From: Netvort@aol.com

Sent: Friday, December 05, 2008 1:43 AM

To: JoshHoff@aol.com

Subject: Netvort : Parshas Vayeitzei, 5769

                                 Talk Softly But Carry A Big Stick

                    By Rabbi Joshua (inaudibly known as The Hoffer) Hoffer


            In memory of the martyrs of Mumbai. May God avenge their blood.


  Ya'akov, on his way from Be'er Sheva to Charan, on his parents' direction, stops off at a certain place to rest, and has a dream. In this dream, he sees a ladder standing on the earth, which leads up to the heavens. The Ba'al HaTurim notes that the gematria, or numerical equivalent, of the word for ladder, 'sulam,' is the same as that of the word 'kol,' or voice. He goes on to say that the word 'kol' is a reference to prayer, and the message to Ya'akov is that he should take note of the power of prayer as he proceeds on his journey. In fact, the rabbis tell us that the reason Ya'akov stopped off where he did was in order to pray to God at the future site of the Beis HaMikdosh, and that he actually instituted the evening prayer, or 'ma'ariv,' at that time. This prayer is actually fitting for Ya'akov to have prayed at this point of his life, because he was about to begin his experience of golus or exile, from the Holy Land, and, as the commentary Beis Yisroel points out from many midroshim, Ya'akov was told by God to prepare the way for his descendants, the Jewish people, to survive the various exiles that they would experience. In this sense, Ya'akov, by praying the evening service, which is indicative of the dark period of exile, was giving the nation the ability to withstand that challenge through the power of prayer, in the sense of ' the actions of the fathers are a sign for the children,' in accordance with Ramban's understanding of that midrashic principle (see last week's Netvort for more on this concept). I would, however, like to suggest another explanation of the veiled reference to 'kol' in this verse, one which relates specifically toward an element in Ya'akov's personality, rather than to the circumstances of his life experience.

  When Ya'akov, disguised as Eisav, appeared before his father Yitzchok to receive the blessings that Yitzchok intended to give to Eisav, Yitzchok asked him to draw closer so that he could ascertain that it was, indeed, Eisav who was standing in front of him. Yitzchok then touched Ya'akov's clothing, which was really Eisav's clothing   that his mother had urged him to don for the very purpose of fooling Yitzchok. Yitzchok, feeling the hairy material, exclaimed, " the voice is Ya'akov's voice but the hands are Eisav's hands." (Bereishis 27:22). Why did Yitzchok repeat the word 'kol?' Wouldn't it have sufficed to say it it once ? Rav Dovid Feinstein explained that the first time the word kol is mentioned, it is spelled without the letter vav, while the second time it is mentioned, it is is spelled with a vav. The message, explained Rav Dovid, was that the soft voice of Ya'akov, as indicated by  the word kol without the vav, by its very softness is able to accomplish the influence of a loud voice. Ya'akov, . by speaking to people in a soft voice, was able to influence people to act properly, as if he had used a loud voice. In other words, the soft voice of Ya'akov, speaking words of love and concern for others, really constituted his loud voice, and accomplished more than the physical approach of Eisav, who used his hands to achieve his goals.

  Perhaps, then, this was the message hinted to Ya'akov by the appearance of a ladder in his dream. When he arrived in Charan, and, in fact in all future golus experiences, the proper tactic to use in influencing people should be to first speak to them in a loving, caring way, asking them about their needs and concerns, and then proceed to try to influence them to be good people. This was exactly what Ya'akov did when he first came to the field of Lavan and saw the workers gathered around the well in an apparently lazy kind of mode, not doing their work. He did not immediately tell them that they should still be working, and watering  the flocks of sheep in their care. Rather, he first greeted them, called them his brothers, and asked if they knew Lavan, and inquired after his welfare. Only after he showed them that he cared about them and about Lavan did he proceed to tell them that it was not yet time for them to end their workday. This approach of Ya'akov to giving rebuke is further elaborated upon by Rav Ya'akov Kaminetsky, zt"l, in his commentary Emes L'Ya'akov, where he writes that Ya'akov's approach to the workers and their behavior is a classic example of how one should give rebuke to someone. It was through this caring approach that Ya'akov succeeded in building a family dedicated to God in the environment of a society that worshipped idols, and thereby paved the way for future generations of the Jewish people to maintain their faith and dedication to God in the midst of their many dark periods of exile.


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  Please address all correspondence to the author (Rabbi Hoffman) with the following address - JoshHoff @ AOL.com.

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