At the opening of this week’s parasha, Parashat VaYetze, Ya’akov leaves Eretz Yisrael to find refuge in Charan from his brother, Esav. He arrives at HaMakom – The Place – to sleep for the night – the place of Ya’akov’s famous ladder dream. Morning comes. Yaakov takes the stone that he slept on, makes a monument to Hashem with it and anoints it with oil. He renames the place Beit E-l – House of Hashem.
The Torah records that Ya’akov made a neder – a vow. Ya’akov declares, “If the Lord will be with me and will guard me on this path that I am going and will give me bread to eat and clothes to wear and will return me in peace to the house of my father … then I will give one-tenth of all that I have to Hashem.”
At first glance, Ya’akov’s vow is not appropriate. In general, the Torah looks askance on people who make vows and on the act of making vows. Our Chachamim say noder nikra cho’te – one who makes a vow is treated like a sinner. What is wrong with making a vow?
Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch explains that at worst a vow elevates trivial matters to the realm of the Divine and at best robs all discretion from the one making the vow. The Torah wants a person to measure his surroundings and make a decision about how to act. If something is right and good, he or she should do it. If something is wrong to do, he or she should avoid it. He should not act based on a pre-determined decision that could not have been based on all factors. A vow compromises a per-son’s opportunity to exercise his free will.
Surprisingly, our Chachamim do not criticize Ya’akov for making this vow. What made his vow appropriate?
The Midrash addresses this question. The Midrash explains that Yaakov's vow was appropriate because he vowed to do a mitzvah in a moment of existential crisis. Yaakov was leaving Israel and going into exile. He was moment of difficulty. In such moments, man is vulnerable to rash thinking and decision-making. Furthermore, his vow related to the performance of a mitzvah – it was a renewal of his commitment to do Hashem’s Will. A vow is only considered appropriate when the vow concerns the performance of G-d's Will and in made in the context of existential crisis. Although, in general, the Torah insists that we use our discretion and not abandon of free-will to the dictates of a predetermined decision, the Torah does give us authority in times of crisis to abandon discretion for the sake of renewing one's commitment to Hashem.
The Torah’s attitude on vows teaches us an important lesson about the importance of decision-making. Hashem endowed man with bechira chofsheit – free-will. Hashem endowed man with the ability to perceive wisdom. In all but the most extreme situations, the Torah wants us to engage ourselves in whatever situation we find ourselves in and use our free-will and our power of understanding to determine the best decision – not to bind ourselves to a predetermined out-come.
The Torah records that Ya’akov made a neder – a vow. Ya’akov declares, “If the Lord will be with me and will guard me on this path that I am going and will give me bread to eat and clothes to wear and will return me in peace to the house of my father … then I will give one-tenth of all that I have to Hashem.”
At first glance, Ya’akov’s vow is not appropriate. In general, the Torah looks askance on people who make vows and on the act of making vows. Our Chachamim say noder nikra cho’te – one who makes a vow is treated like a sinner. What is wrong with making a vow?
Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch explains that at worst a vow elevates trivial matters to the realm of the Divine and at best robs all discretion from the one making the vow. The Torah wants a person to measure his surroundings and make a decision about how to act. If something is right and good, he or she should do it. If something is wrong to do, he or she should avoid it. He should not act based on a pre-determined decision that could not have been based on all factors. A vow compromises a per-son’s opportunity to exercise his free will.
Surprisingly, our Chachamim do not criticize Ya’akov for making this vow. What made his vow appropriate?
The Midrash addresses this question. The Midrash explains that Yaakov's vow was appropriate because he vowed to do a mitzvah in a moment of existential crisis. Yaakov was leaving Israel and going into exile. He was moment of difficulty. In such moments, man is vulnerable to rash thinking and decision-making. Furthermore, his vow related to the performance of a mitzvah – it was a renewal of his commitment to do Hashem’s Will. A vow is only considered appropriate when the vow concerns the performance of G-d's Will and in made in the context of existential crisis. Although, in general, the Torah insists that we use our discretion and not abandon of free-will to the dictates of a predetermined decision, the Torah does give us authority in times of crisis to abandon discretion for the sake of renewing one's commitment to Hashem.
The Torah’s attitude on vows teaches us an important lesson about the importance of decision-making. Hashem endowed man with bechira chofsheit – free-will. Hashem endowed man with the ability to perceive wisdom. In all but the most extreme situations, the Torah wants us to engage ourselves in whatever situation we find ourselves in and use our free-will and our power of understanding to determine the best decision – not to bind ourselves to a predetermined out-come.
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