The Double Story of Jacob's Journey For most of Jewish history, the Jewish people have been in exile from their homeland, the land of Israel. That is what makes this week's Torah portion, Vayetze, which describes the twenty years that Jacob spent away from Israel in the land of Charan, so critical to understanding the Jewish story. The opening verse of this portion, "Jacob left Beersheba and went to Charan", refers, according to the Midrash, also to the exile of the Jewish people. An analysis of the story of Jacob, our forefather, will therefore add perspective to the meaning and purpose of the exile. On the surface, Jacob flees Israel because of an adverse circumstance, the fear that Esau would kill him in retaliation for Jacob stealing their father's blessing. Rebbeca tells Jacob: And Rebecca… said to him, "Behold, your brother Esau regrets [his relationship] to you [and wishes] to kill you. And now, my son, hearken to my voice, and arise, flee to my brother Laban, to Haran. Similarly, the exile of the Jewish people from the land of Israel can be understood as a result of negative circumstances: "We were exiled from our land as a result of our sins". Seen in this light, exile is nothing more than a tragic result of a negative experience. Yet, when we look back at the story of Jacob, we discover a completely different narrative as to why Jacob traveled to Charan, namely, to find a wife and build a family: And Rebecca said to Isaac, "I am disgusted with my life because of the daughters of Heth. If Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth like these, from the daughters of the land, of what use is life to me?" And Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and he commanded him and said to him, "You shall not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to Padan aram, to the house of Bethuel, your mother's father, and take yourself from there a wife of the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother. Similarly, the dispersion of the Jewish people to every corner of the world is, from a deeper perspective, for a positive purpose. We are like Jacob, who traveled to a distant land, facing multiple challenges that forced him to dig deeper within himself and find the strength to transform his environment, to build a family, and to flourish financially. Furthermore, through honest labor, moral integrity, and through raising a family dedicated to G-d in the midst of a corrupt environment, Jacob infused sanctity into a place previously devoid of it. He established a family dedicated to God’s covenant The Jewish people, too, travel to every corner of the world to transform the material into a vehicle for spirituality. In doing so, not only do we elevate the world around us, but additionally we build our own home. We are enhanced in the process. We reach a deeper level within our soul, and discover a potential that we never knew existed when we were in the safe environment of the land of Israel. The effect of the collective spiritual work of Israel is alluded to in the final verse of the portion, "And Jacob went on his way, and angels of God met him." Rashi explains, "Angels of the land Israel came to greet him to escort him to the land". This is in stark contrast to the beginning of the portion, where Rashi emphasizes that the angels of the land of Israel do not depart the land of Israel. Yet, at the conclusion of the Parsha, Jacob has transformed the foreign land and expanded the holiness of the land of Israel. Thus, the angels of Israel could cross the geographical border of the land, since the holiness of Israel itself had spread. As the sages tell us about the time of Moshiach, "In the future, the Land of Israel is destined to expand throughout all the lands". Adapted from the teachings of the Rebbe, Lekutei Sichos Vayetze 25:2
Blog - Torah Insights
The Double Story of Jacob's Journey - ויצא
Isaac the Well Digger - תולדות
Isaac the Well Digger We know precious little about Isaac's life, his struggles, and his aspirations. One of the few episodes the Torah does describe is the ordeal of his digging wells. Unlike his father, who raised cattle, Isaac invested in agriculture in the arid terrain in the south of Israel. Water was scarce and extremely valuable, which led to the first two wells being contested by his Philistine neighbors; only the third well was not contested and represented Isaac's peaceful dwelling in the land. Commentators, sages, and mystics sensed that the story of the wells contains many layers of meaning. The Chasidic commentaries explain that digging for water represents the specific character trait of Isaac; the ability to find water in places where it is not obvious, which represents Isaac's ability to cultivate the inner waters of goodness that lie within the “soil” of the human soul. If Abraham represents loving-kindness, the desire to give, to share and influence others, Isaac embodies the ability, not to share, but to help people discover the innate sensitivity, wisdom and kindness that is latent within themselves. Nachmanides offers another interpretation, consistent with his overarching interpretation that “the actions of the parents are a sign for the children”; that the episodes and stories of the patriarchs and matriarchs in the book of Genesis foretell the future events that will unfold later in Jewish history. According to Nachamnides, the wells represent the Holy Temples that were destined to be built in Jerusalem: The Torah elaborates on the story of Isaac’s wells, seemingly without purpose; but there is a hidden meaning here, for it comes to foretell the future. The “well of living water” alludes to the Holy Temple, the divine abode that will be built by Isaac’s children. The First Temple was contested (“eisek”) by the nations, who waged wars against it until they destroyed it. The Second Temple was plagued by even greater hostility (“sitnah”) from its very beginnings through all its days, until it, too, was destroyed and we were cast into this bitter exile. The third well, however, is the Third Temple, may it be built speedily in our days, which will be established without animosity and strife. God will then broaden (“rehoboth”) our boundaries and all nations will serve God in unison. A well is a hybrid between human effort and the pristine state of nature created by G-d. In Jewish law, there are different degrees of ritual purity offered by immersion in water. Although the well is dug by human effort, it nevertheless has the highest form of ritual purity, that of the natural spring, because human effort removes the earth, and uncovers the natural water. The well is a metaphor for the holy temple, which represents the partnership between the human and the Divine. On one hand, the temple was built by the Jewish people yet it was sanctified by the Divine presence dwelling within it. The temple represents the Jewish people's effort to build a space that would be transparent to the Divine presence. Yet the “living water”, the Divine holiness, is not the product of man’s effort; but rather, it is a gift and a revelation from above. Ultimately, the transformation of the world into a place of peace and serenity, which will occur with the third temple, when “there will be no animosity and strife… and all nations will serve God in unison”, will occur through the partnership between humanity and G-d. Only then will the transformation be internalized and enduring. (Adapted from the teachings of the Rebbe, Lekutei Sichos Toldos 30:3)
The Triumph of Sarah - חיי שרה
The Triumph of Sarah They say opposites attract. Indeed, the first Jewish couple, Abraham and Sarah, could not have been more different from one another. Yet, only together were they able to change history, by spreading monotheism and becoming the patriarch and matriarch of the Jewish people. Abraham embodied loving kindness. Abraham saw the good in everybody. Abraham's love for humanity was blinding; he was not always able to see the importance of setting boundaries and protecting his environment from negative influences. Sarah, by contrast, embodied discipline, balancing Abraham's unbridled love, protecting it from enabling negativity, and channeling it to inspire others to grow and earn love. Abraham was a man of abstract ideas. His original name was Abram, or Avram, in Hebrew it is a combination of two words, "av" and “ram" which means exalted father. In the kabbalah "father" and "mother" represent wisdom and understanding, which are the "parents" that give birth to the "children", the emotions. Thus, "Av" "ram" represents abstract ideas. Sarah, whose name comes from the word for minister, represents the Kabbalistic attribute of Malchut, kingship, which represents Divine speech, the ability to articulate the abstract, to create reality within the world. This week's Torah portion is called Chayei Sarah, "the life of Sarah". Although it discusses the events that occurred after her passing, the portion represents not her demise, but the triumph and perpetuation of her legacy. For only in this portion do we see Abraham himself adopting her perspective and implementing her vision of expressing abstract ideals in a tangible lifestyle. Only in this portion does Abraham invest himself in purchasing a portion of land, the cave of Machepelah for Sarah's burial, that would concretize the Divine promise, made decades earlier, that the land of Canaan would be given to Abraham, and begin to transform it into reality. Only in this portion, "the life of Sarah", does Abraham dispatch Eliezer to find a wife for Isaac, realizing that his abstract ideas must be embodied and lived through the continuity of family life. The life and legacy of Sarah remind us that Judaism is not a set of beliefs and ideals, "abstract father", but rather the implementation of those ideals in the real world. Abraham and Sarah began the Jewish story, the story of introducing the exalted G-d, into every sphere of life and every corner of the earth. (Adapted from the teachings of the Rebbe, Chayey Sarah 5748)
What Abraham Taught When He “Called in the name of G-d” - וירא
What Abraham Taught When He “Called in the name of G-d” Abraham was the first to discover G-d and teach the world about monotheism. Yet introducing G-d into the world raises other questions: What is the relationship between the infinite G-d and the creations? Is G-d cognizant of, and present within the creation? How could we connect to G-d while living in a reality where He seems absent? The two portions in the Torah that describe the dramatic events of Abraham's life are divided in what seems to be an unnatural place. The division of the portions occurs immediately after Abraham's circumcision, and the second Portion begins as a direct continuation of that story, "and G-d appeared to him". The circumcision was a turning point in Abraham's life, when he achieved a far more profound connection with G-d, and reached far greater heights. This is alluded to in the phrase describing Abraham’s life’s mission, his "calling in the name of G-d". In "Lech Lecha", the first Portion dedicated to Abraham's story, the Torah tells how Abraham traveled to Canaan, and "called there in the name of the Lord": And he went on his journeys, from the south and until Beth el, until the place where his tent had been previously, between Beth el and between Ai. To the place of the altar that he had made at first, and Abram called there in the name of the Lord. (Genesis 13-14) In "Vayere", the second Portion about Abraham, describing the post circumcision events, the Torah similarly tells us again that Abraham "called there in the name of the Lord, the G-d of the world." And he planted an Eishel in Beer-Sheba, and he called there in the name of the Lord, the G-d of the world. (Genesis 21:33) While these descriptions seem similar, there is a subtle but significant difference between them. In our Portion, the Torah adds "the G-d of the world". Translated literally, the original Hebrew says not "G-d of the world", but rather "G-d world". In this Portion, after the circumcision, Abraham reached a deeper awareness. Not that G-d and the world are two distinct entities, the world possessing its own identity and existence that is directed by G-d, its creator; but rather "G-d world", the world is not a distinct identity, it is an expression of the Divine creative power. The Hebrew word for world, "Olam", is derived from the word "He'elem", concealment. The created world conceals the Divine energy that continuously brings it into existence. The opening statement of the Portion is "and G-d appeared to Abraham", for the circumcision represents the beginning of a new era in Abraham's life and in the history of the spiritual development of the world, the removal of the concealment. The world no longer conceals its creator. Wherever Abraham looks, he now sees, not a distinct creation, but rather a vivid expression of the Divine creative power.