NOVEMBER 19, 1999 VOL 3, ISSUE 7 10 KISLEV 5760

 

 

 

 

Chabad of Northern Beverly Hills, 409 Foothill Road . Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Rabbi Yosef Shusterman 310/271-9063

PARSHAT VAYETZE This week's Torah portion, Vayeitzei relates how a single and solitary Jew left his home and set out for a foreign land, arriving there with nothing, save for his faith in G-d. "For with [only] my staff I passed over this Jordan," Yaakov (Jacob) declared. Nonetheless, Yaakov's steps were sure and confident, as he had full faith in the Holy One, Blessed be He. Once in Charan, Yaakov quickly saw that there was no one upon whom he could rely, not even his relatives. His uncle, Lavan, repeatedly tricked and deceived him, yet never once did Yaakov lose his faith. Through outstanding service and dedication to G-d Yaakov merited to obtain great wealth. But Yaakov's main achievement in Charan was that, despite their growing up in a hostile environment, every single one of his children was a pious and religious Jew.

Avraham had one son who was good, Yitzchak, but he also had another son who was not, Ishmael. Yitzchak had one son who was righteous, Yaakov, but he was also the father of Esav. Both Avraham and Yitzchak raised their children in Israel and not in exile, yet they still had descendants who abandoned the righteous path. Yaakov, by contrast, raised his family in exile. Required to serve G-d in the most difficult of circumstances, he made sure that his twelve sons would not be affected by the negative influence of Charan. On the contrary, he strove to instill in them the Torah he had received from his forefathers and studied with his ancestors Shem and Ever, thus proving that it was possible to live a Torah-true life even on the other side of the Jordan.

In Charan, Yaakov merited both spiritual and material success ("And the man increased exceedingly") by virtue of his faith in G-d. But the spiritual "great wealth" he acquired was the successful rearing of his children, who were all upright and devout individuals. The lesson this contains for us at present is clear: The only one upon whom we can ever depend is G-d, to Whom we connect ourselves through the medium of Torah and mitzvot. By educating our children in the ways of Torah, the eternal Torah we have inherited from our fathers and grandfathers, we will merit to go out of exile "with our youth and with our elders, with our sons and with our daughters." And when Moshiach comes we will be fully prepared to meet the Redemption. May it be G-d's will that this happens very soon, and that we greet Moshiach Tzidkeinu speedily in our days. (Fron L'Chaim 5756, issue# 444, Adapted for Maayan Chai from Likutei Sichot, vol. 1 )

"Your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth" (28:14) For you shall be a desirable land to Me... - Malachai 3:12

Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov taught that the Jewish people are like a plot of land: earthy, one might even say downright rough, but replete with potential treasure. Beneath the surface are vast stores of precious gems and metals, life-giving waters, and great reserves of energy. Its soil is alive with the promise of lush crops, ready to break surface upon a proper investment of devoted toil. To access these treasures, one must first have the insight and foresight to look beyond the pedestrian grit. One must carefully probe the terrain and faithfully drill, mine, pump, plow, sow and water in order to reap his rewarding return. Every individual - surface topology notwithstanding - is rich, fertile soil. Incumbent upon him and his fellows is both an opportunity and responsibility: to unearth and develop his diverse and fruitful resources to the utmost. - The Rebbe (From: Once Upon a Chassid by Yanki Tauber)

"He took from the stones of the place and he placed them around (under) his head." (28:11) QUESTION: Rashi says that he wanted to protect himself from wild animals.  Why did he only protect his head and not the rest of his body? ANSWER: From Yaakov's actions, a very important lesson can be learned. Yaakov spent all his years studying Torah in the home of Yitzchak and in the Beit Midrash of Shem and Aiver. Now he had to give up some of his Torah study time and engage in worldly matters. Yaakov knew that in the world at large there are many forces that are alien to Torah and mitzvot and hostile to the religious Jew. They endeavor to influence the mind of the Jew and persuade him to leave the path of Torah. Therefore, Yaakov made a great effort to protect his "head," to prevent negative influences from interfering with his yiddishkeit.

"He took of the stones of the place, and he placed them around (under) his head, and lay down in that place to sleep." (28:11) QUESTION: Why did Yaakov rest his head on the stones? ANSWER: The Gemara (Bava Kamma 30a) says: "He who wants to be a chasid should observe the laws of damages" (being careful not to hurt or damage anyone else). Rava says that he should follow the teachings of Avot (Book of Ethics), and others say that he should be observant in the laws of berachot (recognizing the supremacy of Hashem and thanking Him for everything).

The word "even" - "stone" is an acronym for "avot, berachot,nezikin". As Yaakov was preparing to enter the "outside world," his first resolution was to be a chasid, and he therefore placed these three stones as the guidepost for his "head"  his thoughts would always be directed towards how to excel in these three matters. The three stones united, to emphasize that each approach is equally important, and through these three things, one can make the world a "beit Elokim"  a "house of G-d." (From: Vedibarta Bam by Rabbi Moshe Bogomilsky)

LAWS OF SHABBAT - 39 Melachot: Kotzair(Reaping)

Kotzair: The Melocho of Kotzair is the uprooting or severing of any living plant or vegetation from its source of growth. This can be accomplished by uprooting an entire plant, or even just breaking off a leaf or branch. EX: Picking an apple from a tree is Kotzair even though the tree itself remains rooted to the ground. Similarly, picking vegetables, flowers, or pulling up weeds from a garden is Kotzair. Thus, any act that effectively severs a living plant, or part of a living plant from its source of growth is considered Kotzair

Removing bean sprouts from their jar: It is forbidden to remove the moist bean sprouts from the jar because this is equivalent to uprooting them from their source of growth. Removing the growing vegetables from their moist environment and source of growth is comparable to scraping moss from a rock, which is equivalent to uprooting a growing plant from the ground. It follows that bean sprouts can be used on Shabbos (or Yom Tov) if they were removed from their jar before Shabbos.

Walking on grass and plants: It is permitted to walk on lawns and shrubs (even if tall and overgrown), even though it is quite possible that some grass or shrubs will be kicked up while doing so, because uprooting grass is neither his intention nor is it inevitable.

One may not walk on delicate plants such as flowers and the like whose stems will definitely snap under foot (thereby effectively detaching the plant from its source of growth). Similarly one may not walk on thistles and any other brittle plants that crack and break under the weight of one's foot, as this is equivalent to uprooting a live plant. (From: The 39 Melochos by Dovid Ribiat)

We have a tradition attributed to the Baal Shem Tov: When one hears an uncomplimentary report about another Jew, even if he does not know the individual referred to, he should be very deeply pained. For one of these two is certainly in the wrong: If what they are saying about the individual is true, then he is defective; and if it is not true, then the talebearer is in an unhealthy situation.

(From Rebbe's Hayom Yom Kislev 12).

 

 

In our material world the bottom line is action -The Rebbe