Parshas HaShavua Vayeitzei

Parashas Vayeitzei

I. Elifaz's Mission � The Importance of Every Mitzvah

"And (Yaakov) raised his voice and cried. (Bereishis 29:11)

Yaakov Avinu after a long journey, arrives in Padan-Aram and meets his
future wife, Rachel, for the first time. Instead of rejoicing, he cries.
The RIV''A (one of the Baalei Tosafos � early commentators on the Talmud and
Chumash) explains (cf Rashi) that Yaakov was grieved that he came to Rachel
empty-handed. The wicked Esav had sent his son Elifaz on a mission to kill
Yaakov, but when Elifaz caught up with him, he could not bring himself to
commit murder since he had grown up under the positive influence of his
grandfather, Yitzchak. Elifaz then asked Yaakov if there was any way he
could fulfill his father's command. Yaakov advised Elifaz to take away all
of Yaakov's money which, in a small way, rendered Yaakov "dead" since he
could not support himself or properly help others. Rabbeinu Tam asked: Why
did Elifaz bother to ask Yaakov's advice if a son is exempt from obeying his
father's command when it violates Torah law? Rabbeinu Elyakim answered that
he wanted to find some way to comply with his father's wishes while still
following the Torah (Baalei Tosafos 29:11).
Elifaz's actions demonstrate a remarkable level of appreciation for the
value of a mitzvah. He could have walked away without even trying to carry
out his mission since it was in direct contradiction to Torah law. Instead,
he beseeched his uncle to devise some strategy which would enable him to
fulfill any aspect of the original command given by his father. Such was
his love of the mitzvah of honoring his parents.
Even more astonishing is the towering personality of Yaakov Avinu, who
willingly gave away his last penny to enable another person to perform some
small facet of a mitzvah, in spite of the fact that the original "mitzvah"
entailed his murder. Bear in mind that this is the same Yaakov who
appreciated the value of his God-given possessions so greatly that he
endangered himself to protect even small jars that he owned, even though he
was, by that point in time, a wealthy man (Rashi, Bereishis 32:25).
Do we have the same love for every mitzvah? While we might never reach the
level of Yaakov, the Torah teaches us about him so that we may set our goals
to strive in that direction andnot be complacent with our performance of
mitzvos. Even when the total fulfillment of a mitzvah is beyond us, we are
still expected to do our best. If we view each obstacle as a challenge and
every mitzvah as an opportunity for a priceless share in the eternal World
to Come, every aspect of each mitzvah will take on new meaning.

II. Viewing Our Avos

"And Hashem saw that Leah was hated�(Bereishis 29:31)

It would seem that Yaakov was insensitive to one of the most important
people in his life � his wife. The Ramban points out that, in truth, Yaakov
did not "hate Leah". Yaakov loved Rachel slightly more than Leah, and
therefore in the Torah's terminology Leah is portrayed as "hated". This is
one of the many examples of the Torah using a negative expression to
describe a miniscule flaw in a positive attribute. Often, the Torah will
magnify a situation in order to emphasize the leson to be learned from it.
At times, the Torah will describe an "error" or "sin" perpetrated by one of
our forefathers, which in actuality was merely a minute mistake in judgment
that by our standards would never be considered a sin. This episode will be
placed under a microscope, enlarged millions of times and be depicted as
something much more serious than our judgment would indicate. This is in
acordance with the principle that tzaddikim are judged with extreme
strictness due to their lofty stature and the correspondingly higher
standards required of them (see Yevamos 121b). For example: "And Reuven
went and slept with Bilhah" (Bereishis 35:22). From the pasuk � verse �
alone it would seem that Reuven performed a shockingly terrible sin. The
Gemara (Shabbos 55b) tells us that all Reuven did was to move his father's
bed out of Bilhah's tent, and in actuality, he did not sin, as the Torah
continues in this very same verse, "And the sons of Yaakov were twelve."
Rashi explains this to mean
that "They were all equal, all righteous and Reuven did not sin."
Similarly, the sons of Yaakov, the future Tribes of Israel, could not have
been juvenile delinquents who kidnapped their brother and sold him into
slavery. There must be more to this story! Obviously, the progenitors of
Hashem's chosen nation must have been as close to perfection as possible.
They were not ordinary people and we cannot think of them in our own terms.
The S'forno (Bereishis 37:18) teaches us that the brothers were completely
righteous. They felt that Yosef, by informing their father of their alleged
misdeeds, was endangering them and the future of the Jewish nation that was
to come from them. Had Yaakov believed Yosef's account, Yaakov could have
withheld his blessings from the brothers (or even cursed them). The
brothers convened a beis din � court � and ruled that action must be taken
to stop Yosef. The Gemara (Shabbos 10b) explains that the brothers took
such a drastic step because their vision was somewhat clouded by a slight
feeling of
jealousy towards Yosef. The Torah took an almost negligible error in
judgement and enlarged it many times so that we can learn the power of
jealousy; eventhe twelve tribes were not entirely beyond its grasp.
Every word and letter in the Torah is holy and teaches us a lesson. Most of
these lessons cannot be gleaned at first glance. Time and effort in
studying the Torah are prerequisites to its proper understanding. Each of
us must set aside as much time as possible to delve into and examine the
eternal truth of the Torah and the example our forefathers set for us.
III. Protecting Our Spiritual Environment

"And they, (the wives) were a source of spiritual rebellion to Yitzchak and
to Rivkah�
(Bereishis 26:35)

At the age of forty, Esav, the son of Yitzchak and Rivkah, married two
wives, each of whom was an idol worshipper. This caused both his parents
much anguish. Why did the Torah mention Yitzchak's name before Rivkah's?
The Midrash (Bereishis Rabbah 65:4) suggests an explanation.
Yitzchak, who was raised in the holy and pure surroundings of Avraham Avinu,
was repulsed by the smallest aspect of avodah zarah � idol worship. Rivkah,
on the other hand, even though she was a total believer in Hashem, grew up
in the evil home of B'suel, her father, and Lavan, her unscrupulous brother.
Rivkah, was therefore, ever so slightly more tolerant of idolatry. The
avodah zarah of her daughters-in-law did not disgust her as much as it
affected her husband Yitzchak.
The Yefeh Toar, a commentary on the Midrash, expounds upon this
interpretation. Rivkah, who was raised in the environment of idolatry and
impurity, totally rejected that lifestyle. She lives a life of
righteousness and holiness. To achieve such a level of holiness, her hatred
of evil and idol worship must have been extreme. It would seem that Rivkah,
not Yitzchak, would have a greater feeling of revulsion to avodah zarah.
Shouldn't the pasuk have mentioned Rivkah's name prior to Yitzchak's?
No matter how vigorously one tries to combat it, environmental factors
nevertheless make an impact. In the exact situation where one has battled
and even succeeded in overcoming his environment, a residue of tolerance for
that same situation is subconsciously retained.
We must be aware of the influences that every element of our surroundings
can have upon us. Whether it is our workplace, school, neighborhood and of
course, our home, we must try to keep our environment constantly pure. We
should not be fooled by our rationalizations that the bad environment will
not affect us. It will!
To protect ourselves and our families, we must strive to create an
environment entrenched in Jewish values and Torah ethics. Do not speak
lashon hara. Learn Torah. Practice chesed and tzedakah. As parents, we
must do everything to impress upon our children the importance of a Jewish
life. Parents must be living examples of the values that our children learn
in school. The extra effort will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the
parents as well. If we strive to build a Torah-secure home, Hashem will
certainly bring us success in the nurturing of our children. They should
grow to be good Jews so that we can be the proud generation to greet
Mashiach.