B"H

Friday, Kislev 11, 5781 / November 27, 2020

 

Our sages say that whatever happened to our forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Yaakov, the patriarchs of the Jewish people, is a sign and guide for their descendants.  Thus, the stories the Torah tells about the Patriarchs and Matriarchs are not merely to tell us historical events of thousands of years ago, but to serve as a lesson for every Jew, in every country, in every generation.

 

One of the episodes told in this week’s Parsha, Vayeitzei, is about Yaakov’s travel to Charan to the home of his uncle and future father-in-law, Lavan, where he spent twenty years.

 

On the way he passed by Mount Moriah, the mountain upon which G-d’s tenth test to Abraham was performed, the place where G-d tested Abraham if he was ready to bring his beloved son, Isaac, as a sacrifice. There Yaakov prayed and went to sleep for the night. There Yaakov made his final preparations before leaving the land, which was later to be the homeland of the Jewish people. He continued to Charan, which comes from the same Hebrew root word as “anger.” Charan was a place where the people’s actions angered G-d.

 

How does Yaakov prepare himself for this transition from the holy land and the security of his parents’ home to this unholy place? The Torah tells us that after he prayed, “He took from the stones of that place and placed them around his head.”

 

The Torah commentator, Rashi, explains the reason that Jacob placed the stones around his head, “Because he was afraid of the wild beasts.”  He placed the stones around his head for protection. But the obvious question is: If Yaakov was afraid for his physical welfare why did he place the stones only around his head?  He should have placed them around his entire body for protection?

 

The Lubavitcher Rebbe explains: Yaakov knew that coming to Charan he would have to work for his father-in-law; build a family and would have to deal with physical and monetary matters. He was afraid that they may pull him away from his connection to G-d. He was worried that he may be too involved in making a living and thus forget the purpose of it all; that everything is from G-d, Who gives us the strength to accomplish whatever we have to accomplish.

 

Thus, Yaakov placed “the stones of that place around his head.”  He said to himself, “Even when I will have to work and be involved in my family’s physical success, my head; i.e. my thoughts will be protected by the holy stones of this holy place upon which the Holy Temple would later be built, so that the Torah study of these fourteen years and the holy atmosphere of my parent’s home will stay with me throughout the years in Charan.

 

This is a lesson for every one of us. Although we spend so much of our time being involved in our physical and monetary success, we must remember the purpose of it all. We have to place as much emphasis on our spiritual success as on our physical and make sure that they enhance each other.

 

SHABBAT SHALOM

Montrealcandle lighting time: 3:56 / Shabbat ends: 5:02