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TALES
FOR THE SHABBOS TABLE
In this week's Torah Portion we read about the
meeting between Yaakov and
his evil brother Asav who had been simmering in hatred, waiting
over thirty
years to kill him.
But Yaakov finds the perfect strategy to appease his ruthless
brother; he
sends angels (!) to tell him:
"I've been living with Lavan and delayed till now. I
have oxen, donkeys,
flocks, men and women servants and I'll send them all to you,
my lord, to
find favor in your eyes".
This seems to make no sense whatsoever.
Firstly, if Yaakov could send angels, that alone should have
sufficed to
deter Asav - angels can destroy entire cities! Why add the
message?
Secondly, Asav was wealthy and powerful; he certainly wasn't
lacking sheep
and slaves. Why would Yaakov think that such gifts would placate
his
brother's 30 year grudge!
Thirdly, Rashi explains that Yaakov mentioned his stay by
Lavan in order
inform Asav that: "Although I lived by Lavan, I kept
all the 613
commandments and I didn't learn from his evil ways."
Seemingly he should have said the opposite! 'I lived by Lavan
for 20 years
and he taught me a few tricks!' what does Asav care about
613 commandments?
To understand this here are THREE stories.
1) First Story: Some 200 years ago, a group of some twenty
Chassidim were
sitting together repeating a deep discourse they had heard
from their Rebbe
the holy 'Magid', Rabbi Dov Ber of Mezeritz.
After repeating the discourse several times, they began a
lively soul
searching discussion. To help bring it even more 'home' they
brought out
vodka and something to eat. (This is called, in Chassidic
jargon 'a
farbrengan').
After a few drinks one of the participants who suffered severely
from
several ailments stood up and requested that the other Chassidim
bless him
with health.
But his friends were aghast, "What! We should give blessings?!
You must have
drunk too much! We aren't Tzadikim! We are simple Jews. If
you want
blessings ask the Rebbe! He is truly great and holy."
They felt that true humility doesn't only mean being humble
to G-d but to be
humble before everyone. In other words; to be TRULY small
in ones own eyes.
And this can only be accomplished if one has a Rebbe; a Jew
who is truly
great (because he is truly negated to the Creator like Moses.
See Num.
12:3).
But the poor Chassid wasn't discouraged. He felt that now
was a special
time. He raised his voice in supplication to the Chassidim,
weeping that
they should bless him.
But the Chassidim just raised their voice in song hoping
he would just give
up and go the Rebbe. This just agitaed him even more and he
was soon
yelling at the top of his lungs.
One of the pupils present was Rebbe Schneur Zalman of Liadi
[the Author of
the book 'Tanya' whose release from prison the 19th of Kislev
we celebrate
this Motzei Shabbat & Sunday]. Despite the confusion,
everyone heard him
when he said; 'Shha'.
Suddenly the room became silent, the singing ceased and even
the sick
Chassid stopped weeping as he spoke:
"My brothers and friends, have you forgotten the saying
that descended from
the highest heavens to the holy of our holy teacher (the Magid
of Mezeritz)?
"A Chassidic Farbringen can accomplish things that even
the Archangel
Michael cannot accomplish."
All of the Chassidim present fell into deep thought for a
second,
immediately realized their error and the entire atmosphere
changed. Smiling
and joyous they heartily blessed their friend. Needless to
say his recovery
was miraculous.
2) Second Story: When the Baal Shem Tov began teaching his
new approach to
Judaism called Chassidut there arouse great opposition. Not
long before, a
charismatic imposter called Shabbatai Tzvi had misled European
Jewry to
thinking he was the long awaited Moshiach and the results
were tragic. The
Rabbis feared a re-run.
In time their suspicions were found unwarranted and myriads
of Jews became
Chassidim.
But although the Baal Shem Tov proved beyond a doubt that
his approach
strengthened the Torah and hastened the true Moshiach (the
foundation of
Judaism), the opposition nevertheless increased and became
more intense.
The entire topic of Moshiach infuriated some Jews.
It came to a head with the imprisonment in 1799 of the first
Rebbe of Chabad
who, in his book 'Tanya' that had been published two years
earlier, went
very public with his explanations of the Messianic era and
how to hasten it.
The Rebbe was imprisoned and sentenced to death on false charges
supported
by evidence fabricated by his enemies only to be freed miraculously
fifty
three torturous days later (on the 19th of Kislev). Upon his
release he
immediately issued a letter telling his followers not to hate
the opposition
(see the Tanya pg. 206)
On his way home to Liozne he passed through a city where
a group of his
enemies met and taunted him.
"NU!! Rabbi. Is your Moshiach coming? Where is he??"
The Rebbe answered sadly, "The Moshiach that you want
will never come...and
the Moshiach that will come...you won't want."
3) Third Story: All the time the Rebbe was in prison there
was a simple,
poor Jew in Liozne that mourned and fasted every day. When
he heard of the
Rebbe's release, his joy was so unbounded that he participated
a bit to
freely in the festivities of the Chassidim.
By the time the Rebbe actually entered the town this poor
fellow was laying
in the road, unconscious from drink and exhaustion.
When the Rebbe's carriage passed him the Rebbe commented,
"Aha, the wealthy
Jew of Liozne is snoring!"
Everyone present thought the Rebbe was joking.. But he wasn't.
A while later the Rebbe said he would like to see that poor
fellow
privately. When he arrived the Rebbe asked him how he earned
a living. "I
sell rags and needles in the streets" was the answer.
The Rebbe replied;
"Well, you'll never get rich that way. You probably
buy your merchandise
from the peddler that comes into town, right? Listen, take
a loan from me
and instead of buying cheap things from the peddler go directly
to the
nearest city and buy better things, things you think people
might need. When
you have sold it all come back to me."
The Rebbe gave him a few rubles and the poor Chassid did
as he was told. A
few weeks later he was back in the Rebbe's room to pay the
Rebbe his loan
back.
"Not yet", said the Rebbe. "Now, instead of
buying in the local city, go to
Moscow and buy from the original suppliers. Then sell in the
local city
where you used to buy, and of course I want to see you again
as soon as
you've sold everything."
Sure enough in two week's time the Chassid was back.
"Now this time" continued the Rebbe. "Instead
of buying from the supplier
in Moscow go buy directly from the factories in Germany and
France. And
instead of selling in the nearby town, sell in Moscow!"
The Chassid dutifully wrote down all the Rebbe told him and
was just about
to leave when the Rebbe called him back.
"One more thing. When you are in France ask someone
to show you to a
theater. Yes, that's right, a theater where there are plays.
And don't
forget to bring a Tanya there with you. Then, when you have
sold all your
merchandise in Moscow come and tell me what happened."
The Chassid did as he was told. By now he was a man of means,
but he would
never dream of entering a theater if the Rebbe hadn't told
him. After he
bought his goods from the factory in Paris he asked the owner
if he could
get him a ticket to the theater. That night he was ushered
to his plush
seat in the massive ornate hall.
It was wonderful! The comfortable seat, the dark warm surrounding,
his weary
bones and the boring play almost immediately put him into
a deep, blissful
slumber.
Suddenly someone was shaking him. He opened his eyes to see
one of the
janitors standing over him. "Excuse me Rabbi" He
said in Yiddish. "The play
is over. Had a good sleep? Tell me, where are you from? What's
a Jew like
you doing in a place like this?" The Chassid told him
that the Rebbe
Schneur Zalman had sent him and, remembering his orders to
bring a Tanya,
took out the book and said, "See, the Rebbe who wrote
this book."
The janitor took it, opened and began reading. He stood for
several moments
and finally looked up and said, "This is a very important
book. Very
important!"
When the Chassid returned to the Rebbe and told him what
had happened and
got to the part about the janitor the Rebbe smiled broadly
and said "Good,
now I have approval from him as well!"
Some say that the janitor was one of the 36 hidden Tzadikim
and some say
that it was one of the forces of evil (something like the
angel that fought
with Yaakov).
Now we can understand. Yaakov was preparing the way for Moshiach
(see Rashi
33:14) and in order to do this he had to TRANSFORM Asav (who
represents the
power of selfishness and separation: creation without the
Creator). That is
why angels were not enough.
The first story shows that angles (even the most powerful
of them) cannot do
what Jews can. That is why Yaakov, although he impressed Asav
with the
angels had to do more.
The second story shows that Moshiach is above human understanding
and can
only be brought by love. By sending Asav a gift of love; the
product of
years of hard and holy work it actually changed his mind.
It was something
he had never seen before.
The third story shows that transforming this world from poverty
to riches
spiritually (with the Tanya) as well as physically can only
be done through
a Rebbe. That is why Yaakov (the prototype of all Rebbe's)
mentioned Lavan.
To tell him that he didn't opt out for Lavan's type of meaningless
wealth.
The message of the 19th of Kislev is: we can transform the
world to a holy,
happy meaningful place. The Rebbe, his blessings and his wisdom
were freed
today! All we need is to open our eyes, awaken the love inherent
in every
heart and the burning desire for...
Moshiach NOW!!
Rabbi Tuvia Bolton
Yeshiva Ohr Tmimim
Kfar Chabad, Israel
www.ohrtmimim.org/torah
TALES
FOR THE SHABBOS TABLE
This week's section contains
many interesting episodes in the life of Jacob: his
battle with an angel, his tense encounter with his murderous
brother Esav, the rape
of his daughter by the prince of Shchem and the consequent
revenge of his sons
against the entire city and more.
But there are two things that are puzzling.
First, the last chapter of our Torah
portion is almost entirely devoted to a long
detailed list of the offspring of Esav; obscure gentile sinners!
Why does the Torah
even mention, no less eternalize, such people?
Second, after a grueling twenty-year
stint with his devious father-in-law Lavan, and
a harrowing all-night battle with an awesome angel G-d rewards
Jacob by... changing
his name to Israel. Does this make sense? Is this a fitting
reward?
To understand this here are four stories
about the 'Alter Rebbe' Rabbi Shneur Zalman
of Laidi, the first Rebbe of Chabad and the author of the
book "Tanya" when he was in
prison.
The Rebbe's enemies, the Mitnagdim,
forged papers 'proving' that he was planning a
revolution and in 1799 he was imprisoned for high treason
against the Czar.
Things did not look promising for the
Holy Rebbe. Russia at that time was one of the
most fanatically religious country that ever existed. The
entire population,
including the royalty, was devoutly Russian Orthodox and consequently
very
anti-Semitic and this, combined with the totalitarian Czarist
regime and the Rebbe's
uncompromising stand, should have spelled his doom.
But the results were more than miraculous.
Not only was he released 53 days later on
the 19th day of the Jewish month of Kislev (Which falls this
year on this coming
Sunday) but he transformed his incarceration to a milestone
in the hastening of
Moshiach (celebrated by Chabad Chassidim to this very day).
The first story occurred when one of
the guards entered the Rebbe's prison cell early
one morning, and found him preparing to pray the Morning Prayer
(Shachrit) with
phylacteries on his arm and head.
The Rebbe's cell was illuminated solely
by torchlight making it impossible to know
what time of the day it was and the guards did their best
to confuse the prisoners.
"What is this?" asked the
guard.
"Morning prayers" answered
the Rebbe.
"Morning? Why it's the middle
of the night, Rabbi. You must be confused." The guard
scoffed.
"Time is not determined by the
movement of the sun." answered the Rebbe. "Exactly
the
opposite is true; time moves the sun. G-d creates the world
constantly according to
"combinations of the letters of His names" which
change each hour. I can 'see' those
'letters' and now is a bit after five thirty in the morning.
The guard was overwhelmed; as much
by the explanation as by the fact that the Rebbe
knew the exact time and eventually the word got around that
a holy Jew was in the
prison.
Several days later the second story
occured.
An important government minister; perhaps
the minister of education, came to see for
himself. He entered the Rebbe's cell, was very impressed with
the Rebbe's countenance
and he asked.
"Rabbi, I hear you are a very
wise Jew, like King Solomon. I believe the Bible is
true, but I have a question that really bothers me. The Bible
tells us that after
Adam had eaten from the tree of knowledge G-d asked him, 'Where
are you?' (Gen. 3:9).
"This makes no sense to me. What difference did it make
where Adam was? And even if
it was important, why did G-d ask? Doesn't G-d know everything."
The Rebbe replied "Rashi, the
greatest of Torah commentators, explains that G-d
wanted to hear Adam's answer and began a conversation."
"I know that" replied the
Minster. "I know what Rashi says. I'm interested to hear
what you say, Rabbi."
The Rebbe looked at the minister and
replied. "I say that Adam means not just the
first man but every man. The Torah is informing us here that
G-d asks every man at
every instant 'Where are you?'
"For instance you," the Rebbe
looked the Minister in the eyes and continued. "Where
are you? What have you done with the fifty two years of your
life? (The Rebbe told
him his exact age). Have you lived according to the Torah?
Have you done anything
lasting and true or just accumulated egotistic achievements?"
The minister was shaken to the very
essence of his being and humbly left the cell.
Some say he later converted to Judaism.
This brings us to our third story.
Days later his cell door opened and
a simple soldier entered bringing the Rebbe's
food.
The Rebbe immediately stood and made
the blessing for seeing a king. (The Rabbis of
the Talmud instituted, according to deep kabalistic principles,
many blessings of
praise based on the commandment to thank G-d.)
When the soldier asked for an explanation
the Rebbe replied," Your Majesty, when you
entered I felt a bit of the fear that I feel every time I
think that G-d is King of
the Universe. That is why I stood and said the blessing on
seeing a King. You must be
the Czar himself!"
In fact it was the Czar. He had thought
that his disguise would hide the fact that he
was visiting a solitary Jew. But the Rebbe's vision and wisdom
left him completely
stunned. He turned on his heels and left.
The fourth story is my favorite.
Because the Rebbe was charged with
treason and was accused of trying to begin a new
form of Judaism based on world conquest with himself as King
Messiah, he was
subjected to intensive interrogation.
He was to answer a list of twenty two
difficult questions regarding his
life-philosophy; Chassidut.
He answered almost all the questions
in great length. Some required much time and
filled tens of pages. But there was one that he did not answer:
"In the end of the first Chapter
of the Tanya you write that only Jews have a
potential for good, while non-Jews stem from the 'other side'.
How can this be when
our religion is one of ultimate Good and Mercy? Are you implying
that our religion is
not good?"
The Rebbe just looked at them and smiled.
After consultation they declared the
Rebbe innocent of all charges and the court
adjourned .
There are two possible explanations
given for their strange decision: One is that
they realized that the Rebbe was right; Jews are completely
different and are
connected to a different type of 'good' than the world has
ever experienced.
The other explaintion is that the Rebbe
knew that he was about to be killed for
challenging their religion and he was happy to die for the
Truth. But because joy,
especially that of a Tzadik, breaks all boundaries, the accusations
were broken and
the Judges found themselves freeing him.
And his exoneration was a turning point
in Judaism; it prepared the entire world for
Moshiach.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe explained several
times that the real spiritual reason for the
Alter Rebbe's imprisonment was to prevent him from bringing
Moshiach with his
teachings.
he redemption of the Jewish people
depends almost totally on education; teaching the
entire world, including the gentiles, to think differently
about Torah, G-d,
Moshiach, the Jews and the importance of serving the Creator
with joy.
And each of the above stories teaches
one of these things:
The "Where are you" story
stresses that the Torah is alive, sets the rules of life
and G-d cares if each person is doing his best to follow it.
The 'time' story stresses that G-d
is 'One'. He alone creates the entire world
(spiritual as well) and every detail of it; every person,
every change etc.
constantly.
The 'disguised King' story shows that
the Moshiach (the Rebbe was Moshiach of his
generation) knows the true nature and purpose of each person.
And the 'Rebbe's smile' story shows
that there is an unexplainable and infinite
difference between the Jews and gentiles. And the importance
of Joy.
Now we can understand why the Torah
lists Esav's relatives in the end of this week's
section and why changing 'Jacob' to 'Israel' was so important.
Because one of the true accomplishments
of the Moshiach will be that ALL the gentiles
will serve the Creator; a thing that has never occurred in
the history of the world,
even in the days of King Solomon.
So the generations are listed in our
section because our section deals uniquely with
Moshiach: Earlier (33:14) Jacob said to his brother Esav (who
represents the
non-Jews) that he will meet him in 'Sair' and Rashi explains
he is referring to the
arrival of Moshiach. (See Ovadia 1:21) and listing their names
here gives them their
first connection to this.
That is why, immediately after his
release, the Alter Rebbe wrote a letter to his
friend The Bradichiver Rebbe giving thanks to G-d for making
a miracle "in the eyes
of the gentiles'
And that is what is being hinted at
by changing Jacob's name to 'Israel'. The name
Jacob signifies the Jews as they are in exile, but 'Isreal'
indicates Jews as they
are victorious revealing their true G-dly nature to educate
the world spiritually and
physically with....
Moshiach NOW!
Rabbi Tuvia Bolton
Yeshiva Ohr Tmimim
Kfar Chabad Israel
Torah Online Site: http://www.ohrtmimim.org/torah
TALES
FOR THE SHABBOS TABLE
In the beginning of this
weeks Torah portion, we read of Yaakov's confrontation with
his evil brother Eisov.
The Torah tells us that before the
meeting, Yaakov was afraid (32:8)
"And he had good reason to be. Years ago he had cheated
his brother out
of both his birthright and his father's blessings, and now
Eisov was
coming to get revenge with an army of four hundred men."
Rashi tells us (32:9) that Yaakov reacted
in three ways; he prayed to
G-d for success, prepared gifts of appeasement, and got ready
for war.
At first glance it's not clear. Why
didn't he also consider the option
of running away?
After all, he was vastly outnumbered,
had been wounded in his battle
with an angel just hours earlier, and now had everything to
loose. Not
only that, but he had been fleeing from Eisov for over twenty
years
anyway, so what would it hurt to consider one more retreat?
I want to answer with two stories told
about the founder of Chabad
Chassidus Rabbi Shneur Zalman, also known as the Alter (old)
Rebbe:
One day the Alter Rebbe was walking
in the street together with his
teacher, the Maggid of Meziritz, and another great Tzaddik,
Rav Pinkus
of Koritz. Suddenly Rav Pinchus spotted a sheet of soggy paper
in the
dirt, picked it up, examined it, and began trembling with
rage.
"Here! It's a page of your Chassidic
ideas! Have a look!" He yelled,
holding it up for the Magid to see. Because of YOU The HOLY
Torah is
laying in the GUTTER!"
Rav Pinkus was very opposed to the
Maggid's policy of publicizing
Chassidic-Kabalistic Torah ideas. And now he was beside himself
with
anger.
The Maggid was stunned, but the Alter
Rebbe did not lose his composure
and said "Let me answer with a parable":
"Once there was a great and mighty
King who had an only son whom he<
loved with all his heart.
One day the boy fell ill and nothing
seemed to help him. The best
doctors were called in to treat him, but day after day their
efforts
unexplainably ended in failure. Needless to say the king was
beside
himself with grief. His beloved son was dying before his very
eyes and
he was helpless.
After several weeks, just as everyone
had given up hope, an old man with
a long white beard and a radiant face appeared in the king's
court
He approached the throne, bowed deeply
and said, "Your Majesty please
excuse me for not coming earlier, but I think I can cure your
son. It
will require a big sacrifice on Your Majesty's part, and it
just might
be too late, but it''s Your Highness's only chance."
"ANYTHING!" Shouted the king,
"Just tell me what it is I should do."
"The old man pointed to the top
of the kings crown, where, set in gold,
sparkled a huge diamond - The very symbol of the king's greatness
and
splendor.
"You must grind up that diamond"
he answered.
A gasp went up from the crowd.
When things quieted down he continued.
"Then I must mix it in water and
give your son to drink. There is very little chance of him
opening his
mouth, and even if he does, I can't promise that he will swallow
any.
But if even the smallest amount goes down his throat, he will
be
healed."
The king readily removed his crown,
the old man removed the gem,
prepared the mixture, and they all rushed to the sick prince's
bedside.
They watched anxiously as the stranger
tried to open the unconscious
boy's mouth and pour the mixture in. At first it all trickled
down his
cheek, and onto his pillow and onto the floor. Then a bit
seemed to get
passed his lips, but he began coughing and this also he spit
out. But
finally he swallowed! And, true to the words of the old man
and to the
unbounded joy of the King, the prince opened his eyes and
began to
recover."
"This is a parable explaining
what you saw today", continued the Rebbe.
"The King is G-d. The Prince is
the Jewish people. The crown is Torah.
The diamond represents its precious secrets. And the old man
that healed
the prince, is the Baal Shem Tov.
Like in the story, the Jewish people
today are ill. Deathly ill. The
oppression and poverty of exile is taking its toll, and they
are losing
their enthusiasm. Some are even, G-d forbid, leaving the Torah
altogether.
The Baal Shem knew that the only remedy
for the Jewish people is making
the secrets of the Torah digestible for even the most seemingly
hopeless
Jew; and that is Chassidus.
"But in the process, unfortunately,
much spills out. And that is why
that page of Torah was laying in the gutter today."
Later, the Maggid thanked his pupil
profusely and told him that when Rav
Pinkus yelled at him, it was because in heaven there was a
decree
against his policy.
G-d created the world on the condition
that the creation (both spiritual
as well as physical) would conceal His Oneness, and the teachings
of
Chassidus were beginning to change all that.
Therefore the Maggid had opposition
from heaven as well as from man.
Just as our forefather Yaakov, had to battle both "angels"
and humans;
because he wanted to reveal G-d, here in this world. And the
Alter
Rebbe's parable saved him.
But there is another story with seemingly
the opposite message:
Years later, in 1798, the Alter Rebbe
was mysteriously charged by the
Czarist government with high treason, imprisoned, almost sentenced
to
death, and miraculously released 53 days later (on the 19th
of the
Jewish month of Kislev).
The immediate cause of this imprisonment
was that he was (falsely)
charged with plotting to organize a Jewish rebellion to overthrow
the
Czar, in order to aid Turkey in conquering Russia.
A deeper reason was the intense opposition
of other religious Jews
(called misnagdim) to his deep and unique Chassidic teachings,
and his
emphasis on Moshiach. In fact, it was they who falsified documents
of
"proof", and instigated his arrest.
But there was even a deeper reason.
Just days after his arrest, the
Maggid and the Baal Shem Tov (who had both died years earlier)
suddenly
appeared in his prison cell.
The first thing he asked them was why
he was imprisoned.
They answered that it was because of
his policy of revealing and
advertising too many Torah secrets in order to hasten the
arrival of
Moshiach.
Surprisingly, the Rebbe asked them
if he should stop doing so.
"NO!" they replied. "Now
that you have begun, continue with even more
force."
This is, at first glance, very strange!
Why did the Alter Rebbe even
consider stopping his teachings? Why didn't he defend the
spreading of
Chassidus, as he did earlier when the Maggid was challenged?!
Or shun
retreat as Yaakov did in the beginning of our section?
The answer is that the Alter Rebbe's
situation was different.
Yaakov had worked for 20 years by Lavan
only in preparation for this
moment when he would meet Aisov (who represented worldliness),
and plant
the seed for the future redemption. [As he hinted by sending
Aisov a
message that he had a donkey (32:6) which implies Moshaich
(see Midrash
Rabba 75:6) and telling him they would meet "later"
in Sair (Rashi
33:14)] So it wasn't relevant that he retreat.
Similarly, the Maggid strove for the
redemption, but his main goal was
to save Jews from assimilation. So it was also necessary that
he
continue.
But the Alter Rebbe was trying to bring
Moshiach immediately...and he
suddenly thought that the time was not yet ripe.
The prerequisite for Moshiach is a
total spiritual rearrangement of
Jewish priorities; The Jews will have to really desire that
this
physical world be filled with the revelation of G-d "like
water fills
the sea". (Rambam, hil Melachim 12:5). So when he saw
the tremendous
Jewish opposition to his ideas, and heard from his mentors
that the
heavens also disagreed, he thought that perhaps he should
stop.
And to this his holy visitors answered
"No!" He must ignore all the
apparent obstacles, and he must spread his teachings more
than ever
before. The world IS ready for Moshiach.
The holiday of the 19th of Kislev is
the birthday of Chassidus Chabad.
Celebrate it by learning Chassidus, making resolutions to
learn and
teach more Chassidus, and most importantly, to put what you
learn into
practice. Before we know it we will all be greeting....
Moshiach NOW!
Rabbi Tuvia Bolton
Yeshiva Ohr Tmimim
Kfar Chabad Israel
Torah Online Site: http://www.ohrtmimim.org/torah
TALES
FOR THE SHABBOS TABLE
This week the Torah
tells us about the famous all-night battle between Yaakov
and the angel.
We have met with materialized
angels before in the Torah; for instance the angels that
visited Avraham and Lot and then destroyed Sodom. But here
it is not so clear what is really going on.
First of all, No indication
is given in the Torah why the fight; what are they fighting
about?
Second. It is known
that Angels have no free will, they are only messengers
of G-d. Why did G-d send this angel? Finally, How can a
human being fight an Angel? We saw, in the case of Sodom
and Amora, that one angel can completely destroy several
cities!! So how could Yaakov defeat one?
I’d like to answer
this with another story.
Rabbi Shneur Zalman
of Liadi (The first Rebbe of Chabad who, 203 years ago on
the nineteenth ‘Yud Tes’ of Kislev, -which falls
out on this Shabbos- was miraculously released from Death
Row in Czarist prison) once sent one of his Chassidim on
an important mission to deliver a large sum of money to
a distant location.
The Rebbe blessed him with a safe trip but mysteriously
warned him not to enter any house that has no windows on
the north side.
Early the next morning
the Chassid set off happily on his journey. The first few
hours went smoothly although snow was falling heavily but
after a few more hours, ominous storm clouds darkened the
sky and created an impression of impending nightfall. The
wind grew stronger and colder from minute to minute and
was becoming unbearable. He tried to speed up the horses
hoping to reach some sort of an inn but agonizing hours
passed and still nothing.
He was numb and freezing,
it was much colder than usual and the snow was falling so
densely that he couldn’t really see where he was going.
He prayed to G-d for some sort of miracle.
Suddenly through the
white ocean of swirling snow he saw what looked like
the outline of a house just off the road. With his last
energy he forced the horses in the direction, and sure enough
it was a house! It even had a Mezuza on the door! He thanked
Hashem for the good fortune as he jumped from his wagon
onto the front porch and knocked on the door.
An elderly woman opened the door and let him in to the warm
house.
Come in you must be freezing,” she said. “Come
have a cup of tea, sit here by the stove. In just a minute
my sons will return, they will put your horse in the barn,
please sit down.” Just as he sat and began thawing
out he remembered that it was almost night and he hadn’t
yet prayed Mincha (afternoon prayer). So he asked the woman
which direction was Jerusalem (all prayers face Jerusalem)
and prayed, thanking G-d for his good fortune.
As he finished, and
was taking the three steps backward, he noticed that something
was wrong; one wall had no windows … the north wall!
Without hesitation he
put on his coat and walked to the door saying apologetically,
“I’ll be right back” but the door was locked.
He went to a window but it too was locked. “I forgot
something in the wagon,” he said to the old woman “Could
you please open the door?” Suddenly a key opened the
door from the outside, and four healthy young men entered
the house from the freezing storm. As soon as they saw their
visitor they immediately grabbed him, emptied his pockets,
tied him up, laid him on the ground in a corner, and sat
down to eat while their mother examined the booty.
“Ho HO! She exclaimed. “Look what we have here!!”
As she held up the pack of money she found in his wallet.
“Looks like we caught a nice fish this time!!”
One of the sons examined the money, went to the cupboard,
took out a large bottle of vodka and put it on the table
with a bang. “Brothers, lets celebrate!! G-d has been
good to us! We have enough money here to be happy for a
long, long time! But first, let’s take care of our
guest!!” He pulled a large knife from somewhere under
his coat while one of his brothers was pouring him a drink.
He took a cup of vodka in his free hand, raised it high
and said, “To long life, except for you!” as he
looked at the bound Chassid. One of the brothers, surprised
by the joke, laughed so hard that the vodka came spraying
out of his mouth on the others, and they all began to laugh,
and then someone began a song and another toast, then another.
Then the door opened again and it was their father. “Ah
HAA!” He shouted as he looked at the money on the table
and the bound victim on the floor, “Good work boys!
Excellent! We’ll have to kill him though … I’m
glad you left him for me. You know what? In the morning
I’ll take care of him. Now let’s drink to our
good fortune!!” And before long they were all drunk
as Lot and forgot completely about our unfortunate hero.
Late that night, when
they were all sleeping soundly, the father woke, looked
around to make sure that no one else was awake, tiptoed
over to our Chassid, motioned him to be silent, cut his
ropes and motioned for him to follow. Quietly he tiptoed
to the door opened it and whispered in the Chassid’s
ear as he gave him his coat, “Here is most of the money
back” he pushed a wad of the stolen money into the
Chassid’s coat pocket. “And here, tell your Rebbe
to pray for me” he pressed a gold coin in the Chassid’s
hand.
“See, I’m giving charity! Tell him to pray for
me. Now go! Get out of here! Go back as fast as you can
… run for your life” he whispered aloud as the
Chassid was leaving the house.
The dawn was beginning to light the horizon, the storm had
stopped, and our grateful hero was on the road back home.
When he finally arrived
and entered the Rebbe’s room, the Rebbe looked up at
him and said, “I know what happened, you don’t
have to tell me. You should know that the entire night I
had to stay awake because of you.” The Chassid then
produced the golden coin and told of the father’s request.
The Rebbe took the coin and wedged it in a crack in the
wooden wall next to his desk and said no more.
Fifteen years passed
and the Chassid, who was now married with a family, became
one of the assistants of the Rebbe. One day he answered
the door to a beggar and told him to wait. When he entered
the Rebbe’s room and informed him that there was a
beggar at the door the Rebbe pulled the gold coin from the
crack where it had been for the last fifteen years and told
the Chassid that this man was the ‘father’ that
had and miraculously released him years ago.
It seems that when his wife and sons awoke and realized
what he had done, they beat him and drove him from the house
just some hours before the police made a surprise raid and
took the mother and boys off to jail.
The father, who had been a murderer and thief all his life,
began a life of wandering and repentance and now the Rebbe,
in addition to saving him and causing him to repent, was
repaying him for the favor of saving his Chassid.
This explains the questions
we asked earlier:
Later in our parsha
(33:14) when Aisav suggests that they travel together, Yaakov
tells Aisav to go ahead without him and he will catch up
in a place called ‘Seir’, which he never did.
Rashi explains that Yaakov wasn’t lying; he meant that
they would meet thousands of years later with Moshiach!
In other words Yaakov knew that he was not just an individual
person but also a ‘General Soul’ containing all
the Jewish people for all generations and that as long as
the Jews exist, so he exists PHYSICALLY.
His battle, then, was not a personal one but rather an eternal
battle for the Jewish people of all future generations.
It was the battle against nature and to eventually transform
all nature in other words; to bring Moshiach.
(This is the also the
theme of Chanuka; the Greeks wanted the Jews to be normal
and the Jews wanted to illuminate the world with Holiness,
and of Yud Tes Kislev; The Rebbe wanted to illuminate the
world with the preparation for Moshiach and his opponents
wanted ‘normal’ Judiasm.)
Therefore he was able
to wrestle and defeat the angel; because an angel, no matter
how powerful, is only part of creation while Yaakov (because
of this battle) was forced to draw energy directly from
his true source (and the source of the ‘Chosen People’
after him); The Creator.
That is why his name was changed to Yisroel, meaning: ‘Yisr’-
direct ‘el’- to G-d. And why the Jews are called
‘Bnai-Yisroel’.
Just as the Rebbe in
our story stayed up all night fighting spiritual battles
to save the Chassid and the criminal, (and the Tzadikim
of all generations have been fighting all the 2000 year-long
‘night’ of exile) so Yaakov fought all night for
the welfare of all Bait Yisroel.
And just as the Rebbe finally saw the ultimate fruit of
his toil when he returned the golden coin, so will Yaakov
Avinu rejoice when (as we say in Alenu three times a day)
all the evil people will turn to HaShem. In the arrival
of Moshiach NOW!!
Rabbi Tuvia Bolton
Yeshiva Ohr Tmimim
Kfar Chabad Israel
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