Vayeitzei – Peninim on the Torah

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

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

Lavan came at Yaakov with a list of purported accusations, claiming that Yaakov had deceived him and was taking his daughters from him as if they were his captives. The man’s arrogance is staggering. He presented himself to Yaakov as if he were the injured party and Yaakov Avinu, the aggressor, an accusation which could not be further from the truth. When Yaakov replied, exposing Lavan’s untruths, Lavan attacked with his real feelings: everything belongs to me. So what? Does this mean he could violate Yaakov’s rights, mistreat, lie to and steal from him? How does Lavan’s response mitigate Yaakov’s…

Home -> 5784 -> Vayeitzei

ויען יעקב ויאמר ללבן מה פשעי מה חטאתי כי דלקת אחרי

Sruly Schnair In Vayeitzei, 5784

Yaakov spoke up and said to Lavan, “What is my transgression? What is my sin that you have hotly pursued me?” (31:36)

Enough! Yaakov had been quiet long enough. Yaakov realized that Lavan’s trumped up charges against him were nothing more than a pretense to allow him to search his possessions. Our Patriarch allowed his pent-up emotions to counter every one of Lavan’s accusations respectfully. In a powerful exposition, the Chasam Sofer (Teshuvos, Chelek 6, Likutim 59) writes that every tzaddik, righteous person, must contend with his personal Lavan, his nemesis who will do everything in his power to make his life miserable. To paraphrase the Chasam Sofer: “There is no Yaakov (metaphor for holy, righteous man) who does not have his…

Home -> 5784 -> Vayeitzei

לקח יעקב את כל אשר לאבינו ומאשר לאבינו עשה את כל הכבד הזה

Sruly Schnair In Vayeitzei, 5784

Yaakov has taken all that which belonged to our father and from that he amassed all this wealth. (31:1)

Targum Onkelos translates kavod (usually translated as honor) as nichsaya, material possessions (u’midei l’avuna kana kol nichsaya ha’ilein). Why would Onkelos diverge from the usual translation? Horav Tzvi Elimelech Hertzberg, zl (Rav in Baltimore), explains that the word kavod is noticeably spelled missing the vav, which implies that the honor that they were addressing is (to us) not true honor; rather, it is kavod medumah, imaginary honor. What did Lavan’s sons value? Growing up in their father’s home, influenced by his love of money, his constant swindling, anything to make a buck. They were privy to a perverted sense of…

Home -> 5784 -> Vayeitzei

ויאסף לבן את כל אנשי המקום ויעש משתה

Sruly Schnair In Vayeitzei, 5784

So Lavan gathered all the people of the place and made a feast. (29:22)

This wedding reception of Yaakov Avinu and what should have been Rachel Imeinu included all the people in the city. Lavan spared no expense in marrying off his daughter. Little did Yaakov know that his future father-in-law, Lavan the swindler, had substituted Leah Imeinu for Rachel. Lavan knew the marriage was based upon a fraud; so did Rachel and Leah. Daas Zekeinim m’Baalei Tosfos (29:25) comment that, indeed, everyone in the community, all of the invited guests, was aware of the ruse. In fact, they did not conceal their knowledge of the deception. They sang all night, Ha Leah, “This…

Home -> 5784 -> Vayeitzei

ויצא יעקב מבאר שבע וילך חרנה

Sruly Schnair In Vayeitzei, 5784

And Yaakov departed from Beer Sheva and went to Charan. (28:10)

Rashi asks the well-known question: “It needs only to have written, ‘And Yaakov went to Charan.’ Why does the Torah mention his departure? Magid, it tells us, that the departure of a tzaddik, righteous person, from a place makes an impression. For when he is in a city, he is its magnificence, he is its splendor, he is its grandeur. Once he has departed, its magnificence has gone away, its splendor has gone away, its grandeur has gone away.” Horav Chaim Stein, zl, makes note of Chazal’s (quoted by Rashi) use of the word magid (she’yetzias tzaddik oseh roshem), “it…

Home -> 5783 -> Vayeitzei

ויזכר אלקים את רחל

Sruly Schnair In Vayeitzei, 5783

Hashem remembered Rachel. (30:22)

Rachel Imeinu was mevater, relinquished, that which she deserved in order to preserve her sister’s esteem. If Yaakov Avinu would have discovered that Leah had been exchanged for Rachel, it would have posed an embarrassing situation for Leah. To spare her the shame, Rachel gave up what was hers. Horav Yeruchem Levovitz, zl, adds that Rachel’s actions to spare her sister from humiliation also breached the trust Yaakov had in her. The Patriarch knew that Lavan was a swindler who would find some way to break his word at the very last moment. Thus, he made a pact with Rachel,…

Home -> 5783 -> Vayeitzei

וייקץ יעקב משנתו ויאמר אכן יש ד' במקום הזה ואנכי לא ידעתי

Sruly Schnair In Vayeitzei, 5783

Yaakov awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely Hashem is present in this place and I did not know.” (28:16)

Rashi explains that after discovering the level of holiness of the place in which he presently was, Yaakov Avinu was lamenting having slept. How does one dare to sleep in such a holy place? The Brisker Rav, zl, would become emotional when thinking about Yaakov’s reaction to discovering that he was in a consecrated place. The Patriarch had escaped from his brother, Eisav, who was bent on killing him. On the way, he was waylaid by Elifaz, who took away all of his money. Therefore, since he had just received a prophecy that assured him, U’shemarticha b’chol asher teilech; “I…

Home -> 5783 -> Vayeitzei

ויפגע במקום וילן שם

Sruly Schnair In Vayeitzei, 5783

He encountered the place and spent the night there. (28:11)

This was no ordinary place. It was Har HaMoriah, where Avraham Avinu bound Yitzchak (Avinu) on the Mizbayach, Altar, which would later serve as the site of the Bais Hamikdash. Chazal interpret the word vayifga, “he encountered,” as “he prayed.” Yaakov Avinu’s encounter was of a spiritual nature. He encountered Hashem. Since it was evening, this is when the Patriarch initiated Tefillas Arvis, the Evening Prayer. Chazal (Chullin 91:13) teach that originally Yaakov had passed the place without giving it a second thought. When he reached Charan, he realized that he had passed the place where his father and grandfather…

Home -> 5783 -> Vayeitzei

ויצא יעקב מבאר שבע ... ויפגע במקום וילן שם

Sruly Schnair In Vayeitzei, 5783

Yaakov departed from Beer Sheva … He encountered the place and spent the night. (28:10,11)

Chazal (Megillah 17a) glean from the word sham, there, that this was the first time the Patriarch lay down to sleep. He had spent the past fourteen years “hidden” within the yeshivah of Shem and Eivar. I use the word “hidden” to underscore that Yaakov Avinu became a part of the yeshivah in such a manner that no one even knew he was there. He studied day and night, focused on one thing: learning Torah. The question that should be addressed is how Chazal knew that Yaakov was in the yeshivah. Simply put, after calculating Yaakov’s age at present and…

Home -> 5782 -> Vayeitzei

ויצא יעקב מבאר שבע

Sruly Schnair In Vayeitzei, 5782

Yaakov departed from Beer Sheva. (28:10)

Rashi comments that as long as Yaakov Avinu lived in Beer Sheva, he constituted its hod, glory, ziv, splendor, and hadar, beauty. Once he left the community, these qualities left with him – a phenomenon that occurs whenever a tzaddik, righteous man, of repute leaves a circle of people. His influence, which consists of these three qualities, departs with him. We must add that every individual tzaddik has his own unique form of these qualities. Thus, even though Yitzchak Avinu and Rivkah Imeinu remained, their form of these qualities left a different impact on those around them. Theirs was a…

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Back to Home -> Vayeitzei ->

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

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

ויען יעקב ויאמר ללבן מה פשעי מה חטאתי כי דלקת אחרי

Yaakov spoke up and said to Lavan, “What is my transgression? What is my sin that you have hotly pursued me?” (31:36)

לקח יעקב את כל אשר לאבינו ומאשר לאבינו עשה את כל הכבד הזה

Yaakov has taken all that which belonged to our father and from that he amassed all this wealth. (31:1)

ויאסף לבן את כל אנשי המקום ויעש משתה

So Lavan gathered all the people of the place and made a feast. (29:22)

ויצא יעקב מבאר שבע וילך חרנה

And Yaakov departed from Beer Sheva and went to Charan. (28:10)

ויזכר אלקים את רחל

Hashem remembered Rachel. (30:22)

וייקץ יעקב משנתו ויאמר אכן יש ד' במקום הזה ואנכי לא ידעתי

Yaakov awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely Hashem is present in this place and I did not know.” (28:16)

ויפגע במקום וילן שם

He encountered the place and spent the night there. (28:11)

ויצא יעקב מבאר שבע ... ויפגע במקום וילן שם

Yaakov departed from Beer Sheva … He encountered the place and spent the night. (28:10,11)

ויצא יעקב מבאר שבע

Yaakov departed from Beer Sheva. (28:10)

YEARS

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

You have Successfully Subscribed!