Parasha Vayetzé 5782
Jacob, father of the Twelve Tribes, leaves Israel from the city of Beer Sheva on his way to Aram (Haran) to escape from his brother Esau, following his mother's advice, and to find a wife, following his father Isaac's instructions. The town of Beer Sheva represented peace and security, prayer and Torah study, but Jacob had to leave it to face the world of temptations (Olam, whose root is helem, concealment - where God is hidden). He overcame them and then became the father of the House of Israel. This teaches us that God wants Jews to live a spiritual life in an earthly world.
Yaacov studied for fourteen years in the Eber Yeshiva before going to Haran. In addition to studying the culture and language of the place he was going to, he devoted himself primarily to prayer, which demonstrates that before forming a Jewish home, the priority is not to lose one's identity in the process of integrating into the society one joins, by simply imitating the customs of others, but to understand the fundamentals of life outlined in the Torah and not forget them.
Before reaching Haran, Jacob stopped at Mount Moriah, the very spot where Abraham built the altar for Isaac's sacrifice and where the Beit Hamikdash (Temple) was later built. There he had the famous dream of the ladder and received from God the promise that this land would belong to his descendants, who would be as numerous as the sands of the sea.
In Jacob's dream, the ladder rested on the earth but reached heaven. Angels ascended and descended on the ladder. These represented the four empires that would rule our people: Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome (Edom): our current exile.
In each case, Jacob saw its rise, its peak, and its fall, except in the case of Edom, whose angel continually ascended. When he asked God when it would descend, God replied that He Himself would bring it down, indicating that the end of the current exile would come about through supernatural means. The lives and experiences of the patriarchs serve as models for our conduct, and the patriarch's dream shows us that even though our physical existence is earthly, we all have the potential to reach high spiritual levels and should therefore put all our effort into achieving them.
Jacob arrived at Laban's uncle's house and after working seven years to marry Rachel, he had to marry her older sister Leah because Laban deceived him. He worked seven more years to marry Rachel. Jacob spent a total of 20 years working for Laban without losing his spiritual level. The root of the word "Aramaic" in Hebrew, "arami," means deception. That was the name Laban was known by; "master of deception" - arami. When Jacob's love for Rachel is narrated, it is said that even though he had to wait seven years to marry her, they passed like mere days because of the love he had for her. This explains the true kind of love. For people who love primarily themselves and need the company of another person to be gratified, every day of absence feels like an eternity. Jacob, on the other hand, loved Rachel for who she was more than for what he could give her. It was an unconditional love worth any sacrifice.
True love is permanent, it prevails, and many years can seem like a few days. Yaakov is a "Ish Tam", a man of integrity.Yaakov is related to "the truth" (Yalkut Shimoni Bamidbar 13), as it is written: "Grant the truth of Jacob" (Micah 7:20). And not only was he upright in keeping his word, but he was also devout and honest in his work. As Rabbeinu Bechaye and Seforno explain, Yaakov was responsible for both the losses that fall under the caretaker's responsibility and those that did not fall under the caretaker's responsibility. His dedication to what he did was admirable.
Jacob had 12 children by his four wives: Leah, Rachel, Bilhá and Zilpá, all four were sisters on their father Lavan's side; Bilhah and Zilpah were daughters of a concubine of Lavan. Leah had Jacob's first four sons: Reuben, Shimon, Levi and Yehuda. Dan and Naphtali were sons of Bilhah. Gad and Asher, sons of Zilpah. Later Leah had two more sons: Yisachar and Zevulun and a daughter, Dinah. Finally Rachel, after fourteen years of waiting, had Yosef and later Binyamin. The Jewish name -Yehudí- derived from Yehudah, fourth son of Leah and Yaacov, comes from "hodaá" - gratitude- therefore our name -Jewish- means "Thank the Creator" Well, the role of the Jew It is to praise God, to thank Him for everything and to recognize that He is the Creator and Sovereign of all that exists.
After his long stay in Aram, Yaacov had the privilege of returning to his father's house, his land of Israel, laden with money and livestock, and more importantly, with children who, despite having been raised in an environment of idolatry, were able to be educated in Judaism, becoming in the future the Twelve Tribes that gave birth to the Jewish people.
While Jacob was with Lavan, he fulfilled the 613 Commandments. This is confirmed by the expression used in the Chumash when it says "Garti" with Lavan. "Garti" means "I lived" in Hebrew, and has a numerical value of 613, equivalent to the 613 mitzvot of the Torah.
Each person can perform two types of actions on a ladder: up or down. Every day brings new challenges, and therefore we must use our actions and experiences, failures and successes, to serve as an incentive to continue our spiritual growth. The Hebrew word for ladder, "sulam," has the same numerical value as the word for money, "mammon." This teaches us that money is like a ladder; it can be used to ascend and approach heaven or to descend to the lowest depths. It all depends on what purpose we use it for.
(Source: Mati Jakubowicz and Jaya Perman: "In the Beat of Time...")
Dedicated to the elevation of the soul of Abraham Albert ben Ana, and to Refua Shlema "the prompt and complete healing" of Abraham Ben Sindy and all the sick of Am Israel and the world.
Shabbat Shalom!
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