Weekly Reading Insights: Vayeitzei 5778

 

Overview of the Torah Reading

To be read on Shabbat Vayeitzei, 7 Kislev 5778/Nov.25

Torah: Gen. 28:10-32:3; Haftorah: Hosea 11:7-14:10 (because of 12:13 "And Yaakov fled to Aram...and served for a wife... and kept sheep.")

Vayeitzei is the 7th Reading out of 12 in Genesis and it contains 7512 letters, in 2021 words, in 148 verses

On the way to Charan, Yaacov stopped to sleep. He dreamt of a ladder standing on the ground and reaching heavenward with angels ascending and descending. G-d told Yaacov that He would give him the land upon which he slept. Yaacov was awed by this vision and made the stone upon which he slept holy to G-d, and renamed the area G-d's Temple. He vowed that if G-d would protect him, he would dedicate his life to G-d and give Him a tenth of his possessions. Yaacov continued his journey, and arrived at a well near Charan. Seeing his cousin Rachel with her father's sheep, Yaacov lifted the heavy stone atop the well for her, and returned with her to Lavan's house. He made a deal to work for Lavan for seven years, and then marry Rachel. Lavan deceived Yaacov and substituted his older daughter Leah. Lavan told Yaacov that he could marry Rachel after the celebrations of the marriage to Leah, but he would have to work another seven years. The Parsha relates the birth of Yaacov's children through Leah, Rachel, and their handmaids Bilha and Zilpah. Yaacov decides to leave with his family, but then agreed to continue working for Lavan. Lavan and his sons became jealous of Yaacov's wealth. After six years, G-d told Yaacov to return to his birthplace. When they left, Rachel stole Lavan's idols. Lavan learned that they had gone, and chased after them. He sought his idols, and Yaacov, who did not know it was Rachel, said that whoever was found with them would not live. Lavan and Yaacov made a treaty, with G-d as witness.


 

An essay from Rabbi Shaul Yosef Leiter, director of Ascent

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Occasionally we hear people say that the observant community uses Judaism as an instrument to advance its interests. The Rebbe has a very surprising insight into this issue from this week's Torah portion:
It is an accepted fact, brought in our oral tradition, that the Patriarchs and Matriarchs kept the entire Torah even before it was given. (Kiddushin82a) Jacob said of himself: "I lived with Laban and I observed all 613 commandments." (Gen. 32:5 and Rashi there) Yet, in this week's Torah portion, Jacob marries two sisters, something forbidden by Torah law!(Lev. 18:18) Many of the commentaries provide answers, yet, Rashi - whose principle is answering anything a beginning student would find difficult -makes no mention of this quandary. We therefore have to assume that there is a simple answer that is so clear, we do not need Rashi to point it out.

Because our forefathers were never directly commanded to observe the Torah commandments, their fulfillment of them was an added optional observance, akin to extra stringencies and "beautifications" one might make in fulfilling our commandments today. For instance, today, when we wear a tallit, we want it to be a nice tallit. The only commandments that our forefathers were obligated to keep were the seven commandments of the descendents of Noah and the extensions of those laws that the nations had taken on themselves. Therefore, if it so happened that fulfilling a Torah commandment contradicted the fulfilling of one of theNoahide laws, they were required to keep the Noahide law, as opposed to the Torah one.

One rule that was universally accepted on the level of the seven Noahide laws by all of the nations was to be careful not to trick their neighbors. It was a punishable offense. We see this in Jacob's claim to his father-in-law, Laban: "Why did you trick me?" So serious was such an offense that Laban was forced to respond and apologize. (Gen. 29:25)

It was this prohibition of trickery that forced Jacob to marry two sisters. Jacob had promised Rachel that he would marry her. Fearing trickery, he even gave her secret signs to guarantee it would be her that he married (since she would be hidden by a veil). After all these precautions, Jacob was fooled and married Leah instead. This placed him in a dilemma. By not marrying her, Jacob would be guilty of misleading Rachel, besides all the pain it would cause her by retracting. By marrying her, he would transgress on a mitzvah of the Torah not to marry two sisters, to which he was not actually obligated. The Torah command could not overrule the Noahide commandment not to trick. This is why Jacob was forced to pass on the Torah command and marry Rachel, even if he was already married to Leah.

This is such a simple explanation Rashi did not need to mention it!

Jacob's behavior contains within it a potent lesson for us. It is forbidden to engage in the beautification of a mitzvah at someone else's expense. Fulfilling a commandment in the most beautiful way is very important, but only if it will not do damage to another. In simple words, sometimes it is better to give up on some personal achievement if by doing so we can protect another person. It is not acceptable to say, my total fulfillment comes first. If he is really into what Judaism is all about, he has to ask himself, what makes me any better than my neighbor, that I am working on the small details while the fellow next to me is lacking in the basics. We have to remind ourselves that it is sometimes more important to give up on 100% perfection in order to do a kindness for someone else. (Based on Shulchan Shabbos)

Shabbat Shalom, Shaul


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For last year's essay by Rabbi Leiter on this week's Reading, see the archive.


FROM THE SAGES OF KABBALAH ON KabbalaOnline.org

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Mystical Classics
Crude Talk

From Shenei Luchot HaBrit by Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz

Jacob and Leah were on a spiritual level approaching that which existed in the Garden of Eden, when there was no feeling of shame or embarrassment attached to the act of copulation. They therefore expressed themselves in a totally unrestrained manner. Jacob also kissed Rachel the moment they met and this was not considered suggestive.

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