BS”D

ANGELS, ASPIRATIONS AND APPAREL: PARSHAT VAYETZEI

Shira Smiles shiur 2021/5782

Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein

The beginning and end of Parshat Vayetzei serve as bookends for Yaakov Avinu a’h’s journey from his ancestral home in Be'er Sheva to Lavan's house in Charan and back home again. Both at the beginning and end of this journey, at an interval of twenty years, Yaakov Avinu a’h encounters angels. At the beginning of his journey, gathering stones for a pillow, he sleeps the night, dreaming of symbolic angels ascending and descending a ladder, grounded on earth but reaching all the way to heaven. Hashem appears to Yaakov Avinu a’h,  renewing with Yaakov Avinu a’h the promise He had made with Avraham and Yitzchak to give Yaakov Avinu a’h this land in which he will spread out eastward, westward, northward and southward. When Yaakov Avinu a’h awakes, he declares, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the abode of God and this is the gate of the heavens…. And he named the place Beit El/House of God.”

Twenty years later, as he and Lavan part at Gilead, Yaakov Avinu a’h again encounters angels. Yaakov Avinu a’h names this place Machanaim/Camps to commemorate the camps of angels who came to greet him.

We cannot but notice both similarities and differences in these two angelic events. Both are “encounters”, but are they the same angels or different ones? Why did Yaakov Avinu a’h name the first site as a place, Beit El/House of God, while he named the second place after the camps of angels? What is the significance of the angels themselves and of the name Yaakov Avinu a’h called the places?

Rashi explains that in the first encounter, when Yaakov Avinu a’h was leaving Eretz Yisroel, there were two groups of angels. The angels ascending the ladder were the angels of Eretz Yisroel, while the descending angels were the angels sent to protect Yaakov Avinu a’h outside Eretz Yisroel. When Yaakov Avinu a’h was returning to Eretz Yisroel, he encountered both camps of angels. However, Ramban poses an obvious question. If one camp of angels was assigned to Eretz Yisroel, how could they leave Eretz Yisroel when Yaakov Avinu a’h Avinu was still on the other side of the river, relatively far from Eretz Yisroel proper?

 Rabbi Sternbach reconciles this dilemma with a beautiful idea: The angels of Eretz Yisroel are ready to leave Eretz Yisroel to accompany anyone who is making aliyah.

The route Yaakov Avinu a’h took to return home seems to be needlessly circuitous. Why not go a more direct route? Perhaps, suggests the Aderet Cohen, Yaakov Avinu a’h was reenacting his grandfather’s journey. When Hashem had promised Avraham Avinu the land, Avraham traversed the land through its entire length and width. This would all become the territory of Eretz Yisroel. Perhaps Yaakov Avinu a’h Avinu was doing the same with the land on the other side of the Jordan River, land that would later be settled by the Tribes of Reuven, Gad, and half of Menashe. This land too would eventually be invested with sanctity and would become part of Eretz Yisroel.

Yaakov Avinu a’h was asleep when he saw the angels in Eretz Yisroel, but he was awake when he encountered the angels when leaving Padan Aram. Wouldn’t it seem that Yaakov Avinu a’h would be in a holier state to receive the angels directly in Eretz Yisroel rather than outside its holy confines? Rabbi Sorotskin in Oznaim Latorah makes a powerful observation. Sanctity comes not so much from the physical place one occupies, but rather from the place one’s mind is in. Although Yaakov Avinu a’h was still in Eretz Yisroel at the beginning of his journey, his mind was already occupied with the problems he could anticipate in Lavan’s house until he could safely return home. In contrast, on his return, Yaakov Avinu a’h was already thinking about Eretz Yisroel even though he had not yet reached that destination.

Rabbi Sorotskin extrapolates from this an interesting practice in our Yom Kippur prayers. At the onset of Yom Kippur, on Kol Nidrei night, we recite “Boruch Shem Kevod.../Blessed is the Name of His glorious kingdom for all eternity,” aloud, like the ministering angels. Yet at the end of Yom Kippur, after having spent twenty-five hours in a totally spiritual state, we recite the verse again, in an undertone, as human beings. Rabbi Sorotskin again explains that sanctity is derived from the space your mind occupies. At the beginning of Yom Kippur, we are thinking of how awesome Hashem is, how we are being judged in His presence. In contrast, at the close of Yom Kippur, our minds are occupied with mundane thoughts of getting home and eating a meal.

Why is one’s mindset so important? Because Judaism is more concerned with being in a state of growth rather than being in a state of full maturity, explains Rabbi Scheinerman citing Rav Yisroel of Salant. The verse in Hosea says, “For Yisroel is a young child, and I love him.” What this verse suggests is that Hashem loves Bnei Yisroel because, like a young child, we are always in a state of growth. We are never to feel we have achieved our full stature, our full potential, We are always like a sapling drawing in water and nutrients and continuing to grow. Therefore, you can have a simpleton who is trying to learn something new on a higher level that a talmid chacham who rests on the laurels of his past achievement.

This childlike trait is characterized by the cherubim, the angelic figures with childlike faces that adorned the Holy Ark, their wings turned upward, always hoping to rise higher, always curious, searching, learning. We must always feel, as the name Yaakov Avinu a’h suggests, that we are always at the bottom, struggling to pull ourselves further upward, even by our bootstraps, writes Rabbi Roberts.

The story is told of a disciple of Rav Yechezkel Levenstein who, upon being appointed as a Rosh Yeshiva, felt himself inadequate to the task. After all, how could he give mussar/character guidance to the young men when he himself had some of these faults. He felt like a hypocrite. Tellingly, Rav Levenstein responded that if he aspired to improve, he was already credited with having earned the reputation of that positive character. None of us is perfect, but the first step is recognizing our shortcomings and then working to improve. Therefore, the Torah states that Yaakov Avinu a’h lifted his feet. Although his body was going to a place of impurity, his mind and heart were lifting his feet to places of virtual sanctity. When one asks himself where he wants to go, he is already growing in that direction.

This raises an interesting question. We are told that there is a Beit Hamikdosh in heaven that parallels the one on earth. But, asks Rabbi Steinwurzel in Be’er Chaim, is the site of holiness first established on earth or in the heavens? When Yaakov Avinu a’h went to sleep, he did not imagine this place to be holy, albeit the stones he placed under his head may have come from Har Hamoriah, the site of the future Beit Hamikdosh [among other earlier sanctified events]. But the sanctity rose from the earthly spot heavenward. The message here was extremely powerful, and led Yaakov Avinu a’h to exclaim,”How awesome is this place.” Yaakov Avinu a’h now understood that he can create kedushah/sanctity through his own deeds, he can bring that sanctity with him, and create a sanctified environment wherever he goes, even in Lavan’s house. Therefore, although sanctity is inherent in Eretz Yisroel, any land Jews go to as they spread throughout the earth can become holy. There are no boundaries to holiness. Allegorically, Hashem folded all of Eretz Yisroel under Yaakov Avinu a’h’s head, for by taking the power of Torah with him, he could create the sanctity of Eretz Yisroel wherever he would go.

The Gemorrah Berachot supports this idea. Rabbi Yochanan was told that there were elderly people in Babylonia, yet Bnei Yisroel was promised long life in Eretz Yisroel, not necessarily outside the land. But when Rabbi Yochanan was told that these men arose early in the morning to go to synagogue and stayed late into the evening, he understood that being involved in Torah and mitzvoth also had the power to prolong life, even outside Eretz Yisroel.

Among the Patriarchs, Yaakov Avinu a’h represented the existential Jew, the everyday Jew who generally must live and toil in a mundane world filled with physical and spiritual challenges, writes Rabbi Milevsky in Ner Uziel. The dream taught Yaakov Avinu a’h that the mundane and physical can be elevated to the sanctified, as the animal brought as a sacrifice on the altar, as a cup of wine that is used for Kiddush, [as hard earned money given to tzedakah CKS]. There are no barriers separating heaven and earth; we have the power to connect the two ends of this continuum. To concretize this basic tenet, that we can create sanctity wherever we are. Yaakov Avinu a’h took the stone from under his head and placed it as a pillar, a monument to “ground” this concept into the psyches of his descendants.

Now we can also understand why Yaakov Avinu a’h had to leave Eretz Yisroel and build his family in a place that seems devoid of kedushah, a place where the well filled with the life giving water of Torah is covered by a heavy stone.

The Mesameach Zion traces the trajectory of our Patriarchs in bringing recognition of Hashem to the world. He notes, that as we say in Ahavah Rabbah, there are three steps in the process of bringing kedushah, and each of our Patriarchs perfected one upon which the next Patriarch would build. First one must himself hear/lishmoa. After one has heard and fully clarified the message, one can study/lilmod until one is completely integrated with the message. Only then is he ready lelameid/to teach and spread the word.

Avraham Avinu began the process. Born outside Eretz Yisroel, he was still able to intuit the existence of a Creator through personal observation of nature and the world. This Belief and faith was strengthened through each of the ten challenges Hashem put him through. Yitzchak “inherited” this faith, but was tasked with studying/lilmod until he integrated Hashem’s will and existence with his own. He perfected this task so much that he was worthy of being an olah temimah/a full sacrifice to Hakodosh Boruch Hu. Yitzchak’s entire life was filled with sanctity, as was all of Eretz Yisroel. Therefore, Yitzchak was prohibited from ever leaving the Land.

Yaakov Avinu a’h Avinu represented the synthesis of his father and grandfather. Imbuing his entire being with faith, and studying Torah his entire life, he was able to go out into the world that Avraham Avinu came from, and spread that belief through all the four directions of the earth. He was able lelameid/to teach. Therefore, the development of his life, of his family, had to take place outside Eretz Yisroel, for Torah can exist anywhere. There are no boundaries where Torah is concerned. Borrowing an idea from Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, Mesameach Zion notes that our verse does not say, “Vayered Charanah/Yaakov Avinu a’h descended to Charan, as it usually says about one leaving Eretz Yisroel, but, Veyelech Charanah/he went to Charan, implying that he took the glory and sanctity of Eretz Yisroel with him wherever he went. Yaakov Avinu a’h Avinu was not about building himself, but about building others.

When Hashem will bring the ultimate redemption, writes the Belzer Rebbe, all the kedushah that was invested outside Eretz Yisroel will burst forth/uforatzto and be palpable outside Eretz Yisroel. When Yaakov Avinu a’h saw the angels in Eretz Yisroel, at the beginning of his journey, he recognized them as a Godly camp/machaneh Elokhim. Upon his return, Yaakov Avinu a’h saw the two camps of angels together, those from within Eretz Yisroel and those designated for outside Eretz Yisroel. He recognized the original camp of angels and realized that the two camps can coexist, that Torah can exist outside Eretz Yisroel. We need to create an Eretz Yisroel wherever we are. In that future time, the boundaries of Eretz Yisroel [at least symbolically] will have expanded to include all the holy places in the world we’ve built in sanctity.

Pirkei Avot tells us that every good deed we do creates for us an advocating angel. But this angel is created, writes Rabbi Bunim in Ethics of our Fathers, if we do the mitzvah with enthusiasm, giving it our all. It would be extremely difficult to invest fully in every mitzvah we do. Rabbi Bunim suggests we find one mitzvah that we can make our own, that we can always do enthusiastically, that we can search for opportunities to perform. The mitzvah could be in any category, a particular blessing, support for a particular yeshiva, visiting the sick – any area that you connect with and can make your special mitzvah. Such performance and enthusiasm will create these special angels that will form your camp of angels.

The camp of angels Yaakov Avinu a’h met upon leaving Lavan’s house, explains the Tosher Rebbe in Avodat Avodah, were precisely the angels Yaakov Avinu a’h created through the mitzvoth he performed while in Lavan’s house. For twenty years Yaakov Avinu a’h had been trying to elevate the sparks of spirituality that exist outside Eretz Yisroel. These were the angels he created, and so he had the right to name them, and he named them Machanaim/Camps [of angels]. If we remain strong in our mitzvah observance, we too can create camps of angels. Further, the Torah writes vayifgeu/[the angels] encountered Yaakov Avinu a’h. According to our tradition, this type of encounter refers to prayer, a personal encounter. These angels will appear before God on Yaakov Avinu a’h’s behalf and pray for him. We too have opportunities to create cadres of angels to advocate for us as well.

We are not to think of these angels protect us only when we perceive a crisis. These angels protect us constantly, keeping us from falling, repelling dangers we don’t even see as we navigate the world with our limited eyesight, writes Rabbi Gamliel Rabinowitz. Every time we do a mitzvah, we bring Hashem close to us, He becomes a shachen/neighbor. Then Hashem’s shechinah/close presence becomes the crown of glory upon our heads.

Rabbi Wolbe interprets the two camps in a more recognizable way. As we have discussed, the upper world and the lower world run parallel to each other. Yaakov Avinu a’h indeed saw two camps. He saw his family, his children as one camp, a camp he founded but that would be as spiritual and angelic as the heavenly angels. His deeds and their deeds, and by extension our deeds, create these camps of angels that mirror the angels on high, and together we sing the glory of Hakodosh Boruch Hu.

When Yaakov Avinu a’h saw the angels of Eretz Yisroel coming to greet him, writes the Chasam Sofer, he realized that his own children, through their righteousness, also formed a virtual camp of angels, akin to the level of righteousness of the times of Mashiach, when this land will once again be part of Eretz Yisroel.

When we aspire to spiritual greatness, we have the ability to elevate all the earth, not just Eretz Yisroel, to a heavenly state where we can achieve the status of angels.