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Settling the Land of Israel - Parashat Vayeishev 5779, November 30, 2018

The life of our forefather, Ya'akov, was punctuated by difficulty. He suffered the threat of his brother Esav, he left home suddenly, he was constantly harassed by Lavan, his daughter, Dinah, was as-saulted and his beloved wife, Rachel, died in childbirth.

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 dwelt (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 at the end of his journey. 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 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 con-sistent 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 the end of Ya’akov’s journey with the fact that his sons' conflict pulls him back into a struggle. Are these two events related by more than just chronol-ogy?

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 dwell-ing – 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. 

Perhaps Ya'akov’s mistake was that he viewed settling the Land of Cana’an as the end goal and not as a means in supporting the creation of the Jewish People. The Midrash explains that the term vayeshev – and he dwelt permanently – is a textual cue that pain is on the horizon. Pain was on the horizon because Ya’akov did not fully understand the role of the Land of Israel in the destiny of the Jewish People. The Land of Israel is a tool for the Jewish People to become more perfected and to serve Hashem.  Ya’akov should have learned this lesson when he exiled himself to the house of Lavan. The Jewish People are inexorably connected to the Land of Israel. We are not mere supporters or lovers of Israel – the Land of Israel is tied up with our nation’s existence. Perhaps because he did not learn this lesson, Ya’akov was punished with continued troubles.

However, settling the land of Israel– is a means for us to improve ourselves. It is not the final goal. 

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