. I have personally witnessed the endless initiatives that our youth have taken upon themselves, volunteering opportunities, and willingness and determination to engage with the problems at hand. It is heartwarming to see that not only do they take these heavy responsibilities upon themselves, but often they are taking the lead, getting adults to follow their ideas. 

Let’s not forget that so many of our brave soldiers are themselves still teenagers. We are entrusting them with our lives, and they are the ones defending us and defeating our enemies. These brave men and women are our future. The next generation. Seeing their passion is unbelievable. How did they become this way?

In normal times, OU Israel teenage participants come to our programs to learn from our counselors. I’ve been absolutely floored by the amount of responsibility that these same youth have taken upon themselves. Not just 18 year olds, but as young as 13 years old, proactively seeking ways to help. They are literally picking up their sleeves to get to work and volunteer in the most incredible ways possible. I’ve seen how being part of these initiatives has impacted them. This sheds light onto what kind of soldiers they will be, what kind of adults they will be, and what kinds of families they will raise.

My 16 year old son learns in Charasha, a wonderful small yeshiva of approximately 100 students in Yishuv Charasha, right next to Talmon. He told me that last week the boys of the yeshiva approached the Rosh Yeshiva, rabbis and teachers and asked if they could devote Sunday as a day of volunteering in the fields down south. There are many farms near the Gaza border whose produce are now in season but no one is around to help them pick the produce. including watermelon, cabbage and other leafy vegetables. These farmers had thriving farms with many foreign workers, especially from Thailand, who understandably have fled Israel in the wake of the attacks on October 7th. Getting people to come help pick for them has been a challenge. The boys of the yeshiva were ready and willing to help. 

The Rosh Yeshiva and rabbis were so enthusiastic, “Of course yes!” The boys boarded buses down south for 2.5 hours each way, and they worked for hours to help these farmers in their time of need. They didn’t just do it once. They did it again this Sunday. These young men dropped everything to work in challenging conditions so that they could do chesed and help their fellow Israelis and Jews.

Young people all over the country have become expert volunteers. They’ve taken on cooking food for soldiers, for displaced people from north and south, for families whose husbands have been called up. They’ve been helping to clean up their houses and babysit their children. They’ve been going to hospitals to cheer up the injured, bringing the patients and hospital staff food and other items showing how much they care. 

In recent weeks, this column has focused a lot on volunteering being done by adults. Many of us know people from North America and elsewhere who cleared their schedules to come to Israel to volunteer, and OU Israel has been offering volunteer opportunities, including volunteering in a chili pepper and soy farm. This is so incredible, but when we turn towards our youth, it indicates the future. 

Several years ago, OU Israel’s Pearl & Harold Jacobs Zula Outreach Center started a program called Midreshet Zusha for young women who want to enhance their connection to Hakadosh Baruch Hu that they might have struggled with in high school. Headed by Yehuda and Hadar Sales and other Zula staff, Midreshet Zusha caters towards young women who do not fit into normative midrashot. Led by Sima Ezra who is coordinating volunteer opportunities, they are literally going to volunteer every day. They’re going to hotels to play with the young girls evacuated from the South. They’re coming to the OU Israel Center to help make camouflage tzitzit for soldiers. Last week I walked into the OU building to find 45 women, among them Zusha participants, sitting and tying tzitzit, doing their part for Klal Yisrael.

This is happening all over the country. This is our youth. When we see all of this, we can rest assured that our future is indeed passionate and engaged. We’re seeing a nation of youth who are ready and willing to lead with chesed and strength.

On Friday night, in Lecha Dodi, we declare, “Hitnaari me’afar kumi, livshi tefartech ami,” “Shake​ off your dust, arise! Put on your glorious garments,​ My peopl​e.” Last Shabbat, I couldn’t help but notice that “hitnaari”, to shake off, shares the same root as “naar,” youth. It is our youth who will shake off the dust and allow us to pick up our heads again, and raise them high. They will be the ones who will bring us to where we need to be - deeper connection, more passion, and a higher spiritual level than we ever have before. Not only to be connected, but also doing what Hakadosh Baruch Hu wants us to do, to help save Klal Yisrael, defeat our enemies, and bring Mashiach, bimheira beyameinu.

Wishing you an uplifting and inspiring Shabbat,

Rabbi Avi Berman
Executive Director, OU Israel
aberman@ouisrael.org

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***From the Desk of Rabbi Moshe Hauer***
***Push and Pull***

Rabbi Moshe Hauer

I learned new and useful terminology, that migration and movement are governed by “push factors” and “pull factors”. Put simply, a push factor is a repulsive consideration that motivates people to leave where they are, while a pull factor is an attraction that draws them to a new place.

These factors are visible at the outset of our parsha: “Yaakov departed from Be'er Sheva and went to Charan.” Bais HaLevi explained that the two phrases used in the verse – “departed” and “went to” – relate to the push and pull factors involved in Yaakov’s move. On the one hand, Yaakov was advised by his mother to depart, “pushing him” out of the land due to the imminent fear of reprisals from Eisav over Yaakov’s claim of their father’s blessings. On the other hand, Yaakov was sent by his father to their family homeland of Charan in pursuit of a suitable marriage partner. In this version, it is not so much that Yaakov was pushed from home – vayeitzei - as much as he was drawn and attracted to Charan - vayeilech. 

Rav Kook zt”l applied this duality to a passage in Yeshayahu (60:8): “Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their pens?” This verse –discussing the return of the exiles - alludes to two forms of return to Eretz Yisrael. There are those who will travel like the clouds, blown along by external forces that will dislodge them from wherever the exile had taken them, vayeitzei. And then there are those who will move like the dove that returns home to its pen, not pushed from the exile but attracted and drawn home, vayeilech. Rav Kook thus noted the advantage of being amongst those who are drawn home to the holiness of Eretz Yisrael rather than coming to the land to flee the persecution and antisemitism found elsewhere.  

Some have noted a recent uptick in Jews connecting to Yiddishkeit. This could be seen through last week’s rally, the many unaffiliated who are embracing Mitzvos, and the many already observant who are taking on extra tefilah, Torah, and chesed. Some are being pushed away from their comfort as they witness the growing antisemitism, abroad and at home, and finding refuge in their faith, vayeitzei. Others are being drawn to the beauty of Judaism, the moral clarity in a confused society, and the pride in being connected to such a people, vayeilech. 

I learned these terms – push and pull factors - while studying and discussing migration of a very different kind, specifically the phenomenon of attrition from the observant community. People may leave Orthodoxy because they are “pulled” or attracted to something they feel they can only find outside of their observant framework, or by “push factors,” such as either religious doubts or some form of discomfort, dysfunction, restriction, and/or trauma they have experienced within our community. Yet, while these are all issues that have impacted many and led to both vayeitzei and vayeilech, the most critical premise to prevent attrition is the strength and thickness of the original connection we establish with our faith and community. That connection must be built upon a firm, warm, and relevant Emunah, and by the nurturing of a community of kindness and loyalty. 

It is upon each of us to make our faith and community powerfully compelling and embracing to all its members, creating bonds that will withstand and overcome the pushes and pulls we encounter. 

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***Aliya-by-Aliya Sedra Summary - Parshat Vayeitzei***

Rabbi Reuven Tradburks

Our parsha begins with Yaakov fleeing the Land of Israel from Esav’s murderous intent and it concludes with his return to the Land of Israel. He dreams as he leaves of a ladder reaching to Heaven with G-d promising that He will bring Yaakov back in peace. Yaakov meets Rachel at the well in Charan, marries Leah and Rachel, 11 of the 12 sons and Dina are born. Lavan and Yaakov bicker. Yaakov earns his wages through animal husbandry. Angels greet Yaakov on his return to Israel.

***1st Aliya (28:10-22)***

Yaakov flees the Land of Israel. He dreams: a ladder with angels, G-d at the top. G-d reiterates to Yaakov the promise of the Land of Israel and of numerous descendants. And that He will protect Yaakov and bring him back to the Land. Yaakov makes a monument at that spot and declares that upon his safe return he will come back and make this spot a house of G-d.

One of the great dreams of the Torah. In fact, the first dream of an upcoming series of dreams in the Torah: Yosef’s dream, Paro’s dream. In this dream Yaakov is assured of Divine protection. But why did he need this assurance? What was on his mind?

Let’s place ourselves in Yaakov’s sandals. He does not know the end of the story. We do but he doesn’t. He is filled with uncertainty. Avraham had 2 children: Yishmael and Yitzchak. One, Yitzchak continued Avraham’s legacy as a Jew. The other, Yishmael, was out. Then Yitzchak had 2 children, me and my brother Esav. Maybe we too will repeat this same pattern: one will be in and one will be out. Who is the one – am I in or am I out? I stole the blessing intended for Esav, my brother. Perhaps my fleeing Israel now is a Divine sign that I am out and Esav is in. After all, my father Yitzchak never left the Land. So, am I being expelled from the Land, expelled from the promise of the Land? G-d reassures him – I will give you the Land and bring you back. But. In a dream. Are dreams real or wishful thinking?

***2nd Aliya (29:1-17)***

Yaakov arrives in Charan. He converses with shepherds at the well. They are waiting for a crowd of them to remove the stone over the well. He inquires of Lavan; that is Rachel, daughter of Lavan, coming now. Yaakov removes the heavy stone of the well, gives Rachel water. He tells her he is Rivka’s son. Rachel runs to tell her father; Lavan runs to greet Yaakov. Yaakov stays with them for a month.

If Yaakov is looking for a sign that G-d is with him, he got it. There are so many parallels to Eliezer finding Rivka at the well. Except in reverse. Rivka drew the water for Eliezer and his camels; Yaakov removes the stone and gets water for Rachel and her animals. Eliezer asked Rivka who she was; Yaakov tells Rachel who he is. Rivka ran home to her mother; Rachel runs home to her father. Lavan ran out to greet Eliezer; and Lavan runs out to greet Yaakov. Eliezer was seeking a wife for Yitzchak and returning to Israel; Yaakov is seeking family but not leaving.

***3rd Aliya (29:18-30:13)***

Yaakov loves Rachel. When Lavan inquires how he can compensate Yaakov for his work, Yaakov offers to work 7 years to marry Rachel. At the end of that time, Lavan makes a celebration. He gives Leah to Yaakov. In the morning Yaakov realizes. Lavan remarks that here we don’t switch younger and older. Yaakov marries Rachel and works another 7 years. Leah has 4 children: Reuven, Shimon, Levi, Yehuda. Rachel is upset, as she is barren. She gives Yaakov Bilhah, her maidservant. She has Dan and Naphtali. Zilpah, Leah’s maidservant, has Gad and Asher.

Let’s get back in Yaakov’s sandals. He still wonders if he is part of the Jewish people or has been spurned – was that dream of Divine protection prophetic or mere wishful? He is tricked at night when it is hard to see and marries Leah. Is this a sign from G-d of displeasure at Yaakov tricking his blind father to get the bracha? Maybe I am out. On the other hand, my dear wife Rachel seems to follow in my grandmother Sarah’s footsteps; she is barren and gives her servant to me to have a child, just like Sarah was barren and gave Hagar to Avraham to have a child.

***4th Aliya (30:14-27)***

Reuven brings jasmine, a fertility enhancer to Leah. Rachel asks for it and in exchange Leah conceives and has Yissachar, followed by Zevulun. Rachel bears Yosef. Yaakov asks Lavan permission to return home.

11 of the sons of Yaakov and his daughter Dina have been born. There is but one son from his dear wife Rachel. If we get back in Yaakov’s shoes, he does not know if he is to be in the Jewish people or not. Because another thing may sit uncomfortably with him. Avraham was the first generation of the Jewish people. While he was in, his brother Nachor was out. Back at the end of Vayera (22:20-14), we learn that Nachor had 8 sons with his wife Milka and 4 with his concubine Reuma. 12 sons. And at the end of Chayei Sarah (25:12-15), we learn of the children of Yishmael, the one who is out of the Jewish people. 12 sons. Hmm, the ones who are out of the Jewish people, Nachor, Avraham’s brother, and Yishmael, Yitzchak’s brother, had 12 sons. I have 11. On the other hand, all my children are walking in the footsteps of Avraham, leaving their land of Charan and journeying to Israel. Which sign is it? Am I in or out?

***5th Aliya (30:28-31:16)***

Lavan asks Yaakov what his wage is for all the work he has done. Yaakov asks that he be allowed to select and breed certain animals as his wage. He is wildly successful and becomes laden with livestock. Lavan’s sons become jealous. Yaakov knows it is time to leave. He carefully explains to Rachel and Leah that he is worried as Lavan has not been honest with him. And that the angel has told him it is time to return to the Land. They agree that whatever G-d says they must do.

Yaakov creates enormous wealth. Perhaps this is a Divine sign: Avraham had great wealth, Yitzchak was blessed with “meah shearim”, a 100-fold bounty of agriculture. Yaakov too has been unusually blessed in his breeding of flocks. Perhaps this is a Divine sign that I walk in my forefather’s footsteps.

***6th Aliya (31:17-42)***

Yaakov and the family leave without telling Lavan. Rachel steals Lavan’s idols. Lavan pursues. G-d tells him not to harm Yaakov. Lavan berates Yaakov for his deception, not allowing him to kiss his children. Were it not that G-d instructed him otherwise, he would be justified in harming Yaakov. He searches for his idols but does not find them. Yaakov is fed up. He berates Lavan for his lack of appreciation of all of Yaakov’s hard work, changing his wages 10 times. But G-d saw my oppressive work and rewarded me.

One last look from Yaakov’s shoes. He still is unsure whether he is part of the covenant or not. But another prediction rings in his ears. Years earlier Avraham was told his children would be in a foreign land and afflicted, the Hebrew word “eenu”. For 400 years. And would return with great wealth. Yaakov uses that very word to describe his hard work for Lavan “G-d saw my hard labour – an’ee”. Perhaps, Yaakov wonders, I am that Jewish people. Foreign land. Afflicted. I am here 20 years, a long time – seems like 400. Leaving with great wealth. 

Yaakov sees signs in his life that point to his being the next link in the Jewish people. On the other hand, he sees signs that perhaps he is the one that is out and Esav in. But the scale is clearly weighing in his favor.

***7th Aliya (31:43-32:3)***

Lavan and Yaakov part amidst a parting ceremony. A marker and stones are placed as testimony that Lavan will not approach Yaakov, nor Yaakov approach Lavan. Lavan returns home. Angels encounter Yaakov as he returns to the Land.

The break with Lavan is complete. Pacts come in different shapes and sizes. If you get in trouble, I will come to help. Or, we will open our borders to commerce. Or. A wall. A cold peace. You, on your side. I on mine. Kind of like the mitzvah to never return to Egypt. Years of deception, of toil, of suspicion. That chapter is closed.

The angels greet Yaakov. Angels when he left and angels when he returns. Another sign of Divine favor, that he will continue the legacy of the Jewish people.

***Hoshea 11:7-12:14***

This week’s haftorah makes direct mention of Yaakov’s flight from home to the “field of Aram,” which is a critical episode recounted in this week’s Torah reading.

The haftorah states Hoshea’s rebuke of the Jewish people for their sin of forsaking Hashem. However, Hoshea assures the people that Hashem will not abandon them: “How can I give you, Ephraim, and deliver you [to the hands of the nations]? . . . I will not act with My fierce anger; I will not return to destroy Ephraim.”

The haftorah proceeds to discuss the transgressions of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and the future demise of the Kingdom of Judea. The navi makes a comparison between this generation and the behavior of their forefather Yaakov who was faithful and dedicated to God and prevailed against his enemies 

The haftorah optimistically highlights the eventual ingathering of the exiles which will occur at the Final Redemption: “They shall hasten like a bird from Egypt and like a dove from the land of Assyria; and I will place them in their houses, says the Lord.”

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***Stats***
7th of 54 sedras; 7th of 12 in Bereshit.
Written on 235.3 lines, ranks 12th Vayeitzei is one single very long (closed) Parsha. It's being a S'TUMA fits with the fact that it is a continuation of the Toldot story. It is the Torah’s longest closed parsha, and second only to the open parsha that is all of Mikeitz (254.6 lines). 
148 pesukim - rank: 6th (3rd in Bereshit).
2021 words - rank: 4th (3rd in Bereshit).
7512 letters - rank: 5th (3rd in Bereshit).

***Mitzvot***
None of the 613 mitzvot are in Vayeitzei. This is one of 17 mitzva-less sedras, 9 of which are in Sefer B'reishit, 3 in Shemot, none in Vayikra, 2 in Bamidbar, and 3 in Devarim.

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***A Short Vort***

Rabbi Chanoch Yeres

השמר לך מדבר עם יעקב מטוב עד רע (לא:כט)
"Take heed to yourself that you should not speak to Yaakov either good or bad" (31:29)

There are several questions regarding what Lavan revealed to Yaakov, when he caught up to him. After Lavan's sinister plan against Yaakov was prevented, why did Lavan disclose to Yaakov the warning he received from G-d, to refrain from offering him assistance of any kind?

Additionally, why did Lavan have to accentuate that this warning came from G-d? Lavan could have simply departed respectfully from Yaakov, without any further ado.

The Ktav Sofer (Rabbi Avraham Shmuel Binyamin Sofer 1815-1871 Bratislava) answers that G-d did not want Yaakov to be dependent on Lavan, and therefore become indebted to him. We see this in the text of the Haggadah Shel Pesach. It says: "Had G-d not taken us out of Mitzrayim, we, our children, and all our descendants would be indebted to Pharaoh." This hints to us that had Pharaoh released the Israelites based on his own free will, the Holiday of Pesach would have become a tribute to Pharaoh based on his kindness.

This is why G-d prohibited Lavan from extending any help to Yaakov. This was to ensure that Yaakov always remembers that the source of his salvation and safety is from G-d and no other.   

Shabbat Shalom

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***The Person in the Parsha***
***What’s In a Name?***

Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb

“Who am I?” This is the most powerful question that a person ever asks himself. For many of us, there are no easy answers to that question. We are uncertain of our own identities.

Social scientists believe that this question is typically asked by adolescents. After all, it is legitimate for young people to be unsure of who they are. The task of the adolescent is to begin to define his or her identity, to formulate tentative answers to the question, “Who am I?”

Often, however, individuals persist in struggling to answer the “Who am I?” question long after they have passed the stage of adolescence. The so-called “midlife crisis” can be understood as a time in life when one again asks himself the question, “Who am I?”, and a crisis arises when no clear answer to that question emerges.

An important component in the formulation of an answer to the “Who am I?” question is the answer to another question, “What’s in a name?” Each of us has a name, almost invariably given to us very early in our lives by our parents or parent figure.

I would like to suggest that our sense of personal identity is in a large part determined by the names that we have been given. Our names were chosen for us because they have a certain meaning to those who named us. When our parents gave us our name, they also gave us a message about whom they expected us to be. Whether we ourselves are conscious of that message depends upon how explicit our parents were in their choice of our name. But on some level, we know that our name was not randomly chosen, and to a greater extent than we realize, our self-concepts are shaped by our names.

In this week’s Torah portion, Vayetze, no less than eleven newborns are given names. In every case, these names are given by women; by Leah and by Rachel. Each name is carefully crafted by these women and is designed, not only to reflect the emotions of the moment, but to shape and give direction to the destinies of each of these children.

Let us consider but two examples: Leah gives her third son the name Levi, which means “connected,” or “attached.” This reflects her confidence that with the birth of a third son, her husband, Jacob, will become more attached to her. But it is also a message to the baby Levi that he will grow up to be “attached” to others. In his lifetime, he is typically number two of the duo “Simon and Levi,” secondary to his brother. And his progeny become “attached” to the Almighty and to all things sacred as the tribe of priests for the rest of Jewish history.

Leah then names her fourth child Judah, which means to praise or to thank, because of the special gratitude she experiences with his birth. And Judah ultimately, in his own life and through his descendants, gives praise to the Lord in his actions and with his words.

In more recent times, it has become rare for a Jewish parent to invent a new name for his or her child. The prevalent custom is to name a child for a deceased ancestor or for some other revered personage. The child who carries the name of a grandparent surely internalizes the message that in some way his life should reflect some of the values of that grandparent.

I know for whom I was named. He was my great-grandfather, my mother’s mother’s father, Tzvi Hersh Kriegel. He was an immigrant to America, hailing originally from Galicia. His portrait adorned one of the walls of my grandparents’ home, and it showed an immaculately dressed, bright-eyed but old-fashioned middle-aged man, with a luxuriant red beard. As a child, I learned much about him from his widow, my great-grandmother. I learned of his commitment not only to Jewish observance, but to all aspects of the Galitzianer culture, especially to its wry humor and nostalgic Chassidic tunes.

I visit his grave ever more frequently as time goes on. And I both consciously and unconsciously model myself after him. When I ask myself, “Who am I?”, a significant part of my answer relates back to him and to his name bequeathed to me.

I have found myself preaching over the years to those parents who would listen that they should choose the names they give their children carefully, and that rather than choose a name because they like the way it sounds or because of its popularity, they should select a name of a real person, someone who stood for something, someone your child could eventually emulate.

In my Torah study and in my readings of Jewish history, I have noticed that during different eras, different names seem to predominate. I find it fascinating that the names Abraham, Moshe, David, and Solomon are today quite popular and have been certainly since the days of that second most famous Moses, Maimonides. Yet, in Talmudic times, those names seemed to have been quite rare. We find no major rabbis in the Mishnah or in the Gemara who carry the names of the aforementioned four biblical heroes. No Rabbi Moshe, no Rabbi Abraham, but strangely more than one Rabbi Ishmael. And of course, returning to this week’s Torah portion, Judahs and Simons aplenty.

“What is in a name?” A message to help answer the persistent and challenging question, “Who am I?” As is so often the case in rabbinic literature, one question answers the other.

There is a passage in the works of our Sages which tells of the three names each of us has. There is the name which we were given at the time of our birth, which is the name we have discussed in this column. But there is also the name that we earn by our own deeds, the part of the answer to the “Who am I?” question that we ourselves provide.

And finally, there is a name that others give us, the reputation that we deserve. It is that name to which King Solomon in his Kohelet refers when he remarks, “A good name is better than fragrant oil, and the day of death is better than the day of birth.” And it is that very name which the Mishnah in Avot has in mind when it concludes that of all the crowns of glory that humans can achieve, there is one that stands supreme: the keter shem tov, the crown of a good name.

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***Covenant & Conversation***
***The Character of Jacob***

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks zt"l

What kind of man was Jacob? This is the question that cries out to us in episode after episode of his life.

The first time we hear a description of him he is called ish tam: a simple, quiet, plain, straightforward man. But that is exactly what he seems not to be. We see him taking Esau’s birthright in exchange for a bowl of soup. We see him taking Esau’s blessing, in borrowed clothes, taking advantage of their father’s blindness.

These are troubling episodes. We can read them midrashically. The Midrash makes Jacob all-good and Esau all-bad. It rereads the biblical text to make it consistent with the highest standards of the moral life. There is much to be said for this approach.

Alternatively, we could say that in these cases the end justifies the means. In the case of the birthright, Jacob might have been testing Esau to see if he really cared about it. Since he gave it away so readily, Jacob might be right in concluding that it should go to one who valued it. In the case of the blessing, Jacob was obeying his mother, who had received a Divine oracle saying that “the older shall serve the younger.”

Yet the text remains disturbing. Isaac says to Esau, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.” Esau says, “Isn’t he rightly named Jacob [supplanter]? He has supplanted me these two times: He took my birthright, and now he’s taken my blessing!” Such accusations are not levelled against any other biblical hero.

Nor does the story end there. In this week’s parsha a similar deceit is practiced on him. After his wedding night, he discovers that he has married Leah, not, as he thought, his beloved Rachel. He complains to Laban:

“What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served you? Why then have you deceived me?” Gen. 29:25

Laban replies: “It is not done in our place to give the younger before the firstborn.” Gen. 29:26

It’s hard not to see this as precise measure-for-measure retribution. The younger Jacob pretended to be the older Esau. Now the elder Leah has been disguised as the younger Rachel. A fundamental principle of biblical morality is at work here: As you do, so shall be done to you.

Yet the web of deception continues. After Rachel has given birth to Joseph, Jacob wants to return home. He has been with Laban long enough. Laban urges him to stay and tells him to name his price. Jacob then embarks on an extraordinary course of action. He tells Laban he wants no wages at all. Let Laban remove every spotted or streaked lamb from the flock, and every streaked or spotted goat. Jacob will then keep, as his hire, any new born spotted or streaked animals.

It is an offer that speaks simultaneously to Laban’s greed and his ignorance. He seems to be getting Jacob’s labour for almost nothing. He is demanding no wages. And the chance of unspotted animals giving birth to spotted offspring seems remote.

Jacob knows better. In charge of the flocks, he goes through an elaborate procedure involving peeled branches of poplar, almond, and plane trees, which he places with their drinking water. The result is that they do in fact produce streaked and spotted offspring.

How this happened has intrigued not only the commentators (who mostly assume that it was a miracle, God’s way of assuring Jacob’s welfare) but also scientists. Some argue that Jacob must have had an understanding of genetics. Two unspotted sheep can produce spotted offspring. Jacob had doubtless noticed this in his many years of tending Laban’s flocks.

Others have suggested that prenatal nutrition can have an epigenetic effect – that is, it can cause a certain gene to be expressed which might not have been otherwise. Had the peeled branches of poplar, almond, and plane trees been added to the water the sheep drank, they might have affected the Agouti gene that determines the colour of fur in sheep and mice. [Footnote #1]

However it happened, the result was dramatic. Jacob became rich:

In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and maidservants and menservants, and camels and donkeys. Gen. 30:43

Inevitably, Laban and his sons felt cheated. Jacob sensed their displeasure, and – having taken counsel with his wives and being advised to leave by God Himself – departs while Laban is away sheep-shearing. Laban eventually discovers that Jacob has left, and pursues him for seven days, catching up with him in the mountains of Gilead.

The text is fraught with accusation and counteraccusation. Laban and Jacob both feel cheated. They both believe that the flocks and herds are rightfully theirs. They both regard themselves as the victim of the other’s deceitfulness. The end result is that Jacob finds himself forced to run away from Laban as he was earlier forced to run away from Esau, in both cases in fear of his life.

So the question returns. What kind of man was Jacob? He seems anything but an ish tam, a straightforward man. And surely this is not the way for a religious role model to behave – in such a way that first his father, then his brother, then his father-in-law, accuse him of deceit. What kind of story is the Torah telling us in the way it narrates the life of Jacob?

One way of approaching an answer is to look at a specific character – often a hare, or in African-American tradition, “Brer Rabbit” – in the folktales of oppressed people. Henry Louis Gates, the American literary critic, has argued that such figures represent “the creative way the slave community responded to the oppressor’s failure to address them as human beings created in the image of God.” They have “a fragile body but a deceptively strong mind.” Using their intelligence to outwit their stronger opponents, they are able to deconstruct and subvert, in small ways, the hierarchy of dominance favouring the rich and the strong. They represent the momentary freedom of the unfree, a protest against the random injustices of the world. [Footnote #2]

That, it seems to me, is what Jacob represents in this, the early phase of his life. He enters the world as the younger of two twins. His brother is strong, ruddy, hairy, a skilful hunter, a man of the open country, whereas Jacob is quiet, a scholar. Then he must confront the fact that his father loves his brother more than him. Then he finds himself at the mercy of Laban, a possessive, exploitative, and deceptive figure who takes advantage of his vulnerability. Jacob is the man who – as almost all of us do at some time or other – finds that life is unfair.

What Jacob shows, by his sheer quick-wittedness, is that the strength of the strong can also be their weakness. So it is when Esau comes in exhausted from the hunt, famished, that he is willing to impulsively trade his birthright for some soup. So it is when the blind Isaac is prepared to bless the son who will bring him venison to eat. So it is when Laban hears the prospect of getting Jacob’s labour for free. Every strength has its Achilles’ heel, its weakness, and this can be used by the weak to gain victory over the strong.

Jacob represents the refusal of the weak to accept the hierarchy created by the strong. His acts are a form of defiance, an insistence on the dignity of the weak (vis-a-vis Esau), the less loved (by Isaac), and the refugee (in Laban’s house). In this sense he is one element of what, historically, it has been like to be a Jew.

But the Jacob we see in these chapters is not the figure whom, ultimately, we are called on to emulate. We can see why. Jacob wins his battles with Esau and Laban but at the cost of eventually having to flee in fear of his life. Quick-wittedness is merely a temporary solution.

It is only later, after his wrestling match with the angel, that he receives a new name – that is, a new identity – as Israel, “because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.” As Israel he is unafraid to contend with people face-to-face. He no longer needs to outwit them by clever but ultimately futile stratagems. His children will eventually become the people whose dignity lies in the unbreakable covenant they make with God.

Yet we can see something of Jacob’s early life in one of the most remarkable features of Jewish history. For almost two thousand years Jews were looked down on as pariahs, yet they refused to internalise that image, just as Jacob refused to accept the hierarchies of power or affection that condemned him to be a mere second-best. Jews throughout history, like Jacob, have relied not on physical strength or material wealth but on qualities of the mind. 

In the end, though, Jacob must become Israel. For it is not the quick-witted victor but the hero of moral courage who stands tall in the eyes of humanity and God.

1. Joshua Backon, “Jacob and the Spotted Sheep: The Role of Prenatal Nutrition on Epigenetics of Fur Colour,” Jewish Bible Quarterly, Vol. 36, No. 4, 2008.
2. Henry Louis Gates, Black Literature and Literary Theory, New York, Methuen, 1984, pp. 81-104.

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***Probing the Prophets***

Rabbi Nachman Winkler

The final chapters of the Book of Hoshea from which our haftarah is taken, reflect the basic theme of the entire book, that of teshuva, which explains why the last verses are included in the haftarot of both Shabbat Shuva and Yom Kippur. Although Hoshea, a contemporary of the navi Yish’ayahu, addresses his words to the soon-to-be-exiled Northern Kingdom, the region in which he himself lived, he has choice words of admonition for the Southern Kingdom of Yehuda as well. 

Hoshe’a opens his words by bringing us back to the era of the forefathers and to the events recorded in our sedra. He reminds the nation that Ya’akov worked and protected -“shamar”-Lavan’s sheep in order to take in his beloved intended, Rachel, to his home. Using that same root word, the prophet reminds Israel that Hashem, through His prophet, also “worked” by protecting - “nishmar - His beloved nation and releasing them from the Egyptian bondage, in order to bring them to His “home”. And yet, Israel, bemoans Hoshe’a, Israel, as opposed to the faithful Rachel, forgot Hashem’s protection and kindnesses, and turned to other “gods”.

HaRav Yehuda Shavit, however, takes a unique view of these words of Hoshe’a, focusing specifically upon that same “root” word “sh,m,r”. Rav Shavit reminds us of the opening story in Parashat VaYeshev that relates the growing friction within Ya’akov’s family, friction that was amplified by Yosef’s dreams of grandeur. Although Ya’akov publicly dismissed the dreams – even berating Yosef for sharing them, the text closes the story with the words “v”aviv shamar et hadavar”, “and his father remembered the matter.” Commenting on that word “shamar” (root: “sh,m,r,”), Rashi contends that the word does not simply mean that Jacob remembered the dreams of his son but that he looked forward to them being realized. In other words, “shamar” should be understood as the father’s longing and yearning for the fruition of Yosef’s dreams 

Based upon this approach, Rav Shavit suggests that the navi Hoshe’a was telling the people that, just as Ya’akov longed for his soon-to-wife, and yearned to join with her so G-d longs for His beloved nation and yearns for them to return to Him! The nation’s perfidy in their abandonment of Hashem would condemn them to suffer G-d’s punishments, as Hosh’a tells them. But perhaps equally tragic was their ignorance of how much Hashem desired them to return to Him and how He longed for their closeness. The harsh words of the navi that Hashem, the protector of His “sheep” will be forced to become its destroyer (“…I shall devour them like a lion...”) stands in contrast to the words of Yaakov to Lavan that, in all the years, he never brought back a torn lamb to his father-in-law. Yet underlying these punishments was the painful reluctance of G-d to chastise the nation He loves, and does so only so that they would eventually understand, repent and return.

Only when we understand this message of how Hashem is “shomer” - protecting AND yearning for – his nation, can we appreciate the closing p’sukim calling for Israel to repair the rift. Hoshe’a’s cry “Shuva Yisrael,” urging Israel to return, fittingly echoes the word of G-d to Israel/Jacob found in the parasha: “shuv el eretz avotecha,” “return to your ancestral land.” In truth, our return to G-d will be fully realized with our return to “Eretz Avotecha”, our ancestral land. 

And all we need to do is look at the massive return to Israel and the miracle of its survival and growth in order to see how much our “Shomer” has longed for us.

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***What Was Taught in Yeshivat Shem V’Ever?***

Rabbi Shalom Rosner

רש”י: ויִּשְׁכַּב בַּמָּקוֹם הַהֽוּא: לְשׁוֹן מִעוּט; בְּאוֹתוֹ מָקוֹם שָׁכַב אֲבָל י”ד שָׁנִים שֶׁשִּׁמֵּשׁ בְּבֵית עֵבֶר לֹא שָׁכַב בַּלַּיְלָה, שֶׁהָיָה עוֹסֵק בַּתּוֹרָה:

And he lay down in that place: [The word הַהוּא] is a restrictive expression, meaning that [only] in that place did he lie down, but during the fourteen years that he served in the house of Eber, he did not lie down at night, because he was engaged in Torah study. 

Based on the language used in the Torah, Rashi derives that Yaakov rested at this location, but for fourteen years he did not rest, rather during that period he engaged in the study of Torah in the Yeshiva of Shem V’Ever. 

***Thirty-Six Years Away From Home***

We are told that Yaakov resided at the house of Lavan for twenty-two years, and during those years was unable to fulfill the mitzvah of kibbud Av V’em, therefore he was “punished” midah k’neged midah and Yosef was in mitzrayim unable to communicate with Yaakov for twenty-two years. If we add the fourteen years during which Yaakov studied at the Yeshiva of Shem V’Ever, then he was unable to fulfill the mitzvah of Kibbud Av V’em for 36 years. Why are the fourteen years in Yeshiva not counted towards the time he did not fulfill kibbud Av V’em? 

Rav Yaakov Kaminetzky in Emet L’Yaakov raises this question. Rav Yaakov even offers an example to strengthen the question. Imagine that a father asks his son to pick up some groceries. On his way to the store, the child stops off at the beit midrash to learn for a week. Is that proper behavior? His father requested groceries and the child delayed the chore for a week? Yaakov was tasked with finding a wife in Haran, why would he be justified in pushing that off for fourteen years? 

***Shem V’Ever - Survival in Hostile Environment***

Perhaps we need to understand the nature of what was taught in the Yeshiva of Shem V’Ever. In the house of Avraham and Yitzhak, there was a closed and protected environment. When Sara suspects that Yishmael may have an adverse influence on her son, she demands that Yishmael be removed. Shem, on the other hand, was the son of Noach. He witnessed the wickedness of his surroundings. Ever lived during the Dor Haflaga, when Migdal Bavel was built. Similarly, he grew up in a generation that did not value human life and that did not believe in God. Yet, both Shem V’Ever were able to remain steadfast Ovdei Hashem and moral and ethical beings. 

What Shem V’Ever were able to teach Yaakov, was how to survive in the house of Lavan. It was a necessary pit stop before he was to arrive at Lavan’s house. It is in accordance with his parent’s instructions as it enabled Yaakov to retain his tradition during those twenty-two years. It is like a father asking his son to purchase a Lulav and Etrog on his behalf and on the way to the store, the child stops in the Bet Midrash to learn how to select a kosher Lulav and Etrog. It is part of the mission. 

***Yaakov Teaches Yosef What He Learned From Shem V’Ever***

A reference to the Bet Midrsah of Shem V’Ever appears elsewhere in Sefer Bereshit as well. In Parshat Veyeshev, when we are told that Yaakov favored Yosef, Rashi interprets it to mean that Yaakov taught Yosef what he learned from Shem V’Ever. Why does Rashi specifically cite what Yaakov learned from Shem V’Ever and not from Avraham and Yitzhak? Apparently, Yaakov subconsciously felt that Yosef would be in exile and needed to understand how to survive in a hostile environment. That was Torat Shem V’Ever. 

Today, with so many outside influences, like Shem V’Ever, we need to strengthen our commitment to Torah and mitzvot. Chanuka is around the corner. The Greeks sought to discredit the Torah and force us to assimilate. May we be able to continue to educate our children and ourselves in the path of Shem V’Ever. Like Yaakov and Yosef, we need to ensure that the Torah, as our instruction manual, is our moral and ethical compass, irrespective of our surroundings.

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***Tremendous Tears***

Rebbetzin Shira Smiles

“Ve’einei Leah racot.” (Bereisheet 29:17) Rashi tells us that Leah’s eyes were weak or sensitive from excessive crying. Leah Imeinu was led to believe that she was destined to marry Esav, when she inquired as to his character, she was told he was wicked and robs people. She was so distraught at the prospect of marrying an evil man that she continuously cried and prayed for Hashem’s mercy to avert such a fate. The power of tears is a tremendous resource that we harness until today, and Leah Imeinu has become our role model for its strength.

Chazal teach us that as a result of Leah Imeinu’s tears she merited three things - she married Yaakov Avinu first, she bore the majority of the 12 tribes, and she was buried with Yaakov Avinu in Me’arat Hamachpelah. Rav Scheinerman in Ohel Moshe notes that every tear that Leah Imeinu shed was rooted in her desire to build spiritual edifices. This is what brought her so much blessing. While Rachel Imeinu is told “Withhold your voice from weeping,” Leah Imeinu is never told this. Indeed, when she names her fourth son from a place of thankfulness and is no longer expressing her pain and yearning, the Torah tells us that she “ceased to bear children.” (Bereisheet 29:35) Leah’s koach lies in the of prayer and yearning through tears. She is the model of changing one’s destiny by accessing this power.

Why is prayer with tears so incredibly powerful? Rav Chanan in Torat Chesed offers a profound insight. When the Beit Hamikdash was destroyed, the direct portal of tefillah was locked. At the same time, “sha’ar ha’dmaot,” the gates of tears were never sealed. Why is this so? Tofa’ot Re’em explains that during Creation, when Hashem separated the higher and lower waters, the part that was sent below to the earth complained of being so distant from Hashem. Hashem consoled these waters with the assurance that there would be libations of water on the altar and that salt (which comes from the lower waters) would be put on each sacrifice, allowing for the continued connection between the lower waters and Hashem. The lower waters asked, “What will happen when the Beit Hamikdash is destroyed?” Hashem answered … tears. Tears mixed with salt would replace the sacrifices and go directly to Hashem. 

We must never allow our tears to stop flowing when Am Yisrael is in a dire situation. The Zohar Hakadosh explains that Leah Imeinu went to the crossroads each day to hear reports from the travelers about Esav’s behavior. Rav Domb explains that she did this so she could feel her pain anew. She never wanted to give into her lot, her pain spurred her to intensify her tearful pleas to Hashem. 

Rav Pincus teaches that tears will ultimately bring our final salvation. Although we must always express our immense gratitude for Hashem’s continuous kindness and grace, we must persistently cry with the pain of our people, our land and our struggle. In the merit of these tears, Klal Yisrael, like Leah Imeinu, will be worthy of blessing and redemption.

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***Vayeitze: Climb!***

Rabbi Judah Mischel

Through Fire and Water is the epic story of the life and times of Reb Nosson of Breslov, zy’a. Reb Nosson had a command of kol haTorah kulah, mastery of the entire revealed Torah and its secrets, and with utmost bitul, sacrifice and dedication, he devoted himself to recording and transmitting Rebbe Nachman’s teachings and spiritual path. “Without my Nosson,” proclaimed the Rebbe, “nothing of me would remain.” 

As an exceptional young masmid and scholar, Reb Nosson yearned to find his place, and in 1801, spent time in the presence of the great Reb Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev. Sitting with those who gathered for melaveh malkah, Reb Nosson was assigned the chore to fetch bagels from the local baker. Later that night, while deep in contemplation, Reb Noson began to feel dejected. There was nothing wrong with shlepping bagels — in fact it was an honor to serve the tzadik in any way he could. There just had to be something…more. As wonderful as the Berditchev community was, he was frustrated with all of his private ups and downs, and felt a gnawing absence of inspiration and guidance. He now realized he was desperately yearning to find his real purpose and makom, and to acquire abiding menuchas ha-nefesh. Secluding himself in a side room of the shtiebel, Reb Nosson poured out his heart for hours, reading Tehillim and tearfully beseeching Hashem for guidance. Eventually, he collapsed on a bench and cried himself to sleep.

In his dream, Reb Nosson saw a ladder stretching from earth up to the Heavens. He began to climb the ladder, but fell down. He tried again and climbed a little higher, but again fell. Each time he climbed, he climbed higher, but fell lower. With great effort, this repeated itself over and over until he was about to reach the top. This time when he slipped, he fell into despair of ever reaching his goal. Just at that moment, someone appeared at the top of the ladder and called out, Droppe zich, un halt zich! — “Climb! But hold yourself!” Reb Nosson was startled awake. The face and these words remained etched in his mind.

It was about a year later, after the Yamim Nora’im in 1802, that Rebbe Nachman arrived in the town of Breslov, only a few miles from Nemirov, where Reb Noson lived. Word spread quickly of the dynamic and mysterious Rebbe and tzadik. Reb Nosson, the consummate seeker, felt he might finally be able to find a mentor who would help him escape his inner turmoil.

Traveling to Breslov, Reb Nosson came before Rebbe Nachman and introduced himself. Rabbeinu smiled and said, “We’ve known each other for a long time, but we haven’t seen each other for a while… Now I am no longer alone!” 

Reb Nosson gasped: he was beholding the very face that had appeared at the top of the ladder in his dream a year before. It was Rebbe Nachman who had encouraged him, “Climb, but hold yourself!” The guidance he needed had already been within himself. He only needed to learn to ‘hold’ onto it.

From then on, like the sun and the moon, Rebbe and Talmid were inseparable. Reb Nosson had found his life’s calling — and the inner emunah and meshivas ha-nefesh that would allow him to keep climbing and holding himself steady through tremendous challenges.

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וַיִּפְגַּע בַּמָּקוֹם וַיָּלֶן שָׁם כִּי־בָא הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ

“And Yaakov encountered the Place — and he slept there, for the sun had set….”

 וַֽיַּחֲלֹם וְהִנֵּה סֻלָּם מֻצָּב אַרְצָה וְרֹאשׁוֹ מַגִּיעַ הַשָּׁמָיְמָה וְהִנֵּה מַלְאֲכֵי אֱלֹקִים עֹלִים וְיֹרְדִים בּוֹ

“And he had a dream: a sulam, a ladder, was set on the ground and its top reached to the heavens, and messengers of God were going up and down on it.” (28:12)

As a refugee, running from a brother who sought to kill him, Yaakov Avinu’s future is uncertain. With nowhere to go and no roof over his head, he yearns for safety and settled consciousness, searching for his place in the world. Yaakov spontaneously encounters the makom, a place of absolute holiness, and וַיִּפְגַּע, so-to-speak ‘bumps into’ Hashem, Who is also called HaMakom. 

Reb Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev explains that Yaakov is suddenly making sense of all his challenges, hardships, ups and downs. He now understands that his bridge, his ladder connecting the upper and lower worlds is already within him: And olim v’yordim bo, ‘the angels were ascending and descending within him.’ The ladder that each of us needs to climb is within us, beckoning us to rise to our highest destiny, and to thereby bring upper lights down into the lower world.

Rav Adin Steinsaltz zt’l elaborated on the metaphor of a ladder. Whether ascending or descending, one must pass one foot and then the other through the empty space between rungs. Lifting a foot and stepping off terra firma is destabilizing and unsettling. Stepping between inner spiritual planes or levels requires passing through inner uncertainty, again and again. It requires learning to hold fast to the emunah deep within us. 

In our personal and national journeys toward self actualization and finding our makom, our place and purpose in the world, there will be ups and downs, confusions, challenges, falls, triumphs and revelations. Through all of this, may we stay the course and continue to climb toward our individual and collective destinies. May we lovingly hold ourselves wherever we are standing right now, and embrace the radical courage and leap of faith it takes to step into empty space.

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***Simchat Shmuel***

Rabbi Sam Shor

Our Sedra this week, Parshat Vayeitzei recalls the familiar account of Yaakov Avinu departing from Be’er Sheva as he flees the potential danger and retribution at the hands of his brother Eisav, following Yaakov’s having received the bracha from Yitzchak. 

As Yaakov lies down to rest under the stars the pasuk tells us:

Vayachalom v’hinei sulam mutzav artza, v’rosho magia haShamaima - And he dreamt, and suddenly before him was a ladder that leaned toward earth, and its top rose to Heaven.

What exactly is the message this dream is meant to convey to Yaakov Avinu? What is the eternal message and relevance of Yaakov’s dream for each of us? What does the imagery of the ladder which is grounded on Earth and ascends to the Heavens, meant to convey and teach us?

Rabbi Samson Rafael Hirsch zt”l points out that the ladder, which represents the link between heaven and earth, was placed from above by Hashem. However, the verse reads that the ladder’s top reached the heavens. The ladder’s purpose, explained Rav Hirsch, was not descent from the heavens, rather to inspire spiritual ascent, to direct our thoughts and actions toward the heavens.

The Netivot Shalom, the Slonimer Rebbe zy’a, offers a different interpretation on the imagery represented by the ladder. A ladder offers the capacity both to climb, as well as to descend. It is important for us to realize that in life even our descents occur within the framework of that proverbial ladder. Even as we may have come down a rung on that ladder, we continue to have the ability to climb back up, and ascend even higher than before!

Similarly, Rav Yaakov Moshe Charlop zt"l, one of the closest and most devoted students of Rav Kook zt”l, explains the imagery of the ladder. The ladder is meant to teach us that sometimes our descents are necessary temporary steps, that actually serve as the impetus to propel us to climb even higher up that proverbial ladder, to reach even higher heights in our Avodat Hashem. Taking the time periodically to take a step back to gather our thoughts, to prepare ourselves to move forward, can indeed be the key to even greater accomplishments.

Yehi Ratzon, may each of us be blessed both to dream, to seek to ascend higher in our Avodat Hashem, as well as to have the strength and perseverance to bounce back from our temporary descents and setbacks, have the capacity to recalibrate our thoughts, and to move forward and achieve even greater clarity and growth each and every day.

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***Geulas Yisrael***
***Jewish Exile and the Lavan Strategy***

Rabbi Moshe Taragin

We announce it every year, right in the middle of the Pesach Haggadah. Having declared that our enemies rise against us בכל דור ודור , in every generation, we spotlight Lavan as the most malicious villain, who almost extinguished Jewish history. We compare him disfavorably to Pharo who “only” murdered male children. Lavan, however, attempted to annihilate us all. 

What made Lavan so criminal? We know that he is a two-faced weasel and a duplicitous employer. We know that he is a swindler who deceives Ya’akov at every opportunity. His name Lavan or “white” is misleading, as he is anything but pure and wholesome. 

Yet, even when he hunts Ya’akov, his conduct isn’t bellicose, especially when compared to the murderous behavior of Esav who arrives, armed to the teeth, with four hundred mercenaries. To be sure, Lavan was warned by Hashem against any hostility to Ya’akov, but it never seems that Lavan had military ambitions toward Ya’akov. 

Why is Lavan so criminalized and how exactly did he attempt to destroy us?

***A Multi-Headed Hydra***

Lavan developed a new multilayered strategy to defeat us, and his tactics were recycled by our enemies throughout history. For twenty years he subjected Ya’akov to psychological pressure, scheming him and denying his rights, while also hurling false accusations at his son-in-law. His melodramatic complaining that Ya’akov took his daughters “hostages of the sword” is laughable.

Ya’akov spends twenty years alone, facing a cavalcade of lies, intimidation, and aggression. Even Lavan’s sons and workers get into the act, bullying Ya’akov with libels and fictitious claims. For twenty years Ya’akov felt alone and inferior to the locals, who happen to be his family. 

There is a second prong to Lavan’s strategy. Alongside psychological warfare, he tempts Ya’akov, by constantly offering him a “way out” and a “way up”. At every major juncture Lavan sweetens the deal, offering Ya’akov full membership in his circle and, presumably, an end to the discrimination. He offers Ya’akov a second wife, extra cattle, and extra pay, all with the hope that Ya’akov will cross over to his side. 

For Ya’akov, who is still a fugitive of his murderous brother, these offers are very tempting. He can easily leave behind all his struggles for a quiet life of luxury “among” the cattlemen in Aram Nahara’im. If he just joins Lavan and gives up his past, he can settle into a brighter future. 

Lavan’s ploy is deviously simple. Intimidate Ya’akov to the point that his best option is to join Lavan and end his suffering. Apparently, the plan almost succeeded. Vayeitzei begins with Ya’akov dreaming of angels and ends with him encountering angels. His mind and his subconscious are fixated upon Heaven and matters of spirit. Yet, in the middle of Vayeitzei, when he is deeply embedded in Lavan’s house, he dreams of sheep. He has become immersed in the surrounding culture of material, and, in his dreams, sheep replace angels. 

Suddenly, in the middle of his dream, a solitary angel reminds him of his prior life and the commitments to return to Israel and to return to history. Lavan’s sneaky combination of aggression and enticement almost trapped Ya’akov. Had he not escaped, he would have disappeared into the local culture as a common herdsman. 

This has been the “Lavan template” throughout history, a combination of intimidation and invitation. Psychological aggression coupled with offers to join. This is, and has been, the Lavan method to extinguish Jewish history. 

***Demeaning Jews***

Several years ago, I visited the legendary Altneuschul shul in Prague, expecting a palatial structure. To my shock, I discovered a hovel- dank, dark, and low ceilinged. Replying to my inquiry, the tour guide explained that, historically, Jewish houses of worship could not stand taller than local churches and cathedrals. This height restriction was just one method of humiliating us and showcasing the presumed “declined state” of Judaism. 

Throughout the generations, the psychological tactics changed but the barrage was endless. We were cast as infidels because we rejected new prophets who innovated “new religions”. We are accused of the sub-human crimes of drinking blood, even though we conducted lifestyles of human dignity. We were falsely caricatured as money greedy usurers, even though we pursued lives of spirit not of material. In modern times we were portrayed as a sub-race which had to be purged in order to purify society. The narratives changed, but we were constantly denigrated and stigmatized. 

However, we were always offered a ticket out of this suffering. In Shir Hashirim, Shlomo Hamelech paraphrases this persistent Gentile invitation to join their society:

שובי שובי השולמית שובי שובי ונחזה בך

Turning to us with our name Shulamit, Gentiles try to lure us into merging with broader society, while promising us positions of influence and affluence as reward. The only ticket of entry was religious conversion. Sadly, many Jews who tired of the toll of constant oppression took this route, either voluntarily or through coercion. 

During the modern period, this invitation became even more tempting. As organized religion receded, Jews were invited to join society without expectation of religious conversion: “you can keep your personal religion as long as it doesn’t interfere with the universal commonality between all human beings. “The modern ticket of entry into broader society was merely cultural assimilation: “stop eating differently, stop dressing differently and stop marrying differently. If you want to be part of humanity, act and behave like the rest of humanity. Give up your cultural insularity and join us. Not only will you join us, but you will lead us into a better and more advanced future.” שובי שובי 

Tragically, millions of Jews gladly accepted this modern Lavan invitation and were almost lost to Jewish history. 

***Uncovering the Monster***

However, in the end, just as Ya’akov finally revealed Lavan’s true colors, we also discovered the repulsiveness of the cultures we were tempted to join. In the 19th and 20 century Jews were infatuated by the possibilities of a modern Europe. It appeared as if this continent had pulled itself out of the Dark ages and now offered a cosmopolitan future of science, art, music, philosophy, and nationalism. Jews were drawn by these promises and joined the ranks of a refined, cultured and sophisticated European society. Until we discovered the rancid antisemitism which lay at the core of this rotten society. We revealed Europe to be a decayed culture which had little interest in embracing us. 

It happened again. After the Holocaust many Jews were attracted to a new post-war era. Modern culture spoke of democracy, equal rights, globalism, multiculturalism, and the end of bigotry and discrimination. As this utopian promise of morality and universal humanism riveted the Jewish imagination, millions accepted this invitation while abandoning Jewish religion, identity, or both. 

Once again, we have uncovered the rot in modern society. How can this enlightened and tolerant society support genocide, rape, murder, torture and incinerating other human beings? How can supposed centers of education become hotbeds of venomous hate? 

Evidently, Lavan and his culture aren’t everything they seem to be. Evidently, we should resist the seductive offers to join him. Evidently, there is more for us to discover back home in history. 

Lavan’s plan is deviously simple. It almost worked then, and it almost worked now. Ultimately though, Lavan reveals his true face, and it is ugly.

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***Haftorah Insights***
***Flowering Faith - Haftorah: Hoshea 11:7-12:14***

Rebbetzin Dr. Adina Shmidman

This week’s Haftorah is familiar to us as part of the readings of the Haftorot of Shabbat Shuva and Tisha B’Av afternoon. The following posuk is found in this Haftorah, אֶהְיֶה כַטַּל לְיִשְׂרָאֵל יִפְרַח כַּשּׁוֹשַׁנָּה וְיַךְ שׁרָשָׁיו כַּלְּבָנוֹן׃, ⁦I will be to Israel like dew; he shall blossom like the lily, he shall strike root like a Lebanon tree. 

The metaphors in this pasuk are replete with messages and meaning. The שושנה according to the Malbim, is a flower whose seeds fly in the wind, spreading far and wide. Just as these seeds take root in their new environment and flourish, the exiled Jewish people are able to create new communities and rebuild. 

Once these communities launch, how are they sustained? The Gemara,Taanit 4b, describes this process with a poignant dialogue: אָמַר לָהּ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בִּתִּי אַתְּ שׁוֹאֶלֶת דָּבָר שֶׁפְּעָמִים מִתְבַּקֵּשׁ וּפְעָמִים אֵינוֹ מִתְבַּקֵּשׁ אֲבָל אֲנִי אֶהְיֶה לָךְ דָּבָר הַמִּתְבַּקֵּשׁ לְעוֹלָם שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר ״אֶהְיֶה כַטַּל לְיִשְׂרָאֵל״. The Holy One Blessed be He, said to the Jewish people: My daughter, you request the manifestation of My Presence by comparing Me to a matter, rain, that is sometimes desired, but is sometimes undesired, e.g., during the summer. However, I will be to you like a matter that is always desired, dew, as it is stated: “I will be as the dew to Israel” (Hosea 14:6), since dew appears in all seasons and is invariably a blessing.

Even though most days, we don’t actually see the morning dew, we know how necessary it is to sustain our world. Just as Hashem is not visible, we have faith that His presence is ever-present. While we may feel lost through the travels and travails of exile, Hoshea closes his prophetic book with the reassurance that כִּי־יְשָׁרִים דַּרְכֵי ה׳, for the ways of Hashem are straight.

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***Chanukah: The Holiday of Peace***

Rabbi Aaron Goldscheider

In the coming weeks I am honored to share inspirational teachings related to the miraculous eight days of Chanukah. At this time when we are facing great challenges and uncertainty we pray that we will quickly usher in a time of light and joy for all of Klal Yisrael.

The menorahs that we light in our homes today are reminiscent of the very first Menorah, which was lit each day by Aharon the Kohen Gadol during the Israelites’ travels in the wilderness.

Amazingly, but not surprisingly, it was Aharon’s direct descendants, the Chashmonaim, who led the way in the battle against the Greeks. They were the ones who once again lit the Menorah when reentering the Beit HaMikdash on Chanukah.

The Sfat Emet, Rebbe Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter of Ger, suggests that the personality of Aharon has a special place in our hearts during the days of Chanukah. This is true not only because Aharon was the great Menorah lighter, but also because Aharon, the brother of Moses, was the greatest peacemaker in the world (Pirkei Avot 1:12).

He sought out people who were quarreling and made peace between them. When Aharon met one of the quarrelers, he would say, “I just met your acquaintance and he is very sorry for what he did; you should know, he wants to make up with you.” 

Aharon would sit with husbands and wives who had marital problems, and also with those who had separated due to marital strife. He would not rest until he did everything he could to make peace between them and to help bring them back together.

Not infrequently it happened that after the couple would reunite, another child would be born to them. They would often give honor to their peacemaker by naming their child after him. In fact, our Sages teach that more than three thousand children were named after Aharon during his lifetime (Avot d’Rabbi Natan)!

The Sfat Emet explained that Aharon believed deeply that within the heart of every person there is a place that sincerely yearns for reconciliation and peace. There is nothing that can defile this pure place. Love is locked in the heart securely and eternally.

The small jar of oil that was sealed by the Kohen Gadol gave abundant light to the Menorah. This can be likened to the pure place in the heart of a Jew. This yearning for peace cannot be spoiled or defiled.

During the ancient days of Chanukah there was ultimately a renewed sense of brotherhood and bonding among the Jewish people. The Greek onslaught and determination to actively assimilate the Jews had created terrible divisiveness among our people. Jewish Hellenists and traditionalists took opposing sides. Thankfully, the miraculous military victory and the miracle of the lights brought a renewed brotherhood and love throughout the nation of Israel.

The Rambam strikingly concludes his laws of Chanukah with a teaching about the beauty of peace and brotherhood: Peace is great; the entire Torah was given to bring about peace within the world, as it states, “Its ways are pleasant ways and all its paths are peace” (Proverbs 3:19).

In Jerusalem there is a long-standing custom of gathering for special meals on the nights of Chanukah. At these gatherings feuding families often join together. Friends who quarreled during the year are reconciled at these meals.

Chanukah is an auspicious time to come closer to one another and for reconciliation. It is the great holiday of peace.

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***From the Virtual Desk of the OU Vebbe Rebbe***
***Whose Pronunciation Should the Oleh Use?***

Rabbi Daniel Mann

Question: In my shul, the “functionaries” do the havara (custom of pronunciation) as they like. This week, the ba’al korei (=bk) did Sephardi/Israeli, while I did the berachot of my aliya in Ashkenazis. When reading the kri’ah along with him, should I have been using my havara or his?

Answer: First, we must investigate the roles of the oleh and the bk. In the gemara’s time, the oleh read the Torah aloud for the tzibbur. In Tannaic times, only the first aliya had an opening beracha and the last one had an ending beracha (Megilla 21b), and all the middle olim did was read the Torah. The Rambam (Tefilla 12:5) describes kri’at haTorah as the olim doing the laining. Other Rishonim, though, report a minhag that a bk lains, whereas the oleh makes the berachot and reads along quietly (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 141:2).

The consensus is that the bk’s reading is the halachically significant kri’at haTorah, which needs to be done carefully, as the point is for the tzibbur to hear (see Sha’ar Ephrayim 3:1; Mishna Berura 142:3). (The Maharil (Shut 23) considers the possibility that the oleh’s reading can also count for the tzibbur.) 

The Rosh (Megilla 3:1), though, requires the oleh to read along with the bk, for if he does not, his berachot are l’vatala, because his beracha cannot connect to the bk’s laining but must relate to his own reading. The Shulchan Aruch (OC 139:2-3) rules that one who is unable to read from the Torah even with the bk’s help (whether due to blindness or ignorance), may not receive an aliya, but the Rama (ad loc.) allows it. The Taz (OC 141:3) argues on the need to read along, as he understands the Yerushalmi (Megilla 4:1) to say that when the one making the beracha listens to the reading, the beracha is connected to the reading. The She’eilat Ya’avetz I:75 rejects the Taz, saying that listening can connect one to a text but cannot make it count as if the listener read that text from a sefer Torah, as is required for kri’at haTorah. We generally pasken, albeit likely because of the great need, to allow even a blind person to get aliyot even though he cannot read along (Mishna Berura 139:12-13). In many, many shuls it is also clear that not everyone reads along, and it is rare for gabbaim to try to enforce it. (The She’eilat Yaavetz considers it conceivable, but probably wrong, that one who follows in the sefer Torah the words he listens to is considered as if he read them with his lips.) Thus, reading along is not a critical need.

However, it is certainly proper to follow the Rosh’s ruling that the oleh read along, which the Rosh says he should do “quietly and precisely.” This desire for preciseness should be tempered by the fact that we make no real effort to ensure such quality. We allow non- proficient readers to get aliyot, and Acharonim point out that we do not trust the oleh to read well enough for the tzibbur to fulfill the mitzva by his reading (see Mishna Berura ad loc. 10). Also, given that an oleh reads quietly, we have no way to correct him if he reads inaccurately.

One can fulfill recitation-based mitzvot in a different havara from his own, which is what one should do when leading a congregation with that havara (see Igrot Moshe, OC III:5; Bemareh Habazak III:1). Therefore, it is not a problem for him to follow the bk. However, there is generally a preference to do things one’s own way for a “private mitzva” when it is not offensive to the public (see ibid.). Since it is most likely the oleh’s reading is a personal matter (the berachot are more complex – see Bemareh Habazak ibid.), one’s own havara is conceptually preferable. However, it is easier for those who do not know dikduk well to “parrot” the bk than to try to make the proper adjustments for his own havara. While his failure in that regard is unlikely to ruin the meaning, which would make it correctable if he were the bk (see Rama, OC 142:1), it is better to avoid mistakes than to use one’s havara (see ibid.). Therefore, except for olim who are proficient enough to make the adjustments consistently, it is better to follow the bk.

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***Buying Fresh Produce without Kashrut Certification from Farmers in the Gaza Envelope***

Rabbi Moshe Bloom

Question: There are lots of fresh-produce sales from farmers in the Gaza Envelope. I generally buy my produce only from places with a kashrut certification. May I buy this produce, and if so, what issues do I need to look out for?

Answer: At this time, farmers from the Gaza Envelope communities are on the front lines, coping with a very difficult and complex situation. To help our farmers and Israeli agriculture in general, various projects and initiatives have been launched. Among them, there are produce sales at farmers’ markets.

In light of the current situation, it is possible that the produce comes directly from the fields without any halachic supervision regarding terumot, ma’aserot, and orlah.

For this reason, below are Torah VeHa’aretz Institute’s guidelines for those purchasing this produce:

Lechatchilah, it is best to request a kashrut certificate from the farmer, which includes supervision for orlah and the separation of terumot and ma’aserot. 

If there is no kashrut certificate, in light of today’s complex situation, it is possible to purchase produce. Note that since orlah is a major problem for blueberries, kashrut certification is always necessary from Israeli-grown blueberries.

When there is no kashrut certificate, or one is not sure if one exists, separate terumot and ma’aserot without a blessing. 
This year, the second year of the shemitah cycle, is a ma’aser sheni year, as was last year. That means that the holiness of ma’aser sheni should be transferred to a coin (without a blessing) from all fruits and vegetables. 

For more on the laws and procedure for separating terumot and ma’aserot, see our website: en.toraland.org.il.

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***Holy Sites in Israel***
***The Ancient Shul in Gaza***

Rivi Frankel

Following last month’s introduction to this series, the first shul to be featured in our exploration of ancient synagogues in Israel, is the 6th century shul in what Tanach refers to as “Gaza,” which is usually identified as today’s Rimel district of Gaza City. Gaza is also often recognized as the ancient port city known as Maiumas, from Egyptian, meaning maritime place.

After a lengthy history of being ruled by many different nations and leaders, the city of Gaza was conquered in 145 BCE by Yonatan Hashmonai, brother of Yehuda HaMacabi, and became a hub of Jewish life for the first time in centuries. Later, during the Roman-Byzantine period, which coincides with the Talmudic period, the city saw hundreds of years of stability both for the city itself and for its Jewish residents. The port became a bustling hub of Jewish business and society.

The ancient synagogue was built in 508 CE, albeit originally misidentified as a church when it was rediscovered by Egyptian archaeologists in 1965. A significant find in the excavation was a floor mosaic depicting a figure playing a harp. Initially thought to be a woman, the figure was eventually identified as King David, created in the style of the Greek musician, Orpheus. 

The name David even appears above the figure in Hebrew letters. Also featured are various animals, including a snake and lion positioned at King David’s feet, as well as a Greek inscription identifying the donors of the mosaic as Menachem and Yeshua, sons of Yishai and the year of completion. Sadly, shortly after the shul’s discovery, the face in the mosaic was destroyed by vandals.

After the six day war, the mosaic was brought to the Israel Museum for restoration. There is also a replica displayed in the Inn of the Good Samaritan Museum alongside other mosaics from the Roman-Byzantine period.

The Greek style and influence on the mosaic’s features, as well as the inclusion of a human image which is halachically problematic, indicates that the congregants likely had a foot both in the Jewish world and the Hellenistic world. The mosaic was expertly crafted and would have required a sizable donation by the brothers who commissioned it. Was this donation an act of piety, a declaration that Judaism and the synagogue were significant to the community? Was it a power play to show off their wealth? Is the fact that the donors had identifiably Jewish names indicative one way or the other? While it is impossible for us to know, sources illustrate the presence of a committed, active Jewish life in the Gaza region during that time and later periods throughout history.

Though we await official confirmation, there have been reports recently of soldiers davening in this ancient synagogue for the first time in over 18 years. What an encouraging image- our chayalim, warriors of Israel, praying in a shul where our ancestors were inspired by one of the most iconic Jewish warriors, King David! King David not only fought with his sword, but also with his tefillot and his music, a mesorah passed on through the generations, that still carries us today. 

"אלא ברכב ואלה בסוסים ואנחנו בשם ה’ אלקינו נזכיר. המה כרעו ונפלו ואנחנו קמנו ונתעודד. ה’ הושיע המלך יעננו ביום קראנו.” - תהילים כ:ח-י’ 

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***NCSY - Torah 4 Teens by Teens***

***From Being Good to Being Great!***
Lauren Shore - Bet Shemesh, Madricha

Yitzchak gave Yaakov a bracha that Esau believed should have gone to him. Out of fear that his brother would harm him for getting the bracha, Yaakov left his parent’s home. He went to a well and saw a woman named Rachel who was standing there to water her father’s flock. When Yaakov saw Rachel, he came forward and “rolled the stone off the mouth of the well and watered the sheep.” 

When someone normally does an act of kindness, it usually takes place when they make a request from another person. This could be in the form of someone’s time, money, or opinion. But there’s a much higher level that can be attained when someone does an act of kindness. There is something each of us can do to elevate a good deed into a great deed. This occurs when someone is able to anticipate the needs of others without being asked. They simply run to do the chesed. This is what Yaakov did for Rachel. He taught us how to become a great person who does great things because by acting first, it puts the same action on a radically higher level. 

It’s also important to know that many people naturally have a hard time asking for help. But they are in just as much need, if not more, as those who more easily ask. So the next time you choose to come forward and especially without a request to give someone a kind word or a helping hand, it will be an act that is equal to what Yaakov did for Rachel at that well. May we be able to learn from Yaakov what it really means to be great.

***Hashem’s Palace***
Akiva Fein - Bet Shemesh, 9th Grade

In this week’s parsha, after spending twenty-two years in Lavan’s house, Yaakov is ready to leave and go back to the land of his father’s. Hashem says to Yaakov שׁוּב אֶל־אֶרֶץ אֲבוֹתֶיךָ
 וּלְמוֹלַדְתֶּךָ וְאֶהְיֶה עִמָּךְreturn to the Land of your father’s and to your birthplace and I will be with you. Rashi adds “and there I will be with you.” Because as long as you are with Lavan, my Shechina cannot be with you. One would think that the reason the Shechina cannot be with Yaakov is because he is in Lavan’s house, but that is actually not the case. When the Torah says return to the Land of your father’s this implies that Yaakov being in chutz laaretz is what is keeping the Shechina away. Why would living in chutz laaretz take away the Shechina?

Ramban explains that Hashem created the world, and every nation has an angel watching over it. Eretz Yisrael is the only land that does not have an angel. Hashem himself is directly watching over Eretz Yisrael. This is why Eretz Yisrael is referred to as the “king’s palace” because this is Hashem’s home. Ramban explains that one who lives in chutz laaretz is like one who has no G-d. Because the angels that are watching over these nations are acting as intermediaries between the people and G-d. in Eretz Yisrael, the “king’s palace” there are no intermediaries. 

To conclude, when Hashem told Yaakov to return to the Land of his fathers Hashem was telling Yaakov he wants him back home so their relationship can be pure without any ministering angels in between. In the same way that G-d told Yaakov to go back to Eretz Yisrael, we hope all Jews around the world return home to Eretz Yisrael.  שבת שלום ומבורך

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Shabbat Shalom