For Lubavitcher chassidim, the reading of Parshas Vayeitzei is very timely.
It often comes directly after the International Conference of Shluchim, when the Rebbe Shlita's emissaries from all over the world gather in 770 to receive inspiration for future activities.
And, in the days leading to, or following Shabbos Vayeitzei, they emulate the example of Yaakov our Patriarch and "go out" to different environments with the intent of revealing how these places are also parts of G-d's dwelling.
As highlighted in the essay that follows, this message reflects the role of the Jewish people as a whole: to go out and involve themselves in every dimension of worldly experience and reveal the inner G-dly intent present in these activities.
This mission is, however, not an end in its, but merely a means.
The ultimate goal is that G-d will fulfill His promise: "I will return you to this soil," (Genesis 28:15), and bring every member of the Jewish people back to Eretz Yisrael with the coming of Mashiach.
May the study of the Rebbe Shlita's teachings arouse Divine blessings for his complete and speedy recovery, and may he lead us to the Redemption in the most immediate future.
26 MarCheshvan, 5754
This essay is adapted from
(the printed talks of the Rebbe Shlita in Likkutei Sichos, Vol. X, p. 88ff;
Vol. IX, p. 26ff Vol. XV, p. 231ff; 243ff;
Sefer HaSichos 5748, p. 125ff
We all live in several interrelated environments.
Some like our homes, our workplaces, and the social environments which we create are directly within our sphere of influence. They are small systems, and the contribution each person makes affects the system in its entirety.
On the other hand, there are also larger environments - our local community, the country in which we live, and today, when the communications revolution has minimized the significance of geographic distance, the world at large - where our influence is not felt as strongly at the outset.
On the contrary, these environments affect our lives and force us to adjust to these settings.
Parshas Vayetzei focuses on the transition from one environment to another and the changes this brings about within a person's conduct.
Vayeitzei means "and he went out."
The reading describes how Yaakov departed from Eretz Yisrael, our holy land, [1] and went to Charan, an alien environment.
The Hebrew word charan is associated with anger.
Our Sages interpret [2] the name of Charan as referring to the arousal of G-d's anger.
There are three dimensions of Yaakov's stay in Charan:
- He personally was confronted by challenge. In the company of Lavan and others like him, he had to struggle to maintain his personal virtue.
- He built his family. During his stay in Charan, he married and fathered eleven of his twelve children, establishing his household. Despite the influences that prevailed in the community at large, Yaakov infused his family with the spiritual heritage received from Abraham: "to keep the way of G-d and to implement righteousness and judgment." [3] In doing so, he established the basis for the Jewish people for all time.
- He elevated the environment of Charan, lifting up the G-dly sparks enclothed in that land's material substance. This was reflected in his acquisition of Lavan's sheep and the great wealth which he amassed.
Each of these endeavors demonstrates unique spiritual powers.
By overcoming the personal challenges posed by his surrounding, Yaakov showed the infinite power of the G-dly soul, that even a hostile environment could not prevent its expression.
By raising a family, he extended his circle of influence beyond his individual sphere, enabling it to encompass others.
Yaakov's acquisition of wealth - and the refinement of the environment it symbolizes - represented a far greater extension.
The material possessions acquired by Yaakov were not, by nature, within the sphere of holiness.
On the contrary, as Charan and all of its elements existed independent of Yaakov's influence, they aroused G-d's anger.
Thus by elevating them, Yaakov fulfilled the purpose of creation, showing how even the lowest dimensions of existence can be transformed into a dwelling for G-d. [4]
These efforts tapped Yaakov's highest powers of achievement.
Since Yaakov and his family shared an inherent connection to holiness, the fact that they were able to maintain this connection despite the challenges of a foreign environment, although a worthy attainment, cannot be considered as a new accomplishment of their own. Instead, it merely revealed the potential that they were granted by G-d.
The refinement Yaakov brought about in Charan, by contrast, was his own achievement, a new development which changed the nature of his environment.
In this manner, he set a pattern for his descendants, demonstrating how they would become G-d's partner in creation.[5]
They would journey throughout the world and uncover the spiritual potential invested in all the different elements of existence, revealing that "everything that the Holy One, blessed be He, created in His world, He created solely for His glory." [6]
These efforts distinguish the divine service of Yaakov from that of his forebears, Avraham and Yitzchak.
Our Rabbis have identified Avraham's service with the attribute of kindness (chesed), Yitzchak's with might (gevurah), and Yaakov's with beauty (tiferes).
Chesed reflects a thrust outward; the person gives generously without concern whether the recipients are worthy or not.
And thus Avraham showered kindness on "Arabs who bowed down to the dust on their feet." [7]
Nevertheless, the very fact that this generosity is given indiscriminately allows for the possibility that it will not change the inner nature of the recipients.
For this reason, although Avraham lived among the Hittites for decades, and they recognized him as "a prince of G-d," [8] they did not change their own conduct and continued their previous mode of behavior.
Gevurah is directed inward.
As our Sages commented,[9] "Who is a mighty man? One who conquers his natural inclination."
Inner directed activity produces change, but that change is primarily within oneself.
Although this inner light also radiates outward and inspires others, it forces the others to elevate themselves and thus will not affect those resistant to change.
And thus Yitzchak lived only in the Holy Land; he could not relate outside the realm of holiness. Even in Eretz Yisrael, he had contact with far few people than his father.
In Kabbalistic texts, it is explained that Yaakov's attribute, tiferes, beauty, comes from a fusion of chesed and gevurah.
For neither a single motif, nor its opposite, is beautiful.
Beauty comes from the ability to rise above one's natural pattern, and fuse different and even opposite tendencies.
This reflects the influence of the ein sof, an infinite quality above mortal potential. [10]
Similarly, Yaakov is identified with the quality of truth.
For truth has a dimension that transcends mortal limits, being above all possibilities for change or interruption. And with truth, one can reach out and change all environments, for nothing can oppose the truth.
Thus Yaakov is described [11] as receiving "a heritage that has no boundaries," and he is given the blessing, [12] "And you shall spread out eastward, westward, northward, and southward."
For as evidenced by his journey to Charan (and later to Egypt), he was able to extend himself beyond the realm of holiness and elevate even these foreign settings.
"The Deeds of the Patriarchs, Signs for Their Descendants" [13]
Yaakov's journey to Charan serves as an analogy for the descent of the soul into the body. [14]
In the spiritual realms, the soul experiences direct revelations of G-dliness.
Nevertheless, the soul "goes out" from that realm of holiness, and descends in to the body to live amidst the material concerns of this world.
Following the pattern set by our Patriarch Yaakov, every soul confronts the challenge of physical existence.
And as a person matures, he establishes a family, creating an environment where his values are expressed.
And through his contact with the world around him, he refines and elevates the G-dly life-force invested in creation.
Similarly, this pattern is reflected in the exile of the Jews among the nations. [15]
They were forced to leave the holiness of Eretz Yisrael and journey among the nations. Throughout the centuries of exile, despite the challenges presented by the societies in which they dwelled, our people have held true to their unique spiritual heritage, have maintained a tradition of family life, and have elevated the material substance of the world, showing how it is G-d's dwelling.
On the way to Charan, Yaakov experienced a vision of G-d, and G-d promised him:
[16] "I will return you to this soil."
This indicates that Yaakov's mission - to go to Charan - and the mission of the Jewish people at large - to make the world a dwelling for G-d - are means and not ends in themselves.
Yaakov was not intended to stay in Charan forever, and our exile will come to an end.
For a Jews' true place is in Eretz Yisrael.
This is no longer a dream of the future, but a reality that is becoming manifest imminently.
To borrow an expression from the Previous Rebbe, [17] "there is nothing left to do, the coat is already sewn. We have even polished the buttons."
We are on the threshold of the Redemption and indeed, in the process of crossing that threshold. And soon Mashiach will lead our people, and every individual Jew, out of exile and back to our Holy Land.
May this take place in the immediate future.
Notes:
- (Back to text) The nature of the transition undergone by Yaakov is amplified by our Sages (Megillah 17a, quoted by Rashi in his gloss to Genesis 28:9) who state that during the fourteen years prior to his departure to Charan, Yaakov studied in the yeshivah of Shem and Ever. During this time, he was not involved with material matters at all and solely devoted to spirituality. In contrast, in Charan, material concerns dominated his time and effort: "Twenty years I worked for you... By day, I was consumed by scorching heat, and at night by the frost; sleep was snatched from my eyes" (Genesis 31:38-40).
- (Back to text) Rashi, Genesis 11:32.
- (Back to text) Genesis 18:19.
- (Back to text) See Midrash Tanchuma, Parshas Bechukosai, sec. 3.
- (Back to text) Shabbos 10a.
- (Back to text) Avos 6:11.
- (Back to text) See Bava Metzia 86b, Rashi, Genesis 18:4.
- (Back to text) Ibid. 23:6.
- (Back to text) Avos 4:1.
- (Back to text) This is a restatement of the Kabbalistic expression (Likkutei Sichos, Vol. VII, p. 34): "the middle vector [in which tiferes is located] ascends to the inner dimensions of Keser."
- (Back to text) Shabbos 118a.
- (Back to text) Genesis 28:14.
- (Back to text) See Ramban, commentary to Genesis 12:6, Or HaTorah, beginning of Parshas Lech Lecha.
- (Back to text) The commentary of Or HaChaim to Genesis 28:14. See also Kitzurim VeHaaros LeTanya, p. 57.
- (Back to text) See Zohar Chadash, Bereishis 147a; Bereishis Rabbah 68:13.
- (Back to text) Genesis 28:15.
- (Back to text) See Sichos Simchas Torah, 5689.
Toldos - 5754