Parshat Vayetzei 5777-the Parsha of Galut

The tradition about this Parsha is that it is ‘stuma’ which means that there are no gaps in the whole Torah reading, which we normally find in most other sections of Kriat Hatorah. The Mefarshim comment that this idea symbolizes the focus of the Parsha which is galut and that the exile is a time when we are ‘closed in and susceptible to great danger, as we have seen over and over again in our history. There is no light in a situation of galut and God’s presence is not seen, as opposed to Eretz Yisrael which is constantly under the hashgacha of God. This is the symbolism of a ‘closed’ sidra as we find in this week’s Torah reading.

A question is raised by the Chafetz Chaim(Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan-Poland .d.1933). When will we know it is time to leave galut? He answers by referring to the verses describing the situation just before Yaakov leaves Lavan to go back home.

א  וַיִּשְׁמַע, אֶת-דִּבְרֵי בְנֵי-לָבָן לֵאמֹר, לָקַח יַעֲקֹב, אֵת כָּל-אֲשֶׁר לְאָבִינוּ; וּמֵאֲשֶׁר לְאָבִינוּ--עָשָׂה, אֵת כָּל-הַכָּבֹד הַזֶּה. 1 And he heard the words of Laban's sons, saying: 'Jacob hath taken away all that was our father's; and of that which was our father's hath he gotten all this wealth.'

ב  וַיַּרְא יַעֲקֹב, אֶת-פְּנֵי לָבָן; וְהִנֵּה אֵינֶנּוּ עִמּוֹ, כִּתְמוֹל שִׁלְשׁוֹם. 2 And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as beforetime.

Here we see initially that the sons of Lavan accuse Yaakov of getting rich at their father’s expense. This is a claim which we have heard many times, that the Jews have become wealthy at the expense of the non-Jewish population amongst whom they reside. The Chafetz Chaim comments however that this may not yet be the time to leave. It is only when we see that the פְּנֵי לָבָן has changed that we must consider this as a warning that our time to return to Israel has come. The 

פְּנֵי לָבָן refers to the leadership in the non-Jewish world. If the leaders are looking at us with evil intent, then it is truly time to leave. It is worthy to speculate as to how many people knew of this statement of the Chafetz Chaim , (who died in 1933). How many more would have possibly been saved if they had heeded to these prophetic and insightful words.

Another question is raised as to how is it possible that we have found ourselves being exiled from a certain country almost overnight, after having lived in that place for many years. Why do countries turn against the Jews in this way?

Rabbi Gedaliah Schorr zal(USA d.1979) in the Sefer Ohr Gedaliah (in an essay for Shemini Atzeret) gives a surprising explanation for this phenomenon. He explains that the reason we were sent into exile in the first place, apart from the punishment aspect, is to go to countries around the world and bring back the ‘sparks/nitzozot’ of holiness to be found there. Many people have converted to Judaism from all the countries we have been sent to, and this is seen by Rabbi Schorr as part of the reason we are there. He also asks that if we hadn’t sinned and gone into galut, what would have happened to all the ‘sparks’? He answers by saying that the holiness of Eretz Yisrael would have acted as a magnet and the ‘sparks’ would have arrived in Israel of their own volition.

With this perspective, he explains that once our task in a certain place is done and all the kedusha is removed from there, then all that is left in that place is the residue which reflects a lack of holiness. This is why the country can turn against us overnight as our holy task is over and only evil remains.

The proof he brings to this amazing idea is from the same pasuk as quoted above.

Lavan did have a certain amount of holiness in his place of abode, and this was drawn by Yaakov into the 'Jewish fold', such as his daughters. Once this task was complete, then פְּנֵי לָבָן changes and we are driven away, as was Yaakov in our parsha.

A final comment is to be found from the last pesukim of the parsha.

ב  וְיַעֲקֹב, הָלַךְ לְדַרְכּוֹ; וַיִּפְגְּעוּ-בוֹ, מַלְאֲכֵי אֱלֹהִים. 2 And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.

ג  וַיֹּאמֶר יַעֲקֹב כַּאֲשֶׁר רָאָם, מַחֲנֵה אֱלֹהִים זֶה; וַיִּקְרָא שֵׁם-הַמָּקוֹם הַהוּא, מַחֲנָיִם.  {פ} 3 And Jacob said when he saw them: 'This is God's camp.' And he called the name of that place Mahanaim. {P}

Why does Yaakov refer to 2 camps of angels? The Maharal(Prague:16th century) explains that there are angels which accompany us in Eretz Yisrael and there are those that are with us in the Diaspora. When one comes near to Israel there is a ‘changing of the guard’ and the new angels take over. With this idea he explains that this changeover seems to have happened far from the border of Israel, as Yaakov and his camp are not yet even through the land of Amon and Edom. So why did the changeover take place? The Maharal answers that it is sometimes not dependent on where you are but where you are going to, that defines who you are. Yaakov was headed for Israel and became an ‘Eretz  Yisrael Jew’, even though he was far from the border at this time. His intentions are shown in the changeover of angels.

May we learn the lessons of galut and realize that although this is our current ‘station’ but Eretz Yisrael is our final destination. May we speedily realize this hope with the advent of Mashiach.

Shabbat Shalom.

Rabbi Ian Shaffer Cherry Hill NJ