בּ"ה
Parshas Vayishlach
May this edition of Shabbos Sparks, and the learning that comes from it be as a zechus for
a Refuah Shleimah mi’heira to HaRav Meshulam Dovid HaLevi ben Alta Hendel, who is in need of Tefillos.
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‘With Lavan I sojourned (גרתּי)’ (Bereishis 32:4)
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Rashi zt”l famously quotes that Yaakov Avinu was intimating: Even though I sojourned with the wicked Lavan, I still kept the 613 (תּרי״ג -- the numerical value/an anagram of גרתּי) Mitzvos, and didn’t learn from his evil ways.
The Chofetz Chaim zt”l explains that aside from the simple meaning, Yaakov Avinu was also, in effect, chastising himself, saying that he, unfortunately, didn’t reach the level to do good deeds with the same energy and enthusiasm with which Lavan did bad ones. . .
(Kovetz Maamarim)
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‘And Yaakov was very afraid, and it distressed him’ (Bereishis 32:8)
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Chazal give one interpretation that Yaakov Avinu was afraid of two things: That Esav upheld the Mitzvos of honoring one’s parents, and also of living in Eretz Yisroel. Presumably, Yaakov was afraid that since Esav fulfilled these things, and he was not doing so at the time (although he was one his way back, we are told, to his parent’s house, in Eretz Yisroel), then Esav would have certain merits and he would be lacking certain merits, which could bring Esav to victory over him, if there was a battle.
It’s amazing, says HaRav Yaakov Neiman zt”l. Esav was, as we know, a really terrible person, and Yaakov was ‘a wholesome man dwelling in tents [of Torah]’. Furthermore, surely at least Esav’s dwelling in Eretz Yisroel he did not do for the sake of the Mitzvah. And nevertheless, Yaakov Avinu was afraid of his merits!
Explains Rav Neiman; we learn from here an incredible lesson: If a great person sees that someone else possesses certain qualities that they don’t -- even if they have many, many more than that person -- then he will show that person honor, and might even be afraid of their merits. Because a great person is always examining their own deeds, suspecting themselves, and afraid that maybe they didn’t do as good, or as much good, as they could have. Whereas towards others, they look for the qualities in them, to judge them favorably, and also, to learn from the qualities.
(Darkei Mussar)
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‘And Yaakov was very afraid, and it distressed him’ (Bereishis 32:8)
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Says Rebbe Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev zt”l: ‘And Yaakov was very afraid’ -- the very fact that Yaakov Avinu was scared ‘distressed him’ -- because he shouldn’t fear anything except Hashem, with Whose help nothing and nobody can harm him!
(Likutei Kedushas Levi)
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‘I have become small from all the kindnesses and from all the truths that You have done with Your servant.’ (Bereishis 32:11)
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The Chiddushei HaRim zt”l quotes from the Chozeh of Lublin {Rebbe Yaakov Yitzchok Horowitz zt”l}: Even Yaakov Avinu’s ability to be humble -- being “small” in his own eyes -- he accounted as one of Hashem’s kindnesses to him!
(Sfas Emes 5631)
Furthermore, says the Chozeh, Yaakov Avinu implied: Even though You have done many chasadim (kindnesses) for me, I will remain lowly in my own eyes, and not become haughty. In fact, just the opposite: Through all the chasadim that You do for me, I become lower in my own eyes, because I am not worthy of these gifts, and they are only from Your kindness and generosity. ‘I have become “small”’ -- that is, humble; ‘from all the kindnesses’!
(Zos Zikaron)
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‘I have become small from all the kindnesses and from all the truths that You have done with Your servant. . . And You said, ‘I will surely do good to you. . .’’ (Bereishis 32:11,13)
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Rashi zt”l brings from Chazal that Yaakov Avinu was afraid that since the time that Hashem had made His promise to him, he had sinned and therefore, would be delivered into Esav’s hands.
Asks the Rambam zt”l, we know from the Gemara (Shabbos 55) that Hashem never retracts a positive promise, and especially not for something negative in its place; so what was Yaakov Avinu scared about?
HaRav Zalman Sorotzkin zt”l quotes that he heard a very nice explanation from HaRav Eliezer Gordon zt”l, who heard it from HaRav Yisroel Salanter zt”l: Let’s say that someone hired a worker to do a job, and for certain reasons, the worker didn’t do it. Obviously, the guy who hired him would be exempt from having to pay him anything. And if the worker is poor, and the employer is a very generous person, maybe he will pay him nonetheless -- and this would be considered Tzedakah. So too, sometimes Hashem gives us reward and “keeps His promise”, even if we don’t deserve it.
But now let’s say that someone hired another person to guard a certain precious object, and he promised him as payment a golden dinar (like the worth of the object). And the man didn’t even guard it, and the object was broken because of his negligence -- or worse, he himself took a stick and smashed it. Now he would actually be obligated to pay the owner of the object its worth of a golden dinar. Needless to say that the owner would be exempt from paying him! However, if the owner is extremely generous and kind-hearted, and still wishes to give the sum he promised for the job of guarding -- even though the guy didn’t guard the thing -- it would be quite enough to just forgive the debt that the “employee” owes him for breaking the precious object, and that will be his payment.
So too, here, explains Rav Yisroel: If, after Hashem promises a blessing for something, the person to whom it was promised goes and transgresses a negative Commandment (which is just like smashing the precious object in the scenario above), it would certainly be enough if Hashem merely did not punish them for this -- in fact, it would be a fulfillment of His promise. And this is what Yaakov Avinu was afraid of: Perhaps he had transgressed a negative Commandment, and, as such, was liable for a penalty for the “damage”. And even if Hashem would be kind and not punish him, that would already be like the fulfilling of the promise, and therefore, he would now be vulnerable. . .
(Oznayim LaTorah)
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‘And he [Yaakov] commanded the first [group], saying: “When Esav my brother meets you, and he asks you, ‘Whose are you? And where are you going? And to whom are these before you?’ And you shall say: ‘To your servant, Yaakov; it is a present sent to my master, Esav; and behold! He [Yaakov] also is behind us.’ (Bereishis 32:18-19)
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The Mishnah (Avos 3:1) teaches us that we should contemplate three things, and this will help us not come to sin. #1, From where we came -- our body came into being from something tiny and putrid. #2, Where we are going to -- one day we will likely be buried in the dirt, a place of worms and other bugs. #3, Before whom we are destined to give an accounting for all of our actions -- before the King of all kings, HaKadosh Baruch Hu!
These questions, notes the Chiddushei HaRim zt”l, seem quite similar to the ones that Esav would ask. And he explains beautifully: The yetzer hara, who, as we know, Esav can represent, will sometimes try to come to us and ask the questions delineated in the Mishnah. But not for the purpose of preventing us from sinning -- on the contrary, in a twisted and distorted way, to try to bring us to depression and despondence. It will ask ‘Whose are you?’ -- corresponding to the first question in the Mishnah, where did you come from? You are extremely lowly! ‘Where are you going?’ -- corresponding to the second one. You can’t accomplish so much! ‘To whom are these before you?’ -- corresponding to the third. What will these little things you do matter before the King of kings, Hashem?
But Yaakov Avinu provides us with answers: To question #1 of the yetzer hara, we answer ‘to Yaakov’ -- we are all part of Klal Yisroel, the Chosen People, which is very dear to Hashem. To #2, we answer ‘It is a present (Mincha)’ -- even though we might not do as much as we should, the little that we do with self-sacrifice is extremely precious to Hashem. Like Chazal (Menachos 104b) expound on the verse (Vayikra 2:1) ‘If a person (lit. Soul) will bring a Mincha-offering’: Who would most likely bring a Mincha-offering? A poor person [because it is less expensive]. Hashem says about such, that He counts it for that poor person who brought this modest offering as if they have sacrificed their very Soul. And to question #3, we answer ‘to my master, Esav’ -- meaning; any hard work that we put in fighting against the yetzer hara is extremely important to Hashem.
And Rebbe Yehuda Leib Alter zt”l, the Sfas Emes, adds to his grandfather’s words: The last part of the verse, ‘Also he is behind us’, can be interpreted to mean in this context that Hashem is behind us. He will help us. Even the little that we start to do, Hashem will aid us to complete.
(Sfas Emes 5635)
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‘And he [Yaakov] took them [his family] and he brought them across the river, and he brought across what was his. And Yaakov was left alone. . .’ (Bereishis 32:24-25)
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Why was Yaakov alone? Rashi zt”l explains (from Chullin 91a) that he had forgotten some pachim ketanim -- small containers, and went back for them. And our Sages (Ibid.) make comment -- in praise -- about how precious the property of Tzaddikim is to them.
Al derech Chassidus, the Seforim (see Likutei Torah; Siach Sarfei Kodesh vol. 3) explain that every possession that comes into our hands, obviously doesn’t come from some coincidence. We have it for a purpose. And that purpose is to raise up the sparks of holiness within it by utilizing it for the service of Hashem. Tzaddikim understand that, and therefore, even a small thing that came into their possession, they realize how important it is.
(Heard from my Rebbe, HaRav Moshe Shulman shlit”a)
Similarly, HaRav Yerucham Levovitz zt”l writes that aside from the issue of bal tashchis (destroying/wasting something for no reason), we have here the matter of guarding our possessions. Since everything we have, including our money, is truly a gift from Hashem, we must guard it -- using it only for the right purposes.
(Daas Torah)
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‘And Yaakov remained alone, and a man wrestled with him until the rise of dawn. And he [the “man”] saw that he was not able to [overcome] him [Yaakov], and he touched in the “spoon” of his thigh, and the “spoon” of Yaakov’s thigh was dislocated in wrestling with him. And he [the “man”] said to him [Yaakov]; “Send me away, for dawn has risen. . .’ (Bereishis 32:25-27)
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Who was this man? Rashi zt”l quotes that our Rabbis say it was the Angel of Esav, (whom is said to be the Satan).
We learn a huge lesson from this account for our own lives: Rachmana Litzlan, the yetzer hara (who is like the Satan) is almost always trying to attack -- or wrestle -- us. If not in one way then likely in another. But of course, we fight back. And we are stronger than the yetzer hara, and with the help of Hashem, we overcome it. So what does the yetzer hara sometimes then do when he sees ‘that he cannot overcome us’?
He ‘strikes the “spoon” of our thigh-bone’.1 The pelvic bones and thighs, says the wonderful Mussar sefer Orchos Tzaddikim, represent the foundation.
What does the yetzer hara do? It tries to strike at our foundation -- our Emunah (faith in Hashem and His Truths), the very foundation of all of our good deeds, etc. It tries to give us questions in our faith.
What can we do to beat it? How can we “heal” the strikes of doubt that the yetzer hara throws at our Emunah? Doubt-full questions shot at our faith obviously can be answered, but nevertheless they are hard to overcome and put us in a very difficult situation! However, the holy Torah hints to us the answer: When did the Satan have to go? When dawn broke -- i.e. it became light. And there is no greater light than from Hashem and His Torah.
Learning Torah and trying to connect to Hashem are two extremely important steps to beating the yetzer hara. And not only that, but the Gemara (Shabbos 33b) quotes the verse (33:18) ‘And Yaakov came whole. . .’ and says: “And Rav says: Whole in his body. . .” On that, Rashi explains that Yaakov Avinu had healed. Meaning that through our Torah learning, any blow that was, Chas v’Shalom inflicted upon us by the yetzer hara can also even be healed.
The Light of Avodas Hashem (the Service of Hashem) and Torah is always there, ready for us to illuminate our lives with it, ridding away the darkness of the Yetzer Hara.
(Tal U’Matar)
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1 See Rashi zt”l on this verse, to the words ויגע בכף ירכו.
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‘And Yaakov asked, and he said: “Tell, please, your name.” And he [the Angel] said; “Why is this that you ask for my name?” And he blessed him [Yaakov] there.’ (Bereishis 32:30)
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Explains the Kedushas Tzion [second Bobover Rebbe -- HaRav Ben-Tzion Halberstam zt”l]; the yetzer hara -- who is, again, like the Satan -- didn’t want to say his name, because his strength is when he is concealed and people do not know that he is there. Afterall, nobody desires to listen to the yetzer hara, who is trying to harm us.
But the yetzer hara tries to deceive people and tell them that a transgression is a Mitzvah [or just an okay thing to do]. And people aren’t aware that he is the one giving the counsel, Rachmana Litzlan! His strength comes from his ambiguity.
(Quoted in Torah Wellsprings)
In a similar vein, the great baal Mussar, HaRav Leib Chasman zt”l brings from an early Kabbalah sefer that when Yaakov Avinu asked the Angel “Tell, please, your name”, and he answered “Why is this that you ask for my name?” -- we see that that was his name. Now, as we know (see Rashi zt”l here), the name of an Angel alludes to its essence and purpose. If so, why was this name chosen for the Angel of Esav -- the Satan?
Rav Leib zt”l illuminates the situation with a parable: A man from a small village one time came to the big city. He was thrilled and excited at the sight of the many things there. He kept walking around the city, until he came to a building which he could see through the window was very dark inside, and he could see slides of film being shown on the wall! Lots of people were sitting there, watching the pictures shown on the wall, and he went in and sat down among them. Now, little did this simple villager know, since he had never seen one before, that this was a movie theater.
“Poor people,” thought the man. “Why are they sitting in the dark?” He wanted to help them, so he got up, went to a corner of the room, and turned on the light.
To his shock and consternation, once the light went on, the picture disappeared from on the wall! “What’s with you?!” the people sitting there yelled. “Turn off the light right away! In the light we can’t see anything! Only when the room is dark can we make out the picture.”
So too, explains Rav Leib, when Yaakov Avinu triumphed over the Angel of Esav, he said ‘Tell, please, your name’ -- what is the secret of the yetzer hara, that it can draw so many people after it to stumble? To this the Satan replied, and revealed the secret: ‘Why is this that you ask for my name?’ -- my great strength is due to the very fact that people are “sitting in the dark” and don’t ask my name. If they would only “turn on the light”, they would understand that whatever I tell them is just false imaginations and illusions. . .
(Brought in Vi’Karasa L’Shabbos Oneg vol. 3)
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HaRav Shimshn Dovid Pincus zt”l explains in a somewhat different manner: The Satan was telling Yaakov Avinu, “I don’t have a name.” Meaning, what I am called always changes.
The yetzer hara comes to us in one way, and tries to push us towards a certain area of sin, and then it will come under a different guise. So what it is called continues to change. But its essence always remains the same: To try to lead us off the upright path, that of Torah and Mitzvos. And we must be ever-aware and on guard against it.
(Tiferes Shimshon)
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‘And Esav said; “There is to me much -- יש לי רב”’ (Bereishis 33:9)
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‘And Yaakov said. . . “There is to me everything -- יש לי כל.”’ (Bereishis 33:10-11)
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The Chofetz Chaim zt”l tells us to look at Rashi zt”l’s commentary to this discrepancy in language, but he also suggests his own insight: With these two words, he says, -- רב, ‘much’, and כל, ‘all’, Yaakov Avinu and Esav expressed their different Hashkafos (views) about This World:
Esav said “There is to me much”, meaning that yes, he had much, but ‘when one has one-hundred, they want two-hundred,’ as our Sages say, [and he was the embodiment of this]. But Yaakov Avinu said; “There is to me everything”, meaning, continues the Chofetz Chaim, “I lack nothing.”
Esav set his eyes upon the money and desires of the world, he concludes, while Yaakov Avinu was satisfied with what he had.
(Chofetz Chaim al HaTorah)
As the Kli Yakar {HaRav Shlomo Ephraim Lunshitz zt”l} similarly says here, with Tzaddikim [and what we should aspire to be like!], even if they only have a little, it seems to them like they have everything, and they are satisfied with their lot. Whereas with the wicked, it’s the opposite: Even if they have basically everything in material wealth, they always feel like they are lacking, and lust for more.
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‘And Yaakov said [to Esav] “. . . I have seen your face, [which is] like seeing the face of an Angel, and you accepted me.”’ (Bereishis 33:10)
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Usually, we say that flattering the wicked is very wrong. However, there is an opinion in the Gemara (Shabbos 41b) that sometimes flattering the wicked is okay -- talking about where there might be danger otherwise, I assume (see Tosafos at the bottom of 41b). And Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish says that we learn this from what Yaakov Avinu said here.2
HaRav Shimon Schwab zt”l wonders; even if we say that it is permitted to flatter the wicked because we are afraid that otherwise they would harm us, isn’t there a limit to how far is permitted? And if so, how could Yaakov Avinu say that seeing Esav’s face was like seeing the face of אלקים (even though it is explained to be speaking about Angels); wasn’t this almost like a desecration of Hashem’s Name, Chas v’Shalom?!
Explains Rav Schwab: For this reason, Yaakov added ‘and you accepted me’, which Rashi zt”l explains to mean ‘You became appeased towards me.’ Because, you see, it was an absolute clear miracle that Esav became appeased towards Yaakov, as he had originally been coming towards him with the intention to kill him (see also Rashi to 33:4)! And through such a miracle, there is a revelation of Hashem’s Glory in the world. And this is what Yaakov Avinu meant to say: It is almost like I saw Hashem, through this miracle, that ‘you became appeased towards me’. Now, taken in this light, the praise that Yaakov gave Esav here was not flattery, but just the truth -- that he had become appeased.
(Maayan Beis HaShoeivah)
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2 Now, according to another opinion, as explained by Rashi zt”l, Yaakov Avinu’s statement about seeing the face of an Angel was meant to frighten Esav, implying that he was used to seeing Angels!
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‘And Yaakov traveled to Sukkos, and he built for himself a house, and for his livestock he built booths (סכּת), therefore he called the name of the place Sukkos.’ (Bereishis 33:17)
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The verse tells us that Yaakov Avinu built himself a house here, and for his animals, he built booths. But the question then is, says HaRav Shlomo Yosef Zevin zt”l, why did he name the place Sukkos, after what he made for his animals? They certainly aren’t more important than himself!
Answers Rav Zevin beautifully, the difference between a house and a Sukkah, or booth, is, as we know, that a house is a more permanent dwelling place, while a booth is a very temporary one.
Yaakov Avinu built for himself -- his true self, his essence, that is, for his Avodah -- a permanent place. Meaning that he knew full well and really felt that this was his permanence -- his Avodas Hashem. But for his physical possessions he merely made booths, which are very temporary. And in order to entrench for all generations that this physical place (which, seemingly was not even in Eretz Yisroel) is temporary, and nothing but a “corridor” to spirituality and the Next World, he called the place ‘Sukkos’.
(LaTorah V’LaMoadim)
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~ Maasim Tovim ~ Reb Michoel would say Bircas HaMazon with great concentration and intent, and from inside a Bentcher. One of his grandchildren once inquired of him about his special devotion in this Mitzvah. Reb Michoel answered with the following episode:
When he was a child, in Poland before WWII, HaRav Meir Shapiro zt”l paid a visit to his cheder in order to test the boys. They knew the answers very well, and, after finishing, he gave them a “prize”: He told over to them the words of the Be’er Heiteiv, who brings the words of the Sefer HaChinuch, that anyone who says Bircas HaMazon slowly, word after word and from inside a Siddur [or Bentcher, likely], will not lack any food during his whole lifetime!
“When I heard these words, they made a strong impact on my heart, and I felt that Rabbi Shapiro was talking directly to me.” he added. From that moment on, young Michoel felt an urge to take special care when Bentching, having kavanah (concentration) for each and every word he said.
Soon after, WWII broke out. One day, young Michoel found himself standing before the Nazis in a “selektzia,” “selection”. All women, children, and elderly went to the left, sadly, to their deaths, while the strong and able ones went the other way to intense and backbreaking labor. Being taller than others his age, young Michoel tiptoed to make himself look even taller, and to his delight, he was sent to the right for labor. Soon thereafter, each one was asked what they were used to working at. Being a young lad, poor Michoel had never worked and was in a dilemma not having what to answer.
Suddenly, a voice behind him whispered in his ear, “Tell them you are a good cook and I am your helper!” When his turn came to answer, he said as he was told to and miraculously they were both given a job in the kitchen! With this alone he saw how the words of the Sefer HaChinuch came true: In the kitchen, although they were in the concentration camps, food was unlimited. He had a continuous supply of basic foods. Because of this, he looked better and healthier than other inmates. Even so, Michoel never stopped his saying Bircas HaMazon with extra care and kavanah.3 If he ever calculated that he would be unable to bentch slowly, he preferred to forgo a meal, rather than to bentch hastily!
One day a German General visited the kitchen and noticed that this Jewish lad looked better and fatter than the other inmates. This got him annoyed. “Where do you think you are?” he yelled at young Michoel. “Do you think this is some hotel? Is this a place to fatten young lads?!” He demanded that Michoel follow him outside. Once outside, he handed him a small hammer and commanded him to dig a bunker one meter deep and one meter long. “If you finish it within the next couple of hours, you’ll be allowed back in to the kitchen!” he bellowed at young Michoel.
Poor Michoel! His world turned black for him. If until now he thought he was living in a much better situation in the camps, from now on his dreams were slashed. How could he ever get anywhere with this small hammer? He knew his fate was near. But he still did not despair. He turned Heavenward and asked Hashem to have mercy on him.
Shortly thereafter, a truck stopped a few meters away from where Michoel stood. A bunch of SS soldiers got out and when they saw Michoel -- a young Jewish lad with a hammer in hand -- they got very angry and began pelting him with vegetables from the truck. In a short time he was covered with potatoes, carrots, and cucumbers! Not to forget all the curses and bruises that he endured.
Michoel felt the hand of Hashem, though, as he received hundreds of veggies at his feet. Even so, with all that bounty, as it were, he was still far from a salvation. The bunker needed to be dug!
Michoel still clung to his bitochon (trust in Hashem) and hoped that rescue would come shortly. Not an hour passed, and another truckload of soldiers got out. This time it was Polish soldiers. When they saw all that stuff, they were certain that Michoel was in charge and begged of him permission to take some vegetables. Michoel struck on a brainwave: He told them that if they would dig a pit of two meters in a short time, they would get most of the veggies.
They returned to their truck and came out with tools. Within a very short time the pit was dug and they received their reward! Michoel had clearly seen now how the promise of the Sefer HaChinuch really came true! With tears in his eyes, he made his way to the kitchen and called the officer. The fellow came out to look at Michoel’s work and was speechless! He rubbed his eyes to see whether he was dreaming!
He added that he always heard that the Jews had a special protection from Above. Now his seeing was believing. Saying so, he let Michoel return to the kitchen and he stayed at this post until the end of the war. From that day on, Michoel vowed to keep his minhag tov (good custom) and take extra care when saying Bircas HaMazon.
(Story related in Shabbos Gems)
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3 A Bentcher, obviously, would have been extremely difficult to procure in the camps.
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Gut and meaningful Shabbos to all!
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