Transcript
Good morning, *boker tov*, welcome back to *Parsha* Perspectives for today. I want to thank as always our generous series sponsors, Becky and Avi Katz and family, in memory of David Grossman. Our learning should be *l'ilui nishmas* דוד בן מנחם מנדל. This morning's *shiur* is also dedicated for a *refuah shleima* of a dear friend of mine, רב נתנאל בן מירו. Should have a speedy, painless, and complete *refuah shleima*. Please keep him in your thoughts and in your *tefilos*, *Natanel ben Miro*. We should hear, *b'ezrat Hashem*, good news. There is no *shiur*, we're off next week. There are plenty of *shiurim* from previous years you could listen to online, or plenty of other phenomenal *magidei shiur* you could listen to online, but we're going to be traveling next week and therefore, there is no live, new *shiur* next week. So I just want to announce that in advance. Page 170, *Parshas Vayishlach*. The narrative, the story that we're so familiar with, we know so well, continues to unfold. And no matter how well we know it, nevertheless it still grips us. The story of our Torah, story of *Yakov*, the dreaded reunion with his brother *Esav*, that he is in fact so nervous and even anxious about, which is unusual. We'll see in a moment why a *tzaddik* who trusts in *Hashem* and has that promise should be nervous or anxious. But we along with him, even though we know how the story ends, but we read *Parshas Vayishlach*, and as the story unfolds, we live it, we feel it yet again. וישלח יעקב מלאכים לפניו אל עשו אחיו ארצה שעיר שדה אדום. So *Yakov*, after 22 years of separation, alienation, 22 years of running and being on the road, he's now ready to reunite with his brother. But before he does, because of those concerns, he makes some preparations. He does some advanced legwork. And *Chazal*, our rabbis, tell us he does three things: He sends gifts, he davens, of course, to *Hashem*, and he prepares for the worst. He hopes for the best, but prepares for the worst. So he makes plans for *milchama*. He girds his army, his family, to be able to go to battle if it will be necessary. So the first thing he does is he sends *malachim*. He sends angels. *Rashi* tells us these are *malachim mamash*. He sends angels, real angels, in order to impress and to terrify *Esav*, to let him know who he is, where he comes from, what's going on. *Esav* shouldn't think he has the upper hand. He sends *malachim mamash*, he sends literal angels. *Vayetzav osam leimor*, and he commands them, and he says, כה תאמרון לאדני לעשו. This is what you should tell my master *Esav*. כה אמר עבדך יעקב עם לבן גרתי, *v'echar ad ata*. The reason I haven't come sooner, my dear brother *Esav*, the reason I haven't made amends, the reason I haven't made an effort to reconcile or reunite sooner is I've been preoccupied. Why and where have I been preoccupied? *Im Lavan garti*. I've been living with *Lavan*, *v'echar ad ata*, so that made me delayed. ויהי לי שור וחמור צאן ועבד ושפחה. We're up to, we're on page 170. I've sojourned with *Lavan*. I've acquired oxen and donkeys, flocks, servants, maidservants, and I'm sending to tell my Lord to find favor in your eyes. וישובו המלאכים אל יעקב. They come back and they say, באנו אל אחיך אל עשו, indeed we came, we approached your brother *Esav*. וגם הולך לקראתך וארבע מאות איש עמו. And here's the news: he's heading towards you and he's got 400 men with him. So *Yakov* makes this gesture: So sorry, I was delayed, I love you, I would have been here earlier. Oh, here are some gifts, here are some wonderful things. And what do they report back? Yeah, he's also making his way towards you, and he's got 400 armed men with him. So what's *Yakov's* reaction, understandably? *Vayira Yakov meod*, *vayetzer lo*. *Yakov's* frightened. He's distressed, he's anxious, but he does something about it. ויחץ את העם אשר אתו ואת הצאן ואת הבקר והגמלים לשני מחנות. He divides his people, his, his entourage, his family into two camps. So let's get started. Let's understand these *psukim*. It's an amazing thing. We learn the same and read the same words each and every year, but there are so many new and more marvelous and amazing and timely and timeless insights that are relevant specifically for us in that new year, what we individually and collectively are going through. The Torah is talking to us. The *parsha* we read on any given week is not a coincidence or chance. It was designed and it has messages specifically for us in that time. So says, we'll start with Rav Shlomo Halter, the great *Gerer Rosh Yeshiva*. כה אמר עבדך יעקב עם לבן גרתי. So said your servant, this is the message *Yakov* sends these angels to tell *Esav*. *Im Lavan garti*, I've been living with *Lavan*. What does *Rashi* tell us? *Im Lavan garti*. *Rashi* has two *perushim*, two interpretations. לא נעשיתי שר וחשוב. ela ger. First one is, Eisav relax. Eisav, you're worried I stole the bracha and included in the bracha was, I was going to rise to prominence, to prestige, to power. Don't worry, never happened. The bracha wasn't fulfilled. I'm not a sar v'chashuv. I'm not an officer, a diplomat, I'm not royalty. I'm just a ger. I'm just a wanderer, I'm just sojourning. אין לך כדי לשנוא על ברכת אביך שברכני הווה גביר לאחיך. Don't be jealous of me that I stole the bracha in which our father said that I would rise to be a g'vir. If you want to know where that word comes from. It's a new professional ambition in our time. Young people want to sign up. What track are they on? I want to be a g'vir. What's a g'vir? The g'vir culture hasn't really hit Boca yet, Baruch Hashem. What's a g'vir? If you don't know, learn it. If you know, you know. But haveh g'vir l'achicha. So the promise was Yitzchak gave Yaakov a promise, you're going to be a g'vir. You're going to be a big shot, you're going to be wealthy, you're going to be a source of power, you're going to be a source of influence. You're going to be a g'vir. You're gonna be going to be a g'vir. That's all interpretation number one. So number one is, Yaakov sends a message to Eisav, lest you think I stole the bracha and it's been fulfilled in our 22 year absence. And now I'm walking around a big g'vir, I'm walking around a big hotshot. Nah, I'm a ger. I wander, it hasn't happened, I haven't risen to that level. Number two. עם לבן הרשע גרתי ותרי\"ג מצוות שמרתי ולא למדתי ממעשיו הרעים. Or interpretation number two says Rashi is, im Lavan garti, I lived with Lavan, v'taryag mitzvos shamarti, but I observed all 613 mitzvos. I was living in the den of iniquity. I was living in the backyard of the wicked evil Lavan, but it never rubbed off on me. He had no influence over me. I never compromised an iota on who I am or how I lived. Taryag mitzvos shamarti. I observed all, I observed all taryag, all six, 613. ולא למדתי ממעשיו הרעים. These are the two interpretations of Rashi. Says Rav Shalita, there are several questions that arise. First, Yaakov is trying to appease his brother by saying, relax, don't worry. Tati's bracha, Aba's bracha, our father's blessing, it never happened, it never came true. I didn't become a g'vir, I'm just a ger. Whoa. Isn't that denigrating their father? Don't worry, our father's not so big, his bracha didn't come true. In order to protect yourself, because of the fear that you're living in from your brother, now you're going to knock down your father? What disrespect to Yitzchak. How could Yaakov express such words? Don't worry, the bracha didn't come true. Secondly, secondly, why would that calm Eisav down? The fact remains that Yaakov stole the bracha from Eisav. Fact remains, for 22 years, they've been absent, they haven't reconciled, he hasn't made it right, he hasn't made amends. So the fact that the bracha didn't come true for you would make Eisav feel better that you stole them? You still have a lot of possessions. You've still been blessed with great wealth. So why would this appease Eisav? Question number three, Rashi's wording is uncharacteristically lengthy. What is Rashi getting at? What is Rashi trying to convey? In fact, these are the questions of the Gerrer Rosh Yeshiva of Sha'alot. So he quotes from the Sefer Minei Targima, Rav Yeshaya Pick who explains Rashi's choice of expression. Haveh g'vir l'achicha, you need not hate me. Don't hate me for taking the bracha haveh g'vir l'achicha, since it wasn't fulfilled bi, in me. Rashi's wording, it was not fulfilled in me, lo niskama bi. What was not fulfilled? lo niskama bi, you could read to mean it was not fulfilled bi, in me, or, listen to this creative reading, or you could read, what was not fulfilled? Bi. The letters beis yud. The beis yud, that was what was not fulfilled. What was not fulfilled was bi. What do you mean bi? When the letters beis yud are removed from g'vir, what do you have left? Haveh g'vir l'achicha, the promise was I would be a great g'vir over you. Don't worry, lo niskama bi. The beis yud of g'vir were not fulfilled. If you remove beis yud, what do you have left? Gimel reish, ger. Yaakov was saying instead of g'vir l'achicha, he remained only a ger. I didn't rise to become a g'vir. I remained only a ger. But still, isn't he denigrating his father? Isn't it disrespectful to suggest the bracha of his father wasn't fulfilled? fulfilled, lo niskama bi, the beis yud of gvir didn't happen, I'm just a ger. So says the Gerer Rosh Hashiva we can understand it better based on the Ramban. The Ramban explains that Esav spurned the bechora because to him, all that mattered, Esav lived in a world of here and now. Bechora, the firstborn was about destiny, was about a future, what was about what was to come, was about continuity, was about generations. It was about the future. This is the character trait of Esav and all reshaim, they live only in the moment. There is no thought for the future. In fact, Lavan on the etymology of Lavan's name, we didn't say this last week, we could have. The etymology of Lavan's name is lo ben. Lavan doesn't live for continuity, children, grandchildren, a future, building, transmitting, growing. Lavan is lo ben. He's not concerned for a future, for what is to come. He's not planning, investing, planting, molding, shaping, transmitting. Lavan's lo ben, he's here and now. What's in it for me? What do I get out of it? Where's my pleasure? Carpe diem, seize the moment. That's Lavan and that's also Esav. In fact, that's Esav's very name. The mefarshim describe when they're born, Yaakov and Esav, Yaakov is an akev, a heel. When a person takes steps, what touches the ground first? The heel of the foot. First he steps with the heel. Yaakov is growing, walking, progressing, moving, advancing. He's always, he's not a finished product. He's not done. Yaakov is, the best is yet to come. Esav in contrast, Esav on the other hand, Esav mi'lashon asui. Esav's a finished product. What you see is what you get. Esav was born that way. Esav was born that way. You know, thanks to AI, you could do anything today. So somebody created on AI and I saw it in my family WhatsApp group, it was a meme or jif, I don't know the difference, but two babies in a double stroller, they looked exactly the same, but one was ruddy, covered in red hair and one looked like a baby. Right, they used AI. How did Yaakov and Esav these twins? Esav we know came out fully developed, like a mature adult. He already had a beard, he was already covered in hair. Why? Because physically was reflective of spiritually, emotionally, Esav is asui. He's done, he's complete, he's a finished product. What you see is what you get. There won't be any progress. He's not going to advance. We said this last week from the Meshech Chochma. Remember we said beautiful insight from the Meshech Chochma. After Yaakov takes leave of Lavan, Lavan shav l'imkomo. Lavan goes back to his place. V'Yaakov halach l'darko. Yaakov goes on to the derech. And the Meshech Chochma said, contrast the two. Lavan, after all those years of living with the tzadik, after all those years of living with the righteous Yaakov, he's unchanged. He's not influenced. He's not impacted. Where does he return to? L'imkomo. My place, this is who I am, what you see is what you get. I am the same way I was 13 years old. I'm stuck, I'm fixed, this is how I daven, this is how I learn, this is my patience, this is my generosity, this is my attention span, these are my life goals, this is it. What you see is what you get, this is who I am, I'm fixed, I'm a finished product. What Carol Dweck would say is the fixed mindset. Halach l'imkomo, he's back right in the place, his default, that's where he started, that's where he'll end, that's where he is all the time in between. Yaakov in contrast goes l'darko, l'darko. Yaakov's back on the derech. What's a derech? Derech is a path. Yaakov, that's his name. Footsteps, puts down his heel. He's walking, he's progressing, he's advancing, he's changing. What Carol Dweck would call not a fixed mindset, but a growth mindset. A growth mindset is, doesn't matter how old, how young, what stage of life, retired, working, always growing, always learning, always advancing. Esav is asui. Esav is asui. What is made, whatever exists in the present, is all that counts. That's not Yaakov. Yaakov, our essence is that olam hazeh, this world, is an entrance way to the banquet hall that the Mishna in Pirkei Avos describes. So our stay in this world, you can operate and live in this world with one of two mentalities. Either, I've moved in permanently, this is all there is, I've unpacked, I'm here to stay, this is all that exists, this is my identity, this is what I live for. Or, or you can enjoy this world and all that it has to offer with the recognition, I'm only here temporarily. I'm just passing through. A person goes to a hotel, a person goes to a resort. So, they don't necessarily fully unpack. They don't start making adjustments to the decor because they say I'm only here temporarily. I'm going to enjoy it. I'm going to maximize it. I'm going to take out of it everything I can. I'm going to take advantage of all of the amenities, but I'm just here temporarily. I'm just here, just passing through. So the tzadik, Yaakov Avinu, who lives life in this world, I'm a ger. I'm a stranger, I'm a sojourner, I'm a traveler. I'm just passing through. I'm a temporary resident. Esav says, I've moved in. This is all there is. There is nothing more. So I'm here permanently. And that's the message Hashem conveyed to Yitzchak when he said, גור בארץ הזאת ואהיה עמך. Hashem says to Yitzchak, Ger, gur, sojourn in this land and I'll be with you. And the Erech Shai explains based on a pasuk in Tehillim. גר אנכי בארץ אל תסתר ממני מצותיך. I am a sojourner in the world, hide not your commandments from me. Why would David's status as a ger especially enable him to understand Hashem's mitzvos? So the Degel Machaneh Ephraim, the Degel Machaneh Ephraim explains that one shares one's inner thoughts and feelings only with a close friend. A person passing through a town doesn't bear his heart to the citizen of the town. He only bears his heart to someone who's traveling with him. Somebody who's traveling, somebody who's on a journey, someone who is sojourning, they pass through a town, they meet someone, nice to meet you. We could have a coffee, we could check in, we can make small talk. I'm not letting you into the inner most secrets of my heart. But somebody you travel with, someone you go on a journey with, someone you're vulnerable to, someone you make your way through this world with, that's who you are vulnerable enough to share with. So David HaMelech was expressing that although he resides in olam hazeh, although he's living in this world, he's doing so with the mentality, the attitude of a ger. I'm just traveling. I'm just traveling. So Hashem k'vyachol is his travel partner. Hashem is his travel mate. They're going through the world together. Hashem's Shechina is hidden and has no one to rest upon. Since I, Dovid, am only a ger, and you Hashem are traveling, you have no one to rest, so we'll we'll go together. אל תסתר ממני מצותיך. We're in it, we're in it together. And that the Erech Shai says, that's Hashem's message to Yitzchak. גור בארץ הזאת ואהיה עמך. If you move in permanently, I'm not with you. But if you're going to bring the mentality of somebody who's traveling and journeying and we're doing it together, then eheyeh imach, I'm with you. I am with you. So now we understand Yaakov's message to Esav. Don't hate me because I took the brachos. I've not become a gvir in olam hazeh. Lo nitkayma bi. The beis yud didn't happen. Not because our father's bracha didn't come true. Such a beautiful pshat. R' Shlomo Alter the Gerer Rosh Yeshiva. It's not denigrating or disrespecting Yitzchak. Yaakov's not saying our father's bracha was impotent and didn't come true. What he's saying is, despite the bracha, look at all the wealth, look at the influence. I'm an influencer. But it never went to my head and it's not my mentality. Lo nitkayma bi. I didn't embrace being a gvir. I don't aspire to be a gvir. You know who I am and what I am? You know how I identify? My life is as a ger, not a gvir. The brachos are not fulfilled in me. They've not taken place in my essence. I haven't moved in permanently. I live as a ger recognizing all of this is temporary. It's only for the here and now. This is not what I live for. I don't live for today. I live for tomorrow. I don't live for the here and now. I live for eternity and immortality. Yes, I'm enjoying all this. It's wonderful. It's delicious. It's fantastic. But it's not who I am. So the brachos come true, it's fulfilled. Our father knows what he's doing, but I'm not a gvir, I'm a ger. Lo nitkayma bi. The beis yud of gvir, it hasn't impacted, it hasn't shaped or molded my essence. Unlike you, my brother Esav, who's asui, you're the here and now. All you wish and long for, all you want to be in your essence is a gvir. I'm a ger. I'm a ger. And the message is clear, says the Gerer Rosh Yeshiva, we have to follow Yaakov's path and view our existence in this world as transient, as temporary. Enjoy all the amenities. Enjoy everything the hotel has to offer. It's wonderful. It's fantastic. Use the mini bar if you want to way overpay for a chocolate bar. Enjoy it all. Enjoy it all. But never confuse the hotel with your permanent permanent residence. Enjoy it all, but realize you're only here temporarily. The bracha is fulfilled, but if we want eheyeh imach, then we have to bring a gur. gur ba'aretz hazos. We have to bring that mentality. So three questions the Gara Rashiva asked on Rashi, and his answer answers all three so beautifully. It's not denigrating his father at all. The bracha was in fact achieved, but lo niskama bi, not in me, says Yaakov, I'm not a gvir, I'm a geir. Don't aspire to be a gvir. The gvir thinks, my whole identity is intertwined with what I have. My identity is intertwined with how I live and my lifestyle. My identity is intertwined by my fame and my fortune. Says Yaakov, you can have all those things, but don't aspire to be a gvir, aspire to be a geir. A fantastic insight of the Gara Rashiva. The Tiferes Yisrael of Rav Shmuel also has a beautiful insight. Says Rav Shmuel Berenbaum, Rosh Yeshiva of the Mir Brooklyn. Vayitzav osam leimor, ko somrun, this is what you should say, im Lavan garti. Tzarich biur. כשيعקב פגש את עשיו. He's bothered by a question. Any of you bothered by this? What does Yaakov tell the malachim? He tells these angels. Vayitzav osam, he commands them. Ko somrun, this is what you should say to, to whom? No. Look at the pasuk. This is what you should say to, what's the word before Esav? It's an open book test. Don't be shy. What's the word before Esav? L'adoni l'Esav. What does adoni mean? My master. My master. My master is like God, Esav. Asks Rav Shmuel Berenbaum, a very compelling question. I understand when Yaakov actually reunites with Esav, when he's standing opposite Esav, and he wants to inflate Esav's ego, build him up, appease him, win him over, so he calls them these wonderful flattering names, adoni. But why does he need to do it now? Right now Yaakov's just talking to the malachim. When you go to, just call him Esav. We all know what you think about him. So why does he call him adoni Esav to the malachim? Why does he refer to him as my master, the God-like Esav? Okay, if that's how you feel you have to speak, if you have to make that concession and speak in that way when you meet him, that's one thing. But in advance, that's how you have to speak to the malachim who are going to talk to him? It makes no sense. כשהוא מדבר עם המלאכים בינו לבין עצמו, מה שהיה צריך לומר לעשו בשביל מה צריך גם אז להתבטא בלשון חנופה, כה תאמרון לאדוני לעשו. L'chora haya lomar, ko somrun l'Esav. He should have said, or afilu lomar, asks Rav Shmuel Berenbaum, he should have told the malachim, כה תאמרון לעשו הרשע. This is what you should tell my wicked, evil, oisvarf brother Esav. If he's being honest with the angels, say how you really feel about Esav. Why are you building him up? Why are you, why are you surrendering to him, submitting to him, adoni l'Esav. So listen to what he answers. Yesh lomar, על פי דברי הגמרא מסכת יבמות. The Gemara Yevamos דף קיז says, שמביא הפסוק כמים הפנים לפנים כן לב האדם לאדם. The Gemara learns from that pasuk that just like when a person looks into a body of water, you look into a puddle, you look into a river, when you look into a body of water, what do you see? Your reflection. Just like the water gives you your reflection, so too the heart reflects what's in the other person's heart. כן לב האדם לאדם. Says Rashi, כדכסיב כמים הפנים לפנים, כמים הללו שאדם צופה בהם מראים לו פנים כפניו, אם שוחק משחקות לו ואם עקם עקומות, כן לב האדם לאדם אחר שאוהבו זה, גם הוא אוהבו, ומי ששונאו זה גם הוא שונאו. A person's heart is a reflection of the other person's heart. You get what you put in. Our heart is a reflection of the other. המים הם כעין מראה, water reflects, and hearts reflect. וממילא ידע יעקב שכדי להשיב חמת ושנאת עשו אחיו מעליו, in order to remove his brother's anger and hatred for him, צריך הוא תחילה להסיר מלבו כל שנאה שיש לו על עשו. When they're going to meet up, when they're going to unite and reunite, if Yaakov aspires that Esav will no longer hate him, he needs to first remove the hatred for his brother from his heart. Because how can Esav not reciprocate hate to Yaakov if what he's picking up from Yaakov, the energy, the vibes, the messaging, the signal that he's getting from Yaakov is hate? You want the other person to stop hating on you? Stop hating on them. Because k'mayim panim l'panim, their heart will reflect what's in yours. And if you want to remove the hate from another person's heart, first start by removing it from yours. Start by removing it from yours. צריך הוא תחילה להסיר מלבו כעסו שיש לו על עשיו ולשכוח את כל הטענה שהיו לו עליו. He has to get over, move past, whatever grievances he has against his brother. שמחמת שעשו יצטרך לברוח, here he is bitter that he had to run away, he had to leave his father's home all because of Esav. ולצאת מתחת יד אביו ואמו. He had to abandon his parents for more than 20 years and to live in the house of Lavan. He's got a long list of grievances against his brother. Work them out, work them through. By the time you get an audience with your brother, come with a full heart. Come with a clean heart, come with a clean slate. Because if you want your brother to abandon the hate for you, then you have to first remove the hate for him. Kemayim hapanim lapanim. How does he do that? Even though he's not talking to Esav, he's only talking to the malachim, he calls him Adoni Esav. You see? I let go. I've moved on. I've healed. I'm okay. I've reconciled. So much so I can demonstrate it that I don't just call him Esav ha'rasha. This is what you should tell my wicked oisvarf, evil brother. He says this is what you should say to Adoni Esav. Because I worked it through. I can call him Adoni Esav. I'm good to go, my heart is pure and clean. I'm ready to see Esav, because if he's looking into my heart, you know what reflection he's going to see? He's going to see I'm good to go. I've let it go and we're good now, and we're good now. And that's why he calls him Adoni Esav, even though he's not talking to Esav directly, he's only talking to the malachim, talking to the angels. Rav Druck, also on this pasuk, I promise we're going to move on, but also on this pasuk. Rav Druck wonders something different. We began by mentioning that Rashi quotes two peirushim, two interpretations in im Lavan garti. What are the two interpretations? Number one, don't be jealous of me that our father gave me a bracha I'm going to be a gvir. I never became a gvir, I'm just a ger. Pshat number two, im Lavan garti, taryag mitzvos shamarti. I've observed all taryag, I kept all 613, Lavan had no influence. I didn't compromise, I wasn't corrupted, he had no influence. Taryag mitzvos shamarti. Taryag mitzvos shamarti. Wonders Rav Druck in his L'Avos Eish, why does Rashi need to bring two interpretations? This is a pedagogic question. Whenever Rashi brings more than one interpretation, ask yourself, why? Why wasn't he satisfied with the first one? Why did he feel compelled to offer or to bring a second one? So this is how he answers. בתפילתו של יעקב לקראת המלחמה עם עשו. When Yaakov offers a prayer in anticipation of reuniting with his brother, mispalel mei'Hashem, he davens and mevakesh. This is pasuk yud beis, we didn't read it yet. הצילני נא מיד אחי מיד עשו. Save me from מיד אחי מיד עשו. Save me from my brother, save me from Esav. ועמדו על כך רבותינו זכרונם לברכה למה הוצרך יעקב אבינו לכפול בדבריו לומר מיד אחי מיד עשו. The rabbis already wondered, why did Yaakov need to duplicate? Save me from my brother, save me... we know who your brother is, it's Esav. Either call him your brother or call him Esav, you don't need to be redundant and call him both. ודאי שמתפלל להינצל מיד עשו אחיו. רק אח אחד היה לו. He has only one brother. It's not that there is so many brothers, in case you're confused, save me from my brother, oh which one? Esav. He only has one. He only has one. דהיממא אח מובן שהכוונה לעשו כמו כן היממא עשו, we know it's his brother. There weren't more than one Esav in this world. There weren't a lot of people with the same name. So it's not that Yaakov had to be specific from my brother, from Esav. He only has one brother, it's Esav. There is only one Esav and it's his brother. So it is entirely repetitive. So just say one description of the other, why both? So the Beis HaLevi, the great Beis HaLevi famously answers, ישנם שני דרכים מצד אויבי ישראל לעקור את הכל. Our enemies have two methodologies, two ways with which they attack. Our enemies try to defeat us and destroy us and eliminate us in two ways. יש אופן של הריגת הגוף. October 7th, pogroms, inquisitions, a Holocaust, antisemitic attacks. One is physical violence. They try to murder, they try to exterminate, they try to eliminate. ויש אופן נוסף של הריגת הרוח. And the second way is they try to get us to assimilate. They try to kill our spirit and our soul, our distinctiveness and our uniqueness. They try to get us from both. I remember once on one of the trips leading March of the Living to Poland, someone shared with me that that their parent who was a survivor reflected and said, in Europe, they killed us with hate. In America, they're killing us with love. Now that love is also mixed. a little hate. But before a couple of years ago, we could have said, looking at the data and statistics about assimilation and intermarriage, they're welcoming us with open arms and they're killing us not with hate, but with love. יעקב התפלל להצלו מעשיו מצד שתי בחינות הללו. Says the Beis Halevi, why did Yaakov invoke both names when he davened to Hashem to be spared? Because he's asking Hashem, protect me and spare me from whichever method my brother takes against me. הצילני נא מיד אחי מיד עשיו כפירוש שאם יבוא עשיו כאיש מרושע וחושב לשפוך נפשו. If he's going to present himself as an Eisav, if it's going to be an antisemitic attack, if he's coming at me with a knife, with a gun, with an RPG, if he's coming at me with an anti-tank missile, protect me. Zachah Yaakov b'tfillah. Mai'idach, im yavo Eisav k'ach, and if he's coming at me like a brother, and he says, come with me, live like me, abandon your lifestyle, intermarry with my children, save me from that too. Save me from that too. I've written and spoken, I honestly, genuinely feel guilty that I haven't done more, and all of us should. As alarmed as we all are, as alarmed and startled as we all are, by the spike and rise in antisemitism, the danger and threat it poses pales in comparison to assimilation and intermarriage. We are wiping ourselves away. Wiping ourselves away. The intermarriage rate is nearing 70%, certainly if you take the Orthodox out, and it's crept into the Orthodox too. The intermarriage assimilation rate is off the charts. We are destroying ourselves at a far greater rate and clip than our enemies could ever dream of. There aren't 70%, there aren't attacks that are killing 70% of the Jews. And yet, intermarriage is capturing 70% of our people. There is a double dual threat. Miyad achi, miyad Eisav. Which one is more pernicious? Which one is more dangerous? Which one is more successful? Miyad achi. When when our, so to say, enemy are presenting as brothers, assimilate, integrate, you're welcome, melting pot, join us, marry our children. That's far, far more dangerous statistically right now than when our enemies come as miyad Eisav. Miyad Eisav. Just look at the numbers. They don't necessarily make the same headlines. The 70% intermarriage rate, we've sort of just adjusted to it. We've accepted it. We shouldn't. We have to remain maladjusted to it. We have to do everything we can to fight it. We love our brothers and sisters. We have to influence and move the needle however and however much we can. But the 70% intermarriage rate, the assimilation rate, far, far, far surpasses however many incidents of antisemitism there are. That's not to minimize or dismiss the danger of antisemitism, but it is to recognize that it pales in comparison. Miyad achi, miyad Eisav. A dual and double threat, and that's why Yaakov davens both. Hashem hatzileini na, save me from antisemitism, save me even more from assimilation. I worry about my children, each of us should feel, my grandchildren, can they walk safely? Can they wear a yarmulke? Antisemitism in the diaspora, antisemitism in Israel. Seven countries were at war with it. Eight, nine, 10 million people ran in and out of bomb shelters for two years because of it. That also is antisemitism, countries and nations at war. So we daven, Hashem, keep our children and grandchildren, keep us safe. Hatzileini na miyad Eisav, but also Hatzileini na miyad achi. Save me from assimilation when he presents as a brother to assimilate. אחר שתפילתו אינו יועיל רק לשעתו אלא לדורות אנו מתפללים. And says Rav Druk, this was not only temporarily for that time, this is a refrain, this is part of what we daven in each and every generation. Miyad achi, miyad Eisav. We're worried about both elements, both dangers, and both threats, and both threats. And he quotes ומרגלא בפומיה דאינשי, and it's in the mouths of people, שיותר חללים פעלה אמריקה מאשר כל המוסלמים. America has done more to defeat, to eliminate our people than all radical Islam. כיון שאמריקה מחכים ומקרבים ושמים לו פנים. Since America welcomes with open arms, assimilate, integrate, marry in, welcome, so many have fallen, so many have disappeared, so many have ended that chain, ended that chain. Al pi zeh, says, based on this Rav Druk, Vayira Yaakov me'od. *vayitzer lo*. We did read that *Yaakov*, when the angels come back and report, oh yeah, *Eisav*'s on his way to you too. And by the way, he's coming with 400 armed men. You are Master *Yaakov*, you sent us to make these gestures of love and affection, and reconciliation, and brotherhood. But your brother's on his way, he's got 400 armed men. And how does *Yaakov* feel? וירא יעקב מאד ויצר לו. *Yaakov* is afraid, and he becomes very anxious. Why the double language? So both. This is the parallel. מצד אחד היה יעקב ירא מהמחנה מעשו. He's afraid, have to go to war, put on a uniform, grab a gun, drive a tank, fly a plane. He's worried. *Sheyahargenu*. He's worried that *Eisav*'s going to kill him, his children. But *vayitzer lo*, he is also anxious. What's he anxious about? Maybe he's going to weaken us spiritually. Maybe my family is going to assimilate and integrate and they're going to lose the passion for *Yiddishkeit*. So there's a double language in the prayer, הצילני נא מיד אחי מיד עשו. There's a double language in the reaction, וירא יעקב ויצר לו, and based on this, Rav Druk is going to explain his question. Why does Rashi have two interpretations? בזה יש לבאר עוד. Why does it say *miyad achi*, *miyad Eisav*? It could have just said, הצילני נא מיד אחי עשו. Save me from my brother, *Eisav*. Why *miyad achi*, *miyad*? Why the double language of *miyad*? כי יעקב חשש מידו של עשו בשני מובנים, *gam alai hamakah*, because *Eisav* could put out his hand to punch, he could put out his hand to hug. Both are dangerous. Both are dangerous. If he puts out his hand to stab, or he puts out his hand to hug, they're both dangerous. They're both dangerous. Now he returns to the question. Why did Rashi have two interpretations in *im Lavan garti*? The first one was, Don't worry, *Eisav*. I didn't become a *gvir*. I'm just a *geir*. Second one was *im Lavan garti* and I still observe *taryag mitzvos*. I haven't compromised, I haven't become corrupt. Now he says we can understand based on the *Beis HaLevi*. A beautiful Rav Druk. כנגד חשש שיבוא עשו להלחם, taking on the concern *Eisav*'s coming to fight physically, he says, לא נעשיתי שר וחשוב כי אם גר. You don't have to kill me, you don't have to punch me, you don't have to stab me, you don't have to defeat me. Don't worry, I never became hot stuff, I never became all that, I never became a *gvir*. I'm some lowly, stranger, sojourner. I'm not even settled, so you don't have to kill me. And on the other hand, if you think you're going to get me to assimilate, if you think you're going to corrupt me spiritually, good luck, buddy. עם לבן גרתי בתריג מצוות שמרתי. I just came out of the backyard of *Lavan*. And I lived with him for many years. And you know his impact on me? *Gornisht*. Nothing. If *Lavan* couldn't change me, you're not changing me. So if you want to defeat me and kill me physically, it's not worth it. I didn't become a *gvir*, I'm just a *geir*. And if you think you're going to destroy me by making me assimilate, עם לבן גרתי תריג מצוות שמרתי, been there, done that. Lived with *Lavan*, he had no impact on me, and I'm still here to tell about it, I'm still good to go. But there's a very powerful impact. And I would say this is a message that's a *parsha* perspective for today. All of us can't take anything for granted and can't settle on our laurels. And all of us have to incorporate in our heartfelt prayers that prayer: *miyad achi*, *miyad Eisav*. Every day. *Hashem*, spare me and my family physically, spare me and my family spiritually. Because the world is filled with enormous dangers on both ends. Physical dangers, with the spike and the rise of antisemitism, and spiritual dangers with the enormous impact of assimilation. And lest you think, I send my kids to day school, my kids went through yeshiva, I live a life of *shmiras hamitzvos*. Assimilation, that's a problem of the other denominations. That's a problem of the unaffiliated Jew. It breaks my heart to tell you that that's not true. It's not true. It's not because necessarily any parents did anything wrong or their *rabbeim* or educators did anything wrong. It is a dangerous, dangerous world and we're seeing the consequences of it. And so it is incumbent on every parent with everything else that we do to *daven* from the depth of our being each and every day, מיד אחי מיד עשו. *Hashem*, protect my family and me. from antisemitism and also equally maybe more from assimilation. Perek we just read it. Perek Ches. ויירא יעקב מאד ויצר לו. Yaakov is afraid and Yaakov is anxious. Why the double language? Rav Druck just gave us one answer. What is the double language? The Beis Halevi is the two things he's afraid of. Rabbi Sacks, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks in the new Chumash. He offers something else. Why the duplication? What's the difference between fear and distress? According to Rashi, the first is a physical anxiety, second the moral one. It's one thing to fear our own's death, quite another to contemplate being the cause of someone else's. If Eisav were to try to kill Yaakov, he would be justified in fighting back, if necessary at the cost of Eisav's life. Yet Yaakov was distressed at the possibility of being forced to kill, even if it is entirely justified. I think it's Golda Meir who once said, we can forgive our enemies possibly for killing us, but it's unforgivable they turn our children into those who have to kill. And that's what Yaakov is saying here. Vayira Yaakov meod. Yaakov is afraid. He's afraid that he could get killed. He's afraid that his family could be harmed. Vayitzer lo, vayitzer lo, he's distressed. What distresses him? The thought that I'll have to kill another. What we're encountering here is the concept of a moral dilemma. This phrase is often used imprecisely to mean a moral problem, a difficult ethical decision. In numerous situations, two duties conflict, but we have meta-halachic principles to tell us which take priority. There's always a decision procedure and thus a determinant answer to the question, what should I do? But a dilemma is not simply a conflict. It arises in cases of conflict between right and right or between wrong and wrong. The fact that one principle, self-defense, overrides another, the prohibition against killing, does not mean that faced with such a choice, Yaakov is without qualms. Sometimes being moral means one experiences distress at having having to make such a choice. Doing the right thing may mean that one does not feel remorse or guilt, one still feels regret or grief about the action that needs to be taken. A moral system which leaves room for the existence of dilemmas is one that does not attempt to eliminate the complexities of the moral life. In a conflict between two rights or two wrongs, there may be a proper way to act, the lesser of the two evils or the greater of the two goods, but it does not cancel out all the emotional pain. These mixed feelings were born thousands of years ago when Yaakov, father of the Jewish people, experienced not only the physical fear of defeat, but the moral distress of victory. Only those who are capable of feeling both can defend their bodies without endangering their souls. Only those who can feel that moral dilemma, the moral distress of victory, only those who are capable of feeling both can defend their bodies without endangering their souls. As only Rabbi Sacks can, he puts it so beautifully. And we're seeing the consequences and results, our holy incredible soldiers who fought so valiantly and heroically. Baruch Hashem, those who lived to tell about it. But vayitzer lo. The haunting trauma, the PTSD, what they went through in the moral dilemmas they faced in having to defeat enemies are things they will images that haunt and that they will have to live with that all began with Yaakov, who knew what he had to do and prepared to do it, but vayitzer lo. He was nevertheless distressed at the thought, the moral conundrum, the moral dilemma he'd be faced with having to do it nonetheless. Perek Lamed Beis, Pasuk Yud Tes. The tribute he sends these gifts, and now they meet up. ויצו את הראשון לאמר כי יפגשך עשו אחי, and he tells the first group he divides them in two, my brother Eisav meets you ושאלך לאמר מי אתה ואנה תלך ולמי אלה לפניך. If he says, who are you? Where are you going? And whose are these that are before you? Rav Soloveitchik we've studied in the past saw that as the three questions that we're asked. Who are you? Where are you going? Whose are these before you? ואמרת לעבדך ליעקב מנחה היא שלוחה לאדני לעשו והנה גם הוא אחרינו. We knew what gam hu achareinu. This is what you should say. Im yavo. I'm sorry, go back. Reading the wrong pasuk. Tes. Go back to the last page. Page 172. Yaakov divides his camp in two and he says, אם יבוא עשו אל המחנה האחת והכהו, if Eisav approaches the one camp and strikes, והיה המחנה הנשאר לפליטה. What is Yaakov doing here? He's diversifying. He breaks his family into two and he says if Eisav is successful in eliminating one, the others will be survivors, the others will survive. My dear friend Rabbi Ari Miodovnik, who hates when I mention his name, shared with me a Divrei Yisrael, a beautiful insight in this pasuk. one of the one of the favorites of our Rebbe, Rebbe Moshe Weinberger. The Divrei Yisrael, who is the Divrei Yisrael? The Modzitzer, Rebbe Yisrael Taub. of Modzhitz, the divrei Yisrael. Divrei Yisrael says the following: יבואר על פי מה שאמר אדוני אבי זקני, he quotes from his Zeideh. Who's the Zeideh of Rav of the Beis Yisrael, of the Divrei Yisrael? The Zeideh was Rav Yechiel Taub of Kozhmyr. And he said the following: זה כלל שלא יתייאש אדם מלדאוג מצערו על המכשל אחד חלילה כי זה עצבות היא עצם היצר להפילו או להחשיכו יותר. A person makes a mistake, a person comes up short, spoke lashon hara, you looked at the wrong image, you ate the wrong food, you forgot to make a bracha, you lost your cool and you weren't patient. A person makes a mistake. Do you know how the yetzer hara works? It brings a sadness, a depression, a despondency, a hopelessness, a helplessness, and it tries to get you to give up on yourself. רק יכריע לאמור מכאן ולהבא שלא יקלקל עוד חלילה. ויוסיף בתורה ותפילה ותשובה בשמחה ובחיות, וממילא יתוקן מה שעבר. But if you divide, if you create a break, if you say that's a particular moment, that was an incident, that was poor judgment, that was a failure, that was a fail. But I divide my camp, I divide my life, I divide my soul, and I'm going to bounce back. The second half is le'pleita, I'm able to save and salvage what's left, what's left. ולמשל סוחר מבית מסחרו ביום השוקה, וחבר גנבים אורב מחוץ. הלך גנב אחד וחטף חפץ ובורח. הכוונה שהסוחר ירדוף אחריו ובין כך יבוא חבר הגנבים לחנות ויבזוז כל יגיעו. הסוחר שהוא פיקח ומבין כל זה, אומר בליבו, יחזיק לא מה שחטפו ולא ירדוף אחריהם. Person's got a store and robbers come and rob them. So you're tempted to go run after them to recover what they stole. But the smart store owner knows if you run after them to recover what they stole, there's another group of bandits who are going to come into the store and take the rest. So what do you do? You write off what they took, and what do you do instead? You double down to protect what's still there. So says the divrei Yisrael, says the Modzhitzer. Same here. שומר מחנה זה מכאן ולהבא ונושא ונותן ודאי שירוויח ויסמא מן ההפסד כפלי כפליים, וכן הדבר מובן. וזהו רמז כאן ידוע that Eisav is the yetzer hara. אם יבוא עשו אל המחנה האחת והכהו. If the yetzer hara comes and strikes and the yetzer hara is successful, got you to sleep in one morning, you didn't make it to shul, got you to talk during davening, it got you to look at the wrong thing, it got you to act out in the wrong way, אם יבוא היצר הרע ויכשילו לאדם באחת מצוות השם חלילה, אל יתייאש את עצמו מה שעבר. Never give up. Never be hopeless. Never write off. רק יראה שהמחנה הנשאר לפליטה. Double down that who you are and what you have left, focus and concentrate and protect and double down. להחזיר מעשו מכאן ולהבא, וממילא יתוקן מה שעבר. The answer is this attitude, this method of Yaakov was not only true in that moment, but it was a strategy in perpetuity and for life, that if the Eisav, the yetzer hara of our life strikes, double down on what's left and it will, and it will protect us. Yaakov, we know, goes back for those small jugs, maybe an allusion to Chanukah coming up even in the parsha, those small jugs. And he finds himself all alone and he wrestles with his alter ego, he wrestles with the sar shel Eisav who strikes. Yaakov survives but he limps away and we observe the laws of gid hanasheh. Since then we don't eat the gid hanasheh. We don't eat the hind quarters, with the sciatic nerve. You have to learn the art of treibering, can it be removed? Something that's done in Israel. Hashgachos in America generally don't. So we observe the law of gid hanasheh as a as a result, as a result. Why are we observing the laws of gid hanasheh? It's a very peculiar thing. Yesh ledakdeik, wonders the Rav Shul Berenbaum. מייחד שזה גיד הנשה לדורות, דבר מה שנגע שרו של עשו בכף ירך יעקב, למה אמר הכתוב על כן לא יאכלו בני ישראל? והיה צריך להזכיר גם כן יעקב עצמו. When the Torah records the practice, the law we commemorate that he walked away with a limp, that he was injured, it says the Jewish people in perpetuity don't eat the gid hanasheh, but it omits, it leaves out Yaakov. What about Yaakov? What about the fact that Yaakov also wasn't allowed to eat it? Why doesn't it mention Yaakov? ויש לומר שזה גיד הנשה יזכר לעולם לבני ישראל דוקא. Because gid hanasheh is not a message for Yaakov, it's a message livnei Yisrael, literally the children of Yaakov, the children of Israel. How and why did this happen to Yaakov? כיון שהניחו אז יעקב לצאת לבדו בלילה. ויוותר יעקב לבדו. Yaakov was by himself, ויאבק איש עמו עד עלות השחר. What was the condition that enabled the angel to strike? Why did Yaakov find himself vulnerable, fragile, exposed in a wrestling match all night long? Because he was abandoned by his own children. Yaakov says, you can almost picture the scene. *Kinderlach*, I forgot something, I got to go back for it. Who wants to come with me? Keep me company. We'll drive together, we'll ride together, we'll walk together. *Nu*? *Kinderlach*, it's an opportunity, there's so many of you when we go on family outings. Which one of you wants a little time, alone time with Dad? Come with me. You know what they all say? I'm watching something, I'm typing something, I'm scrolling something, tired, I already changed into my pajamas, I'm lying on the couch, I already got into bed. I always do it, somebody else should go do it. Yaakov says, fine. I'll just go by myself. And he goes by himself and he's attacked by the *sar* of *Eisav*. מזה יצא שבא שרו של עשו לפיכך על כן לא יאכלו בני ישראל. Who has to remember what happens when a Jew is left alone? When a Jew is left alone, they're vulnerable, they're exposed, they could be injured. Who has to remember that? *Bnei Yisrael*. It was Yaakov's children who left him that way. כדי להורות שלא להניח חברו ללכת לבדו. A Jew never abandons a fellow Jew. A Jew must never be left alone. We've quoted this previously in the name of the *Chizkuni*. Because the *Chizkuni* answers another odd question. If I were to ask you, if you ask most people, why don't we eat the *gid hanasheh*? They'll answer, we don't eat it to commemorate what? That *Yaakov* wrestled with the angel, he was injured, but he won. But he won. So, normally, normally, normally you would say, if you're commemorating that he won, the *mitzva* is to eat. Right? Everybody knows the old joke. They tried to kill us. Every Jewish holiday can be summarized, they tried to kill us, we survived, let's eat. What? *Matzah*, *latke*, *sufganiyah*, every holiday to what we should eat is different, but the common theme of all Jewish holidays is, they tried to kill us, we survived, let's eat. So, the *sar* of *Eisav* tried to kill *Yaakov*, he survived, don't eat. Doesn't fit. *Dafka* there should be a *mitzva*, eat the *gid hanasheh*. Remember that *Yaakov* survived. Wonders the *Chizkuni*, why is there no *mitzva* to eat it? Why are we told not to eat it? *Chizkuni* answers, *Chizkuni* is a *Rishon*. But *Rabbeinu ben Asher* says similarly that the reason we don't eat it is not to commemorate that *Yaakov* won. What we're commemorating is how this happened to begin with. How did it happen to begin with? Because *Yaakov*, *v'yivoser Yaakov*, *levado*. He was left all alone. When a Jew is left all alone, look what can happen. Look what can happen to a Jew who's left all, all alone, all alone. All right. Already on the clock. *Perek Lamed Gimmel, Pasuk Yud*. Next *perek*, the encounter, *Yaakov* and *Eisav*, they finally meet. And *Eisav* runs towards them, and he embraces them, and he falls on his neck, and he intended to kill him, but instead he kissed him, and they cried and they wept. And he raised his eyes וישא את עיניו וירא את הנשים ואת הילדים. *Eisav* raises his eyes. I saw one of the *meforshim* points out, the wicked evil *Eisav*, what does he see first? *Vayar es hanashim*. A pure person, a pure heart will first see the pure children. But *Eisav*, *vayar es hanashim*, he sees the women. His eyes are always drawn to the women. He sees the women and he sees the children. He says, *mi eileh lach*? Who are these to you? ויאמר הילדים אשר חנן אלהים את עבדך. *Yaakov* answers, these are the children whom God has graciously given to your servant. They reunite. Skip to *pasuk yud*. *Vayomer Yaakov*, אל נא אם נא מצאתי חן בעיניך ולקחת מנחתי מידי כי על כן ראיתי פניך כראות פני אלהים ותרצני. *Yaakov* says to *Eisav*, take these gifts. If I find favor in your eyes, accept the tribute, accept the gifts, in as much as I have seen your face, which is like seeing the face of a divine being. *Yaakov* is really laying it on. *Eisav*, as much your holy face, I've seen, I see your face, I've seen God, I've seen the divine. If I find favor in your divinely, Godly eyes and face, if I find favor, and please, graciously take, accept, receive these gifts. What in the world is going on here? *Rashi* says, אם נא מצאתי חן בעיניך, says *Rashi*, כי כדאי והגון לך שתקבל מנחתי על אשר ראיתי פניך והן חשוב. seeing your face is like I saw your angel, your alter ego, because I saw your sar. I wrestled with him all night. Muchrachim l'hisbonen, wonders Rav Druck, בדבר שיעקב אבינו כי כן ראיתי פניך כראות פני אלוקים. איך יתכן שיעקב מתאר את פניו של עשיו. How in the world can Jacob describe Esav, the face of the wicked Esav, like the face of God himself? Hayitachen, question mark, exclamation point in Lava'os Eish. נראה שרש\"י על הקושיא הזו פירש בכוונת יעקב שראיית פני עשיו היתה חשובה לו כראיית פני מלאך. What he meant was seeing Esav's face was like seeing the face of an angel. אלא עדיין יש מקום לברר, but what does that mean? Still, what's the comparison, what's the analogy? So Rav Druck quotes his father, Rav Mordechai Druck, the Drash Mordechai. And his father said the following. Rashi on pasuk dalet quotes a different chazal. אמר רבי שמעון בן יוחאי הלכה ידועה שעשיו שונא ליעקב. We have a halacha, we have an axiom, we have a truth, that Esav hates Jacob. There was, there is, there always will be some form of anti-semitism in this world. לפי זה יבאר כך. יעקב היה תמה על פיוסו של עשיו כלפיו. איך יתכן שמנשק ומחבק אותו הרי שונא הוא לו. I don't understand. If it's true, halacha b'yadua, if it's axiomatic and ontological and absolute that Esav will always hate Jacob, how could he kiss me and hug me? He hates me. Ela vadai hatshuva, what's the answer? כך תירץ יעקב לעצמו. הקדוש ברוך הוא הכניס בליבו של עשיו רחמים כלפיו. In that moment, who motivated, who inspired, who directed Esav to hug and kiss Jacob? Who allowed a soft spot in Esav's heart? If it's true, halacha b'yadua, so axiomatic and so true that Esav always hates Jacob, how and why would Esav hug and kiss him? It must be Hashem was protecting him. Hashem is directing him. Otherwise there's no logic to it. How could it be? מה קרה שגרם לשינוי התמוה. This is going against Esav's essence. It's going against Esav's nature. How could it be that Esav would go against his essence and his nature that instead of killing him he would hug him and kiss him? It must be this was a miracle. There was a miracle. אין זו אלא כי יד השם בדבר. ועל כן אומר יעקב, על כן ראיתי פניך כראות פני אלוקים. So when Jacob says, I see in you the face of God, he wasn't lying, distorting, laying it on thick, just trying to say whatever was necessary. That's not Jacob. He doesn't ask it this way, but we could have. After all, what's Jacob's core character trait? Jacob is titein emes l'Yaakov. Jacob does not tell a lie. Except for when he told a few lies. But Jacob doesn't tell a lie. He's titein emes l'Yaakov. Jacob's fidelity to honesty, integrity, and truth. And here he is telling Esav, I see in your face the face of God. Says Rav Druck, you know what he meant? I see in your face the face of God, I see in your face you hate me and you want to kill me, and yet you hugged me and you kissed me, it must be God made a miracle. I see in your action at this moment, I see the hand of Hashem. I saw this and I thought immediately, you know last Shabbos, two Shabboses ago, Hillel Neuer of UN Watch was here. One of the heroes of the Jewish people fighting the front line of the UN, the halls of darkness and iniquity at the United Nations, living in Geneva, Switzerland where it's based, selflessly, sacrificing, doing so much there. And he was talking about all that he does, how much he has to overcome, how much he has to fight. And if you pause and you say to yourself for a moment, how could it be in 1948 the United Nations voted to award the Jewish people the state of Israel? It's impossible. Halacha b'yadua that the United Nations hates Jews and Israel. It's halacha b'yadua. United Nations sonei l'Yaakov. How could it be? So in that moment, ראיתי פניך כראות פני אלוקים. There are moments where Hashem's presence can so be felt, a revealed, undeniable miracle. A revealed, undeniable miracle in that, in that moment. In that moment. Rav Chaim Brisker used to walk around Brisk, הנה גוי הולך מולי הרי הוא שונא אותי. אם כן ממה אני חי. And he used to feel to himself, certainly Europe in that time, God forbid, places in America maybe, God forbid in our time. You say I know the statistics about anti-semitism, I know how much hatred there is, why aren't I being… punched and stabbed and killed? Ela mai, it's a miracle from Hashem. Every moment of a Jew's safety and security is a miracle from Hashem. And that's what Yaakov saw in Esav's face in that moment. Really, I know you want to kill me. And yet you hugged me and kissed me, I just saw God's revealed hand. I just saw pnei Elokim. He wasn't lying and he wasn't laying it on. He was saying it like it is and what is the like it is he was saying, I see in you the face of God. We'll end with, Rabbi Sacks also has a comment on this, Kiros pnei Elokim. These words of Yaakov echo in his remark after the wrestling match. You know what, actually we'll save this for next year, it's too long. But after the wrestling match, Yaakov names the place Pniel, because I've seen God face to face and been spared. In prakim lamed beis and lamed gimmel with variants on the word panim, time and time and time again, we see that word. Pnei Elokim, Pniel, panim. Over and over and over again, four times more, we see that word. What is it telling us? Remind me next year, we'll start off with this Rabbi Sacks together. We're not on next week, we resume in two weeks from now. Have a wonderful week everyone. Stay
