VAYETZE 2000

In the Torah portion, Vayaetze, we learn how Yaacov had the famous dream of the ladder ascending to heaven, with the bottom of the ladder rooted on the ground.  After he had this dream of angels ascending and descending, it says, "And Yaacov woke from his sleep."  Rabbi Yochanan says that this also means that Yaacov awoke from his learning. Yaacov knew now he had a problem, and he had to face it.  Before, he thought he was immune from these types of problems.  After all, he was a scholar.  He never thought that he would be able to deceive his father and cheat his brother.  How is it possible that this could have happened to him?
Yaacov had to understand that he was rooted on the ground, too, that just because he understood different rules of interpersonal relationships, it did not mean that he was immune from these relationships.  Just like, if you understand all the laws of biology, if you cut your finger, you will not bleed. Knowing something intellectually does not mean you are immune from falling prey to the same ills that you intellectually understand, because you are also an emotional creature. The best essay ever written on the evils of taking bribes when you are a judge was written by Frances Bacon.  Subsequent to this writing of the essay, he was caught taking bribes.  They asked him, of all people, how was it
 
that he took bribes.  He answered them by saying, "It is all right because I took bribes from both sides."
Yaacov knew he had a problem.  Therefore, he began to work on it. When Pharaoh had a problem, he just went back to sleep. Yaacov took that hard rock that was under his head and made it into a monument.  He understood well what the rabbis teach now, that man can withstand everything except temptation. We have to work on our problems to make sure we do not succumb to temptation.
Later, we learn that when yaacov came to Mesopotamia, he found that the shepherds had garnered together around the well while the day was still long to shepherd their flocks.  He reprimanded them, and he said, "The day is still long. This is not the time to gather the flocks. Water your sheep and go graze them."  They replied they were not able to do so until all the flocks were garnered, because it required all of them to roll the stone from the mouth of the well.  When Yaacov saw Rachel approaching, he was able to roll the rock off all by himself.  Of course, his great love for Rachel, love at first sight, gave
 
him the strength to do this, but what business was it of his to reprimand the shepherds?
The rabbis explain that he was trying to tell them that they had to be persistent. Perhaps the reason he was able to roll off the rock was because they had dislodged it with their first efforts. They could have persisted.  He was telling them, "If you have a problem, do not give up. Be persistent.  Do not say there is no other choice."
That is what disturbs me about the situation in Israel.  People say we have no choice.  We can just wait with the Arabs like the United States did with the Soviet Union. Keep our deterrent power high and wait.  Eventually, these countries will want democracy and peace will come.  Or, what we are doing now with North Korea.  We maintain our deterrent posture high in South Korea, and it looks like even North Korea is tending toward peace. Be persistent. Keep working on your problems. They will eventually be solved, but do not give up.
 
In fact, this is the difference between Talmudic learning and secular learning. In secular learning, you get a problem and you solve it, and men you move on to the next problem. You solve it, and then move on to the third problem.  In Talmudic learning, this is not the case.  You solve the problem, then you ask if mere are any other solutions, and you again ask if there are any other solutions. You may end up with ten or twelve solutions to the same problem. They are not all equally valid, but after you try one solution, and it does not work, you try another one and another one, but you do not give up. You remain persistent.
Also in this Torah portion, we learn how after Leah has four children, the las one being Yehuda, which means "I thank G-d and gratefully praise Him," Rachel became very upset, and she said to Yaacov, "Give me children, otherwise I am dead." Yaacov got mad at her for saying that, and the rabbis all pounce on Yaacov for getting mad.  Why, though, was Rachel so upset now? She was not upset after her sister, Leah, had the first three children. Why now? Some say she was a prophetess and realized that her sister had four children, and if she would have any more, she would not be able to have her
 
four children since she knew there would only be twelve tribes in Israel. Others say no.  After all, she did not know that Leah was going to give her handmaiden, Zilpah, to Yaacov, and she had not yet given her handmaiden, Bilhah, to Yaacov. They say that Rachel was upset because it seemed that her role in Judaism would disappear, and only Leah's role would be left.  In the Zohar, Leah is known as Almah D'Eeskasa, which means the inner woman. Leah was concerned about the home and about inner spiritual things.  Rachel was known as the Almah D'Eesgalya.  She was concerned about the outer world.  She was the shepherdess.  Leah had stayed home.  She was the one who had taken her father's idols.  She interacted with the world and tried to change it so it would be a moral, decent place.  She was afraid that now all Judaism would be like a little, hidden sect.  It would not interact with the world at all.  Jews would be living in their own little enclave.  She knew that it was not to be this way.  After all, Abraham went out to the whole world and tried to be an example to the whole world.  Leah was buried with Yaacov in the Moras Hamachpelech.  Rachel was buried on the way to Bethlehem so that she would be mere to assure that the Jewish people would return to the land of Israel after their exile.  She interacted with the conquerors of the Jewish people.  In fact,
 
her children were the ones who interacted with the world.  Yosef saved Egypt, and it was Yehoshua who conquered the land of Israel. We need both to interact with the world and have some inner space to develop our spiritual views.  She was afraid that Judaism would turn into a self-imposed spiritual ghetto with no interaction with the world.  We must interact with the world.
The rabbis also ask the question:  Why is it mat we learn Halacha from Laban? When Yaacov was tricked into marrying Leah, Laban told him it was not done in his place to marry the younger before the elder.  The Rabbenutam decides in a famous case that a father made a match for his daughter with a young man. He failed, though, to tell the young man that he had four daughters.  Of course, nobody can force a daughter to marry anybody.  The young man came to visit the family, and the eldest daughter said she did not want him.  However, the third daughter said she wanted him. The Rabbenutam says as long as the older daughter gives permission, the third daughter can marry him, and he bases his ruling on what Laban said. We also have the famous case of Haman, who told King Achashverosh that when a fly falls in a Jewish cup of wine, they just remove the fly and that is it, but if you will touch their cup of wine, they would
 
have to soak this glass vessel for three days. This also is quoted under certain circumstances as the Halacha, and, finally, we learn from Bilam that when you build houses, you cannot build them so that one window faces another, so you should not be able to look from your house into your neighbor's house directly. He also is not a friend of our people, but the rabbis teach us that the truth is the truth, no matter where it comes from.
From this Torah portion we learn some very important principles.  One, that when you have a problem, you should face it, and not just go to sleep and roll over and pretend it does not exist, but you should try to solve this problem. Two, you should be persistent and not give up.  If one solution does not work, try another.  Three, we learn the Jew is supposed to interact with the world and not just shut himself up.  Four, when we interact with the world, we have to accept the truth, even if it comes from our enemies, because the truth is the truth no matter from whom it comes.
I am reminded of the story they tell about a football player who did not have the greatest grades.  The university president said if he could answer two questions,
 
he could play in the big game. The president asked, "Tell me the name of two days of the week which start with T."  The player replied, "Today and tomorrow." The president could not disagree with that, so he men asked, "How many D's are in the song Dixie?"  The player answered, "847."  The president asked, "How is that?"  The player sang, "Dee Dee Dee Dee Dee Dee..."
Truth is the truth no matter where it comes from, even though we would not normally think of something in this way.  If it is true, it is true.  From this portion, we learn we have to confront our problems, be persistent, realize that a Jew must not only tend to his own spirituality but interact with the world, and we must recognize mat the truth is the truth, no matter where it comes from. Let us hope and pray we will all do these things so the Mashiach will come quickly in our day.  Amen.