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ועיני לאה רכות

Sruly Schnair
In Vayeitzei, 5780

And the eyes of Leah were soft. (29:17)

Why were Leah’s eyes soft? Chazal (Bava Basra 123) explain that Leah heard the conversation of people who would talk among themselves. “Rivkah had two sons; her brother, Lavan, had two daughters. The older daughter is (apparently) promised to the older son, and the younger daughter to the younger son.” Leah asked concerning the nature of the older son’s endeavors. (Obviously, if she were destined to marry him, it would be nice to know what type of life she was destined to have.) The response was: “The older son is an evil, base person, a thief who preys on the…

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Home -> 5780 -> Vayeitzei

ויצא יעקב מבאר שבע וילך חרנה

Sruly Schnair
In Vayeitzei, 5780

Yaakov departed from Beer-Sheva and went towards Charan. (28:10)

Chazal (Bereishis Rabbah 68) address the concept of Heavenly intervention with regard to shidduchim, matrimonial matches. We derive from Yitzchak Avinu’s shidduch that mei’Hashem yatza ha’davar; “The matter stemmed from Hashem” (Ibid. 24:50). The Midrash states: “There are those for whom their zivug, pair/spouse, comes to them (as was manifest in the case of Yitzchak Avinu), and there are those who must go to their spouse (as was evinced with Yaakov Avinu, who had to travel to Canaan to seek his designated spouse). What is Chazal teaching us with this statement? It is a fact of life that some people…

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Home -> 5779 -> Vayeitzei

ויען לבן ויאמר אל יעקב הבנות בנתי והבנים בני... וכל אשר אתה ראה לי הוא

Sruly Schnair
In Vayeitzei, 5779

Then Lavan spoke up and said to Yaakov… “The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children…And all that you see is mine.” (31:43)

With an arrogance that is simultaneously astounding and becoming, Lavan lashes into Yaakov Avinu with a diatribe, asserting himself to be the victim and Yaakov to be the aggressor. We are accustomed to it. Throughout the generations, we have contributed to the success of our host nations and, at the end of the day, not only did we not receive our due, but we were also blamed for attempting to undermine them. In Maamar Yechezkel, authored by Horav Yechezkel, zl, m’Kuzmir, he cites his father, Horav Tzvi Hirsch, zl, who explains the word roeh (v’chol asher atah roeh, “All that…

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Home -> 5779 -> Vayeitzei

ויזכור אלקים את רחל וישמע אליה אלקים ויפתח את רחמה

Sruly Schnair
In Vayeitzei, 5779

Hashem remembered Rachel; Hashem hearkened to her, and He opened her womb. (30:22)

Hashem remembered the extraordinary empathy that Rachel Imeinu manifested for her sister’s plight. Lest she be discovered as Leah, Rachel gave her the predesignated signs that Yaakov Avinu (sensing that Lavan would pull off such a stunt) had originally given to her. Rashi explains that now that she was aware that she was barren, Rachel feared that Yaakov would divorce her, and she would be compelled to marry Eisav. (This is based upon the commentary that quoted people as saying that Lavan had two daughters, and his sister Rivkah Imeinu had two sons; the older son (Eisav) would marry the…

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Home -> 5779 -> Vayeitzei

ויהי בערב ויקח את לאה בתו ויבא אתה אליו

Sruly Schnair
In Vayeitzei, 5779

And it was in the evening that he took Leah, his daughter, and brought her to him. (29:23)

True to his reputation as a swindler, Lavan did not keep his word to give Rachel Imeinu to Yaakov Avinu. He substituted Leah Imeinu for Rachel. This ruse would not have worked had Rachel not given over to her sister the designated signs that Yaakov had arranged with her. The Patriarch knew what kind of thief his prospective father-in-law was. He did not, however, count on the extraordinary love that Rachel harbored for Leah. The relationship between siblings should serve as a paradigm for the relationship between friends. When we speak of a relationship between two friends, the friendship between…

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Home -> 5779 -> Vayeitzei

ויעבד יעקב ברחל שבע שנים ויהיו בעיניו כימים אחדים באהבתו אותה

Sruly Schnair
In Vayeitzei, 5779

So Yaakov worked seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him a few days because of his love for her. (29:20)

For some people life is far from a bed of roses. Yet, they persevere and forge ahead, often joyfully. Why? They believe that achieving their intended goal far outweighs any form of hardship they have been forced to endure. Pain is relative. If the goal means enough to the person, the pain, discomfort, anxiety are all worth it. Yaakov Avinu was an extraordinary masmid, diligent student of Torah. He did not waste a minute from Torah learning. During the fourteen years that he studied in the yeshivah of Shem and Ever, he did not lay down to sleep, so great…

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Home -> 5779 -> Vayeitzei

ויצא יעקב מבאר שבע

Sruly Schnair
In Vayeitzei, 5779

Yaakov departed from Beer Sheva. (28:10)

Chazal (Talmud Megillah 17a) deduce that Yaakov Avinu was sixty-three years old when he left his parents’ home. Fourteen years later, when Yaakov was seventy-seven, Yosef was born. When Yosef stood before Pharaoh, he was thirty years old – making Yaakov one hundred and seven years old. We add to this seven years of plenty and two years of famine to reach a sum total of one hundred sixteen, which should have been Yaakov’s age when meeting Pharaoh. When Yaakov stood before Pharaoh, however, he stated his age as one hundred and thirty – leaving us with a discrepancy of…

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Home -> 5778 -> Vayeitzei

ואולם לוז שם העיר לראשונה

Roberto Szerer
In Vayeitzei, 5778

However, Luz was the city’s name originally. (28:19)

A man goes through life – and then he passes to the next world – the real world, the world of Truth. What is left of all the years that he spent on this world? Nothing but memories: no money; no material assets; no distinction – only memories. In order to perpetuate themselves, people build monuments, erect buildings, make tributes to their achievements. Why? So that they will be remembered. We are so fickle. Everything is for one purpose: so that the next generation will not forget us. No one wants to be forgotten, but are we prepared to lead…

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Home -> 5778 -> Vayeitzei

וישא את קלו ויבך

Roberto Szerer
In Vayeitzei, 5778

And he raised his voice and wept. (29:11)

Yaakov Avinu wept when he met Rachel Imeinu. He meets the girl that he is going to marry, the wife with whom he is destined to build Klal Yisrael, and he cries. One would expect a somewhat different reaction. Rashi offers two reasons for our Patriarch’s anomalous reaction. First, Yaakov saw b’Ruach ha’Kodesh, through Divine Inspiration, that Rachel would not be buried near him. Why was Yaakov Divinely inspired at this moment? Was there no other time for Yaakov to see b’ruach ha’kodesh that he would not be buried with Rachel? Second, Rashi offers a reason for Rachel’s loss of…

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Home -> 5778 -> Vayeitzei

ואחר ילדה בת ותקרא את שמה דינה

Roberto Szerer
In Vayeitzei, 5778

Afterward, she bore a daughter and she called her name, Dinah. (30:21)

Everyone wants to get ahead, to rise to the summit of the spiritual ladder. What are we willing to sacrifice in order to achieve spiritual distinction? Are we willing to expend time and effort, give up financial security all for the purpose of spiritual achievement? The answer obviously should be a resounding, “Yes.” Nothing should stand in the way of spiritual ascendency. It cannot, however, be achieved on the “back” of someone else: a friend or even someone who is not a friend. Achieving closeness with Hashem cannot and should not be achieved at the expense of another Jew’s feelings…

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