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Yakov also undergoes every possible trial & test, even more than Avraham endures: He has traumatic issues with his brother, his wives (now, that alone is an issue!), his conniving father-in-law, his bickering children. His life is threatened more than once; he deals with famine, (civil) war & poverty as well as the seeming loss of his most beloved child. Yet he manages to meet all these challenges & emerge as the true "father of our nation," as we will eternally be known collectively as "Bnei Yisrael."
Yakov is a scholar ("Ish Ohalim"), a dreamer (the Ladder); a romantic (he kisses Rachel at first sight) & a fighter (the wrestling match with the angel). He is a kind of EveryMan, the epitome of the "Renaissance Man," long before the actual Renaissance came into being.
Where does Yakov get the strength to handle everything which Life throws at him? What is his inspiration? Rav Pam suggests that his fortitude derives from Rivka, his mother. Remember that it is Rivka, in our Sedra, who knows intuitively that Yakov, & not Esav, is qualified to accept the future mantle of leadership in the family, & she is prepared to do all it takes – including risking her relationship with husband Yitzchak – in order to promote Yakov’s candidacy. Rivka is brave, & clever, & totally devoted to Yakov. She saves his life by wisely sending him away to live with her brother, preventing him from being harmed by Esav.
Rivka’s name can be read as "Ravaka," the single," or lonely one. Separated from Yakov, alienated from Esav & perhaps from Yitzchak, she’ll die a lonely death – only the grave-digger will be present at her funeral, say Chazal.
Yakov must surely carry all this within him, believing at each crucial juncture in his life that he must validate his mother’s faith in him; he must honor her by being the great leader she was so convinced he could be. This is an awesome responsibility, but that is exactly what inspires a person to live up to his or her potential.
The Torah hints at the unbreakable Yakov-Rivka bond when it says: "Vaye’ehav Yitzchak et Esav; V’Rivka Ohevet et Yakov." Yitzchak LOVED Esav; but Rivka LOVES Yakov. A mother’s love is not bound by time; we carry it with us for as long as we live, it is an indelible part of our soul.
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Hosha'ana Rabba FLYDUBAI & HOSHANA RABBA- ANI VAHU HOSHIA NA- I & HIM SAVE US
"Ani vaHu Hoshia Na", "I and Him, Save Us". We don't just pray to Him, but we also pray to and for ourselves that we should emulate and educate our children to have that instinctive altruism with which He created the world. President Trump seemed amused about Yaniv Hayon, our PLUMBER who confidently worked with G-d like Superman (he learned from a pilot on a TV show!) to save 174 lives on the Dubai hijacking, but we in Israel are totally accustomed already 78 years to our plumbers, teachers, garbage-men, rabbis, farmers & doctors being Hashem's shlichim! This is what Zionism is about.
Moreshet Shaul Hashem Is your Shadow – part I
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 420 – an address from 1941
P'ninat Mishpat A Non-Contractor in Changing Times – part I
(based on ruling 85128 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
Moreshet Shaul Our King on Rosh Hashana, Our Father on Yom Kippur.
Based on Aroch Siach, p. 221 (Rav Shaul Yisraeli)
