Close Ties – Parshas Vayeitzei 5771
Yaakov spent twenty years working for the crooked Lavan. Finally, Hashem told him that it was time to leave. Yaakov knew that Lavan would not let him go and thus he fled with his family under the cover of night. Lavan pursued him with the intent of inflicting revenge, however, Hashem warned Lavan not to hurt Yaakov. Yaakov and Laven met and erected a monument to proclaim that neither of them would cross over to hurt the other. The verse describes the building of this divider: (Bereishis 31:46) “Yaakov told his brothers to collect stones, and they collected and built the monument together and they ate there.” Who were Yaakov’s brothers?! Rashi fills us in that this refers to his sons; since they worked together they are called brothers. What is going on here?
At this point, there was a battle of ideologies going on. Yaakov represented truth and Lavan was the embodiment of deceit and greed. Lavan was the father of Rachel and Leah, Yaakov’s wives and thus the grandfather of Yaakov’s children. Throughout their 20 years together, Yaakov worked to instill the beauty and truth of Hashem in the hearts of his children. However, Lavan also tried to instill his personal evil perspectives in the influenceable kids. Yaakov himself stated that keeping the 613 Mitzvos in Lavan’s house was a great feat!
It was at this point that Lavan came to reclaim his grandchildren. This is why he yelled, “they are mine (Bereishis 31:43l)!” Yaakov, however, informed Lavan, that his
family was dedicated to Hashem and could no longer stay in a house of idol worship. This was a decisive time in the lives of the 12 young tribe leaders. Who would they
follow, did they want to be like their righteous father or their evil grandfather? They chose to stay with Yaakov and the verse tells us why. The most important aspect of
Chinuch, says Rabbi Shimon Schwab zt”l (1908-1995) is how Rashi (Bereishis 45:8) translates the word “ct, father: a friend and one that cares for your wellbeing”. Yaakov
established a relationship of love and brotherhood and thus his children chose to follow his example. This is a powerful lesson for all generations. The way to inspire hearts is to
share love, care, and respect in a genuine and real way. This invites our children to explore the beauty and meaning of our heritage and to choose good over Lavan.
Categories: Parshas Vayeitzei