Transcript
Good morning. This morning we have the privilege of studying together פרשת וישלח Parshas Vayishlach. And as we do every week, we'll begin with an overview of the פרשה parsha, and then delve into specific פסוקים psukim. וישלח Vayishlach appears on page 170 in the ArtScroll Stone חומש Chumash.And our פרשה parsha begins with the reunion, the reconciliation between עשו Eisav and יעקב Yaakov. יעקב Yaakov has been on the run, almost 22 years have passed. 20 years he was living with לבן Lavan and working for his father-in-law. And now he is preparing for the reunion with his brother עשו Eisav. Time has passed, and the question is, with time's passage, has עשו's Eisav's feelings, his enmity, his anger subsided? What will we find and who will he find when he comes to עשו Eisav? So what does יעקב Yaakov do in order to prepare for this reunion?יעקב Yaakov does a number of things. Number one, he sends מלאכים malachim. וישלח יעקב מלאכים לפניו אל עשו אחיו ארצה שעיר שדה אדום Vayishlach Yaakov malachim l'fanav l'Eisav achiv artza Seir sdei Edom. יעקב Yaakov sends מלאכים malachim. Translate מלאכים malachim: Angels.So, last week, for those who don't attend בוקר טוב Boker Tovs on שבת Shabbos. Last שבת Shabbos, and for those who do but who have forgotten because it's already Tuesday. Last שבת Shabbos I spoke in the morning about the dream of יעקב Yaakov of angels ascending and descending the ladder. And I pointed out that in ספר בראשית Sefer Breishis when there's a reference to angels, we have a consistent debate, a מחלוקת machlokes between רש\"י Rashi and the אבן עזרא Ibn Ezra. Does it mean literally angels? רש\"י Rashi here writes, מלאכים malachim, the opening רש\"י Rashi on our פרשה parsha, רש\"י Rashi writes, מלאכים ממש malachim mamash. Literally angels. יעקב Yaakov had this ability to invoke heavenly angels, and יעקב Yaakov said heavenly angels. I need you to go scout out, I need you to go advocate for me. Go to עשו Eisav. Check it out, and help me.Whereas the אבן עזרא Ibn Ezra says, no, these weren't heavenly angels, these were messengers, human beings. יעקב Yaakov needed a job done, and there were human beings who acted as his angel, who helped him and went and did it on his behalf. Later when יוסף Yosef is sent by יעקב Yaakov to go look for his brothers near שכם Shechem, תורה Torah tells us cryptically that he runs into a man, the man says, “Hey, how you doing? What are you looking for? Maybe I could help you.” יוסף Yosef says, “I'm looking for my brothers.” He says, “Oh, they went this way.” Says רש\"י Rashi, who's that man? None other than the מלאך גבריאל Malach Gavriel, the angel גבריאל Gavriel. Says the אבן עזרא Ibn Ezra, what are you talking about? It's a man. It's a person. So יוסף Yosef runs into, “I see you need help, happy to help you, who you're looking for, maybe I can help you.” It was a man acting in a way that he was יעקב's Yaakov's angel. And I suggested to you last week that perhaps the dream of the angels ascending and descending the ladder is not a dream of angels that are made in heaven, but is a dream of angels that are made here on earth. Angels are made on earth in the way that we treat one another. And יעקב Yaakov when he leaves the insularity, he leaves the protection of the בית מדרש beis medrash, and he's about to go live with לבן Lavan, he's about to encounter the world, he remembers that our mission, our purpose in life is to be an angel for another. That's who we are. We are a people who are to נקדש שמך בעולם כשם שמקדישים אותו בשמי מרום nikadesh shemcha b'olam k'shem shemakdishim oso b'shmei marom, that we sanctify God's name down here on earth by being angels towards one another, the same way angels sanctify God's name where? בשמי מרום B'shmei marom, up there in heaven. And at the end of the פרשה parsha, and that's why it says they ascend before descend, because angels are made here on earth, they're not made in heaven. And then the end of the פרשה parsha, לבן Lavan and יעקב Yaakov go their separate ways, and לבן Lavan encounters a group of people, the מדרש Medrash says these people are thieves and robbers. You find who you are. You tend to gravitate towards like people. לבן Lavan finds people who it turns out are like him. They are רמאים ramayim, they're thieves, they're robbers. At the end of the... turn back one page. יעקב הלך לדרכו ויפגעו בו מלאכי אלקים Yaakov halach l'darko, vayifge'u bo malachei Elokim. יעקב Yaakov also goes on his way. Who does he encounter? Angels. רש\"י Rashi says heavenly angels, to give him a ברכה bracha. מלאכים של ארץ ישראל באו לקראתו ללוותו לארץ *Malachim shel Eretz Yisroel bo l'kroso, l'vaso l'eretz*. Heavenly angels. Says the אבן עזרא Ibn Ezra, he was escorted.So again, you have this consistent מחלוקת machlokes and it appears here in the beginning of our פרשה parsha. וישלח יעקב מלאכים Vayishlach Yaakov malachim. So a reminder that our mission, our purpose in life is to be angels for one another, to help one another. And in the דרשה drasha I quoted several stories of people who were angels for others. You may have followed the story last week of the woman who ran out of gas in Philadelphia. This homeless man told her stay in your car, lock the doors, it's a bad neighborhood, I'll get you gas. Spent his last penny. She couldn't repay him, she had no cash on her. And he acted like her angel. He rescued her. He took care of her. And she reciprocated. Like יעקב Yaakov found angels because he was an angel, so this homeless man found an angel in her, because he acted to her as an angel. She set up a GoFundMe page. I said on שבת Shabbos it was over $300,000 that it raised. It's now over $350,000 it has raised to help this homeless man get started on life again, all because he interrupted his day to think not about how he had spent the last $20 on himself, but how he could be an angel for her. This is our mission. וישלח יעקב מלאכים לפניו Vayishlach Yaakov malachim l'fanav, he sent angels. When we do something for someone else, we are their angel. יעקב Yaakov prepares for this encounter in three ways. Always hope for the best, but plan for the worst. Prepare for the worst. יעקב Yaakov hopes for the best, that it'll be brotherly reunion, a reconciliation, loving, but he's prepared for the worst. How does he prepare for the worst? He does three things. What are the three things he does? Diplomacy, gives gifts. Prayer, turns to השם Hashem and asks for help, and military preparations. He girds himself and his children for war. By the way this is a formula. When we encounter the עשו Eisav, when we have to confront and lobby and advocate in our lives for the matters, the issues that matter the most for our brothers and sisters in Israel or for ourselves, these are the three things. We practice diplomacy. Israel as a country is engaged in diplomacy, rigorous diplomacy. It has a superior military. And hopefully it also has the great advantage of a nation of people who know how to pray.Here's the question I have. Why is יעקב Yaakov praying? I understand the initiative. We've discussed several times in the פרשה parsha class, we discussed very often in the אמונה שיעור emunah shiur on Wednesday mornings, the ratio or the relationship between אמונה emunah and בטחון bitachon, faith and trust, and השתדלות hishtadlus, initiative, effort. I can't put in too much initiative, it's a lack of trust. I can't sit back passively as a spectator claiming I have trust and I'm unwilling to show any initiative, I have to have that right ratio. So I understand why יעקב Yaakov says to God, I'm not relying on a miracle. So I'm preparing my children for war. I'm also engaged in diplomacy in an effort to avoid war. But the third, namely prayer, why is prayer funny here? Why is it unusual? What do we know about this episode before it even happens? We know it's going to turn out well. And how do we know it's going to turn out well before it even happens? Why do we know that? How are we confident? Why would יעקב Yaakov have a right to be confident about that? Because the רבונו של עולם Ribono shel Olam promised him. God told him, “יעקב Yaakov, what are you worried about? What are you afraid of? I got your back. דבקו Dveiko, stick with me. You stick with me, I got your back, it's all going to be good.” יעקב Yaakov says, “That's nice God, but if you'll excuse me, I have to pray.” You understand the question? God is telling יעקב Yaakov, you have nothing to worry about, it's all good, I got your back. And he says to God, “Thanks so much, but if you can excuse me for a moment, I've got to pray to God that it's all going to be okay.” Why is he דאווענען davening here? So of course חז\"ל Chazal tell us, שמא יגרום החטא shema yigrom hacheit. He was worried that he was unworthy. God's promise existed for someone who was worthy. He had used up his worthiness. קטנתי מכל החסדים Katonti mikol hachasadim. I've been diminished through all your kindness. I've used up my credit. I'm in the red. I'm going into the debt column. God, so when you made your promise it was when I had a surplus, when my account was full. But now that I've depleted my account and I'm in the red, שמא יגרום החטא shema yigrom hacheit, maybe now I can't rely on the promise. But that's not, doesn't make sense because God's promise is not conditional. God's promise seems to be unconditional. We discussed in the past, you can listen online, I think from the סלונים רבי Slonimer Rebbe, what does it mean שמא יגרום החטא shema yigrom hacheit anyway? If God promises you, what do you mean I don't believe in God's promise because I think I'm unworthy? You think God didn't know about the חטא cheit? God is well aware of any unworthiness you may have and he made the promise nonetheless. So what does it mean יגרום החטא yigrom hacheit? We discussed it in the past. But why is יעקב Yaakov דאווענען davening if God's already told him it's going to have a good outcome? What I want to suggest to you this morning is that in fact, this should re- cause us to reevaluate what prayer is really all about. We don't pray in order to get what we want. We pray in order to become better people. We don't pray in order to earn what we want, because יעקב Yaakov was already told you're going to get what you want. The exercise of prayer is an exercise in humility. We transform ourselves. We become different people. It's a vehicle for gratitude. It's a vehicle for personal growth. And so the promise of protection was already intact. The prayer wasn't the means to access the protection. The prayer was, whether we get what we want or not, whether we're already promised to receive it anyway, doesn't mean that we shouldn't go through the exercise. If a parent promises the child, “I'm going to give you that thing,” does that mean the child shouldn't say, “Please can I have it?” Does that mean the child shouldn't say, “Thank you for for giving it?” And so it tells us that תפילה tefillah is not just functional. It's not pragmatic. תפילה Tefillah is not a formula for us to achieve what we want. תפילה Tefillah is an exercise of self-empowerment, of self-growth. It's how we develop a relationship. It's how we become who we are meant to be, and how we become the best version of ourselves.Okay. So יעקב Yaakov engages in this three, this triple strategy, and he's getting ready to encounter עשו Eisav. And he does all three of these things. Now what does יעקב Yaakov tell us? עם לבן גרתי Im Lavan garti. He says, the second pasuk, ויצוום לאמר v'yitzavam l'eimor, he tells the angels, here's what I want you to tell עשו Eisav. Here's the message, you ready? Here's my diplomacy. עם לבן גרתי ואחר עד עתה Im Lavan garti v'echar ad ata. You know where I've been? Hey brother, you know why I haven't reached out, made a bid for connection till now? עם לבן גרתי Im Lavan garti, and so it took me a while to get out of there. I was not living in the lap of luxury. I was not living in a conducive situation to be able to reach out to you. I was living with לבן Lavan. It was a struggle to survive. It was a battle every day. And that's why I haven't had the freedom, I haven't had the space, the margin, to be able to reach out to you. What do we know? He says עם לבן גרתי im Lavan garti. So חז\"ל Chazal have two interpretations of עם לבן גרתי im Lavan garti. The two interpretations look at רש\"י Rashi. Number one, גרתי garti. This is all the overview of the פרשה parsha, by the way, we're on the second pasuk. עם לבן גרתי Im Lavan garti, לא נעשיתי שר וחשוב, אלא גר lo nasisi sar v'chashuv, ela ger. I never became a full resident. What does יעקב Yaakov not say? עם לבן Im Lavan, the רב הירש Rav Hirsch points this out in his חומש Chumash. He should have said עם לבן ישבתי im Lavan yashavti. 20 years is a long time. I settled with לבן Lavan. I was living with לבן Lavan. If you're from Brooklyn, you'd say, I was living by לבן Lavan. But he doesn't say ישבתי yashavti. He doesn't say ישבתי yashavti, I live there. What does he say? עם לבן גרתי Im Lavan garti. What's the difference between גרתי garti and ישבתי yashavti? What is a גר ger? A גר ger is a stranger. I may have had a residence, my mail may have come to לבן's Lavan's address for 20 years, for two decades, but I want you to know, I never settled in there. I want you to know I was never a full resident. That's the first interpretation.The second interpretation is, עם לבן גרתי im Lavan garti, גרתי garti is גימטריא gematria תרי\"ג taryag, 613. I was living with לבן Lavan, עם לבן גרתי im Lavan garti, I lived there, ותרי\"ג מצוות שמרתי v'taryag mitzvos shamarti. But I never compromised an iota on my lifestyle, on my values, on my principles. I was living with לבן Lavan and I didn't compromise whatsoever. The סלונים רבי Slonimer Rebbe asks, he says, you know these two interpretations seem to contradict. עם לבן גרתי Im Lavan garti, I remained a גר ger, is an expression of humility, right? I never, I wasn't a שר וחשוב sar v'chashuv. Hey, hey עשו Eisav, lest you think that I think I'm all of that, you think I stole that ברכה bracha and the ברכה bracha was actualized and realized and I became some aristocrat, some wealthy prominent celebrity, you should know, עם לבן גרתי im Lavan garti, I was a גר ger. I was a nothing. I was a גורנישט gornisht. I was nothing. That's a reflection of humility. But the second interpretation seems to contradict the first and says, עם לבן גרתי im Lavan garti, hey עשו Eisav, you think you can mess with me? You think that I'm going to be malleable or bend or flexible to you? I lived with the worst. I lived with לבן Lavan 20 years, ותרי\"ג מצוות שמרתי v'taryag mitzvos shamarti, and I didn't change an iota. So the סלונים רבי Slonimer Rebbe says the two interpretations seem to contradict. Which is it? Is יעקב Yaakov telling the מלאכים malachim to deliver a message of humility? עשו Eisav, have no fear, I'm still a nothing. I'm גורנישט gornisht. I lived with לבן Lavan and he didn't recognize me at all. Or is he telling him a message of self-confidence? I lived with לבן Lavan, he couldn't touch me and neither could you. It seems to contradict. So the סלונים רבי Slonimer Rebbe develops this very beautiful idea.He says, what happens when they meet? Let's keep going. יעקב Yaakov and עשו Eisav meet, ready, he divides the camp. He also asks that question. Why is יעקב Yaakov the ויחץ את העם אשר אתו ואת הצאן ואת הבקר vayachatz es ha'am asher ito v'es hatzon v'es habakar. ויירא ויצר לו וירא יעקב מאוד Vayira v'yeitzer lo, vayir'u Yaakov me'od. יעקב Yaakov is afraid, he's worried, he's got anxiety. He divides the camp. He says if עשו Eisav wipes half of them out, I'll still have the other half. What happened to his אמונה emunah and בטחון bitachon? God said everything's going to be okay. Why is he dividing the camp in half? Doesn't that show too much initiative? Get ready for battle, it's the proper השתדלות hishtadlus. It's good initiative. Diplomacy, send gifts, it's the right amount of initiative. Divide, divide the camp in two and already anticipate you're going to lose half your children, that seems to contradict אמונה emunah and בטחון bitachon that יעקב Yaakov lived with faith. Isn't that excessive? asks the סלונים רבי Slonimer Rebbe. So he says, keep reading. What happens? They meet. Even before they're meeting, יעקב Yaakov says הצילני נא מיד אחי מיד עשו hatzileini na miyad achi miyad Eisav. Save me from my brother, from עשו Eisav. Why would יעקב Yaakov have to דאווענען daven in that redundant way? Why couldn't he just say save me from my brother, or save me from עשו Eisav? And if he wants to describe עשו Eisav as his brother, say, save me מיד אחי עשו miyad achi Eisav. Why does he say מיד אחי miyad achi, save me from the hand of my brother, save me from the hand of עשו Eisav? It seems totally redundant. Good. Next question. We're going to answer them all up.Next question. It says that when they finally meet, what happens? עשו Eisav runs and greets and embraces יעקב Yaakov and he gives him a kiss. Where's the kiss? Bottom of page 176. וירץ עשו לקראתו ויחבקהו ויפול על צואריו וישקהו ויבכו Vayaratz Eisav l'kroso vayechabkeihu vayipol al tzavarav vayishakeihu vayivku. What's over the word וישקהו vayishakeihu? It's not only over that word in your Stone חומש Chumash, it's over that word in the ספר תורה Sefer Torah itself. A group of dots. A dot is over every letter of the word. Say חז\"ל Chazal, why is that dot? Why are those dots there? It's a code. רש\"י Rashi quotes חז\"ל Chazal, נקוד עליו nakud alav, their dots, and why are their dots to tell you, אמר רבי שמעון בן יוחאי omar Rabi Shimon bar Yochai, הלכה היא בידוע שעשו שונא ליעקב halacha hi b'yadu'a she'Eisav sonei l'Yaakov. Even though externally on the surface it looks like עשו Eisav is embracing יעקב Yaakov, no matter when the nations of the world embrace the Jew, never forget that inherent, intrinsic within the nations of the world is an antisemitism, is a bias, there's a discrimination. אלא שנכמרו רחמיו באותה שעה ונשקו בכל לבו Ela she'nichmeru rachamav b'oso sha'ah, v'nashku b'chol libo. So he kissed him with all of his heart at that moment, but inside, never forget, הלכה בידוע halacha b'yadua. But חז\"ל Chazal say that עשו Eisav was not really kissing יעקב Yaakov, what was he doing? He wanted to bite יעקב's Yaakov's neck. He was going for the jugular, literally and figuratively. He was trying to bite the jugular and kill יעקב Yaakov. יעקב's Yaakov's neck miraculously hardened. We are after all really stiff-necked people, and he was saved from עשו's Eisav's attack. Lastly asks the סלונים רבי Slonimer Rebbe, normally when the rabbis give an interpretation, it adds another layer of interpretation, but it doesn't substitute the original layer. So what's going on here? Which is it? Did he kiss him or was it an attempted murder? Normally it's an additional layer of interpretation. It complements the first simple meaning of the text, but it doesn't contradict it. But here, the simple meaning of the text is a hug and a kiss. The interpretation of the rabbis is exactly the opposite. Not a hug and a kiss, it's an attempted murder. So to summarize, what were the סלונים רבי's Slonimer Rebbe's questions? Number one, the two interpretations of עם לבן גרתי im Lavan garti. Was יעקב Yaakov being boastful, “I lived with לבן Lavan, and I didn't compromise on iota. תרי\"ג מצוות שמרתי Taryag mitzvos shamarti.” Or no, was יעקב Yaakov being humble? עם לבן גרתי Im Lavan garti, I lived with him and I was a גר ger. I wasn't, I wasn't a תושב toshav, I wasn't a resident. I had no honor, I had no status. I was a גורנישט gornisht. I was a nobody. Which is it? Number two, why is he splitting the camp? Where's his אמונה emunah and בטחון bitachon? Number three, why מיד אחי מיד עשו miyad achi miyad Eisav, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of עשו Eisav? Just say one or the other or say מיד אחי עשו miyad achi Eisav. Why מיד אחי מיד עשו miyad achi miyad Eisav? And number four, doesn't the additional layer of interpretation seem to contradict the simple meaning? Did he kiss him or did he try to kill him? It can't be both. The סלונים רבי Slonimer Rebbe develops a very beautiful idea, and I encourage you to read the whole piece in his נתיבות שלום N'sivos Shalom. He says, really in a דרך של חסידות derech of chassidus, חסידישע תורה chassidishe Torah, that's not trying to provide the under simple meaning of the text, but על פי דרוש al pi drush, trying to extrapolate moral lessons from the text. So the סלונים רבי Slonimer Rebbe says, why are we reading all this story? It happened years ago, and and who cares? Anything we're reading in the תורה Torah has relevance for us today. It's eternal. It's timeless. And מעשה אבות סימן לבנים maaseh avos siman l'banim. What יעקב Yaakov did to engage in his battle is a model and a precedent for us to learn from when we engage in our battles. Who is the equivalent of the עשו Eisav in our lives? The יצר הרע yetzer hara. Okay, Iran has כל החמאס kol hamas, whatever, but more specifically, if you're living in comfort in Boca Raton, Florida under a palm tree, who is your עשו Eisav? The יצר הרע yetzer hara. The יצר הרע yetzer hara within us, the urge, the temptation, the drive, the desire to make mistakes, to show poor judgment, to violate God's will, to have indiscretions, to do bad things, that יצר הרע yetzer hara is our עשו Eisav. And what the תורה Torah is telling us is, the same methodology יעקב Yaakov employed in combating עשו Eisav is the same methodology, it's instructive, that it's the methodology we are to employ in order to combat our יצר הרע yetzer hara. So now go back. He says the following. Brilliant insight. There are two יצר הרע'ס yetzer haras we struggle with. There's the overt, explicit יצר הרע yetzer hara. We know something is bad for us, we struggle with it, we confront it, we hope we can overcome it, and the תורה Torah tells us how to overcome it. Those who come to the afternoon call on Monday, several weeks ago in מסכת קידושין דף ל Maseches Kiddushin daf lamed, we learn this. בראתי יצר הרע, בראתי לו תורה תבלין Barasi yetzer hara, barasi lo Torah tavlin. God says I created the יצר הרע yetzer hara, and you want to know what the antidote is? תורה Torah. משכהו לבית מדרש Mashcheihu l'beis medrash. Drag that יצר הרע yetzer hara into the בית מדרש beis medrash. The answer to the יצר הרע yetzer hara is stay grounded and rooted and anchored in תורה Torah. If you study תורה Torah and you live by תורה Torah, if you make it to מנין minyan every day, if you דאווענען daven with כוונה kavanah, if you're listening to שיעורים shiurim, תורה Torah will ground you, will anchor you, it will give you the strength in order to overcome the יצר הרע yetzer hara. You know how to me that works? It's like exercise. When you're in a good place with your exercise, it helps you be in a good place with your eating. Why? Because when you see the piece of chocolate cake you say, “You know, you know what a pain it was to go walking five miles or jogging or exercise? I'm not going to lose all that for this piece of cheese- for this piece of cheesecake, this piece of chocolate cake.” So when you're already exercising, you say, “I put in the time, I put in the energy, I put in the effort.” So it overflows. If you're not exercising, you might as well eat. If you're eating, you might as well not exercise. But if you're exercising, then it's going to help you eat better. If you're learning תורה Torah, you can say, “Look, I'm already going to the Daf Yomi, I'm already I go to minyan, I already listen to the class and I already shlepped to Goldbrick's Parsha class. I learn, I'm not going to give into that יצר הרע yetzer hara.” בראתי יצר הרע, בראתי תורה תבלין Barasi yetzer hara, barasi Torah tavlin. We discussed that at length in the afternoon caller, you could listen to that online. Why is it called תבלין tavlin? תבלין Tavlin means spice. How is the תורה Torah a spice vis-a-vis the יצר הרע yetzer hara? It should be an antidote, should be a medicine, an elixir. What does it mean that it's a spice? You got to listen to that class online. So, says the סלונים רבי Slonimer Rebbe, there's a יצר הרע yetzer hara which is overt, which is explicit. But then there's a much more pernicious יצר הרע yetzer hara. And what is that? The יצר הרע yetzer hara which dresses up as the יצר הטוב yetzer hatov. It's the יצר הרע yetzer hara which presents itself to us as, it's not really bad, נעשה לו כהיתר nasa l'ka heter, it's really okay. And beyond נעשה לו כהיתר nasa l'ka heter is even more, נעשה לו כה מצווה nasa l'ka mitzvah. Not only is it not wrong, it's okay, not only is it okay, it's a מצווה mitzvah. Look, you deserve it, it's extenuating circumstances, it's for the purpose of outreach, it's for the reason of שלום בית shalom bayis, it's for whatever extenuating circumstance. That is a very dangerous יצר הרע yetzer hara which dresses itself up as if it's the יצר הטוב yetzer hatov. Says the סלונים רבי Slonimer Rebbe, יעקב Yaakov says to השם Hashem, “I don't know who I'm going to encounter. מיד אחי, מיד עשו Miyad achi, miyad Eisav. Is this going to be עשו Eisav who's my enemy, my יצר הרע yetzer hara who's clearly my enemy, or מיד אחי miyad achi? Am I going to encounter an enemy who's presenting itself to me as a brother? I don't know which one I'm going to encounter.” And the attitude you have to have towards each is different. And that's why the עם לבן גרתי im Lavan garti has two interpretations. Because if it's the מיד, if it's the מיד עשו miyad Eisav, the enemy, you can combat the enemy with humility, with the study of תורה Torah. But if it's the מיד אחי miyad achi, then you have to combat it with a stronger notion. עם לבן גרתי ותרי\"ג מצוות שמרתי Im Lavan garti v'taryag mitzvos shamarti. Don't think that you can penetrate, don't think that you can compromise me. What does it mean he divided his camp in two? Says the רבי Rebbe, it doesn't mean he divided them literally, physically. It means he divided his attitude, his lifestyle in two. A piece of him with humility, and a piece of him with self-confidence. A piece of him that was aggressive, and a piece of him that was more passive. It all depended on which יצר הרע yetzer hara he would encounter, the one that's עשו Eisav, or the one that is אחי achi. Why does the פסוק pasuk say he kissed him? Did he kiss him or did he try to kill him? The answer is, it's not a... we said, it's a contradiction. Normally the חז\"ל's Chazal's interpretation complements, doesn't contradict. Says the סלונים רבי Slonimer Rebbe, here too חז\"ל's Chazal's interpretation is not contradicting, it's complementing. עשו Eisav was trying to kill him. How does the יצר הרע yetzer hara sometimes try to kill us? With a kiss. It tries to kiss us affectionately saying, I'm your brother, but really what it's doing, its methodology is to kill us in that way. So therefore this פרשה parsha is really the story of how to gird ourselves, prepare ourselves to battle. And who is our modern day enemy? Our enemy is the יצר, the יצר הרע yetzer, the yetzer hara. Okay, that is the interpretation of the סלונים רבי Slonimer Rebbe.When עשו Eisav meets, we then have it's interrupted by, we have the wrestling match, יעקב Yaakov and the שר של עשו sar shel Eisav, they wrestle the whole night. We commemorate, we memorialize this by not eating the גיד הנשה gid hanasheh. We've spoken about that at length one year, we went through this whole סוגיא sugya. It's very funny that we would make a מצווה mitzvah that memorializes a negative thing. יעקב Yaakov was injured. Why would you memorialize that by not eating something? Should have a מצווה mitzvah to eat something. Should have a מצווה mitzvah to have a party. Should have a מצווה mitzvah to do something proactive. You have a מצווה mitzvah to refrain from something to memorialize יעקב's Yaakov's victory over the angel? It's the חזקוני Chizkuni who says, we've quoted this often, that's not what we're memorializing. We're actually memorializing the fact that יעקב Yaakov was all alone. Why was he vulnerable to this wrestling match, to this fight? He went back to get the פכים קטנים pachim ketanim. צדיקים מרחצא Tzaddikim marchasa, צדיקים tzaddikim care about even a small amount of money, and he went back to recover that small amount of money, but he was all alone. Nobody accompanied him. He was by himself. יעקב Yaakov, the one who says אחי achi, who calls his own sons his brothers, יעקב Yaakov, the one who's into camaraderie and love and companionship and support, finds himself all alone, and that being all alone left him vulnerable to the attack, and we don't eat the גיד הנשה gid hanasheh to remember that a Jew can never leave another Jew all alone, that our responsibility is to step up for another Jew, and by refraining to eat the גיד הנשה gid hanasheh, it's a reminder of our obligation to step up and step in for another Jew. I'll tell you towards the end of the פרשה parsha, שמעון ולוי Shimon and Levi, they step up for דינה Dinah. How old were they when they did it? Remember this great, great story? שכם Shechem raped their sister דינה Dinah. They say to שכם Shechem, and then שכם Shechem says, “You know, we raped her, we want to marry her.” You want to marry her? No problem. Just a little technical detail. You all need to have a circumcision first. They wait till the third day, the hardest day, and they wipe out the whole town. יעקב Yaakov is not so happy. He thinks that they've endangered them. But the תורה Torah doesn't seem to criticize them too much. They step up and stand up for the honor and dignity of their sister. How old were they? They were בר מצווה בחורים bar mitzvah bachurim. They were 13-year-old boys. Don't ever underestimate a בר מצווה בחור bar mitzvah bachur. They were 13-year-olds. How do we know that? Because the text calls them an איש ish. And we see from here that an איש ish, you become an איש ish, you go from being a minor, a child to the age of majority, to being an adult, at 13. The לובאַוויטשער רבי Lubavitcher Rebbe, זכרונו לברכה zichrono l'vracha, זכר צדיק לברכה zecher tzaddik l'vracha says, what do you see from here? Very, very beautiful thought. He says, you know what it means to be an איש ish, you know what it means to be a man, to be a woman in Judaism, to reach the age, it's when you reach the age that you step up for a fellow Jew. Shimon and Levi step up for Dina, they're an איש ish, they're the age of בר מצוה bar mitzvah. What does it mean to be an adult in Judaism? If you're a kid, it's excusable that you didn't intercede. You didn't stop the bully, you didn't protect the vulnerable, because you were a kid. It's excusable. But what does it mean to be an adult? What does it mean to be a man, to be a woman? It means to to stand up for another Jew, as Shimon and Levi did. That's what you learned from this פרשה parsha.So you see the חזקוני Chizkuni with Yaakov, the גירא נשא Gera Nasha memorializes that he was all alone, or the Lubavitcher Rebbe's insight about Shimon and Levi stepping up for, stepping up for Dina.What were they wrestling about? Yaakov and the angel? What are they wrestling about? Come on, what does the פסוק pasuk say? What are they wrestling about? It's good that none of you know, because the פסוק pasuk doesn't say. Rabbi Soloveitchik points out, the Torah never tells us what they were wrestling about. And the Rav says, you know why? Because it wasn't important what they were wrestling about. What was important is that Yaakov was wrestling. Where does growth happen? Where does breakthrough happen? When we wrestle, when we struggle. When we're complacent, when we're passive, then we deteriorate, we decline. It's where there's struggle, there's growth. And that's when Yaakov's name is changed to ישראל Yisrael. That's where there's breakthrough. Well, you also see, this is the opposite of the חזקוני Chizkuni is, where does breakthrough happen? When you're alone. When there's no noise, when there's quiet.The זוהר Zohar tells us, what night was this? The wrestling match? Anyone know? כל נדרי Kol Nidrei night. יום כיפור Yom Kippur night. We on כל נדרי Kol Nidrei, we for the יום כיפור Yom Kippur for twenty-five hours, kind of experience a solitude within the community. We wrestle with ourselves. We wrestle with our own angel. And that's יום כיפור Yom Kippur is in some ways emulating this experience of of Yaakov.He and Esav meet, and Esav asks him, למי אתה, ואנה תלך, ולמי אלה לפניך? L'mi ata, v'ana teilech, u'l'mi eileh l'fanecha? To whom do you belong? And where are you going? And for whom are these before you?So, Rabbi Soloveitchik writes, \"My brother Esav,\" Yaakov told his agents, \"will ask you three questions.\" Right, going back to the beginning of the parsha. \"My brother is going to ask you three questions. To whom do you belong? To whom do you, a metaphysical as a metaphysical being, a soul, as a spiritual being, belong? And where are you going? To whom is your historical destiny committed? To whom have you consecrated your future? What is your ultimate goal, your final objective? Who is your God and what is your way of life? These two inquiries are related to your identity as members of a covenantal community. However,\" Yaakov continued, \"my brother Esav will also ask a third question. And for whom are these before you? Are you ready to contribute your talents, capabilities, and efforts towards the material and cultural welfare of the general society? Are you willing to pay taxes to develop and industrialize the country? This third inquiry is focused on the temporal aspects of life.\" Yaakov told his agents to answer the third question in the positive. \"It is a gift sent to my master. We feel obligated to enrich society with our creative talents and to be constructive and useful citizens.\" \"Yet, in regard to the first two questions,\" he commanded his representatives to reply in the negative, \"clearly and precisely, boldly and courageously.\" He commanded them to tell Esav that their soul, their personality, their metaphysical destiny, their spiritual future and sacred commitments belong exclusively to God and his servant יעקב Yaakov. What a beautiful interpretation. Yaakov says to his agents, \"When you get there, Esav's going to ask you these three questions, and here's how I want you to answer. To whom do you belong and where are you going?\" Esav is testing you. Are you loyal citizens of America, or are you only, you care about elsewhere? And for who whom are these before you? What are these gifts? And Yaakov said, \"I want you to be very clear. I want you to be bold and courageous when you tell him that we are Jews, and that we answer to a higher authority, and that we have a different mission and purpose, and we lead a different lifestyle. But who are these for? Oh, these are for you, because when it comes to contributing our part to society, we're not just takers, we're givers. Absolutely, we'll be part of society.\" So the Rav sees within Yaakov's instruction to his agents in the conversation they are going to have with Esav, really a mission statement for Jews in life.And the Rav says this again, and we see this again now, when after Esav and Yaakov exchange their conversation, and they part ways. And what does Esav say to Yaakov? נו Nu? First, I love the מוסר mussar Esav gives Yaakov. ויאמר עשו יש לי רב, אחי, יהי לך אשר לך. ויאמר יעקב, אל נא, אם נא מצאתי חן... Vayomer Eisav yeish li rav, achi, yehi l'cha asher lach. Vayomer Yaakov, al na, im na matzasi chein... We have this whole discussion. Esav says to Yaakov, \"Where'd you get all this stuff? I thought you were the simpleton. I thought you were the one who lived spiritually, who didn't care about the physical material world. What's with all the stuff?\" And where does Yaakov go after this experience? ויעקב נסע סוכותה V'Yaakov nasa Sukkotah. The bottom line, page 178. Esav, or Yaakov, and the מדרש Midrash tells us that Yaakov interprets Esav's comments as מוסר mussar, that he had gotten too indulgent in the physical world. He was enjoying it too much. And so he's reminded he has to step back, that he is the איש תם יושב אוהלים ish tam yoshev ohalim, that he hasn't prioritized physical, but the spiritual. So where does he go in order to remember that the physical is temporary and the spiritual is enduring? Where does he go? First time we see this word in the Torah. Where does he go? He goes to סוכות Sukkot. Right? I know we're now almost חנוכה Chanukah, but remember this וואָרט vort for next סוכות Sukkot, that סוכות Sukkot corresponds with Yaakov. Right, the שלש רגלים Shalosh Regalim correspond with the שלש אבות Shalosh Avot. סוכות Sukkot corresponds with Yaakov because Yaakov goes to סוכות Sukkot when Esav gives him מוסר mussar. \"Hey brother, what's with all the stuff? I thought you're not into stuff. That's me, I'm into stuff.\" And Yaakov hears the, he hears the מוסר mussar. ויעקב נסע V'Yaakov nasa, and where does he go? סוכותה Sukkotah. Goes to live outside in a סוכה sukkah for a little bit, to remember that the physical, the house is not as important.So, but Esav tries to recruit him and says, \"נו Nu, let's go together.\" And what does Yaakov say? Esav says, נסעה ונלכה ואלכה לנגדך Nis'a v'neileicha v'eilcha l'negdecha. \"Travel, we'll go. I'll go alongside you.\" And what does Yaakov say? I'm sorry. We're slow. I've got a bunch of women, children, it's going to slow you down. I don't want to hold you back. Go ahead. Go without us. Says Rabbi Soloveitchik, what was what was Yaakov telling him? \"Esav's suggestion reflects the argument of the modern anti-Semite. Why should Jews be so different? Why should they not assimilate with the rest of us? Let us travel together. Indeed, our way of life is completely different. We celebrate our holidays differently, we write in a different direction from right to left. Our uniqueness awakens opposition and anti-Semitism due to a lack of understanding of our way of life.\" Yaakov responded that Jews will remain a separate people, \"and until I came to my master to שעיר Seir.\" When the messianic promise ועלו מושיעים בהר ציון V'alu moshim b'Har Tzion... על הר עשו al Har Eisav, then Esav himself will also recognize the Master of the universe. In other words, we have to walk separate ways until where? Until... until Esav's mountain, הר שעיר Har Seir, הר עשו Har Eisav. So until then, when you will recognize our God, then we can be on the same page. But until then, we're on two different pages, two different cultures, two different ways of life, two different systems of value, two different sets of priorities. So Esav says, \"נו Nu, come walk with me. Assimilate, blend in, melting pot, drop your differences, join me. And if you're not going to, I'm going to maintain my my bias against you.\" And Yaakov says, \"Do what you have to do, but I have to walk separately. We walk different walks, we walk different ways of life.\" Another beautiful, beautiful insight.Yeah, ונלכה יחדיו v'neilcha yachdav. Yeah. Yeah.Yitzchak bestowed the ברכת אברהם birkat Avraham on Yaakov, granting him the right to inherit the land. He fulfilled the condition of not taking a Canaanite wife. Esav understood he could not reverse that decision, but at this point, he asked Yaakov if they could continue traveling together. Maybe Esav could have some of Avraham's blessing as well. Okay, the פרשה parsha continues, as we referenced, Dina's abduction, the Shimon and Levi take out revenge, they decimate שכם Shechem. Why were they allowed to? Isn't this, isn't this collective punishment? Talked about that in the past also, I think last year or two years ago we talked about that. What are the ethics of collective punishment? The מהר\"ל Maharal says this was war. שכם Shechem waged war, and in war, all's fair. So therefore, it wasn't collective punishment, it was responding to an act of war. But isn't this something which is collective punishment on their part? Yaakov goes to בית אל Beit El, which is what we're going to discuss inside. Rifka and Devorah die. Hashem gives a new name to Yaakov, he's now called ישראל Yisrael. Binyamin is born, and then Rachel dies. She's buried on the side of the road, not together with her beloved. We ended last week with this. Leah, who easily had children and dreamt of being a wife, spends eternity next to Yaakov. Rachel, who was a wife but dreamt of becoming a mother, spends eternity as the מאַמע רחל Mame Rachel. Each for eternity got the dream that they failed to realize within their own life. Why is Rachel buried on the side of the road? We saw last week it was a punishment. She gave up her night with Yaakov in exchange for the דודאים dudaim, and because she was willing to forfeit a night with the great Yaakov, she forfeited eternity. It's a pretty harsh punishment, being next to Yaakov. Reuven, when Rachel dies, Reuven, who was the same story with the דודאים dudaim, the same Reuven boldly now goes and takes Yaakov's bed out of the tent of Bilhah and puts it next to in his mother's tent. He says, \"It was bad enough that my mother Leah, who played second fiddle her whole life, had to share my father with Rachel. But now that Rachel's gone, he's got to share, she has to share my father with Bilhah? No way.\" This was deemed an act of incredible חצפה chutzpah. Incredible חצפה chutzpah. Reuven makes right for it when, when does he disappear to go and make right for it? The sale of Yosef. He disappears, he comes back, he finds him in the pit. Where did he go? He was dealing with this story. So but anyway, חז\"ל Chazal are very critical of Reuven. Supreme חצפה chutzpah. You tell your father that what he's doing is wrong and who he needs to spend his nights with and his time with. Reuven is highly criticized for this. Yaakov and Yitzchak are reunited, and Yitzchak dies, and then we have Esav who separates himself, and the genealogy of Esav, and that is the end of the פרשה parsha.Let's go back and look at our section for the few minutes that we have left. Sorry. We'll try to go through it somewhat quickly. Okay. I want to look at the top of page 188. It's פרק ל\"ה פסוק ח' perek lamed hei, pasuk chet. Chapter 38, verse 8. Chapter 35, verse 8. It's a פסוחה psucha, so where there's a break in the text, which tells us it's a new section, and that's why it's an appropriate place to resume. Top of page 188. Got it? ויאמר אלקים אל יעקב Vayomer Elokim el Yaakov, I'm sorry, I 186. Sorry, sorry, sorry. Top of page 186, ל\"ה א' lamed hei alef. Chapter 35, verse one. ל\"ה א' lamed hei alef. I apologize. ויאמר אלקים אל יעקב, קום עלה בית אל ושב שם, ועשה שם מזבח לא-ל הנראה אליך בברחך מפני עשו אחיך Vayomer Elokim el Yaakov, kum aleih Beit El v'shev sham, v'aseh sham mizbei'ach la'Keil ha'nireh eilecha b'vorchacha mipnei Eisav achicha. God says to Yaakov, \"Get up and go back to בית אל Beit El.\" What do you mean back to בית אל Beit El? When was Yaakov in בית אל Beit El? What happened in בית אל Beit El? That's where he had the dream of the ladder. בכלל B'chlal, a very confusing topic. Was this ladder on הר הבית Har Habayit, הר המוריה Har Hamoriah? Was it in בית אל Beit El? Did it extend from בית אל Beit El to הר הבית Har Habayit? Okay, leave the ladder part out, but the dream where Yaakov lays his weary head was בית אל Beit El. Anyone here been to בית אל Beit El, modern בית אל Beit El? If you've been to the modern city of בית אל Beit El, you know that at the entrance into the ישוב yishuv is a billboard, and on it it's written the פסוק pasuk about בית אל Beit El, and it says, \"בית אל Beit El is not 70 years old, or it's not 50 years old. בית אל Beit El is thousands of years old. And Jews have been living there since our forefather Yaakov went to sleep and had a dream of a ladder here in בית אל Beit El.\" It's an amazing, when you drive into Boker, it just says you've entered the township of Boker. It's not so exciting. When you drive into בית אל Beit El, it says we've been here for thousands of years, our great, great, great, great grandfather had a dream here, you all know that dream. We've been here a long time, it's not new. So, God says, \"Go back to the place you had the dream.\" Why was it important for him to go back there? Do you recall that Yaakov made a נדר neder there. He made a promise. וידר יעקב נדר לאמר Vayidor Yaakov neder leimor. ושבתי בשלום אל בית אבי V'shavti b'shalom el beit avi. And if I could come back to this place, if I can return. So God says, \"Yaakov, you've had the reunion with Esav, you've survived Lavan, you've got wives and children, it's time to make good on the vow. It's time to go home. It's time, ושב שם v'shev sham, it's time to go back. And there, ועשה שם מזבח v'aseh sham mizbei'ach.\" And there, you should make an altar. ויאמר יעקב אל ביתו ואל כל אשר עמו, הסירו את אלהי הנכר אשר בתוככם, והטהרו והחליפו שמלותיכם. ונקומה ונעלה בית אל, ואעשה שם מזבח... Vayomer Yaakov el beiso v'el kol asher imo, hasiru et elohei ha'neichar asher b'tochechem, v'hitaru v'hachlifu simloseichem. V'nakuma v'na'aleh Beit El, v'e'eseh sham mizbei'ach... Rav Aviner, who's the Rav of Beit El, has a תשובה teshuva. Do you have to call it בית קל Beit Kel? Can you call it בית אל Beit El? We don't say God's name. So why do we call it בית אל Beit El? Maybe we should have to call it בית קל Beit Kel. And every letter that's addressed to someone living in Beit El, does the envelope have to go into שיימס sheimos? Can you put the envelope in the garbage when you address it to someone living in Beit El? So Rav Aviner, the Rav of the yeshuv, has a teshuva in his שו\"ת שלמה Shut Shlomo about this. He says Beit El is the name of a city. True, within the name of this city is Hashem's name, but it's not being used as Hashem's name, it's being used as the name of a city. So, \"Get up and go to Beit El and make a mizbei'ach to God who answered me on my day of of calling him, and God was with me.\" Right, right now you see the inverse of the language that was used. וידר יעקב נדר לאמר Vayidor Yaakov neder leimor. Yaakov took an oath, \"If God will walk with me on the way,\" so he says, \"God answered me and he was with me on the way.\" In other words, each of the conditions of Yaakov's oath, he's now articulating that those conditions, those criteria were fulfilled. ויקרא שמו אלון בכות Vayikra shmo Alon Bachut. And the name of this place where Devorah dies and is buried is called the place of crying, אלון בכות Alon Bachut. Okay, that's the section we're going to study for the next tiny period of time. But I wanted to read you the overview, read you the whole section, and now let's go back and dissect it a little bit. So God says to him, \"Get up and go back.\" Rashi, קום עלה, לפי שאחרת בדרך, נענשת ובאה עליך זו מבתך Kum aleih, l'fi she'icharta ba'derech, ne'enashta u'ba'ah alecha zo m'bitcha. Says Yaakov delayed on the way back. Yaakov should have made good on this promise earlier. He didn't, it took too long. And because it took too long, that's why Dina was raped. When one follows the will of Hashem, one merits the protection of Hashem. And when one delays and procrastinates and is lazy and takes a detour from the will of Hashem, Hashem withdraws His protection, and the natural elements are allowed to function, says Rashi. But it's time to go back. ושב שם V'shev sham. Why is he going back? So the Sforno says, לכוון דעתך קודם שתבנה המזבח l'chavein da'atcha kodem she'tivneh ha'mizbei'ach. Why why not build a mizbei'ach here? Right? You just survived this battle with Shechem, you just survived the reunion of Esav, you've survived getting out of Lavan's home. I would think build the mizbei'ach and thank Hashem now. Why is that delayed until you first go back to Beit El? Says the Sforno, \"You know why? First go settle your mind. Go back home. Come full circle. And only then build the mizbei'ach.\" Where do we see that? Says the Sforno, as the rabbi say, חסידים הראשונים היו שוהים שעה אחת ומתפללים כדי שיכוונו את לבם למקום, יכוונו את לבם למקום Chassidim ha'rishonim hayu shohim sha'ah achat u'mitpalelim k'dei she'yichavnu et libam la'Makom, yichavnu et libam la'Makom. Our rabbi say we spend an hour getting ready, directing our minds, eliminating the distractions before we daven. An hour of getting ready, an hour of davening, an hour after davening. We've taken off the zero, maybe six minutes getting ready, six minutes davening, six minutes coming off. But this is the origin of פסוקי דזמרה psukei d'zimra. The idea that you can't get up and walk right into davening and be transformed by davening, you have to get ready, you have to prepare, you have to get the mindset. So the Sforno says, this is kind of a precursor to all that. That Yaakov, first get ready, go back to Beit El, settle your mind, prepare, and then build a mizbei'ach. Don't rush into davening, get ready, eliminate distractions, settle your mind, and only then daven, says the Sforno. The Klei Yakar says, what's the connection between these two pesukim? The Klei Yakar says, quotes the Chazal on Moed Katan. למה נסמכה מיתת מרים לפרשת פרה אדומה? לומר לך, מה פרה מכפרת, אף מיתת צדיקים מכפרת. Lama nismicha misas Miriam l'parshas parah adumah? Lomar l'cha, ma parah m'chaperet, af misas tzaddikim m'chaperet. So, so too over here, כמו כן כאן, שמדבר ממיתת רבקה ודבורה והורה יעקב שמיתתם מזבח כפרה k'mo kein kan, she'medaber m'misas Rivka u'Dvorah v'hora Yaakov she'misasam mizbei'ach kaparah. That just like the mizbei'ach is the way to achieve kaparah, and Yaakov is talking about building a mizbei'ach in Beit El, we reference the death to tell us why it's there. But I'll close with the words of Rabbi Soloveitchik in his Chumash about Devorah. And Rabbi Soloveitchik says the following. Rashi comments that Devorah was the same nurse who accompanied Rivka when she left her father's house. Rivka, we know, was a young girl who exhibited extraordinary chesed, as indicated by the incident that took place at the well between Eliezer and Rivka. Rivka was brought up in the house of Besuel and Lavan in a pagan or gnostic society. How did she exhibit such great humility and chesed typical of a daughter of Avraham? Why was she not influenced by her family and society? There must have been an underlying... Avraham underground community in Charan, preaching Avram's morality. Rivka was part of this underground movement. She studied and absorbed Avram's philosophy and adopted his weltanschauung, living by his principles of justice and righteousness. Why was the death of an old woman so significant it was recorded in the Torah? Apparently Devora played a major role in shaping the history and destiny of the Jewish people. Devora's death and the naming of the place where she died was recorded because her life was historically important. Devora was the leader of a moral underground movement. So, she's the one who really raised Rifka. And that's what allowed Rifka to become who she was and to be a matriarch of our people. So she is bestowed that great honor here because she's not a nobody. Otherwise you'd ask, she's the nurse? What is she, who cares? Her death, why is that relevant? So suggests the רב *Rav*, she's not just some invisible, insignificant footnote to history, she's part of forming history because she's the one who raised Rifka and protected Rifka from the foreign values of her own home. She's the one who was teaching Avram's values within Charan and instilled it within Rifka, and that's why it's significant here as well. בעזרת השם *B'ezrat Hashem* we'll continue next week. Everyone's invited to stay for Rabbi Moskowitz.
