VAYETZE 2001

In the Torah portion, Vayaetze,we learn how Yaacov comes to his uncle, Laban's, home. Laban's great-grandfather was Terach; his grandfather was Nochor, Abraham's brother. Nochor was a monotheist, yet Laban; by this time, had become an idol worshipper. His father, Betuel, also had forsaken monotheism, although they still had some Jewish traits. After all, Laban welcomed Yaacov and put him up for30 days. He married his daughters to him. He took him into his business: However, he is considered to be an anti-Semite.
In the Haggadah, we read how Pharaoh tried to destroy the Jewish people by killing the boys, and we say that Laban was even worse. He tried to uproot everything. There are two types of anti-Semites. One tries to kill us; the
other tries to destroy us through assimilation. It is called the kiss of death. In the United States, there are several missionary groups whose goal is to biologically assimilate the Jewish people, to have Jews marry non-Jews and make sure that the children of such unions are raise in their faith. Already, 25% of the Jews in America have changed their religion. There are probably more Halachically Jews in church schools than there are in day schools.
 
Laban still possessed some Jewish values. After all, his sister was Rifka, one of the mothers of the Jewish people, and his two daughters, Rachel and Leah, were also mothers of the Jewish people, but he wanted Yaacov to accept his religious values, even though they were not pure monotheistic anymore. We can tell what Laban's true motives are, how after Yaacov ran away from him, he pursued him, and he would have harmed him if G-d would not have appeared to him in a dream the "night before, and when he overtook Yaacov, he said, "Why did you flee so stealthily and cheat me? Now you have fled because you no longer greatly father's house, but why did you steal my gods?" That has always been the cry against the Jew. Why did you steal my gods? The Jewish presence, itself, is a rebuke to those who feel that their faith is threatened because of the Jewish presence. Yaacov claims that he did not steal his gods and urges him to search for them. In fact, Rachel did steal his gods, but she sat on them in her saddle so he could not find them. Laban probably would have been very happy if he would have found them because that showed that his daughters still believed in these gods. Of course, Rachel stole them so her father would not worship them anymore. We Jews, though, by our very success, challenge other religions. We are not supposed to be successful. In Europe, we were kept as zoo pieces to show what happens to
 
people who do not accept Christianity. We were kept in ghettos and persecuted and dehumanized to show everyone how we are being punished for our stiff-neckedness. When Jews were successful and got too high, then the king would allow a pogrom to knock us down.
This was true in Moslem countries, too. When Shmuel HaNagi became head of the kingdom of Granada's armies and very rich, after he died his children were enslaved and put to death, and all his fortune was confiscated because in Moslem countries we had to be second class and subordinated. He had risen too high. That, of course, explains the great hatred that the fundamentalist Moslems, the Wahabis, have for the United States. How can the United States be successful? They are supposed to be at best second rate and subordinated to Islam. Our success means that we have stolen their gods. This explains was Khomeini hated America so much. After all, Jimmy Carter and Brezinski actually put him in power in Iran. Why they turned against the Shah, I will never know. They totally miscalculated. This man hated the United States and the West because we had stolen their gods. Our very success proves them wrong. The very basis of most anti-Semitism is this belief that if Jews are successful, then Christianity must be wrong, or Islam must be wrong. That's why they hate Israel, too, but Israel is only a
 
sideshow. Their main enemy is the United States. They say openly that the United States is the big Satan. Israel is, at best, the little Satan.
Laban was the forerunner of this type of anti-Semitism. He knew that he was blessed because of Yaacov, and successful because of Yaacov, but he knew that Yaacov was stealing his gods. Yaacov's very success proved that his gods were not right, according to his beliefs. That's why he tried to uproot everything.
Let us hope and pray that the world will realize that Jewish success and Jewish belief has nothing to do with their beliefs. If they want to believe what they want to believe, that's their problems. We should not have to believe what they believe and be forced to believe what they believe. Anti-Semitism is a cruel thing, and can only lead to great destruction.
I am reminded of the story about a southern belle who called up an army camp and said she would like to entertain three soldiers. She did not care if they were northerners or southerners, but she didn't want any Jews. The sergeant said okay. That afternoon her doorbell rang, and three black soldiers were at the door. She said, "There must be some mistake." The soldiers
 
replied, "Sergeant Goldstein never makes mistakes." I am also reminded of the story about a university class after World War Two. The professor was still a Nazi. He asked his students, "Tell me, who was responsible for our defeat in World War Two?" One student said, "The Jews." The professor said, "You are right, but tell me how." The student replied, "Because of all the Jewish generals." The professor said, "But there weren't any Jewish generals in the Wehrmacht" The student said, "I wasn't speaking about the Wehrmacht. I was speaking about the American and British armies."
Laban is the prototype of the anti-Semite who wants to destroy us by assimilating us because our success as Jews threatens their beliefs. Let us hope that these types of anti-Semites will wake up and not try to do this anymore so the Mashiach will come quickly in our day. Amen.