Musar su Genesi 29:78

turning aside from wisdom and the service of the Lord, because of what appears to be the remoteness of the delight and pleasurableness of these things. Verily, in their opinion, these are remote. Yet these are not remote, but near at hand. They are remote only in their mind. Therefore man must devote this quality of love to God, exalted may He be, as it is written (Deut. xi. I), "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God"; and to his soul, as it is written (I Sam. xx. 17), "For he loved him as he loved his own soul"; to his relatives, as it is written (Gen. xxix. 18), "And Jacob loved Rachel"; to his offspring, as it is written (id., xxxvii. 3), "Israel loved Joseph"; to his country, as it is written (Num. x. 30), "But I will depart to my own land and to my kindred"; to his companion, as spake David to Jonathan (II Sam. i. 26), "Very pleasant hast thou been unto me" ; to his wife (Prov. v. 19), "Let her be as the loving hind and the pleasant roe"; to wisdom, as it is written (Prov. xxix. 3), "The man that loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father."

הצילני נא מיד אחי מיד עשו . The Zohar comments on this verse (Sullam edition page 21) that when someone prepares a prayer it is important that he chooses his words carefully. At first glance we would think that an appeal to G–d such as "save me!" would be sufficient; Jacob added the words "from my brother” so that he would not be misunderstood as requesting to be saved from Laban. In the event that G–d could use the term "brother" in a wider sense, [as Jacob himself had done in Genesis 29,4 for instance, Ed.] he added the word "from Esau," to make certain G–d knew whom he had in mind. He added what it was exactly that he needed to be saved from, i.e. an onslaught against his family. One must not rely on the fact that G–d is well aware of our unspoken thoughts. I believe that since the very letters used in prayer are holy, they are able to penetrate the outer shell of Heaven and penetrate to G–d's throne.

On Genesis 29,7: הן עוד היום גדול לא עת האסף המקנה, "The day is still long; it is not yet time to bring home the flock," Rashi comments that Jacob hinted that if these shepherds were hired hands they had no right to waste their employers' time, for any hired laborer who does not do a full day's work commits a grave wrong. Not only does he exploit the owner, i.e. rob him, but he also deceives him, seeing that the owner relies on the laborer's honesty. We learn in Baba Metzia 93 that the duties of a paid security guard include such hardship as "excessive heat by day and frostbite by night." This is because the entire population relies on such a security guard to perform his duties faithfully. The Talmud there adds that Jacob was the prime example of someone who imposed an additional burden upon himself, for he applied that yardstick to himself when looking after Laban's flock, a task that did not involve others putting their safety in his hands in contradistinction to the case of the city watchman mentioned in the Talmud.

First of all, the episode of the serpent, who spoke lashon hara of the Holy One Blessed be He and thereby brought death to the world. And (Bereshith 29:20): "If G-d will be with me and guard me," concerning which Chazal have said: "if He will guard me against lashon hara." And the episode of Joseph (Ibid. 37:2): "And Joseph brought their evil talk to their father," this being the catalyst of the descent of the Jews to Egypt. And (Shemoth 2:14): "In truth, the thing has become known" (see Rashi there and what we shall write below). There, too, (4:1) Moses our teacher, may peace be upon him, says: "But they will not believe me," and the Blessed L-rd counters (Ibid. 2): "What is this in your hand?" … (3) …and it became a serpent." Also there (6): "And, behold, his hand was leprous as snow." And (Ibid. 17:2): "And the people quarreled with Moses… (7) …over the quarrel of the children of Israel, etc." followed by (8): "And Amalek came and warred with Israel, etc." And (Ibid. 23:1): "You shall not bear a false report, which applies to both the speaker and the receiver [of lashon hara] (as we find in Makkoth 23a), followed by (2): "Do not be after many to do evil." And, in reference to the me'il [the outer robe of the ephod] (Ibid. 28:32): "A border shall there be to its mouth roundabout," and the entire section. And (35): "And its sound will be heard when he comes to the sanctuary, etc." And the entire section of Tazria and Metzora: the plague-spots of houses, the plague-spots of clothing, the plague-spots of men, (Vayikra 13:46): "Solitary shall he sit"— even outside of the camp of Israel. And his atonement— "chirping" birds. And (Ibid. 19:16): "Do not go talebearing among your people," (Ibid. 17): "Reprove, shall you reprove your neighbor, but you shall not bear sin because of him." And (Ibid. 25:17): "You shall not wrong, one man, his fellow," which relates to verbal wronging, which is also in the category of evil speech. And (Bamidbar 5:1): "And they shall send out of the camp every leper"— even if he were as great in Torah as Doeg. And (Ibid. 12:1): "And Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses, etc." And the entire section of Shelach Lecha, which speaks about the spies. And (Ibid. 21:5): "And the people spoke against G-d and against Moses." And (Devarim 23:10): "When you go out as a camp against your foes, guard yourself against every evil thing [davar ra]," concerning which Chazal have said: "davar ra" may be read as "dibbur ra" [evil speech]. And in Tetze, the "giving out of an evil name [motzi shem ra]," and (Ibid. 24:9): "Remember what the L-rd your G-d did to Miriam, etc." And (Ibid. 27:24): "Cursed be he who smites his friend in secret," which refers to lashon hara. And it is known that all of the "cursings" were preceded by blessings; and they opened with blessing, saying: "Blessed is he who does not smite"— whence we derive that one who is heedful in this is blessed.

הן עוד היום גדול לא עת האסף המקנה. The Zohar in פרשת ואתחנן (Sullam edition page 62), commenting on Jacob's statement that there was still much daylight left (Genesis 29,7), says that we learn from this verse that, if Israel will do תשובה, its exile will not last longer than a day, and it will return to the Holy Land. This is based on Lamentations 1,13: נתנני שוממה כל היום דוה, "He has placed me in desolation, and left me in misery all day long." If Israel fails to repent, G–d says: עוד היום גדול, לא עת האסף המקנה "the day still has a long time to go, it is not yet time to gather in the cattle" [A day is perceived a day in G–d's time, i.e. one thousand years. Ed.]. This is because Israel has no merits to its credit. There is, however, one remedy for Israel, namely לכו השקו הצאן, "go water the flock," i.e. make the people study Torah, drink the waters of Torah, ולכו רעו, then you can go to the place where you find rest, to the land of Israel, your inheritance.

An alternative meaning interprets our verse as referring to the day of upheaval, the day on which the Temple was destroyed and Israel was forced to go into exile. Due to Israel's sins, that day still has a long ways to go, i.e. "the day is still long, it is not yet time to gather in the cattle." Seeing they themselves are to blame for the day being so long, the remedy is to go and study Torah, as per the first version in this Zohar. According to this latter version, Israel responds to this call by paraphrasing the shepherds in Genesis 29,8: לא נוכל עד אשר יאספו כל העדרים וגללו את האבן מעל פי הבאר והשקינו, "We cannot do this until all the emanations (in which these decisions are made) have been gathered together and between them they have removed this heavy stone (decree of exile); on that day the well, i.e. the access to Torah knowledge, will become accessible and we can water the flock."

And now let us consider the other forefathers. It is known that Isaac, our father, was thirty-seven years old at the time of the akeidah (Bereshith 29:20). And if he had not acquiesced in the akeidah, the aged Abraham could certainly not have forced him into it. But, certainly, Isaac did this with full acquiescence, as it is written (Bereshith 22:8): "And the two of them went together" — with one heart. And Isaac, who acquiesced in this, would certainly not flout the will of the Holy One Blessed be He for [relatively] minor considerations. If so, we, who always bring his merits to remembrance [(for our sake)], how much should we walk in his ways, not to abandon Torah and mitzvoth for anything!

Now, ostensibly, this raises a question about our father, Jacob, may peace be upon him. Was this the time for Torah study? Was he not sixty-three years old and without children? And [this is] especially [puzzling] in view of the fact that only he, and no other man, was fit for the procreation of the holy nation of Israel which was destined to appear upon the earth. And all this was known to our father Jacob, as Rashi comments on (Bereshith 29:21): "For my days [of waiting] have been completed," "and when will I procreate the twelve tribes?" If so, it was a great mitzvah that he go immediately to the house of Lavan, as Isaac had told him and marry a woman and not to delay and separate himself for Torah study for fourteen years.

All the elements of time described above, played a part in the labours which the Torah describes Jacob as performing for Laban, and in the wedding feast described in our פרשה. The "days" we spoke of are the seven days of the wedding feast. Rashi already explained that when Laban asked Jacob: מלא שבוע זאת, "complete the week of this one" (Leah), he referred to the seven-day wedding feast. He bases himself on the half vowel Sheva instead of the full vowel kametz that we would have expected under the letter ש (Genesis 29,27). This is why the Jerusalem Talmud Moed Katan states that this instance is the origin of the custom to entertain the groom and bride for seven days starting with the wedding. You also find the time unit "month" mentioned here, when Jacob stayed with Laban for a month (29,14) before starting to be recompensed for any services performed. The time unit "year" is mentioned in the agreement that Jacob was to serve seven years for Rachel. This unit of seven years is the forerunner of the unit שמטה as a time unit or cycle of seven years (29,18). Just as the release from monies owed takes effect only at the end of the שמטה year, so Rachel was not promised to Jacob till the end of the seven years' service.

All the elements of time described above, played a part in the labours which the Torah describes Jacob as performing for Laban, and in the wedding feast described in our פרשה. The "days" we spoke of are the seven days of the wedding feast. Rashi already explained that when Laban asked Jacob: מלא שבוע זאת, "complete the week of this one" (Leah), he referred to the seven-day wedding feast. He bases himself on the half vowel Sheva instead of the full vowel kametz that we would have expected under the letter ש (Genesis 29,27). This is why the Jerusalem Talmud Moed Katan states that this instance is the origin of the custom to entertain the groom and bride for seven days starting with the wedding. You also find the time unit "month" mentioned here, when Jacob stayed with Laban for a month (29,14) before starting to be recompensed for any services performed. The time unit "year" is mentioned in the agreement that Jacob was to serve seven years for Rachel. This unit of seven years is the forerunner of the unit שמטה as a time unit or cycle of seven years (29,18). Just as the release from monies owed takes effect only at the end of the שמטה year, so Rachel was not promised to Jacob till the end of the seven years' service.

Let us now examine the relationship of the triangle Jacob-Rachel-Leah as it is explained in the Zohar (Sullam edition Vayetzei pages 58-60). Kabbalists see in Leah the mystique of the אימא עילאה, "Mother Superior," rooted in the emanation בינה, whereas Rachel is perceived as אימא תתאה, "mother of the lower regions," anchored in the emanation מלכות. The mystical dimension of זווג in the "higher" emanations is the fusion of חכמה and בינה, whereas the parallel fusion of the "lower" emanations is that between תפארת and מלכות. Jacob is perceived as representative of תפארת, as pointed out when describing him as the merger of the respective attributes of דין, justice and חסד, kindness. He loved Rachel. Leah's belonging to a world of נסתר, the hidden domain, accounts for her being שנואה, hated. Whenever something is by definition not accessible to our logic, it is called שנוא, the reverse of אהבה. The mystique of love is that it is something that is in the open, something joyful.

During the first seven years that Jacob served Laban, he was under the impression that he was serving for Rachel. In truth, his service was actually perceived as in the domain of the hidden, a domain analogous to the mystique of Leah. It was accounted for him as seven שמטות, units of seven years each. Even though these years in the emanation בינה are portrayed as 49 years (not as 7 שמטות) the Zohar explains that when Laban said to Jacob in Genesis 29,27: מלא שבוע זאת, the emphasis on that שבוע was an allusion to Psalms 119,164: שבע ביום הללתיך, "I have praised you seven times on the same day," that during the seven days that the wedding with Leah was being celebrated all the missing years were telescoped into days.

This is also alluded to when the Torah says that "Jacob served for Rachel for seven years, and they were in his eyes like (seven) days" (29,20). According to the allusion in the Torah, the spiritual effect of Jacob's service penetrated up to the emanation of בינה, the home of Leah's mystique, whereas Jacob had consciously only aimed at the emanation of מלכות, the home of Rachel's mystique, i.e. not 7 times seven years but only 7 times seven days, ימים אחדים.

On Genesis 6,7 and 8, “כי נחמתי כי עשיתם. ונח מצא חן בעיני השם," Rav Kahana comments in Bereshit Rabbah 29,1 that the end of verse 6 shows that even Noach had not really been found to be worthy. He was "lucky" to have found favor in the eyes of G–d. Whereas Noach מצא, "found," G–d did not "find " The meaning is that Noach "found" that G–d awakened him, G–d however, did not "find," i.e. did not see in Noach, something He felt he had to "respond" to. The reverse was true of Abraham, as demonstrated by the verse we have quoted. This is also the meaning of ומצאת את לבבו נאמן לפניך, "You have found his (Abraham's) heart loyal before You." (Nechemia 9,8)

In some places in the Bible (a mention of) the hearing occurs, followed by urging; thus the expression (Deut. vi. 4, 5), "Hear, O Israel," and after that it is said, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God," etc. Furthermore (Gen. xxiv. 52), "When Abraham's servant heard "; it is said immediately following, "He who worshiped the Lord, bowing himself to the earth "; and again (Gen. xxix. 13), "And it came to pass that when Laban heard the tidings, he embraced him and kissed him."

Before revealing the reasons for all this we must still refer to Bereshit Rabbah 29,3, and we shall then see that all these statements are in accordance with what we have written above. The Midrash in question states: Rabbi Simon states that G–d made three "discoveries." He "found" Abraham, as we know from Nechemiah 9,8: "You found his (Abraham's) heart trustworthy before You." He "found" David since we read in Psalms 89,21: "I have found My servant David." He also "found" Israel as we know from Hoseah 9,10: "I found Israel like grapes in the desert." When his colleagues asked him why he did not include Noach in G–d's "discoveries," seeing the Torah says "Noach found favor in the eyes of G–d," Rabbi Simon responded that Noach did indeed "find," whereas G–d did not "find." There are several difficulties here. Why does Rabbi Simon not list G–d's "discoveries" in their chronological order, i.e. Abraham, Israel, David?

King David held on to the קו המלכות, i.e. the fourth "line." This is what is commonly known as מגן דוד, the shield of David. [קוים is an expression used in Kabbalah to describe the conversion of concepts into a practical effect in our lives. The concept חסד becomes רחמים, i.e. applied חסד, by means of such a קו, line. Ed.] The Zohar (Sullam edition page 70), commenting on Genesis 29,35 "she stopped bearing children," explains that the word ותעמד is a reference to the establishment of this fourth leg of G–d's throne, and that anyone who challenges the kingdom of David is considered as challenging the שכינה, the reason being that the fourth leg of the throne is supplied by the kingdom of David on earth. David is the מרכבה, carrier of G–d's Glory down here in our domain. Once that fourth leg has been contributed to G–d's Throne, His name י-ה-ו-ה will be complete. The root of the line חסד is the letter יוד. The root of the line דין is the first ה"א in that Name, whereas the line רחמים is the letter ו"או. These three lines together, formed through the attributes of the patriarchs, form a מרכבה. By adding the last letter ה"א of the Ineffable Name, G–d's name is made complete, whole. Once the Kingdom of David will flourish as that of the Messiah, once the prediction: והיתה לה' המלוכה (Ovadiah 1, 21) will be realized, the other half of that prophecy ביום ההוא יהיה ה' אחד ושמו אחד will be fulfilled also (Zachariah 14,9). The final letter in each of the last three words of that latter prophecy together spell דוד. A close look at the name יהודה will reveal some remarkable allusions. Firstly, it contains the letters of the Ineffable Name plus the letter ד. That letter, or rather the number 4 that it represents, is an allusion to the fourth leg of G–d's Throne.

When they said: "The brother of the master was a swindler," they deliberately referred to him as "brother" instead of saying "Jacob the swindler." Their intent was to make Jacob's trickery appear to have been greater than it was. They referred, for instance, to the time Jacob introduced himself to Rachel as the brother of her father, (the swindler), something which Rashi justifies as Jacob telling Rachel not to worry, that he, Jacob, would be able to cope with devious Laban (Genesis 29,12). Whereas the Romans could see Jacob's trickery as justified in the case of Laban, since Laban had been the first one to use trickery, this could not be said in the case of their Master Esau, who had never tried to cheat Jacob. Jacob cheated Esau out of his birthright as well as out of his blessing; because of this they emphasized that Jacob was both a swindler and a forger.

Jacob's choice of words, when he asked Laban to give him his wife at the end of seven years of service, is truly puzzling. Even the most boorish person would not use such crass language. Genesis 29,21 sounds as if Jacob said: "Hand over my wife for I have completed my years." We must also wonder at Leah's choice of words in 30,16: "To me you must come this night, for I have hired you for the mandrakes of my son."

The patriarchs and matriarchs were on a spiritual level approaching that which in the future will exist among ordinary people. This enabled them to express themselves in a totally unrestrained manner. Whereas ordinary people, in order not to appear gross, must describe every reference to sexual activity by something the sages call לשון נקיה, euphemistic language, the patriarchs and matriarchs had no need to resort to this; their holiness was natural, the result of child-like innocence. This also explains why Jacob is reported as kissing Rachel the moment they met, and why such conduct is not considered suggestive. This is why Rashi explains that Jacob's meaning was simply: "When can I begin to sire the twelve tribes?" ...

When the Torah reports Jacob proceeding towards ארץ בני קדם, in 29,1-2, it also mentions והנה באר בשדה, "here there was a well in the field." We get the feeling that the well suddenly loomed up out of nowhere. What was so special about that well? Besides, what did our sages wish to teach us when they said that all the זווגים, marriage contracts of the patriarchs, were concluded at a well? [The source I have found in Shemot Rabbah 1,32, speaks about the matches of three people, i.e. Isaac, Jacob and Moses. Ed.]

When Rachel arrived with the צאן, this alludes to the condition of the Jewish people when in exile. The well itself is compared to Sinai; the words כי מן הבאר ההוא ישקו הצאן, "For they would water the sheep from that well," is a reference to the Ten Commandments which issued forth at Mount Sinai. These and numerous other allusions are seen by the various Rabbis as quoted in the Midrash. When Israel is in exile it is referred to as צאן, flock, or sheep, whereas when it is redeemed it is referred to as אדם. On Ezekiel 34,31: ואתן צאני, צאו מרעיתי אדם אתם, "And you My sheep, sheep of My pasture, you are Adam;" Kimchi comments that nowadays you are merely צאן. In the future when you will be redeemed however, you will qualify for the description אדם.

This is what the Torah alluded to when it described Jacob as kissing Rachel and raising his voice and beginning to cry (29,11). Rashi comments there that the reason Jacob cried was because he foresaw that Rachel would not be buried alongside him. This comment is difficult. The fact that Rachel would not be buried with Jacob hardly seems an adequate reason for him to cry about! No doubt Rashi meant that Jacob had a vision of the reason that Rachel would not be buried alongside him, that his descendants would be exiled and that she needed to intercede with G–d on their behalf. Rashi gave a somewhat similar commentary in Genesis 48,7, where Jacob justified himself to Joseph for asking to be buried in Machpelah, though he had failed to bury Joseph's mother Rachel there. We see that there is a spiritual association between Rachel and צאן, the description used for the Jewish people when the latter are in exile.

Joseph is the pillar the world rests on because the צדיק righteous person, is the יסוד, foundation of the universe, the pillar which supports the universe. The feet are the support of the rest of the "body." It follows that between them they form the "feet" of the שכינה. We view Joseph as the "pillar" of the world, Yehudah as the fourth leg of G–d's throne, enabling it to "stand." When the Torah reports the birth of Yehudah, we find that it continues with the words ותעמוד מלדת, "She, (Leah) stood from giving birth." The message that the Torah wishes to convey is that it was this birth that enabled the throne of G–d to stand firmly. Finally, Benjamin is perceived as the ירך, the thigh or reproductive organ of the body. He had not bowed to Esau because he had not been born when Jacob met his brother. He was therefore fit to serve as the site of the altar, from which G–d's blessings are received.