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
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