Parashat Vayetze 5778
Limited Leverage: You
Can’t Force God’s Hand
Rabbi Ari Kahn
Parashat
VaYetze opens as Yaakov runs for his life: He had been told that his brother Esav
has murder on his mind, that he intends to take revenge on for Yaakov’s
deceptive acquisition of blessings that he felt were rightly his own - and
Yaakov doesn’t stick around to see if Esav will make good on his threat.
For
his part, Yaakov had been put in an untenable situation. His mother Rivka had
not merely encouraged him to impersonate his brother Esav and to secure their
father’s blessing for himself, she had commanded him to do so. Yaakov faced an
impossible choice: Should he obey his mother, if it means deceiving his father?
Or should he ignore his mother’s orders, which may well have been motivated by
the prophecy she had received years earlier? And were these
blessings not rightfully Yaakov’s to take? Esav had abdicated his rights as
firstborn years earlier; he had willingly, even enthusiastically, passed the
responsibilities to his younger brother. Should the blessings not have accrued
to Yaakov as part of the deal?
Aside
from the complex interpersonal family relationships, there is another important
perspective, which was lurking in the shadows in last week’s Parasha, namely,
God’s perspective. Was Rivka, and, by extension, Yaakov, acting with Divine
license? Were her instructions to Yaakov an outgrowth of the prophecy she had
received, or had Rivka taken things into her own hands? If she was acting on
her own, new questions arise: Can a blessing actually be “stolen”? Does God
have a say in who is blessed, or are the blessings Yitchak bestowed on his son
some sort of magical incantation that necessarily brought about the desired
result? The blessings Yaakov “usurped” involved physical bounty and military-political
power. Were these blessings, once they were uttered, guaranteed to whomever
received them?
The
inauspicious beginning of Yaakov’s journey is a stark contrast with the
blessings in question: Yaakov is a fugitive; he is destitute and afraid for his
life. He has no place to sleep, and no possessions. The blessings do not seem
to have had any immediate magical effect.
As
Yaakov slips away unto slumber, something magical does happen, he has an
epiphany; God appears to him. This is not a simple point, for if God were truly
displeased with Yaakov, we suspect he would not have been privileged to receive
such a revelation. The content of the vision needs to be carefully considered.
Of course, the most famous element is the ladder with its feet on the ground
reaching into the heavens. And the angels which climb the ladder and return to
earth.
And he dreamed, and
behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and
behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. (Bereishit 28:12)
Then
there is a Divine soliloquy:
And God was standing
beside him and He said, “I am The Eternal, the God of your father Avraham and
the God of Yitzchak. The ground on which you are lying I will give to you and
to your offspring.
Your descendants shall
be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread out to the west and to the east,
to the north and to the south. All the families of the earth shall be blessed through
you and your descendants.
Behold, I am with you:
I will protect you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. I will
not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” (Bereishit 28:13-15)
It
must have come as a relief to Yaakov that God appeared to him, and declared
that He will remain Yaakov’s protector. Moreover, God reiterated what his
father Yitzchak had promised him; the inheritance of the Land of Israel.
However, the crux of the matter, is not just what God said, it is also what God
did not say. There was no mention of the blessing designated for Esav.
Regarding power and bounty there was an eerie silence, one which Yaakov
certainly heard. The blessing designated for Esav was not coming to Yaakov. He
would have to make his livelihood by the sweat of his brow, and not by divine
providence.
Yaakov
responds to the silence and declares, that if God provides even the bare
minimum he would be grateful.
Yaakov made a vow. 'If
God will be with me,' he said, 'if He will protect me on the journey that I am
taking if He gives me bread to eat and clothing to wear, and if I return in
peace to my father's house, then I will dedicate myself totally to God. Let
this stone that I have set up as a pillar become a temple to God. Of all that
You give me, I will set aside a tenth to You.' (Bereishit 28:20-22)
Clothing
on his back, bread on his plate is all which Yaakov now imagines. He is not
thinking of riches and power, just the bare minimum needed to survive. The
silence of God spoke volumes. One cannot “steal a blessing”. One cannot force
God’s hand. Yaakov sees the ladder with its feet on the ground and the angels
first ascending and then coming down; to receive divine blessings we need to
first create those angels based on our actions below, only subsequently will
angels come down.
All
that was accomplished by taking these blessings was not that Yaakov would be
the beneficiary of stolen blessings, but rather that Esav would have less
power, and less ability to wreak havoc. Sometimes a little less is more,
sometimes your enemy having less can be a blessing.
©
Rabbi
Ari Kahn 2017
For more Essays and
Lectures on Vayetze:
-->
