Yaakov’s Dream and the Ethics of Divine Refinement

 

"He had a dream: he beheld a ladder standing firmly on the ground and sloping upward, its top reaching up toward heaven. Angels of G-d were ascending it and descending it. He had a dream: he beheld a ladder standing firmly on the ground. And behold, G-d was standing over him. He said, “I am G-d, G-d of Abraham your forebear, and G-d of Isaac. I will give the land upon which you are lying to you and your descendants" - Bresheet 28:12-13.

Who has not read or heard of Yaakov’s famous dream which is one of the main themes of this week’s Parashah, “Vayetze,” described in Bresheet 28:10-22?

It is theologically and symbolically one of the most defining moments for Yaakov and Am Yisrael. Up until then, the Covenant belonged to Avraham and Yitzchak. The dream transforms Yaakov’s spiritual identity and establishes him as one of the three patriarchs of Am Yisrael and the Jewish People.  It is not merely a dream. It is a blueprint for Jewish destiny.

Naturally, Yaakov is overwhelmed by the dream. He is aware of his own history. He is running away from Esav after having deceived him and Yitzchak. Whether justified or not, the act created a spiritual tension. Yaakov is alone, in the world and afraid for his life. The ladder in the dream symbolizes connection, the opposite of deception and, as it seems, provokes deep self-reflection in Yaakov. 

The sages believe that Yaakov feels this burden- and fears that he may have lost G-d’s protection. In the midst of moral uncertainties, comes the dream where G-d reassures him, “I am with you….I will guard you.” (28:15). Yaakov realizes that he is now a vessel of Divine purpose and must consider his own responsibility in carrying out G-d’s plan.

What follows is a series of events that are aimed at preparing Yaakov for this very important destiny. In a way, the dream marks a transition from the “manipulative act” to a life of responsibility and suffering where the deceiver becomes the deceived, by Lavan, his uncle and future father in law who circumvents him (by replacing Rachel with Leah, his oldest daughter) and repeatedly cheats him in wages.

Our sages seem to grapple with the tension between Yaakov’s identity as a righteous, straightforward man and the chain of deceptions he undergoes later in the Parashah. Here are some of their commentaries on this pradicament. 

Chaza”l explain the dilemma in terms of middah keneged middah (measure for measure). Bresheet Rabbah (70:19). It teaches that Yaakov’s deception of Yitschak leads to his being deceived by Lavan.  G-d wants to “educate” Yaakov through an experience that mirrored his earlier act. It is not vengeance or punishment. Rather, they assert, it is for the purpose of moral refinement and spiritual growth. Yaakov must confront his own behaviour through Lavan's deceit and grow from it.

Rash"i conveys the same underlying idea. While he does not explicitly claim that Yaakov was punished for deceiving Yitzchak, he hints at it. This is reflected in Lavan’s response when Yaakov protests, “Why have you deceived me?” after discovering that Leah was substituted for Rachel. Lavan’s remark, “In our region,giving a younger daughter in marriage before the older is simply not done” (29:25-26), serves as a pointed allusion to Yaakov’s own earlier deception involving Esav, for the purpose of repairing his own earlier deception.

Siftei Chachamim (A commentary on Rash"i's commentary on the Torah and the Five Scrolls, by Shabtai Bass 1660-1680), likewise suggests that Yaakov needed to experience what deception feels like to grow into the moral stature of “Yisrael.” Again, the purpose is to cleanse, refine and elevate him.

Malbi”m (Meir Leibush ben Yehiel Michel Wisser 1809-1879) echoes a similar message. Yaakov’s earlier successes come through cleverness; Lavan forces him into a situation where only faith, patience and righteousness can succeed. The deception, according to him, teaches Yaakov to let go of manipulation. 

According to Zohar (Vayishlach 21:221), Yaakov’s departure from Eretz Yisrael to the house of Lavan is not simply a physical escape from Esav, but a descent into a spiritually dark place for the purpose of elevating holy sparks.  “Just as gold is refined in fire, so Yaakov is refined in the house of Lavan.”  Lavan’s deception is the fire that purifies truth. 

The story of Yaakov’s years in the house of Lavan confronts us with one of the Torah’s most morally provocative reversals: the deceiver becomes the deceived. Having secured the blessing through disguise and misdirection, Yaakov now meets in Lavan a master of manipulation whose schemes far surpass his own. It invites us to consider whether the Torah is offering a subtle critique, a lesson in divine justice, or a portrait of spiritual growth forged through uncomfortable self-recognition. I believe it is the latter.

From Promise to Possession, The Birth of Jewish Title to Eretz Yisrael

 

Let him grant me the Cave of Machpelah, which belongs to him and is located at the edge of his field. Let him sell it to me for its full price, in your presence, so I can make it into a family burial ground.” - Bresheet 23:9

At the onset of this week’s Parashah, “Chayei Sarah,” (the life of Sarah), we are told about the death of Sarah, Avraham’s wife, in Hevron. Pursuent to her passing, Avraham purchases the Cave of Machpelah and the surrounding field in Hevron, from its owner, Ephron, the Hittite and buries her there.

One of the questions that is begging to be asked, upon reading these verses, is, if G-d has already promised the Land of Yisrael to Avraham and his descendents (“To your offspring I will give this land,” Bresheet 12:7), why must Avraham purchase a burial site, at Machpelah, for Sarah?

G-d’s promise to Avraham and his posterity gives the land spiritual legitimacy. Avraham’s purchase gives it political legitimacy. In order to establish sovereignty. Both are needed. The Divine Covenant establishes eternal rights. Avraham’s actions and deeds establish worldly recognition. Divine promises do not replace human action.

Furthermore, Avraham insists upon paying “full price” for the land, as the verse above points out, despite the offer to accept it as a gift. He wants an indisputable legal claim to ensure that no one could later challenge Jewish presence as illegitimate or dependent on any foreign entities. He knows that a Divine promise carries spiritual authority, but not necessarily a recognition in the human legal system. He understands that sovereignty is established through moral and lawful means. By paying “full price,” Avraham secures a deed that no one can contest. The negotiations with Ephron become the first legal translation of Jewish lawful ownership setting a precedent for the Jewish People’s historic and moral claim in the Promised Land.

Avraham’s insistence on  paying full price, refusing a gift, parallels other, later, key biblical passages. In 2 Samuel 24:24, king David explicitly purchases land with money, land that is connected to the legitimate ownership and future sanctity of the site he was about to procure. There, he says to Araunah, the Jebosite who offers it to him for free, " 'No, I will buy it from you for a price;I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my G-d that cost me nothing. So David bought the threshing floor and the Oxen for fifty shekels of silver.”  This site, as we later find out, becomes the future Temple Mount in Yerushalayim, “Then David said,’Here shall be the house of the Lord G-d and here the altar of burnt offering for Yisrael.’” 1Chronicles 22:1. Both these pieces of land, Sarah's burial sites and the Temple Mount were legally purchased for eternal possession, thus fulfilling the Divine promise to Avraham and his descendents. 

One of the most striking and meaningful features of Parashat Chayei Sarah, (the Life of Sarah), is its paradoxical title which opens with Sarah’s death yet gives us no further details about her life. What, on the surface, seems like a contradiction preoccupied our sages. Many of them, however, view it not as a contradiction but rather as a deep truth about life's legacy and continuity.

Midrash Rabbah expands on this idea. “Why is it written, ‘After the life of Sarah?’ To teach us that the righteous are called alive even after death.” (Bresheet Rabbah 58:1). Sarah’s legacy and her spiritual influence continue beyond her physical existence. 

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch reads the name Chayei Sarah as a theological statement. The life of Sarah, he believes, is the life that Sarah set in motion. Her death sets off Avraham’s first act of acquiring land in Canaan. Until that point Avraham is a resident alien, a ger vetoshav toshav, promised the land by G-d but not yet owning even a small piece of it. Sarah’s death gives birth to the first foothold of the Jewish nation in its promised land. Her burial place becomes a national symbol and a spiritual anchor linking future generations to the patriarchs and matriarchs buried there.

Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks builds on the same concept. In his essay Chayei Sarah (Covenant and Conversation) Sacks offers a beautiful and deeply philosophical insight into the paradoxical title of Parashat Chayei Sarah. His assertion is that in order to understand a death, one has to understand a life.  In the Torah, believes Sacks, life and death are not opposites. Those who live a life of faith, whose values and influence last beyond their days, never die. Sarah’s life, as Sacks sees it, continues through the continuity of the Covenant. Her legacy gives life to the Jewish People.

To praphrase the interpretations of our sage, Sarah’s death forces the promise of DivineInheritance, the guiding principle that dictated the journey of her life, to translate into human and legal reality.

Her death, in this sense, becomes the womb of Jewish rootedness, out of which arises Jewish life and permanence.

The Anatomy of Unendurable Disputes

 

“Every dispute that is for the sake of Heaven, will in the end endure; But one that is not for the sake of Heaven, will not endure.” – Mishna Avot 5:17

 

Two weeks ago, we read the Torah portion, Shelach Lecha. It focused on the dispute stemming from the episode of the spies (Bamidbar 13-14) which is also referred to as “the sin of the spies”.

 The Korach Torah portion of this past week centered on another kind of dispute. This one emerged from a rebellion against Moshe, one that was orchestrated by Korach and his followers.

Some of you may question why I allude the two portions together and wonder about the connection between them. The answer is simple, they both embroil a dispute.

Our sages distinguished between two kinds of conflicts, as the quote from Mishna Avot above suggests. The dispute for the sake of Heaven, they explain, is one for the sake of truth. The other is for the sake of victory, power and personal gain.

Though, as shall be pointed out, both disputes were “not for the sake of Heaven.” They originate from entirely different motives and circumstances.

Shelach Lecha chronicles the story of the twelve spies that Moshe sent to scout the promised land prior to entering it. Upon their return, they reported to Moshe, and to the Children of Yisrael, “the land to which you sent us, does flow with milk and honey. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large.” They went on to describe its inhabitants as giants and extinguished any hope of overcoming them and conquering the land.

One of the spies, Calev ben Yefuneh tried to challenge the other spies and declared, “We should all go up and take possession of the land for we can certainly do it.” But to no avail. The other spies, eventually, succeeded in inciting the members of the community. “If only, we had died in Egypt! Or in the wilderness,” they lamented to Moshe and Aharon. “Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Wouldn’t be better for us to go back to Egypt?” Some even call for a rebellion, “we should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”

Calev ben Yefunneh and Yehoshua ben Nun, the only two spies who remained loyal to G-d’s plan, tear their clothes in agony and keep begging the community to have faith and trust G-d. Their calls, however, fell on deaf ears and threats to stone them were heard.

G-d’s punishment of the rebellious members of the community did not linger. “In the wilderness your bodies shall fall, every one of you, twenty years or older, who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me. Not one of you… except Calev ben Yefunneh and Yehoshua ben Nun.” As for your children,…I will being them in to enjoy the Land you have rejected… For forty years, one year for each of the days you explored the Land, you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have you against me.” (Bamidbar 14:29-34).

Unlike the previous dispute, Korach’s clash with Moshe arose from his opposition to the appointments and role assignments for serving G-d which were made within Moshe’s family, upon the directives of G-d. They included selecting Moshe’s brother, Aharon, as High Priest and giving preference to some members of the tribe of Levi for high-ranking positions. Korach refused to accept it arguing that after Mount Sinai, “The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the lord is with them” (Bamidbar 16:3). Korach even went further to doubt Moshe claiming that he made those appointments arbitrarily and not upon G-d’s edict.

Moshe put Korach’s claim to the test. Naturally, he and his devotees failed. Their punishment for challenging G-d and their contemptuous attitude towards His decree was that “the ground opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, and all those associated with Korach” (Bamidbar 16:28-34).

In his article “Times of Fear,” where he discusses the sin of the spies, Rabbi Sacks, notes that the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, asked, “How could ten of the spies have come back with a demoralizing defeating report? They had seen with their own eyes how G-d had sent a series of plagues that brought Egypt, the strongest and longest-lived of all empires of the ancient world to its knees. Egypt was far stronger than the Canaanites, Perrizites, Jebusites and other minor kingdoms that they would have to confront in conquering the Land. Nor was this an ancient memory. It had happened not much more than a year before.”

According to him, the spies were not afraid of failure, they were afraid of success. While wandering in the desert, the Yisraelites were provided with food, manna from Heaven and water from miraculous wells. They were constantly surrounded and cloaked by the holiness of the Shechinah and lived close to G-d.

When they enter the Land, though, they would have to engage in battles, provide for themselves and worry about many temptations of the mundane world. In other words, they would end up being just another nation like any other nation.

The “mistake of the spies was the mistake of very holy men”, explains Rabbi Sacks. Ten of them sought to preserve the kind of life they experienced in the desert where they could find G-d easily, rely on Him to provide for them and fight their wars for them. “They wanted to spend their lives in the closest proximity to G-d. What they did not understand was that G-d seeks, in the Hasidic phrase, ‘a dwelling in the lower worlds.’ One of the great differences between Judaism and other religions is that while others seek to lift people to heaven, Judaism seeks to bring heaven down to earth. They should have known that G-d had intended for us for us to engage with the world, to heal its fractured parts and spread light. This was their sin. They misled the people, and thus steered them into the hands of a serious conflict, the kind that the Mishnah categorized as “not for the sake of Heaven.”

When addressing the second conflict, the one generated by Korach and his followers, Rabbi Sacks asserts that, “ if you want to understand resentments, listen to what people accuse others of, and you will then know what they themselves want.” That is precisely what Korach, and his faction wanted. They wanted to be leaders. They wanted power. And if there is a dispute that is spawned over desire for control and power, I doubt that there is anyone who would suggest that it is “a dispute for Heaven’s sake.”

The New Guardian

 

                        “The Guardian of Yisrael shall never slumber nor sleep” – Psalms 121:3

“HaShomer HaChadash” (The New Guardian) is a Zionist social and educational organization. Under the initiative of Yoel Zilberman and On Rifman, it was established in 2007 with the support of a group of volunteers and lovers of the Eretz Yisrael. Its objective is to guard and protect the State’s lands while empowering and supporting farmers and the law enforcement establishment alongside with connecting young Yisraelis to the Land, the love of our Homeland and Zionist identity.

The project modelled after the original “The Guardian” (Ha’Shomer) movement, which was established in 1909, in the Galilean town of Kfar Tavor. The organization was founded with the goal of defending Jewish property and Jewish lives considering the gloomy state of the Jewish settlements and its inhabitants at the end of the first wave of immigration to Eretz Yisrael. These were under the status of “a protectorate” of foreign diplomats and were vulnerable and open to attacks by local hostile forces.

The need for such a modern-day initiative arose because of a very sad reality that has, unfortunately, afflicted the state of Yisrael, especially during the last decade. I am referring to the spread of “Agricultural Crime,” which the Yisraeli Supreme Court defined as “a plague.”

This form of “Agricultural Crime” manifests itself in various ways. It ranges from theft of produce, supplies, animals, and agricultural equipment used by farmers for work and their sustenance.  According to a report presented by “The New Guardian,” the direct damage caused by agricultural crimes in 2020 was estimated at about NIS1.1 billion. Data also show that there is an increase of 46.6% in the number of yearly incidents.

The “New Guardian” draws volunteers from all over the State of Yisrael and from all segments of society, twenty-one years and older. They all must undergo training which includes meeting the farmers, familiarizing themselves with the challenges of the area and its terrain. The constitutive principle underlying their voluntary activity is comprised of educational values where labour, mutual guarantee, courage, and love of the land are of prime importance.

The volunteers’ units have improved over the years. Nowadays, they include Jeep, motorcycle, and bike units which patron the area. This creates presence on the ground, helps prevent theft, setting fires, damaging agricultural equipment and serves as a deterrent factor thus allowing the hardworking farmers to get some rest at night.

On Wednesday, January 26^th, almost two weeks ago, I joined Dr. Mordechai Kedar and Eli Greenbaum, two active members of this group, on one of their eight hour long nightly shifts.

“Wear warm clothes and waterproof shoes,” Kedar advised me, “it is going to be a cold night.”

Wrapped in five layers of clothing, warm gloves, a couple of scarves and a bag full of snacks, we headed north to fulfill what I regard as one of the most important duties required of us, Yisraelis, to ensure that the land, its people, farmers and livestock are under no threat. Our destination, this time, was Yechiam Altschuler’s farm, near Binyamina.   

Let me start by saying that it must have been the coldest night I have ever experienced in Yisrael. Despite the pouring rain, which occasionally turned into hail, the strong winds that nearly blew me 5’2” petite size, which all joined hands to make it one demanding experience, it turned out to be one very rewarding adventure.

Needless to add, that the company was great. Dr. Kedar, whom many consider the foremost expert on the Arab and Islamic world, delivered a fascinating lecture to an audience via zoom, enriching all listeners with information and a better understanding of some sections of the Koran and the Hadiths. 

Twice during the shift and guided by the light of a lonely flashlight, we went on  patrols around the farm. Our feet were sinking in mud and the icy fingers of the rain were stinging our faces.

The small outdoor fireplace, situated in the corner of the makeshift canvas shed, to which all three of us were drawn like a moth to a light, did help to warm us up a bit.

However, the greatest flame was in our hearts. The flame that has kept our People alive for a few millennia refused to subside, let alone extinguish. The mere thought that we are here, back Home, the only Home we have ever had was the elixir to our souls and the music to our dancing Jewish Zionist heart.

What an experience!

If you wish to join the organization and be part of the "HaShomer HaChadash," please visit the following:

https://www.hashomer.org.il/%D7%A6%D7%95%D7%A8-%D7%A7%D7%A9%D7%A8/