Acute Awareness

This week’s Parsha is mainly focused on the time that Yaakov Avinu spent in Bais Lavan, including his marriages and the birth of most of the Shevatim. There is of course much to learn from all that happened to Yaakov during this seminal period, but there is a lesson to be learned from his arrival in Charan that is especially compelling.

Yaakov reaches Charan and finds a number of shepherds gathered with their flocks around a well. First he inquires as to the well being of his uncle, Lavan, and learns that Lavan’s daughter, Rochel, will be there shortly. They then explain that all the shepherds of the area assemble at this well to water their flocks at the same time, for there is a rock covering the well that can only be moved through a group effort. Then, as they are speaking, Rochel indeed arrives and, upon seeing her, Yaakov single handedly removes the rock, allowing the shepherds to draw the needed water.

This is a story that most of us are familiar with from our earliest years, but a look at the Pessukim themselves reveals that there is much that requires explanation.

First, in the Passuk that describes Yaakov’s reaction to Rochel’s arrival, Lavan is referred in a particularly notable way: each time that his name is mentioned, the Torah adds the words “Achi Imo”. Rochel is referred to as “Bas Lavan, Achi Imo” and the sheep are twice called “Tzon Lavan Achi Imo.”

Now, we know that Lavan was Rivka’s brother, and even if we needed to be reminded, surely once would suffice—why is this connection repeated three times in the same Passuk? By repeating the relationship between Yaako and Lavan, the Torah is certainly sending us a message.

Rabbeinu Bachya, notes this repetition and explains that by repeating the connection Yaakov had to Lavan, the Torah reinforces the fact that each action and step Yaakov Avinu took was only for his mother’s Kavod. While it may appear that he had alterior motives for his care of Lavan’s flock and his treatment of Rochel, the Torah repeats words “Achi Imo” to inform us that Yaakov’s actions were purely L’Shem Mitzvah.

The Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh briefly mentions this idea, and offers an additional explanation: Yaakov himself realized that those who were watching the scene unfold, including the other shepherds, may think that he was interested in Lavan’s family and flocks for his own purposes. Therefore, Yaakov Avinu constantly mentioned their relationship, so that the purity of his motives would be apparent.

Though the explanation of Rabbeinu Bachya and the second answer of the Ohr Hachaim would seem to be very similar, there is one central difference between the two: who the words “Achi Imo” are meant for. According to Rabbeinu Bachya, they are for us—to inform us about Yaakov’s actions and intents—whereas the approach of the Ohr HaChaim seems to be that Yaakov Avinu said these words for the benefit of the bystanders alone.

That said, we must understand why the Torah felt it necessary to tell us that Yaakov’s actions were without personal interest. What might we have thought? It is understandable that those who witnessed these events may assume that Yaakov was acting in this way to gain access to Lavan and his considerable wealth, as the Ohr Hachaim notes, but why would we have thought so? The Passuk repeats the relationship between Yaakov and Lavan with regard to both Rivka and the flocks to let us know that Yaakov was relating to them only because his mother instructed him to do so—why does this fact need to be so emphatically reinforced?

Also of note in these Pessukim is Yaakov’s removal of the rock that the blocked the Be’er. As we mentioned, this was a seemingly large boulder that could regularly be removed only by a group of shepherds. Upon seeing Rochel, however, Yaakov is able to remove it with no help at all. Rashi, citing the Medrash, tells us that not only did Yaakov emove the stone, but he did it with ease—as one removes the stopper from a flask. The, Rashi adds that the Torah told us this “L’Hodiacha Shekocho Gadol”, to teach us how strong Yaakov was.

The question here is clear: why do we need to know how strong Yaakov Avinu was? Is his level of physical aptitude really relevant to the story? Why would the Torah go out of the way to teach us this fact?

In addition, Rabbeinu Bachya points out that Yaakov’s strength in this case was even more exceptional than we may assume. The Passuk in Yeshaya refers to the Torah as “Toshia” and the Gemarah in Sanhedrin tells us that this because it saps one of his strength: “Mateshes Kocho Shel Adam”—when one learns Torah he is made physically weaker. Yaakov Avinu, the consummate Yoshev Ohalim, having just finished fourteen years of uninterrupted Torah study in Yeshivas Shem V’Ever, should certainly have been subject to this affect, and so his physical prowess in this instance is even more notable. How in fact was Yaakov able to remove the stone, with the ease noted by the Medrash, after being seeped in Torah which weakens a person?

With these questions in mind, it seems appropriate to perhaps approach this Passuk from a perspective of the Derech HaDrush. Perhaps then we can take a lesson from the Passuk, with all its nuances, that will be instructive in our life.

Chazal themselves seem to take this approach as well. The Medrash Rabba brings a number of opinions as to the significance of the Be’er and the Even, each one taking a different view of these two objects. One of the final interpretations cited is that the Even represents the Yetzer Harah, and the Be’er the Torah which is compared to water. The symbolism is clear—the Yetzer Harah is itself the obstacle to success in Limud HaTorah—but we must understand why it is employed in this case. What message is the Passuk telling us by referring to the Even and Be’er, which symbolize the Yetzer Harah and Torah respectively?

As we mentioned, the Gemarah tells us that Torah is “Mateshes Kocho Shel Adam”, it diminishes a person’s strength. The question, though, is why that is the case—what is it about Limud HaTorah that affects one’s physical abilities?

The Zohar HaChadash, cited in the Margolias HaYam, explains that it is not the Limud Hatorah itself which weakens a person, but what is required for success: Kevishas HaYetzer. A person must fight his Yetzer Harah, and be victorious, to find Hatzlacha in Limud HaTorah, and it is this fight that takes not only mental but actual physical exertion. Therefore, one who is successful in his pursuit of Torah is necessarily weakened because he had to have engaged in that most exhausting battle.

In stands to reason, though, that someone who has been engaged in true Limud Hatorah for an extended period of time may be inured to this affect. In fact, it seems that by letting us in on Yaakov’s thoughts at that time, the Pessukim here may be telling us that Yaakov Avinu had indeed been victorious in this battle, and maybe that is why his strength was not affected.

R’ Chaim Shmulevitz explains that the Yetzer Harah seeks to lure us into Aveirah by confusing us. Through deceit and deception, he convinces us of false realities that lead us onto the wrong path. The way to battle him, therefore, is by focusing our thoughts, even if only momentarily. When we do so, we become aware of what is truly occurring, of the actual reality we face, and can then choose to ignore the Yetzer Harah and his bait.

This is why a person is said to be able to do Teshuvah in an instant, given the correct Hisorerus. A moment of intense inspiration is like a flash of bright light: it illuminates the scene, banishing the darkness that clouds our vision. In those moments a person is immune from the effects of the Yetzer Harah, and can be Chozer B’Teshuva very easily.

It appears from the Passuk that Yaakov Avinu was a master at this exact method of Kvishas HaYetzer. When he reached Charan he had a singular focus—to fulfil his mother’s dictate to marry Lavan’s daughter and begin building Klal Yisroel. He therefore knew that the Yetzer Harah, dead-set on preventing him from reaching this goal, would try to create all sorts of distractions on the way. That is why he kept reminding himself that Lavan was his mother’s brother—so that his mind would be focused on his task and the Mitzvah at hand. This acute awareness prevented him from being distracted by the Yetzer Harah on his way.

We can now understand why the Torah wanted us to know that Yaakov was thinking about Rivka, and why it was important to tell us about his strength, as Rashi notes: to give us a full picture of the cause and effect that was at play. Because Yaakov knew how to battle the Yetzer Harah, through focused determination, he was able to remove the Even, which represents the Yetzer Harah itself, singlehandedly. His strength was not affected by his growth in Torah because he had passed a point where the Kvishas Hayetzer weakened him—to the extent that he was a master of his own reality, he was strong enough to wage are without being exhausted. Because he had worked on himself for so long, Yaakov Avinu had reached a point where removing the Even was as simple as uncorking a flask,

The message of this Passuk is now clear. Each of us experiences times in life when the Even preventing us from drawing from the Be’er HaTorah is so heavy that it seems impossible to move. We must however take inspiration from Yaakov Avinu: if we focus on the task at hand, constantly reminding ourselves of the task at hand, and try to avoid falling into the traps set by the Yetzer Harah, we too can remove that stone and drink from the sweet waters of the Yam HaTorah.