From: Netvort@aol.com
Sent: Friday, December 01, 2006 2:54 AM
To: JoshHoff@aol.com
Subject: Netvort : parshas Vayeitzei, 5767





         You Don't Need a Weatherman to Know Which Way the Wind Blows


                By Rabbi Joshua (predictably known as The Hoffer) Hoffman


  The Torah tells us that Ya'akov, over a period of six years tended the flocks he had received from Lavan as compensation for his previous fourteen years of service to him, and became 'exceedingly prosperous and he had proliferating flocks and slave women and slaves, and camels and donkeys' (Bereishis 30:43). We are then told that Ya'akov overheard a conversation of Lavan's sons, who were saying, "Ya'akov has taken all that belongs to our father, and from that which belongs to our father he amassed all his wealth" (Bereishis 31:1). In the very next verse, the Torah reports that Ya'akov noticed that Lavan's disposition was not toward him as in earlier days. God then tells Ya'akov to return to the land of his fathers. As the commentators explain, Ya'akov needed this divine instruction, because otherwise he did not have permission to leave Lavan's house until his mother sent him word that he could do so, as he had promised before he left home. We need to understand, however, why the Torah first tells us that Ya'akov overheard the slander that Lavan's sons were saying about him, and only after that tells us that he noticed Lavan's disposition towards him had changed. Why do we need to be told that Ya’akov heard what Lavan’s sons were saying, when our main concern is that Lavan’s disposition had changed? 


  Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch explains that the Torah is hereby informing us that Lavan was, here, being punished for the way he deported himself towards his father, Besuel. We find in parshas Chayei Sarah that Lavan, being a rasha, or wicked person, spoke before giving his father a chance to speak. As a punishment for this, Lavan's sons became the ones who ran the household, and told him how to treat Ya'akov. Rav Ovadiah Seforno takes a different approach, writing that Lavan's sons slandered Ya'akov to him and he accepted what they said. Ya'akov witnessed the entire process, and that is how he was able to notice that Lavan's attitude toward him had changed and knew that his days with Lavan needed to come to an end. Rabbi Menachem Kasher, in his Torah Sheleimah, cites a similar explanation from a midrash, Yalkut Or HaAfeilah. The Midrash Rabbah cites Ben Sira as saying that the heart of a person can be recognized in his facial expressions, and that is how Ya'akov knew that Lavan's attitude had changed. According to the Midrash Rabbah, then, we still need to understand why the Torah first mentions that Ya'akov overheard Lavan's sons speaking against him. I believe this can be explained by making reference to a passage in the Talmud at the end of tractate Sukkah.


  The Mishnah (Sukkah 56a) tells us that the rabbis overturned the ring which held the neck of animals being sacrificed, and closed up the window containing knives used in slaughtering the sacrifices, of the house of Bilgah in the Temple, thereby limiting their ability  to bring sacrifices there. The Talmud (Sukkah 56b) explains that Miriam the daughter of Bilgah apostatized and  married an officer of the Syrian-Greek kings. When the Syrian-Greeks entered the sanctuary, she then went up to the altar, stamped it with her sandal and said, Lukos, Lukos (‘wolf, wolf’), how long will you consume the money of Yisroel?' Why was the entire family fined for the inappropriate comments of one of its members? The Talmud explains that the way a child speaks in the marketplace indicates what that child heard spoken at home. Miriam would not have spoken so brazenly in front of the holy altar had she not become accustomed to hearing the same kind of talk from her family. Perhaps, then, in the same way, when Ya'akov heard Lavan's sons slander him and say that he stole all of his wealth from Lavan, Ya'akov understood that they must have heard their father saying these things at home. This alerted Ya'akov to pay close attention to the way Lavan deported himself in his presence, and he was thereby able to detect a change in his attitude. However, we still need to understand why Ya'akov needed this indication from the conversation of Lavan's sons to realize that Lavan's attitude had changed. After all, the observation of Ben Sira, as cited in the midrash, that a man's inner feelings can be discerned from his outward comportment, seems to be very sound. Moreover, Ben Sira is often cited in the midrash and considered as being a particularly wise person. Why, then, following our understanding of the flow of these verses, wasn't Ya'akov able to read Lavan's feelings without first having heard what his sons were saying?


  When Ya'akov and his family finally flee from Lavan's house, the Torah tells us, "Ya'akov deceived Lavan the Aramean by not telling him that he was fleeing" (Bereishis 31:20). Rav Avrohom Binyomin Sofer, known as the Kesav Sofer, explains this to mean that Lavan's heart did not inform him that Ya'akov was fleeing. In other words, Lavan knew how to read people's emotions, and he did not discern any change in Ya'akov's attitude. Kesav Sofer explains that it was through divine intervention that Lavan was not able to detect the change. When Lavan finally caught up with Ya'akov, he asked, " What have you done that you have deceived me?" (Bereishis 31:26). Apparently, Lavan was projecting his own tactics upon Ya'akov, and accusing him of disguising his true feelings, because that is exactly what Lavan had done in his relationship with Ya'akov. Since Lavan himself purposely disguised his inner feelings by deporting himself as he always had toward Ya'akov, he felt that Ya'akov had done the same thing to him. It was only because Ya'akov heard Lavan's sons speaking against him that he was alerted to Lavan's true feelings, and took a closer look at him when in his presence. Ultimately, if one studies a person closely enough, his true feelings can be discerned, no matter how hard he tries to hide them. The only reason Lavan was not able to read Ya'akov's true feelings was because God prevented him from doing so, as the Kesav Sofer writes. Following our analysis, perhaps we can speculate that Lavan was being punished in this way measure for measure for having tried to hide his true feelings from Ya’akov. The entire episode should serve as a reminder to parents that their children can see behind any facade they try to put on to hide their true feelings towards them,,just as Lavan was not able to hide his true feelings from his son-in-law Ya'akov.



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

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