Yeshiva
Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Bereshit
- Vayeshev
Rashi brings a Midrash: After all his trials and tribulations - his strife with Esav; his struggle with the angel as well as with his conniving father-in-law Lavan; the kidnapping and rape of Dina - Yaakov wanted to finally settle down in tranquility, but Hashem had other plans for him. "Is it not enough - that which awaits Tzadikim in the World to Come - yet they seek serenity in this world, too?!" ask G-d incredulously. And so, there follows not retirement for Yakov, but the tumultuous saga of his son Yosef’s sale and saga in Egypt.
The message being sent here is that it is not the Jewish way to "settle," to seek or accept inactivity or stagnation; to simply fade away into obscurity. Rather we must utilize every day, every moment, every opportunity we have for additional growth and accomplishment. Moreover, it is davka the challenges and the tough tests which come our way that most serve to strengthen us, that propel us to new heights, that define us. If you move, if you react, you are alive - but if you are dormant and still, you are basically dead.
Thank about where innovation and progress come from; usually it stems from a crisis or a seemingly-impossible challenge. It was the military, for example, that we credit for the World Wide Web, or Internet, which evolved from the U.S. Defense Dept. project in the late 1960's to connect multiple computers in order to communicate on a single network. The "space race" led to developing satellites, which enabled the creation of Global Positioning Systems (e.g. WAZE), enhanced smart-phone communication, and now sophisticated drones. And no doubt the Corona epidemic will lead to many advances in medical science.
While Yaakov endured terrible turmoil due to Yosef's disappearance, which was followed by our descent into Mitzrayim and Egyptian slavery, it would all lead eventually to our miraculous liberation, to the giving of the Torah and our return to Israel. It would serve to steel us for any and all future calamities and captivities that might confront us.
Yaakov, we're told, "settled" in his father's land. Let us recall that Yitzchak settled in G'rar (BR. 26:6, "Vayeshev Yitzchak b'Grar," tied for the shortest pasuk in the Torah!). "G'rar" in today's Hebrew, means "towed." I suggest that Hashem is telling us that we must keep on going, come what may, and that if we stop, He will do what it takes to make sure we continue moving to where we need to go, even if He has to tow us!
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
fast navigation
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
