Transcript
Good morning and בוקר טוב boker tov. Welcome back to Partial Perspectives for today. It is so incredible to see more and more of you. So grateful that you've made your way back. Help yourself to some coffee or refreshments in the back. And a big and special thank you to our generous sponsors of the Parsha series for the year. Dear friends Becky and Avi Katz and family in memory of David Grossman, in memory of Becky's father לזכר נשמת דוד בן מנחם מעניש l'zecher nishmas Dovid ben Menachem Manish. This morning's פרשה שיעור parsha shiur is also in particular sponsored by Lester and Judith Henner, marking the יארצייט yahrzeit of יצחק בן יעקב Yitzchak ben Yaakov, beloved father of Lester Henner, אברהם צבי בן בנימין Avraham Tzvi ben Binyamin Alter, father of Judith Henner, grandfathers of Benji and Zeldy Henner, Yoni and Dvora Henner, and great-grandfathers as well. Thank you for that sponsorship. And by Ben and Dina Isaacs, יארצייט yahrzeit of Linda Isaacs בן עדנה ben Edna Isaacs' 32nd יארצייט yahrzeit of Benjamin Isaacs on the 5th of כסלו Kislev, Tuesday, November 10th. And lastly, by Sylvia, someone's got to pay for the refreshments in the back. By Sylvia Brody in loving memory of אשר יוסף Asher Yosef Brodie's 19th יארצייט yahrzeit, beloved husband, father, and grandfather, a very wonderful man. Thank you, Mrs. Brody, for that sponsorship. Thank you all for your generous sponsorship. If you'd like to sponsor a future שיעור shiur, we've made it very simple and easy for you. brsonline.org/sponsor. brsonline.org/sponsor, and you can easily sponsor a שיעור shiur in loving memory or in honor of someone. Last housekeeping announcement, and then we dive into פרשת וייצא Parshas Vayeitzei, page 144. We have so much to share, what a rich, beautiful פרשה parsha, so many lessons to glean, so many פרשה parsha perspectives for today. And that is the following: take out your cell phone for a moment if you have one in front of you. If you do not yet receive our newsletter, there is a פרשה parsha write-up. There are notes on the פרשה parsha class every week. So if you want to be able to take what we learn and bring it to your שבת Shabbos table, delivered right to your inbox, here's how you're going to do it. You ready? Text 22828. You're going to text the phone number 22828, put REG. Text REG to 22828, and you will get the Partial Perspective notes in your inbox each and every week. Big thank you to Matthew Miller, my friend who writes them up. Deeply appreciative to him. So if you'd like to have the notes on the ideas that we share, simply text REG, happened to be my initials. REG, I mean EG are my initials, R is not. Was not born with that initial. REG, text REG to 22828. Page 144, פרשת וייצא Parshas Vayeitzei. וייצא יעקב מבאר שבע וילך חרנה Vayeitzei Yaakov mi'Be'er Sheva vayelech Charana. As we always do, we pick up where we left off last week. יעקב Yaakov. It should recognize. Text REG to 22828. You don't need a whole phone number. REG, just put in 22828, the letters R as in rabbi, E as in Ephraim, G as in Goldberg, REG to 22828, and you will be signed up, you will get a link to sign up for the newsletter. וייצא יעקב Vayeitzei Yaakov, יעקב Yaakov is on the run. יעקב Yaakov is fleeing, יעקב Yaakov is running for his life. He has just deceived his own brother, and he is on the run from him. By the way, my, I have a great chat with my brother and brother-in-law, and because they're both exceptional people, often there are דברי תורה divrei Torah exchanged. And my brother-in-law brought up, and my brother said he was bothered by it too. In last week's פרשה parsha, give you a little bonus from last week's פרשה parsha, when רבקה Rivka sends יעקב Yaakov on his way and says, you better run because your brother's going to be after you. You better hit the road because of what happened. What does רבקה Rivka say to יעקב Yaakov? At the end of last week's פרשה parsha, יעקב Yaakov comes back to יצחק Yitzchak to get a ברכה bracha before he goes. The תורה Torah leaves out very curiously, did יצחק Yitzchak say, what happened? יעקב Yaakov, you fooled me, you tricked me. What happened? It leaves it out, we don't know. But when רבקה Rivka warns יעקב Yaakov that he should go, what does she say to him? She says, you better go, because your brother's going to come after you for what you did to him. What do you mean what you did to him? If you're יעקב Yaakov, you say, hello, מא ma, you orchestrated the whole thing. This wasn't my idea. I didn't plan it. Maybe I performed it, I executed it, but this whole thing was your concoction. So רבקה's Rivka's like, look, you better run. I had nothing to do with it, but you know what you did to your brother, what you did to your brother, you better get out of here. Why does רבקה Rivka frame it as what you did to your brother, rather than taking responsibility, she was the one who through prophecy knew that יעקב Yaakov was the one. That is a little bonus question from last week's פרשה parsha. So יעקב Yaakov is on the run. וייצא יעקב Vayeitzei Yaakov. Now everybody knows the famous רש\"י Rashi that begins פרשת וייצא Parshas Vayeitzei. וייצא יעקב Vayeitzei Yaakov. Why does the תורה Torah begin by telling us וייצא יעקב מבאר שבע וילך חרנה Vayeitzei Yaakov mi'Be'er Sheva vayelech Charana? Why do we need to know where he exited from? Why do we need to know where is the departure gate? We only need to know where he's going to. We know where he's leaving from. So רש\"י Rashi tells us, לא היה צריך לכתוב אלא וילך יעקב חרנה Lo haya tzarich lichtov ela vayelech Yaakov Charana. It is entirely gratuitous. You don't have to tell us where he left from, just tell us where he's going to. למה הזכיר יציאתו Lama hizkir yetziyaso? So why do we tell us where he's leaving? מגיד שיציאת צדיק מן העיר עושה רושם, שהצדיק הוא הודה, הוא זיוה, הוא הדרה. יצא משם, פנה הודה, פנה זיוה, פנה הדרה. Magid she'yetzi'as tzaddik min ha'ir osah roshem, she'ha'tzaddik hu hodah, hu zivah, hu hadarah. Yatza mi'sham, panah hodah, panah zivah, panah hadarah. Says רש\"י Rashi, when a righteous person lives in town, you feel their righteousness. The energy of that righteous person, it permeates the entire community. You don't have to be interacting or talking or be in the same room with them, but simply to know they're there. When you know that righteous person lives among you, when you know they're in your community, that elevates, that raises the entire level of the community. And וייצא vayeitzei, when the righteous person leaves, when they leave, either because they leave this world to the next, or they leave, they make עליה aliyah, or they leave, there's nowhere to go from בקה Boca other than עליה aliyah. So those are the two choices, either you're going to the next world or עליה aliyah, those are the only two legitimate places to go from בקה Boca. But when a person leaves, וייצא vayeitzei, it leaves a רושם roshem. So the commentaries jump and they ask. רב אליעזר לאפיאן Rav Eliezer Lopian, ראש ישיבה Rosh Yeshiva of תורת אמת Toras Emes in London, he says, what do you mean? I don't understand. אברהם Avraham and יצחק Yitzchak also departed. אברהם Avraham and יצחק Yitzchak also left places. They migrated, they moved around. Why didn't the תורה Torah make this observation when it came to אברהם Avraham and יצחק Yitzchak? Why specifically when it comes to יעקב Yaakov do we mention וייצא יעקב vayeitzei Yaakov, oh, a צדיק tzaddik leaves a רושם roshem. There's a loss of the impression, of the splendor, of the light that the צדיק tzaddik had. אצל אברהם ויצחק אין חידוש גדול שיציאתם עשה רושם, שהרי היו להם תלמידים רבים, בפרט אברהם שהיה מגייר גרים וכל מקום קרא בשם השם. גם ביצחק ויבן שם מזבח ויקרא בשם השם. לכן עשה יציאתם רושם. Eitzel Avraham v'Yitzchak ein chidush gadol she'yetzi'asam asah roshem, she'harei hayu lahem talmidim rabbim, b'prat Avraham she'haya m'gayer geirim v'chol makom kara b'shem Hashem. Gam b'Yitzchak vayiven sham mizbeach vayikra b'shem Hashem. Lachen asah yetzi'asam roshem. אולם ביעקב לא מצינו שעסק עם הרבים, אלא היה יושב אוהלים. Ulam b'Yaakov lo matzinu she'asak im ha'rabbim, ela haya yoshev ohalim. So you know what the answer is? Says רב לאפיאן Rav Lopian, רב אליעזר לאפיאן Rav Eliezer Lopian, the answer is, אברהם Avraham, it's obvious it had a רושם roshem. אברהם Avraham retired from being a ראש ישיבה rosh yeshiva. אברהם Avraham was the rabbi of the שול shul for many, many, many, many decades. He had an influence, he had an impact, he transformed. You don't think they made him an enormous retirement party? You don't think that they celebrated all of his contributions as they helped him on his way? It's obvious. Of course when אברהם Avraham left, it made a רושם roshem, it made an impression. It's obvious, everybody knew it. יצחק Yitzchak too. ויבן שם מזבח Vayiven sham mizbeach, יצחק Yitzchak built an altar, ויקרא בשם השם vayikra b'shem Hashem. He too taught, he too influenced. יצחק Yitzchak also spoke and had an impact on others. So it's obvious, when אברהם Avraham left, it had an impact, it's obvious. When יצחק Yitzchak left, it had an impact, it's obvious. Why was it not obvious that יעקב Yaakov's leaving would have an impact? Because יעקב Yaakov didn't have a big שול shul, and he wasn't a big ראש ישיבה rosh yeshiva, and he wasn't a big orator or public speaker. יעקב Yaakov had a ישיבה yeshiva. He sat and he learned all day. There was a little בית מדרש beis medrash, there was a little library, and יעקב Yaakov found a little corner there and he kept to himself all day long. יעקב Yaakov wasn't preaching and teaching. יעקב Yaakov wasn't a ראש ישיבה rosh yeshiva, רם ram, or רבי rebbe. יעקב Yaakov wasn't a רב rov or a דיין dayan. יעקב Yaakov sat and he learned תורה Torah. So you might have thought that the צדיק tzaddik, the יושב אוהלים yoshev ohalim, the one who sits in learning, it doesn't make a רושם roshem. Who cares that that guy left כולל kollel? What difference did it make? All he was doing was sitting and learning, taking from the community, being supported by others. What difference does he make that he's no longer learning in your community? You might have thought there's no רושם roshem. So that's why the חידוש chidush, that's why specifically here, וייצא יעקב vayeitzei Yaakov, a צדיק tzaddik who leaves makes a רושם roshem. I, this צדיק tzaddik wasn't a big orator, wasn't a big speaker, didn't lead programs, didn't lead missions to Israel, didn't lead trips, wasn't a דיין dayan, wasn't a ראש ישיבה rosh yeshiva. He sat and he learned in the corner of the room. The answer is yeah, the quiet person who's sitting and learning תורה Torah is holding up the community. We don't realize. We don't realize. I'm very lucky, in some ways unlucky, but lucky. And I wouldn't trade my life for anyone else. I love teaching תורה Torah. It is my life. It gives me joy. It energizes me. What a privilege and what a gift. It's unbelievable. It's unbelievable. I don't remember if I said it in the פרשה שיעור parsha shiur recently, but I had read a quote from another person who speaks often, a popular speaker today, and someone said to him, you know, I'm jealous of your עולם הבא Olam Haba, you teach so much תורה Torah, you inspire so many people. He said, my עולם הבא Olam Haba, I have no idea what my עולם הבא Olam Haba has in store. Maybe yours is greater, but you should be jealous of my עולם הזה Olam Haze. Be jealous of my life and my lifestyle in this world. I get to sit here, ספרים sfarim to share, none of it's mine, to share the תורה Torah of so many other people, such inspiration, such messages. It's unbelievable. So we know the people, their faces are in the magazines, they're promoted, they're featured, they're recorded, they're streaming online, you hear them in person, we pack the place, ברוך השם Baruch Hashem. What about the person sitting in the corner of the בית מדרש beis medrash? Nobody's even sure his name. But he's sitting there learning quietly to himself. Is he making a contribution? Is he making a difference? That's what the פשט pshat is here in the פסוק pasuk: וייצא יעקב Vayeitzei Yaakov. Know that it's not always the person in the spotlight who's the one who's holding up the community. Sometimes it's the anonymous, almost invisible person that's underappreciated and under-noticed, but who's sitting there and learning תורה Torah, and that learning of תורה Torah is a powerful merit for the community. That רושם roshem, that impression that they're leaving on the community of learning תורה Torah, never minimize, never underestimate, never fail to appreciate those who are learning תורה Torah, whether full-time and supported, or whether someone who has a profession but ekes out time in the morning and in the night and is in the בית מדרש beis medrash. They're not a big personality, they're not the magnetic personality, they're not standing on the chair, שלישיות shaloshudos. They're sitting in the corner learning, they're also making a רושם roshem. ר' שמואל רוזובסקי Rav Shmuel Rozovsky, the ראש ישיבה rosh yeshiva of פוניבז' Ponevezh, he says, שלמרא יצחק ורבקה נשארו בעיר, ובכל זאת יציאת יעקב עשה רושם. She'lamarah Yitzchak v'Rivka nisharu ba'ir, u'b'chol zos yetzi'as Yaakov asah roshem. You know what else the difference is? You might have thought יצחק Yitzchak leaving, what רושם roshem did it make? What loss was there? You know who was still there? His parents. יצחק Yitzchak and רבקה Rivka were still there. You still had very righteous people there. So what did it matter that יעקב Yaakov moved on? You still had the individuals from whom יעקב Yaakov himself drew his greatness, they were still there. So says the ראש ישיבה Rosh Yeshiva of פוניבז' Ponevezh, says ר' שמואל רוזובסקי Rav Shmuel Rozovsky, you know, בכל זאת יציאת יעקב עשה רושם B'chol zos yetzi'as Yaakov asah roshem. Still, his leaving diminished the community. The light was dimmed a little bit. כי כל צדיק יש לו זה זיו והדר המיוחדים לו Ki kol tzaddik yesh lo zeh ziv v'hadar ha'meyuchadim lo. Special people, inspirational people, the role models, the righteous men and women of the community, they each put off their own light. And when they leave, because they either leave the community or leave this world, the דימר dimmer is turned down, the light is diminished. We miss and we long for the light that they have. וזה החידוש שלמרא שצדיקים אחרים V'zeh ha'chidush she'l'mar'ah she'tzaddikim acherim. And that's the חידוש chidush. There were other righteous people who remained. יצחק Yitzchak and רבקה Rivka remained, but still, יעקב Yaakov not being there, that had a big, that had a big impression. Next, the מדרש בראשית רבה Midrash Bereishis Rabbah on these words. וייצא Vayeitzei, we're going to get past the first פסוק pasuk. I promise you. וייצא יעקב מבאר שבע Vayeitzei Yaakov mi'Be'er Sheva. So the first פסוק pasuk still. יעקב Yaakov leaves באר שבע Be'er Sheva and he heads to חרן Charan. Says the מדרש רבה Midrash Rabbah, שיר למעלות אשא עיני אל ההרים Shir la'ma'alos esa einai el he'harim. We all know the קפיטל kapitel of דוד המלך Dovid HaMelech, it's one of the popular ones to say when we are in need of a salvation of a ישועה yeshuah. שיר למעלות אשא עיני אל ההרים Shir la'ma'alos esa einai el he'harim. I raise my eyes to the mountains. בשעה שברח יעקב מעשיו, אמר אשא עיני אל ההרים B'sha'ah she'barach Yaakov mei'Esav, amar esa einai el he'harim. Says the מדרש Midrash, whether it means that יעקב Yaakov anticipated or that this is simply metaphorical, allegorical, or did יעקב Yaakov actually compose the קפיטל kapitel? I understand that דוד המלך Dovid HaMelech is the one who later wrote it in תהלים Tehillim. But says the מדרש Midrash, that יעקב Yaakov when he prayed, when he דאווען davened on the road and on the run, fleeing for his life, what did he say? אשא עיני אל ההרים esa einai el he'harim. I raise my eyes to the mountains. לפני אבותי אברהם ויצחק, מאין יבוא עזרי? Lifnei avosai Avraham v'Yitzchak, mei'ayin yavo ezri? אליעזר בשעה שהלך להביא את רבקה, מה כתיב ביה, ויקח העבד עשרה גמלים. Eliezer b'sha'ah she'halach l'havi es Rivka, mah kasiv bei, vayikach ha'eved asarah g'malim. ואני לא נזם אחד ולא צמיד אחד. Va'ani lo nezem echad v'lo tzamid echad. אמר מה אני מוציא את בתו של צדיק כך, חס ושלום, אלא אשא עיני אל ההרים, מאין יבוא עזרי? Amar mah ani motzi es biso shel tzaddik kach, chas v'shalom, ela esa einai el he'harim, mei'ayin yavo ezri? אלא עזרי מעם השם עשה שמים וארץ. Ela ezri mei'im Hashem oseh shamayim va'aretz. So the מדרש Midrash says the following. יעקב Yaakov panicked. He said, you know, when my grandfather sent out אליעזר Eliezer to go find a wife for my father, to go find my mother, he sent אליעזר Eliezer with great wealth, with great riches. You got to close the שידוך shidduch today, you know, how many carats, clarity, carats, clarity, cut. Is that it? Did I miss them? Color. Color, clarity, cut, carats. So אליעזר Eliezer, אברהם Avraham says, the four Cs, Ks, whatever you spell it, you got to go out and you got to impress if you're going to close the שידוך shidduch, you got to have some, the bracelet, and the ring. There's all kinds of unwritten rules today. I don't know where they come from, but they bankrupt you. So you got to go and you got to come with the goods. So יעקב Yaakov says to himself, how in the world, my mother and father just said, you better run, your brother's going to get you, go get married, start your family. He goes, how am I going to start my family? I don't have anything. I don't have a penny. I have nothing. I can't buy a ring. What am I going to do? So עזרי מעם השם עשה שמים וארץ Ezri mei'im Hashem oseh shamayim va'aretz. He raised his eyes to the mountains and he said, I have no diamonds, I have no gold, I have no silver, I'm going to have no שידוך shidduch. No, עזרי מעם השם ezri mei'im Hashem. But that's the wrong thinking, because my help comes from השם Hashem, עשה שמים וארץ oseh shamayim va'aretz. השם Hashem is the creator of heaven and earth, and I shouldn't panic, and I shouldn't fear, and I shouldn't worry. So the question is, יעקב אבינו Yaakov Avinu, this is what he's worried about, money? יעקב אבינו Yaakov Avinu, the בחיר האבות bechir ha'avos, the most righteous, יעקב אבינו Yaakov Avinu, the greatest, who was the perfect combination of the best of an אברהם Avraham and a יצחק Yitzchak. יעקב Yaakov who's ישראל Yisrael, who's the real progenitor of our people, בני ישראל Bnei Yisrael, and this is what he's worried about? Cut, color, clarity, and carats? That's what he's worried about? So says ר' ירוחם ליבוביץ' Rav Yerucham Levovitz, says the, the משגיח mashgiach of the מיר Mir, in his דעת תורה Daas Torah on our פרשה parsha, he says, יעקב אבינו ראה כפי שראה אצל אבותיו אברהם ויצחק, שיחד עם ביטחון המוחלט בהקדוש ברוך הוא, עושים השתדלות טבעית. Yaakov Avinu ra'ah k'fi she'ra'ah eitzel avosav Avraham v'Yitzchak, she'yachad im bitachon ha'muchlat ba'Kadosh Baruch Hu, osim hishtadlus tivis. I love this insight of ר' ירוחם Rav Yerucham. You know why יעקב Yaakov said I need the goods? Because as righteous and as virtuous as יעקב Yaakov was, he was also a realist, and he was also grounded in this world, and he also learned from his father and grandfather, who had incredible faith, unprecedented and unparalleled faith, but yet understood that right next to, simultaneous with our אמונה emunah and ביטחון bitachon must be השתדלות hishtadlus. We have to put forth our effort, we have to do our part. כשלא היתה ליעקב אבינו את אפשרות לעשות את השתדלות, דאג ואמר מאין יבוא עזרי? K'shelo haysa l'Yaakov Avinu es ha'efsharus la'asos es ha'hishtadlus, da'ag v'amar mei'ayin yavo ezri? So he said to himself, what am I going to do? I can't do my השתדלות hishtadlus. I don't have a job, I don't have an income, I'm running for my life, I'm fleeing, I don't have any money. So what am I going to do? I need to do השתדלות hishtadlus. It's not the Jewish way to sit back passively and say God take care of it. We take initiative. We act, we do. That is the legacy of an אברהם Avraham and a יצחק Yitzchak. יעקב Yaakov knew it, not to be a passive spectator, not to have a false or fraudulent faith in God, we have to do initiative. That's what השם Hashem tells the Jewish people when they're stuck between the rock and the hard place, when the Egyptians are pursuing them, the ימסוף Yam Suf is in front of them, and he says, מה תצעק אלי Mah titzak elai? What are you doing? Stop and run. Don't talk to me, go do השתדלות hishtadlus. You have to take initiative. So יעקב Yaakov says, מאין יבוא עזרי Mei'ayin yavo ezri? Where is my help going to come from? I don't have a job, I don't have an income, I don't have any family with me, I don't have any money. אבל בסופו של דבר כשראה שנשללה ממנו אפשרות לעשות השתדלות, אמר לעצמו נכון שאין אני יכול לעשות השתדלות, אבל עושה שמים וארץ עצמו הרי לא נהפך ולא יאבד, הוא קיים לעד. ממילא עליו יש להישען ולא יחסר כלום. Aval b'sofo shel davar k'she'ra'ah she'nishlela mimenu efsharus la'asos hishtadlus, amar l'atzmo nachon she'ein ani yachol la'asos hishtadlus, aval oseh shamayim va'aretz atzmo harei lo nehefach v'lo yavad, hu kayam la'ad. Mimeila alav yesh l'hisha'en v'lo yachsar klum. Sometimes we find ourselves in a situation where you say, I'm willing and I'm prepared, I'm ready to take every initiative I can, but there's nothing more to do. I've seen every doctor, I've done every test, I've eaten, I'm even eating kale. I'm even eating kale. I'm doing everything I can. I'm taking every initiative that I can. What's left to try to do? So one could become despondent, hopeless and helpless. Follow יעקב Yaakov. יעקב Yaakov says, even when it looks like there's no initiative to take, עזרי מעם השם עשה שמים וארץ ezri mei'im Hashem oseh shamayim va'aretz. He made the heaven and earth, and he could turn heaven and earth upside down, and he could create opportunities and avenues and venues that I can't even see right now. So the השתדלות hishtadlus, the next initiative or act I meant to do, that I think the doors are all closed, there's no next move, there's always a next move when you realize השם Hashem is עושה שמים וארץ oseh shamayim va'aretz. When you realize that השם Hashem is absolutely in charge. When we live with him, there's always a next move. So it's not that יעקב אבינו Yaakov Avinu, what is he some materialistic? יעקב אבינו Yaakov Avinu is supposed to be so righteous, such a צדיק tzaddik. He's worried about the ring and the jewelry and the and the bracelet and the gift for the יחוד yichud room and the set of מחזורים machzorim, and the list goes on and on. He's so worried, where is he going to give it off? No. יעקב אבינו Yaakov Avinu understands that and this is the Jewish way. We have ביטחון bitachon and אמונה emunah, we have דבקות dveikus, we cling to השם Hashem, but we also have to take our השתדלות hishtadlus. Ah, you might think when you run out of השתדלות hishtadlus, when you run out of moves, you're done, you're never done. The רבונו של עולם Ribono Shel Olam can create new moves and new opportunities because he is the עושה שמים וארץ oseh shamayim va'aretz. He is the one who's in charge. פרק כ\"ח Perek Chaf Ches, I told you we'd get on past the first פסוק pasuk, so פסוק י\"א pasuk yud alef. Next פסוק pasuk. ויפגע במקום וילן שם כי בא השמש ויקח מאבני המקום וישם מראשותיו וישכב במקום ההוא Vayifga ba'makom vayalen sham ki va hashemesh vayikach mei'avnei ha'makom vayasem mei'ra'ashosav vayishkav ba'makom hahu. He encounters a place, he spent the night there, the sun had set, he took the stones, he arranged them around his head. We all know the רש\"י Rashi, you could listen, we've spoken about these פסוקים psukim for many, many years. Previous פרשה שיעור parsha shiurim are all online. You can hear what we said. I'm trying to share with you all new material בעזרת השם b'ezras Hashem this year. So the stones gathered, they formed one, they fought, they became one. It's an illusion, a hint to the שבטים shvatim and the שער הכולל Shaar HaKollel. We have our differences, but we can also belong to all simultaneously, and we can overlap. We can live in all of them. What is ויפגע במקום Vayifga ba'makom? It's a very strange language. ויפגע במקום vayifga ba'makom. He encountered God. Look at the Artscroll translation. יעקב Yaakov encountered God. What does that mean? He bumped into, he stumbled, he tripped on God. What do you mean ויפגע במקום Vayifga ba'makom? He encountered. It doesn't say God, it says מקום makom, it says the place. So what does that mean? This is one of the names of God, מקום Makom. How do you know it's one of the names of God? Where else do we see it? At shiva calls. Somebody said in שבעה shivah. At least אשכנזים Ashkenazim have the custom of saying המקום ינחם אתכם Ha'makom yenachem eschem. המקום ירחם Ha'makom yerachem. The שולחן ערוך Shulchan Aruch quotes if somebody is ill, we also invoke המקום Ha'makom. May the מקום Makom, may God bring you a רפואה שלמה refuah shleimah. May God bring you comfort and solace and strength. Where else do we say המקום Ha'makom? סדר Seder night in the הגדה Haggadah. Where do we say it in the סדר Seder? ברוך המקום ברוך הוא Baruch ha'Makom baruch Hu. Blessed is the מקום Makom. We're talking about God. Why do we use that name מקום makom? Where else do we see it? We see it, says, we just read at the end of פרשת וירא Parshas Vayera, that אברהם Avraham traveled three days for the עקידה akeidah, he brought his son to slaughter him, and, וירא את המקום מרחוק Vayar es ha'makom mei'rachok. Which חז\"ל Chazal tell us, מקום makom there is not only he saw the place הר הבית Har Habayis where he would perform the עקידה akeidah, he saw the place, the מקום makom, מרחוק mei'rachok, God. So מקום Makom is a name for God. And here, יעקב Yaakov stumbles upon God, ויפגע vayifga, he encounters God. In fact, this is one of the words for דאווענען davening. The ילקוט שמעוני Yalkut Shimoni has 13 synonyms for דאווענען davening. ביצור, פגיעה, רינה bitzur, pegiah, rina, תפילה, שוועה, צעקה, זעקה tefillah, shavah, tzaakah, zaakah, there are 13 synonyms in תנ\"ך Tanach, 13 different verbs we use for the one word that we have in English called pray. If we have 13 synonyms, it means they're not all the same. And that's why we study, we learned the entire ספר sefer, you could listen to it online, the שיעורים shiurim, שערי תפילה Shaarei Tefillah, ר' פינקוס זצ\"ל Rav Pincus zatzal, wrote a beautiful ספר sefer based on ילקוט שמעוני Yalkut Shimoni. There are 13 synonyms for prayer, each one is a different form of prayer. We pray differently in the hospital, at the bedside of someone terminally ill, than at the bedside of a woman about to give birth. We pray differently when we've heard wonderful news than when we're desperate, desperate for salvation. Each תפילה tefillah is different. So there are different forms of תפילה tefillah, models or archetypes of תפילה tefillah, and the ילקוט שמעוני Yalkut Shimoni gives us no less than 13, and that beautiful ספר שערי תפילה sefer Shaarei Tefillah, which I believe has been translated now into English, spells the 13 out. And one of them is פגיעה pegiah. We learn from יעקב אבינו Yaakov Avinu. There's a form of תפילה tefillah called פגיעה pegiah. ויפגע במקום Vayifga ba'makom. What does it mean ויפגע במקום vayifga ba'makom? So רב סולובייצ'יק Rav Soloveitchik, in the רב סולובייצ'יק Rav Soloveitchik חומש chumash, that you put out, רב סולובייצ'יק Rav Soloveitchik says the following. The paradigmatic figure who found השם Hashem despite his transcendence is the נביא navi, יחזקאל Yechezkel. יחזקאל Yechezkel. Even though השם Hashem felt so far away, so distant, so inaccessible, יחזקאל Yechezkel found him. Why for יחזקאל Yechezkel did he feel so far away? Where did יחזקאל'ס Yechezkel's נבואה nevuah come? It wasn't in the בית המקדש Beis HaMikdash. יחזקאל Yechezkel did not prophesize in the land of Israel. Where was he? He was in בבל Bavel. He was experiencing the darkness and the persecution and the oppression and the tragedy and the loss of the Babylonian exile. He was in בבל Bavel. He was in what רב סולובייצ'יק Rav Soloveitchik writes, he was in a concentration camp in the midst of the bitter Babylonian exiles. As the very first פסוק pasuk of all of ספר יחזקאל Sefer Yechezkel says, he was among the captives on the river. יחזקאל Yechezkel was tortured, he was persecuted, he was torn and ripped with the Jewish people from our sacred בית המקדש Beis HaMikdash, from our homeland, from our holy place, and he was brought to בבל Bavel. And despite that, despite the הסתר פנים hester panim, השם Hashem felt hidden. It was a הסתר פנים hester panim. It was the first Holocaust before our שואה Shoah. There were loss of an inestimable amount, the loss of the בית המקדש Beis HaMikdash, the גלות בבל galus Bavel. And יחזקאל Yechezkel's living through this. He's living, and he like all around him are wondering, where's God? Doesn't God love us? Does he want us to suffer? Does he want us to be in pain? Where is he? And why isn't he saving us? Why isn't he preventing this? He was living through a period of הסתר פנים hester panim, of a hiddenness of God. And yet, despite that and with that, the heavens opened up, the נביא navi he says, and יחזקאל Yechezkel saw a vision of God. And what does he announce? ברוך כבוד השם ממקומו. Baruch kvod Hashem mimkomo. Blessed is the glory of השם Hashem ממקומו mimkomo, from his place. What does from his place mean? It means when it feels like his place is far away from my place. I'm over here in this suffering, in this turmoil. I'm over here in this torment, and ממקומו mimkomo from his place, which feels like it's far away right now, I still, I could still bless השם Hashem. I see him, and I feel him. I lean on him, and I rely on him. I protest him, but I'm still grateful to him ממקומו mimkomo, even though he feels like he's far away. So suggested by רב סולובייצ'יק Rav Soloveitchik, the word מקום makom as a name for השם Hashem applies when השם Hashem feels like he's far away, when we're struggling. But we need to know that even then we can find him. Sometimes then we most find him, because that's when we most need him. Sometimes it's only when we're broken do we break through to perceive him, to find him. And that's what the Rav says, that's what אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu, השם Hashem says, take your son, your only son, the son through whom I've promised you you're going to build a legacy, bring him on top of the mountain and slaughter him. And אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu says, that's it, slaughter him. It's hard to see how that makes sense. וירא את המקום מרחוק Vayar es ha'makom mei'rachok. He saw השם Hashem, but מרחוק mei'rachok, it felt like he was far away. ברוך המקום ברוך הוא Baruch ha'Makom baruch Hu. Four sons, חכם chacham, everybody thinks all four of their children are חכמים chachamim. But sometimes one of them's a רשע rasha, a תם tam, a שאינו יודע לשאול she'eino yodea lishol, and you say, מקום Makom, השם Hashem, you feel so far away. Why am I going through this challenge with my child? Why aren't they falling in line? Why aren't they following my legacy? Why am I struggling with them in school, socially, academically? השם Hashem, מקום Makom, you feel so far away. Even then we could say ברוך המקום Baruch ha'Makom. ברוך המקום, ברוך כבוד השם ממקומו Baruch ha'Makom, baruch kvod Hashem mimkomo. וירא את המקום מרחוק Vayar es ha'makom mei'rachok. אברהם Avraham still saw him, even though השם Hashem felt so far away. So lastly, here too, ויפגע במקום vayifga ba'makom. יעקב אבינו Yaakov Avinu is running for his life. He's fleeing. He says, I just want to sit in the בית מדרש beis medrash. I just want to sit in the corner of the בית מדרש beis medrash, השם Hashem, learning with you. I just want to התפרנג hisfabreng with you. I just want to have a התקשרות hiskashrus with you. I just want to דאווען daven to you. I just want to break my teeth on the תסות Tosfos and the רשב\"א Rashba with you. What do I have to run for my life? I have no money. My brother's trying to kill me. I'm gone from my parents, and I don't know what's up, because I'm too from or it hasn't been invented yet, but I can't even speak to them or video conference with them. I'm all alone in this world. I'm all alone, I have no money, I'm on a run for my life. השם Hashem, you feel so far away. And even there, ויפגע במקום vayifga ba'makom. He encountered השם Hashem from that place. My dearest friends, sometimes we're in that place that השם Hashem feels so far away, he feels so hidden. We wonder where he is or why he's doing what he's doing. And we need to know that we come from a tradition, we have a מסורה mesorah from our parents and our grandparents, many of whom walked out of the of the shadows of the Holocaust. They walked out of absolute גיהנום Gehenom on earth, and ויפגע במקום vayifga ba'makom, they found השם Hashem even when he felt far away. And we can too. אברהם Avraham sees him מרחוק mei'rachok. יחזקאל Yechezkel sees him in the exile. יעקב Yaakov finds him when he's running for his life. That is the notion of מקום makom. The קאצקער Kotsker says, but you have to look for him. You know what else we say in קדושה Kedusha? איה מקום כבודו Ayeh m'kom k'vodo. So we usually read it, איה מקום כבודו ayeh m'kom k'vodo, where is the place of his glory? Says the קאצקער Kotsker, I love this קאצקער Kotsker. It was worth your coming today not just for the coffee and the water, but for this קאצקער Kotsker. The קאצקער Kotsker says, איה מקום כבודו Ayeh m'kom k'vodo. You know מקום כבודו m'kom k'vodo, you want to know where is the place of his glory? איה Ayeh. When you ask where is he, when you look for him. When you live, איה Ayeh, where is he? I'm looking for him. איה Ayeh, where are you השם Hashem? I'm looking everywhere. I want to feel you everywhere. When you live asking איה ayeh, מקום כבודו m'kom k'vodo, you found the place of his glory. השם Hashem doesn't expect us to find him. He expects us to search and seek and look for him. And when you look for him, you found him. Finding him is the act or the process of looking for him, that is finding him. Okay, וישכב vayishkav, we said וישכב במקום vayishkav ba'makom. He put his head down, he went to sleep in that place. Says רש\"י Rashi, וישכב במקום vayishkav ba'makom, לשון מיעוט lashon mi'ut. באותו מקום שכב, אבל ארבע עשרה שנים ששימש בבית עבר, לא שכב בלילה שהיה עוסק בתורה. B'oso makom shachav, aval arba esrei shanim she'shimesh b'veis Ever, lo shachav ba'layla she'haya osek ba'Torah. This was the first nap he had in 14 years. 14 years. He hasn't taken a שלוף shluff in 14 years. He didn't stop. So when we say יעקב Yaakov, what are you doing? I haven't stopped. I haven't stopped. I've been in motion for 14 straight years. I give a דרשה drasha several weeks ago about the phenomenon of describing ourselves as busy. Busy, crazy busy, always busy, I'm so busy, I'm crazy busy. I think I mentioned it in the פרשה שיעור parsha shiur. That was the dust that the angels in the form of men were bringing into the house, and אברהם Avraham said, that's עבודה זרה avodah zarah. Kicking up dust, the obsession and the addiction to busyness, that's עבודה זרה avodah zarah. Wash your feet before you come in here. Slow down life. Stop pretending you're so busy. So יעקב Yaakov להבדיל l'havdil is so busy. What's he been so busy with? He hasn't been able to take a nap. He hasn't slept in 14 years. 14 years he hasn't slept. Why not? He's been in the ישיבה yeshiva of עבר Ever. He's been learning. He's been שטייגען shteiging. He's been sitting and learning for 14 straight years. He hasn't stopped to take a nap. He didn't stop for one moment, says רש\"י Rashi. Now he left the ישיבה yeshiva, finally he stops and he takes a nap. The question is, he was learning in the ישיבה yeshiva. His parents just sent him out and they said, run for your life, your brother's going to kill you because of what you did to him. And where should you go, what should you do? Go to what? Go get married. He stops for 14 years to learn. What happened to כיבוד אב ואם kibbud av va'em? What happened to listening to your parents? Parents said go get married. Go immediately. Go meet the שדכנים shadchanim, go sign up on whatever website, go network, go hang out at the wells, apparently that's where everybody gets married. Go do what you need to do, but go get married. So instead of getting married, he's on his way to meet the שדכן shadchan. He passes the בית מדרש beis medrash of עבר Ever, and he says, let me just stop. I missed one בלטק גמרא blat Gemara. Let me just learn for one hour. 14 years later, he leaves the בית מדרש beis medrash. I'm not going to say any comments. 14 years later, he's supposed to learn for one year, 14 years later, he leaves the בית מדרש beis medrash. So what happened? What happened to כיבוד אב ואם kibbud av va'em? What happened to the promise that he made to his father? So ר' זיידל אפשטיין Rav Zeidel Epstein, we quoted him last week, the מנהל menahel, the משגיח mashgiach of the ישיבה yeshiva of תורה אור Torah Ohr, he says the following. He says, יעקב Yaakov stopping and learning for 14 years, that was part of getting ready to get married. That wasn't an interruption to getting married. That wasn't being disobedient or dismissing his parents' charge to go get married. In order to be ready to get married, he wanted to sit and learn for 14 years. Now why did he need those 14 years to sit and learn? So he also quotes this וורט vort, Epstein, but יעקב Yaakov in אמת ליעקב Emes L'Yaakov also says this. This I did say previously, because I think it's important. Why did why did יעקב Yaakov he needed 14 years in the ישיבה yeshiva of עבר Ever? Whose home did he just come from? What ישיבה yeshiva was he in all of his life until now? For 60 plus years, he's been learning in the בית מדרש Beis Medrash of of יצחק Yitzchak. Now he needs to stop and learn in the בית מדרש Beis Medrash of עבר Ever, after he was in the בית מדרש Beis Medrash of יצחק Yitzchak? So Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky, Epstein, they both say, says it's a very different בית מדרש Beis Medrash. יצחק Yitzchak is the בית מדרש Beis Medrash of wholesome clarity, comfort, security, safety. The בית מדרש Beis Medrash of עבר Ever is a place of, how do you get ready to go integrate into the world? How do you bring the values of תורה Torah? How do you bring the values of השם Hashem into the workplace, into the street, into the supermarket, into the gym, into the world? עבר Ever was a person who had to live through a period of upheaval and chaos. He was exposed to moral corruption and depravity. So יצחק Yitzchak was a cocoon. The בית מדרש Beis Medrash יעקב Yaakov had grown up in was a cocoon. It was protective. He wasn't exposed to the world. You getting ready to go live with a לבן Lavan? You're going to marry לבן'ס Lavan's daughters and you're going to go live with a לבן Lavan? You need 14 years in the ישיבה yeshiva of עבר Ever. You need to learn how to live with a trickster, how to live among corruption, how to navigate and guide through a world. You need to learn how to be a בן תורה Ben Torah for life. You need to learn how to be a בן תורה Ben Torah for life. Okay. He wakes up from this dream.Let's keep going. He wakes up from this dream. פסוק Pasuk says, moving along, ויחלום והנה סולם מוצב ארצה vayachalom v'hinei sulam mutzav artza. He's sleeping, he has a dream. By the way, I'll just leave this with you as a question because I have thoughts. I saw a מדרש Midrash for the first time this year. It says, והנה מלאכי אלהים עולים ויורדים בו v'hinei malachei Elokim olim v'yordim bo. The angels of God are going up and down בו bo. Translate the word בו bo. On it. What's it? The ladder. So the simple understanding always was, what are the angels ascending and descending on? The ladder. But the מדרש Midrash says not בו bo, it's not the ladder. עולים ויורדים בו olim v'yordim bo is יעקב Yaakov. They're ascending and descending on יעקב Yaakov. There's a דרשה drasha in there. I'm still looking for it. I have some ideas. We are supposed to be the platform for the angels. We are the medium, we are the vehicle through which the angels interact in this world. They should ascend and descend on us. I'm not ready yet to present it to you. I'm thinking about it. But I present it to you to think about too, with me. And I'm I'm let me know your suggestions. But it's fascinating, right? עולים ויורדים בו Olim v'yordim bo. The word בו bo can mean the ladder, or the word בו bo could mean יעקב אבינו Yaakov Avinu himself, ascending and descending from יעקב Yaakov.So he has this dream, we all know the dream. What's the significant? The bridge of heaven and earth, that he wakes up, he says, I didn't know השם Hashem was here. maybe I would never have gone to sleep. אכן Achen, השם Hashem is here, I didn't even know. So וייקץ vayikatz, he wakes up. פרק כח Perek Chaf Ches, פסוק טז Pasuk Tes Zayin. Turn the page, 146. וייקץ יעקב משנתו Vayikatz Yaakov mishnaso, he wakes up. ויאמר Vayomer, and he says, אכן יש ה' במקום הזה ואנכי לא ידעתי achen yesh Hashem bamakom hazeh v'anochi lo yadati. Wow. I thought God was only in the בית מדרש Beis Medrash. I thought God was only in the שול shul. I didn't realize that I can find him on the world too. איה Ayeh, if I look for him, מקום כבודו mkom kvodo, I can make the place of his glory wherever I am. I had no idea. I had no idea. So back to the קאצקער Kotsker, I told you I got this beautiful ספר sefer from my friend Mendy, קאצק אמת ואמונה Kotsk Emes V'emunah. Says the קאצקער Kotsker the following. וייקץ משנתו Vayikatz mishnaso. So, ההבדל בין יהודי לגוי ניתן לראות בקומו משנתו hahevdel bein Yehudi l'goy nitan liros b'kumo mishnaso. You want to know the difference between a Jew and a non-Jew? I wouldn't frame it that way. I'd frame it, you want to know the difference between a righteous person and an unrighteous person? יעקב כשמתעורר משנתו Yaakov k'shemisorer mishnaso, מיד miyad, או לומד או מתפלל o lomed o mispalel. When יעקב Yaakov wakes up, there are two options. You wake up, you jump out of bed to go learn or to דאווענען daven, to constructively contribute to the world. ויאמר אכן יש השם Vayomer achen yesh Hashem. So he wakes up, he gets out of bed and he says, wow, השם Hashem, that was a great dream, or that was a great שלוף shluf. Or wow, I'm energized, I can't wait to go דאווענען daven. I can't wait to go learn, can't wait to go do חסד chesed. אילו פרעה כשמתעורר משנתו Ilu Paroh k'shemisorer mishnaso, חוזר ונודם וממשיך לחלום chozer v'nirdam u'mamshich lachlom. What does פרעה Paroh do when he wakes up? וייקץ פרעה Vayikatz Paroh, he woke up, and then ויישן ויחלום שנית vayishan vayachalom sheinis. You know what he does? Snooze. Back to sleep. יעקב Yaakov wakes up and he jumps out of bed. התגבר כארי לעמוד לבקר hisgaber k'ari laamod laboker. The שולחן ערוך Shulchan Aruch begins, the very first הלכה halacha, הלכה halacha. הלכה Halacha. שולחן ערוך Shulchan Aruch doesn't record nice ideas. שולחן ערוך Shulchan Aruch is not a Tony Robbins motivational talk. שולחן ערוך Shulchan Aruch is the הלכה halacha, this is the law. And the law is, jump out of bed roaring like a lion. That's the הלכה halacha. The הלכה halacha is, don't snooze 15 times, and don't turn over 14 times, and don't have three people have to come wake you. That's not the הלכה halacha. The הלכה halacha is התגבר כארי לעמוד לבקר hisgaber k'ari laamod laboker. Jump up and out of bed like a lion, like a lion. Greet the day like a lion. יעקב Yaakov, you see the contrast, versus says the קאצקער Kotsker, between the way that יעקב Yaakov wakes up to greet the day and between the way פרעה Paroh wakes up. פרעה Paroh wakes up, snoozes, back to sleep. By the way, his dream was so disturbing, פרעה Paroh, that when he wakes up, he gets an interpreter. He goes through a whole list and litany of interpreters, none to his satisfaction until יוסף Yosef comes. He was so bothered by the dream, so jarred, he's he's so so shaken by the dream that he needs an interpreter, but he's not so shaken that he doesn't first go back to sleep. So פרעה Paroh wakes up, just a few more minutes, just a few more snoozes, just a little more sleep. יעקב Yaakov wakes up and he says, ah, roars like a lion to go, ah, יש ה' במקום הזה yesh Hashem bamakom hazeh. השם Hashem is here, let's go. Let's go, השם Hashem. I'm ready. Let's go. מודה אני לפניך Modeh Ani Lefanecha. So wait, I'm so grateful to be alive. Let's go. Says the קאצקער Kotsker, you see the difference between the way יעקב Yaakov wakes up and the way that פרעה Paroh wakes up. פרק כח פסוק כ Perek Chaf Ches Pasuk Chaf. וידר יעקב נדר לאמר Vayidar Yaakov neder leimor. So he wakes up, and he builds a מצבה matzeivah, and he names the place, and then he makes a deal with God. Let's make a deal. It's time for Let's Make a Deal, hosted by יעקב אבינו Yaakov Avinu. וידר יעקב נדר לאמר Vayidar Yaakov neder leimor, אם יהיה אלהים עמדי im yihyeh Elokim imadi, God, I had such a good dream about you. Yeah, you promised me like my father, my grandfather, you'd be with me. Now I had a good dream and now I woke up feeling your presence. So here's the deal, God. You ready, God? Let's make a deal. Here's the deal. Here's the deal. אם יהיה אלהים עמדי Im yihyeh Elokim imadi, if I feel that you're with me, ושמרני בדרך הזה אשר אנכי הולך u'shmarani baderech hazeh asher anochi holech, and I feel that you accompany with me, you guard me, you protect me, I feel you're in my life. God, give my kids שִׁדּוּכִים shidduchim, have everyone in my sphere be healthy, give me a פרנסה parnasah, let me drive as nice a car as my neighbor. Then, ונתן לי לחם לאכול ובגד ללבוש v'nasan li lechem le'echol u'veged lilbosh. I want to be able to wear the same fashion. I want to dress my kids in all the expensive designer clothing. I want to make sure I get the bracelet, the ring with the carats and the clarity and the color and the cut. And if I have all that, ושבתי בשלום אל בית אבי v'shavti v'shalom el beis avi, and I can return home comfortable, I could return home happy, I could return home wealthy, I could return home with everything, then והיה ה' לי לאלהים v'hayah Hashem li l'Elokim, then I'll make you my God. What do you say, God? How's that for a deal? You take care of everything I want, everything I need, everything I long for, everything I hope. If you take care of me, God, I'll take care of you. Let's make a deal, God. You want to be in my life? Here's how you could be in my life. I will have you in my life, והיה ה' לי לאלהים v'hayah Hashem li l'Elokim, you'll be in my life and you'll be for me a God, here's the deal, if, what? If you do all these things for me. What kind of Let's Make a Deal with God? What kind of Let's Make a Deal with God? So we're not going to deal with that question. We've dealt with it previously. Is he really making a deal? This is a promise, it sounds like a deal. What's really going on? We've dealt with it previously. Listen online.But I want to raise a different question. יעקב Yaakov was already promised by השם Hashem. השם Hashem said, I got your back. Stick with me, stick with me, young man, I've got your back. He was promised. All's going to be well and good, you're going to come home, you're going to have a family, you're going to build a family, it's going to be amazing. So why is he דאווענען davening? If השם Hashem said you got it, you're all promised and it's all good to go, why is he דאווענען davening? יעקב אבינו קיבל הבטחה ברורה מהקדוש ברוך הוא שכל בקשותיו יתמלאו Yaakov Avinu kibbel havtacha brura me'HaKadosh Baruch Hu shekol bakashosav yismalu. יעקב Yaakov received a promise that all of his dreams and aspirations would be answered. צריכים כאן להבין tzrichim kan l'havin. So we have to understand, מדוע כשהוא מקריב את הקרבן madua k'she'hu makriv es ha'korban, so why when he's offering the sacrifice, הוא אומר hu omer he says, אם יהיה אלהים עמדי im yihyeh Elokim imadi. לכאורה l'chora, הגם שבדרך אצל לבן hagam she'baderech etzel Lavan, וכל שכן כשהרי קיבל הבטחה v'chol she'ken k'sheharei kibbel havtacha. He got a promise. Not only does it seem to be rude or offensive that he's challenging God by Let's Make a Deal, but it's even more so. It's even more so. You tell your child, here's the deal, I'm going to buy that thing for you. Or I've got back, I'm going to take you on that trip. And they say, you know, let's make a deal, or I want you to promise, or I want you to write it in a contract. So you say, what are you, I'm your father. What are you talking about? Telling you I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it. You're showing that you're worried, you're expressing the doubt whether I'll follow through and do what I promise is in fact disrespecting the whole relationship. So how could יעקב Yaakov disrespect השם Hashem by inserting any sense of doubt? השם Hashem let's make a deal. השם Hashem already made a promise. So the great משגיח Mashgiach of חברון Chevron, Reb Meir Chodosh, he says, יעקב אבינו Yaakov Avinu is teaching us, it appears in מאיר נתיבות על התורה Meir Nesivos al HaTorah. He says, מאיר נתיבות על התורה Meir Nesivos al HaTorah, he says that יעקב Yaakov is teaching us a very important principle, which is the power of תפילה tefillah, that גם אחר ההבטחה של הקדוש ברוך הוא gam acharei ha'havtacha shel HaKadosh Baruch Hu, גם כשבקשתו תתקבל gam k'she'bakashaso tiskabel, בכל אופן אין להרפות מהתפילה b'chol ofen ein l'harpos me'hatefillah. שעבודת התפילה לעולם לא נגמרת she'avodas ha'tefillah l'olam lo nigmeres. Because even when there is a storehouse that's filled with blessing for us, the key to open it and the key to access it is דאווענען davening. So even when השם Hashem has made that promise, יעקב אבינו Yaakov Avinu says, I accept that you made a promise. I believe that you've set aside these blessings for me, but in order to access them, in order to receive them, in order to transfer those blessings into your account is דאווענען davening, the power of תפילה tefillah. ויפגע במקום Vayifga bamakom, he דאווענען davens, and he wakes up and he offers a קרבן korban and he says, השם Hashem, this is a תפילה tefillah of וידר יעקב נדר לאמר Vayidar Yaakov neder leimor. Rav Meir Chodosh is clearly understanding, as many do, that it's not a condition, it's not let's make a deal with God, that it's a תפילה tefillah, it's a prayer. He's offering a prayer to השם Hashem. השם Hashem, I want you in my life and this is the ways in which I need you in my life. And I'm hoping you'll come through and give me these things in my life. And he's not worried that השם Hashem is going to say, buddy, what are you wasting your words and your breath? I already promised you. He's saying, this is so meaningful to me. This is the conversation, this is the communication, this is the expression of faith. This is how you open the storehouse. I've said it a million times, I'll say it a million and one, because the משל mashal that I think about when I try to understand this, in that ספר sefer I told you, שערי תפילה Shaarei Tefillah, Rav Pinkus in the introduction to the ספר sefer talks about this also, that תפילה tefillah is the key that opens the שפע ברכה shefa bracha. Just like in פרשת בראשית Parshas Bereishis, says השם Hashem created the whole world, he created the whole ecological cycle, saturation, moisture, water, clouds, and the fact that they would turn into rain, it was all there, but he didn't press start. He didn't press go. כי אדם אין לעבוד את האדמה ki adam ayin la'avod es ha'adamah because man had not yet been created. So רש\"י Rashi says, so what? He says, there was no one to ask for it. So even though it was all there and it was all ready to go, it couldn't be set in motion until somebody asked. So Rav Pinkus talks about in an הקדמה hakdamah in the introduction to that ספר sefer, שערי תפילה Shaarei Tefillah. Why? Why did השם Hashem create a world such as that? So I think about that as winning the lottery. Even when you've won the lottery and you're holding the winning ticket, you got to turn in the ticket to get the winnings. You can't simply feel just because I have the ticket, now the money's in my account. You've got to still turn in the ticket. תפילה Tefillah is our turning in the ticket. There are all kinds of winnings that we have. השם Hashem has שפע ברכה shefa bracha. He has all kinds of blessings. He has an abundance of blessings waiting for us, but he's waiting for us to ask. Do we not relate to that with our own children? Do we not have incredible kindness and generosity we want to show them? But we want them to ask, why? Because we're egomaniacs? Because we're so self-centered? Because we're so arrogant and power-hungry, we say, קינדערלאך kinderlach, my closet's filled with presents. קינדערלאך Kinderlach, my bank account is filled with געלט gelt I want to give you on חנוכה Chanukah, or trips I want to take or send you on, or dinners I want to be able to host you for. But I'm not giving it to you until you ask. You know why? Power trip, ego, of course not. Parents say because I want that relationship, I want that connection. I want you to feel a bond. So I want you to ask. I want you to appreciate. I want you to feel grateful. Because that's what we felt from our parents, and that's our responsibility to teach and to transmit humility and gratitude. So we say, I have all kinds of ברכה bracha, but you need to ask. I'll give you the most basic form. Do we not hold out a little piece of chocolate, a little piece of candy to the child, and they want to grab it, we say, what's the magic word? Please may I have the candy? Please can I have the chocolate? What are we, egomaniacs, arrogant crazy people? They can't have it until they say, please can I have it? No, we're trying to teach. You say please, you say thank you, you show gratitude, you express courtesy. So ריבונו של עולם Ribono Shel Olam is the same way with us. Says Rav Meir Chodosh, you see from here such a powerful lesson of יעקב Yaakov, that even though it's been promised the blessings, the lottery winnings are there, the chocolate and the candy, השם's Hashem's holding it. He says, just ask please and I'll give it to you, but I'm not going to give it to you until you say please. So we דאווענען daven, we say please. Three times a day we say please. ריבונו של עולם Ribono Shel Olam, I know you have ברכה bracha. I know you have blessings ready for me and my family. Please, please, I'm ready, I'm waiting, please share them. פרק כט פסוק יז Perek Chaf Tes Pasuk Yud Zayin. Moving right along. So יעקב Yaakov began towards the land of the Easterners, he looked up, and there was a well, always a באר be'er. Always a באר be'er, a well, a well. והנה שם שלשה עדרי צאן רובצים עליה כי מן הבאר ההיא ישקו העדרים והאבן גדולה על פי הבאר v'hineh sham shlosha edrei tzon rovtzeem aleha, ki min ha'be'er ha'hi yashku ha'adarim, v'ha'even gedolah al pi ha'be'er. There was a large stone, a large rock on top of the well, and everybody was gathered around it, and it was the middle of the day. ויאמר להם יעקב, אחי מאין אתם Vayomer lahem Yaakov, achai mei'ayin atem. יעקב Yaakov comes and he says, hey brothers. יעקב Yaakov was the hippie. How do you know יעקב Yaakov was a hippie? Because he calls them brothers. Hey brothers, אחי, מאין אתם achai, mei'ayin atem? Thank you Penny. מאין אתם mei'ayin atem. Hey brothers, where are you from? ויאמרו Vayomru they said we're from חרן Charan. So he says, you know נחור Nachor? Yeah, we know נחור Nachor. Says, השלום לו hashalom lo? שלום Shalom. Oh, yeah, he's doing well and here's his daughter רחל Rachel. She's coming with the flock. So he looks at these shepherds and he says, hey brothers, you see that sun? It hasn't set. It's not 5:00. What are you doing? Day's not over, get back to work. You're getting paid for a day's work. Now if I'm the shepherd, what do I do? I punch יעקב Yaakov in the nose. If I'm the shepherd, I say, I met you three seconds ago, you're giving me מוסר mussar? You're rebuking me? You're coming at me? How could it be? You're giving me, you're giving me מוסר mussar? So, so what do you see from here? Why was יעקב Yaakov able to do it without getting punched in the face? Because he first called them אחי achai. He said, you're my brother. He made a connection, he made a bond, he had a unity. He said, we're brothers. I'm your brother, you're my brother. And when you create a platform and a foundation that we're brothers, that I care about you, now I can point out something I think you should be doing. But when all I do is reject and rebuke and criticize and complain, but I haven't introduced it first with אחי achai that we're brothers, then you can't get away with it. יעקב Yaakov says אחי achai.Here's another question for you. I'm sharing דברי תורה divrei Torah, and today I'm sharing, I'm throwing at you some questions for you to think about. Here's another question I saw. I'm not going to share the answer, I want you to think about it. יעקב אבינו Yaakov Avinu, we know now the text tells us that all these shepherds can't lift the stone from on top of the well, but יעקב Yaakov sees רחל Rachel, he says she's the one for me and he musters this enormous strength. He has this adrenaline rush and he's able to lift the rock, the stone all by himself. יעקב Yaakov is incredibly strong. If יעקב Yaakov is so incredibly strong, I wonder, why didn't he express this strength, stay home and fight עשו Esav? Why is he worried that עשו Esav is going to defeat him? Why is he worried עשו Esav is going to kill him? יעקב's Yaakov's a superhero. He tears open his shirt, he's got a big Y. He's a superhero. He's able to lift that rock. He has this adrenaline rush. יעקב Yaakov the superhero comes out of the phone booth and he saves the day. And רחל Rachel marries him and they live happily ever after. So for that moment he's able to muster that strength? For that moment he's able to find that superhuman strength? Where was that superhuman strength when אליפז Elifaz comes to kill him, עשו's Esav's son, when he gives him all of his money? We have several stories in the תורה Torah where יעקב Yaakov seems sort of meek and passive. What happened to that adrenaline rush? Where is that strength? When does יעקב Yaakov choose to use the strength? He has the power. With great power comes great responsibility. So when does יעקב Yaakov choose to use the power, and when does he not use the power? He was able to use it here, why didn't he use it in the other cases or the other circumstances as as well? Okay, that is a question for you. So he gives them this מוסר mussar. אחי Achai, it's the Ponevezher Rav, Rav Yosef Kahaneman. The Ponevezher Rav is the one who said, look at that word אחי achai. That is the answer to your question. He doesn't get beaten up because he first says אחי achai, you are my brothers, and that is what protects him. That is what protects him. Okay, I'm keeping an eye on the clock today. It's a new day. Okay, moving right along. So יעקב Yaakov meets רחל Rachel, he's very smitten, he's very taken by her, and he goes home with her to meet, to meet לבן Lavan. And we know the whole story. וישק יעקב לרחל Vayishak Yaakov l'Rachel, he kisses her, he cries. And he learns who she is, and they go and they tell her father. לבן Lavan hears, and he greets him. We have the whole story unfolding. Go to פרק כט פסוק יז Perek Chaf Tes Pasuk Yud Zayin. Chapter 29, verse 17, page 150. Now we're introduced to, וללבן שתי בנות u'l'Lavan shtei banos, לבן Lavan has two daughters. שם הגדולה לאה ושם הקטנה רחל shem ha'gedolah Leah v'shem ha'ketanah Rachel. The older one is לאה Leah, the younger one is רחל Rachel. And there's a lot of literature in הלכה halacha, believe it or not, about can a younger sibling get married before the older sibling? Must they honor the older sibling by waiting to get married? Is it הלכה halacha? Is it a מנהג minhag? We derive it from here. Must they delay and wait? Interesting discussions within the הלכה halacha. So two, two young women, לאה Leah the older, רחל Rachel the younger. Torah now tells us, ועיני לאה רכות v'einei Leah rakos, the eyes of לאה Leah are רכות rakos, ורחל היתה יפת תאר ויפת מראה v'Rachel haysah yefas to'ar v'yefas mar'eh. Her eyes were רכות rakos. Artscroll translates that, they were tender. While רחל Rachel was beautiful of form and beautiful of appearance. So לאה Leah is depicted here as being somewhat homely. לאה Leah is depicted as being somewhat unattractive, her eyes, and רחל Rachel, ah, רחל Rachel, she's beautiful. רחל Rachel is a beautiful young lady. So an amazing חתם סופר Chasam Sofer. Look at אונקלוס Unkelos. אונקלוס Unkelos says on the words ועיני לאה רכות v'einei Leah rakos, the eyes of לאה Leah are רכות rakos. What does אונקלוס Unkelos write? ועינין דלאה יאין v'einein d'Leah ya'in. ועינין דלאה יאין v'einein d'Leah ya'in, which means what? The eyes of לאה Leah are beautiful. Now רש\"י Rashi says, we're much more familiar with that. רש\"י Rashi says לאה's Leah's eyes were were teary. They were tender. שהיתה סבורה לעלות בגורלו של עשו הרשע ובוכה she'haysah svurah la'alos b'goralo shel Esav ha'rasha u'vocha. She thought that she was going to be paired with עשו Esav. She spent her entire childhood crying. She was broken. She cried all day and all night because she said this is my lot, this is my fortune, this is my שִׁדּוּךְ shidduch. This will be my partner with whom I grow old. These will be my children, they'll share his DNA. She did not stop crying. So the חתם סופר Chasam Sofer points out, it's a contradiction. Never noticed this before. It's a contradiction. On the one hand, אונקלוס Unkelos translates her eyes were beautiful. On the other hand, we all know the tradition, her eyes were ugly because she cried all day. They were teary and tender and red. Her eyes were unattractive because all she did was cry all day. So which is it? Was she beautiful or did she cry all day? So the חתם סופר Chasam Sofer says, listen to this. It's in סוכה דף נב עמוד א Sukkah daf Nun-Beis amud aleph, and in אורח חיים סימן תקנא סעיף ד Orach Chaim Siman Taf-Nun-Aleph se'if daled. And you'll ask, why would the חתם סופר Chasam Sofer, Moshe Sofer of Pressburg, why would he have this insight on the גמרא Gemara and on the שולחן ערוך Shulchan Aruch, why not in פרשת ויצא Parshas Vayeitzei? So listen carefully. This is fantastic. Says the חתם סופר Chasam Sofer, it's not a contradiction. לאה's Leah's eyes were tender from crying, and that is incredibly beautiful. That לאה Leah was so bothered that she'd be with an עשו Esav, that's beautiful. That's a beautiful thing. Because many would say, עשו Esav? Okay, so עשו's Esav's not the biggest מסמיד masmid in the class. עשו Esav didn't win the תלמיד חכם talmid chacham award, the בן תורה דרך ארץ Ben Torah Derech Eretz award. But עשו's Esav's a hunter. He's the man. You see the kind of car he drives? You see the clothing he wears? When he walks into a room, you see the power that he wields? So okay, that's my fortune, that's my lot. I'll live with him. לאה Leah cries. She says, such a רשע מרושע rasha merusha, משומד m'shumad, that's who I'm going to be matched with and paired with and live with. She can't stop crying. Says the חתם סופר Chasam Sofer, there's nothing more beautiful than that. It's a spiritually beautiful thing to be unhappy and dissatisfied by being exposed to anything less than righteousness. So it's very sad for לאה Leah, we'll talk about that in a moment, although thank God for לאה Leah it turns out pretty well. She ends up with יעקב Yaakov first. She ends up with the most children. She ends up, I've shared this before. לאה Leah, all she wants in the world is to be יעקב's Yaakov's wife. And רחל Rachel, all she wants in the world is to be a mother. And they both in this lifetime seem miserable not to have what they want, but if you think about them for eternity, for eternity לאה Leah is buried right next to יעקב Yaakov, and רחל Rachel is רחל אמנו Rachel Imeinu. In this world, neither got what they wanted right away. But for eternity, both got exactly what they want. רחל Rachel in perpetuity is רחל אמנו, אמא רחל Ima Rachel. She is the mother of the Jewish people. She is the ultimate mother, the ultimate mama. And לאה Leah for eternity is in מערת המכפלה Me'aras HaMachpela with יעקב Yaakov, not רחל Rachel. So in this world, neither seemed to get what they want, but for eternity, both get exactly what they want. So it turned out okay for לאה Leah, but she didn't know it. So she cried. She cried because she was spiritually dissatisfied. She spiritually had an ambition and a drive that she thought would never be met. She thought she was going to end up with עשו Esav. So she cried. And that in itself is beautiful. What does that have to do with סוכה Sukkah? What does that have to do with שולחן ערוך Shulchan Aruch? So says the חתם סופר Chasam Sofer, it's a huge חִדּוּשׁ chiddush. He says, what happens when an אתרוג esrog, an אתרוג esrog that has a blemish, an אתרוג esrog that looks worn out, is not מהודר mehuddr. It's not a beautiful אתרוג esrog, it's not an ideal אתרוג esrog, it won't sell for a lot of money. But what happens if the reason it got worn out is because of its usage? So the חתם סופר Chasam Sofer says, אם נשתנה בחג מחמת משמוש המצוה, הוא כשר im nishtaneh b'chag machmas mishmush hamitzvah, hu kosher. אדרבה, מעלתו גוברת Adaraba, ma'alaso goveres. He says though the שולחן ערוך Shulchan Aruch writes that an אתרוג esrog that is a different color before סוכות Sukkos is no good. An אתרוג esrog whose color changes on סוכות Sukkos because of its usage, not only is that not no good, that's such a beautiful אתרוג esrog. It's not nearly as pretty, but the reason it's not pretty is because it was being used for a מצוה mitzvah, that is pretty, that is beautiful. So לאה's Leah's eyes were homely because she had cried, but the reason she cried is because she couldn't bear to think she'd be with עשו Esav. That's beautiful. The אתרוג esrog which is worn out and changed colors, not because before סוכות Sukkos it was mishandled, but because on סוכות Sukkos it was used for a מצוה mitzvah, that is מהודר mehuddr. Isn't that beautiful? Isn't that a געשמאַק geshmak? The נודע ביהודה Noda B'Yehuda says the same thing on the הלכות halachos of shaving on חול המועד Chol HaMoed. The משנה Mishnah says that we don't shave on חול המועד Chol HaMoed, why? Because in the old days, you didn't shave every day. So you were rushing for the last few days before יום טוב Yom Tov to get ready. And on ערב יום טוב Erev Yom Tov you're rushing to get ready. And you didn't have time to shave. You said, you know what? I'm running in the door from work, no time. סוכות Sukkos not ready. פסח Pesach, מצה matzah is not not ready. I have no time. What's I going to, what am I going to cross off the list I can't do right now? Shave. חול המועד Chol HaMoed, I'm not working. חול המועד Chol HaMoed, I'll shave. So the הלכה halacha is, so that you don't enter the יום טוב Yom Tov מנוול menival, so as not to enter the יום טוב Yom Tov looking unshaven, unkempt, your הלכה halacha is that you're not allowed to shave on חול המועד Chol HaMoed. And by not being able to shave on חול המועד Chol HaMoed, then you'll shave before the יום טוב Yom Tov and you'll come into the יום טוב Yom Tov looking good. So they asked the נודע ביהודה Noda B'Yehuda, Rav Yechezkel Landau, okay, but now what about the last days of יום טוב Yom Tov? Now you come into the last days of יום טוב Yom Tov because you can't shave on חול המועד Chol HaMoed so that you'll shave for the first days, but now you come into the last days of of יום טוב Yom Tov, not shaving. Says the נודע ביהודה Noda B'Yehuda, there's nothing more beautiful than looking unshaven because you were honoring the first days of יום טוב Yom Tov. The same יסוד yesod. So this חִדּוּשׁ chiddush in the contradiction, אונקלוס Unkelos says לאה's Leah's eyes were beautiful. רש\"י Rashi says לאה's Leah's eyes were ugly, she didn't stop crying. It's a contradiction. חתם סופר Chasam Sofer says it's not a contradiction. They were ugly from crying, but the reason for her crying makes them beautiful. Says the חתם סופר Chasam Sofer, an אתרוג esrog which is worn out and changed colors from its usage for a מצוה mitzvah, nothing more beautiful. Being unshaven for the last days of יום טוב Yom Tov because you wanted to come into the first days of יום טוב Yom Tov looking shaven, nothing more beautiful. I'm much more excited apparently than any of you about this insight, but I think this is a fantastic insight with an incredible application in the הלכה halacha. It's really exciting. I love it. פרק כט פסוק כ Perek Chaf Tes Pasuk Chaf. Moving along. ויעבוד יעקב ברחל שבע שנים Vaya'avod Yaakov b'Rachel sheva shanim, ויהיו בעיניו כימים אחדים באהבתו אותה vayihyu v'einav k'yamim achadim b'ahavaso osah. This is also a famous idea. Rav Eliyahu Lopian in his לב אליהו Lev Eliyahu says, what do you mean? It says that יעקב Yaakov worked for רחל Rachel seven more years and they went by like a few days. It's the opposite. When you're excited and looking forward to something, I finally today booked my trip to ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael in December, במרצה השם b'mirtzeh Hashem. Can't wait to go. I haven't been in two years. It's the longest I've gone since my year in Israel, not being in Israel. Aside from the fact that I have children and grandchildren in Israel, I'm desperate to go. I'm so excited. So it's December, it's a month away. It's torturous. Every day is going to feel like a thousand years until I can go. So what does it mean that יעקב Yaakov worked for רחל Rachel seven more years and they went flying by like they were a few days? What does that mean? So Rav Eliyahu Lopian says, if you're doing something for you, then the time that it takes to get there feels like forever. But if what you're doing is for the other person, then time flies by even while you have to wait to do it. And he gives a משל mashal. He says, you know, a person says, I love fish. I love fish. I love salmon, I love uh, sea bass. I love sea bass. I love fish. Says Rav Lopian, you don't love fish. If you love fish, you throw it back in the sea. You love you. That's why you killed the fish and it's sitting on your plate. You don't love the fish. So when you say I love fish, don't say I love fish. Say I love my stomach. I love my בויך boich. I love my taste buds. Fish is what allows me to satisfy my בויך boich and my taste buds. אין אוהב את הדבר אלא אוהב את עצמו Ein ohav es hadavar ela ohav es atzmo. תורתנו הקדושה, תורת אמת היא Toraseinu ha'kedosha, Toras emes hi. כשהתורה אומרת שאדם אוהב, פירוש הדבר שבאמת אוהב את השני k'she'haTorah omeres she'adam ohev, peirush ha'davar she'b'emes ohev es ha'sheini. So when the תורה Torah says that ויהיו בעיניו כימים אחדים באהבתו אותה v'yihyu v'einav k'yamim achadim b'ahavaso osah, יעקב Yaakov didn't love himself. I love myself, and I really like being around רחל Rachel. So because I love myself and I want to be around רחל Rachel, I'll work seven more years, but now it feels like forever. באהבתו אותה b'ahavaso osah, I love her, means I really love her, which means that every moment of work that I'm putting in is for her. So because what I'm doing is selfless is for her, it goes flying by. It goes flying by. When we're doing it for us, time goes in slow motion. When we're doing it for the other, time can go flying by as it did in this פרשה parsha, making us out of time. I'll tell you one other thing. We're out of time, ממש mamash. So sad because I wanted to walk you through the whole... I will save it for next year, but I want to walk you through the whole following. You know, לאה Leah, when ראובן Reuven comes in with the דודאים dudaim, ראובן Reuven collects these something that grows out in the field that has a fertility benefit. And רחל Rachel says, ooh, that's a fertility drug in it. Let me have some. And לאה Leah turns to רחל Rachel and says the most absurd thing of all time. המעט קחתך את אישי ha'me'at kach'tech es ishi, it's not enough that you took my husband, now you want to take my flower bouquet? And how does רחל Rachel respond? If I'm רחל Rachel, you know what I do? I punch לאה Leah in the nose, literally or metaphorically. I finally blow it. I finally lose it. That's the straw that breaks my back because I say, are you kidding me? I took your husband? Do you know what I gave up? Do you know how long I waited? Do you know how far I went to give the סימנים simanim? Are you crazy? Are you kidding me? Does רחל Rachel say that? What does she say instead? She says nothing. There's an amazing מדרש Midrash that talks about the merit of שתיקה shtikah, of saying nothing, of being quiet, of being צנועה tzanua, of keeping it to ourselves. But I'll share with you next year, there's a lot of evidence and there's a lot of beautiful insights that come out from... the fact and the likelihood that Leah probably never knew that רחל Rochel was supposed to go first. Leah probably never knew. How could she never know? יעקב Yaakov certainly never told her. Who else never told her? רחל Rochel probably never told her that she gave the סימנים simanim. Probably never told her that she really was the number two pick in the draft. She probably never ever told her. And that's why Leah could say that and that's why רחל Rochel could not react. And there's a lot of insights that come out this way. So I'll share, I'll close just by sharing with you one.The next פסוק pasuk in the פרשה parsha, ל' lamed says, וַיֶאֱהַב גַם אֶת רָחֵל מִלֵאָה vaye'ehav gam es Rochel mi'Leah. יעקב Yaakov loves רחל Rochel, מִלֵאָה mi'Leah. So the simple טייטש teitch, the simple understanding is, יעקב Yaakov loves רחל Rochel more than he loves Leah. But listen to what Rav Avraham Chaim of Zlotshev says, the אורח לחיים Orach L'Chaim. He says, and I thank my friend Ari Merzel for this, Rabbi Ari Merzel, אהבתו לרחל נבעה מהתנהגותה המופלאה כלפי לאה, שמסרה לה הסימנים כדי שלא תתבייש Ahavaso l'Rochel nav'a me'hisnahagusa hamufla klapei Leah, shemasra la ha'simanim kedei shelo tisboshesh. וַיֶאֱהַב גַם אֶת רָחֵל מִלֵאָה Vaye'ehav gam es Rochel mi'Leah. What made him fall in love with רחל Rochel is from Leah. From the fact that רחל Rochel gave the סימנים simanim, from the fact that רחל Rochel never told Leah, made רחל Rochel the most attractive person on earth.Why did יעקב Yaakov fall in love? Because of her picture on the resume? Because of her father's bank account? Because of the יחוס yichus? No. You know why יעקב Yaakov fell in love with רחל Rochel? וַיֶאֱהַב גַם אֶת רָחֵל מִלֵאָה Vaye'ehav gam es Rochel, mi'Leah. Not more than Leah, but מִלֵאָה mi'Leah. From the way רחל Rochel interacted with Leah, מִלֵאָה mi'Leah. From the way רחל Rochel interacted with Leah, וַיֶאֱהַב vaye'ehav. That's what made him fall in love. Her מידות טובות middos tovos, her character, her quality, her צניעות tznius, her modesty, her humility, her unparalleled חסד chesed. מִלֵאָה Mi'Leah, from what she didn't tell Leah, that's what made him attracted to her. That's what it means to be attractive to others. A lot to learn about שידוכים shidduchim, about חסד chesed, about marriage. But alas, yet again, we are out of time.Text 22828, REG, the letters REG to 22828. You'll be signed up to get the פרשה parsha notes in your inbox as well as our newsletter. Join us tomorrow morning, 10 minutes of meaning, מסילת ישרים Mesilas Yesharim. Women are invited to living with אמונה emunah. Great coffee and snacks. Living with אמונה emunah, 8:45 in the social hall. Tomorrow night we go behind the בימה bima with Jamie Geller. And have a fantastic day. Stay happy, stay healthy.
