Our forefather Ya'akov's life was difficult. He suffered the threat of his brother Esav, his exile from home, the constant harassment of Lavan, the assault of his daughter and the early death of his beloved wife.
In the first pasuk of this week’s parasha, the Torah states, vayeshev Ya'akov be'eretz megurei aviv, be'eretz kena'an – and Ya'akov settled (vayeshev) in the land of the dwelling (megurei) of his father, in the Land of Cana'an. This verse seems to conclude the end of an era for Ya'akov and the beginning of a period of tranquility. Ya'akov is retiring, so to speak. However, the Torah continues in the next verse – et dibatam ra l'avihem – and Yosef would bring evil reports about them (his brothers) to their father. The episode of the brothers is beginning to unfold. A new chapter in Ya'akov's life of struggle is just beginning.
There are two interesting peculiarities in these verses.
First, in the first pasuk, there are two synonyms for "settle", yashav and gur. The Torah juxtaposes these words – vayeshev and megurei. The second root gur is more appropriate here because it is consistent with Hashem's original instruction to settle the land – gur ba'aretz hazot. Why does the Torah select the synonym yashav in this context?
Second, the narrative is striking in that it contrasts between Ya'akov's "retirement" and the fact that his sons' conflict pull him out of "retirement". Are these two events related by more than just chronology?
Based on the Midrash, Rabbi Baruch Epstein, in his commentary on the Torah, Torah Temima, explains that whenever a person decides to settle (le'hityashev) in tranquility and peace and this is not decreed upon him (from Heaven), he will be troubled by pain. The Midrash suggests that Yaakov did something wrong and was therefore punished by the incident of Yosef. What was Yaakov's sin?
The term yashav generally refers to a permanent dwelling – as in the phrase yishuv eretz yisrael – settling of the Land of Israel. This term is opposed to gur which refers to a less permanent dwelling – as in ger – a foreigner who takes up residence in a non-native land. VaYeshev Ya'akov – and Ya’akov settled – testifies to Yaakov's desire to be finished with the conflicts in his life and settle down to raising his family in the land of his fathers. VaYeshev Ya'akov also testifies to how Ya'akov viewed this new chapter in his life.
Ya'akov desisted from his mission to develop a nation once he reached the land of Cana’an because he put too much security in the land of Cana’an. The Midrash explains that the term vayeshev – and he dwelt permanently – is a textual cue that pain is on the horizon. True security is only in Hashem. Even the land of Israel does not provide security.
Everybody has a unique personality. Our respective personalities affect how we make decisions. Hashem gives us the ability to make decisions independent of our personality. Furthermore, the more that we make these types of decisions the more that we affect our personality for better. For example, a stubborn person may have difficulty learning. He may resist learning from others and from his mistakes.
However, it is possible for this person to learn from a given situation if he chooses to do so. Furthermore, the more that he decides to learn from learning opportunities that arise, the more he can regulate his stubbornness. One of our main challenges is to use our personality to make decisions that are in accordance with the Will of Hashem as we understand it through Torah and Mitzvot.
Hashem wants us to use our personality to make decisions that are in accordance with His Will. Ya'akov was visited by the pain of Yosef's sale in order to remind him that his mission was unfulfilled – the conflicts were not over. The pain gave Ya'akov the opportunity to do teshuva – repentance.
In the first pasuk of this week’s parasha, the Torah states, vayeshev Ya'akov be'eretz megurei aviv, be'eretz kena'an – and Ya'akov settled (vayeshev) in the land of the dwelling (megurei) of his father, in the Land of Cana'an. This verse seems to conclude the end of an era for Ya'akov and the beginning of a period of tranquility. Ya'akov is retiring, so to speak. However, the Torah continues in the next verse – et dibatam ra l'avihem – and Yosef would bring evil reports about them (his brothers) to their father. The episode of the brothers is beginning to unfold. A new chapter in Ya'akov's life of struggle is just beginning.
There are two interesting peculiarities in these verses.
First, in the first pasuk, there are two synonyms for "settle", yashav and gur. The Torah juxtaposes these words – vayeshev and megurei. The second root gur is more appropriate here because it is consistent with Hashem's original instruction to settle the land – gur ba'aretz hazot. Why does the Torah select the synonym yashav in this context?
Second, the narrative is striking in that it contrasts between Ya'akov's "retirement" and the fact that his sons' conflict pull him out of "retirement". Are these two events related by more than just chronology?
Based on the Midrash, Rabbi Baruch Epstein, in his commentary on the Torah, Torah Temima, explains that whenever a person decides to settle (le'hityashev) in tranquility and peace and this is not decreed upon him (from Heaven), he will be troubled by pain. The Midrash suggests that Yaakov did something wrong and was therefore punished by the incident of Yosef. What was Yaakov's sin?
The term yashav generally refers to a permanent dwelling – as in the phrase yishuv eretz yisrael – settling of the Land of Israel. This term is opposed to gur which refers to a less permanent dwelling – as in ger – a foreigner who takes up residence in a non-native land. VaYeshev Ya'akov – and Ya’akov settled – testifies to Yaakov's desire to be finished with the conflicts in his life and settle down to raising his family in the land of his fathers. VaYeshev Ya'akov also testifies to how Ya'akov viewed this new chapter in his life.
Ya'akov desisted from his mission to develop a nation once he reached the land of Cana’an because he put too much security in the land of Cana’an. The Midrash explains that the term vayeshev – and he dwelt permanently – is a textual cue that pain is on the horizon. True security is only in Hashem. Even the land of Israel does not provide security.
Everybody has a unique personality. Our respective personalities affect how we make decisions. Hashem gives us the ability to make decisions independent of our personality. Furthermore, the more that we make these types of decisions the more that we affect our personality for better. For example, a stubborn person may have difficulty learning. He may resist learning from others and from his mistakes.
However, it is possible for this person to learn from a given situation if he chooses to do so. Furthermore, the more that he decides to learn from learning opportunities that arise, the more he can regulate his stubbornness. One of our main challenges is to use our personality to make decisions that are in accordance with the Will of Hashem as we understand it through Torah and Mitzvot.
Hashem wants us to use our personality to make decisions that are in accordance with His Will. Ya'akov was visited by the pain of Yosef's sale in order to remind him that his mission was unfulfilled – the conflicts were not over. The pain gave Ya'akov the opportunity to do teshuva – repentance.
Shabbat Shalom.
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