Summarized by Yaakov Aduram
Translated by David Strauss
Our teacher, Rav Mordechai Breuer, innovated and disseminated the "aspects approach," according to which various contradictions and repetitions in the Torah are understood as indicating "two laws," two different ways of bringing us the word of God. In our parasha, we find a clear example of a difficulty in the verses that can be resolved with this approach, regarding the reason for Yaakov's return to Eretz Yisrael.
At first glance, the verses seem to offer two different motives for Yaakov's return. One deals with Yaakov's relationship with Lavan's sons:
And he heard the words of Lavan's sons, saying: Yaakov has taken away all that was our father's; and of that which was our father's has he gotten all this wealth. And Yaakov beheld Lavan's face, and, behold, it was not toward him as before. (Bereishit 31:1-2)
Lavan's sons are jealous of Yaakov and accuse him of taking their father's property, which was intended for them. This jealousy is also reflected in Lavan's behavior towards Yaakov, and Yaakov realizes that he must flee from them to another place. A completely different motive arises in the next verse:
And the Lord said to Yaakov: Return to the land of your fathers, and to your kindred; and I will be with you. (ibid 31:3)
In other words, Yaakov seeks to leave Lavan not because of problematic relations with him, but rather because of an explicit Divine revelation – and he does not simply leave Charan, but returns to the land of his fathers. Later in the parasha, Yaakov tells Rachel and Leah about the angel's words to him; and according to what he tells them, there is a direct connection between these two motivations – the command to go to the Land of Israel is connected to Lavan's attitude towards Yaakov:
And it came to pass at the time that the flock conceived, that I lifted up my eyes, and saw in a dream, and, behold, the he-goats which leaped upon the flock were streaked, speckled, and grizzled. And the angel of God said to me in the dream: Yaakov; and I said: Here am I. And he said: Lift up now your eyes, and see, all the he-goats which leap upon the flock are streaked, speckled, and grizzled; for I have seen all that Lavan does to you. I am the God of Beit-El, where you did anoint a pillar, where you did make a vow to Me. Now arise, get out from this land, and return to the land of your nativity. (31:10-13)
It is possible that the reason for Lavan and his sons' jealousy of Yaakov is closely connected to the command to return to Eretz Yisrael, so that the two reasons connect to each other. At the beginning of our parasha, when Yaakov flees from Esav, he makes a vow at Beit El:
And Yaakov made a vow, saying: If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come back to my father's house in peace, then shall the Lord be my God, and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house; and of all that You shall give me I will surely give the tenth to You. (28:20-22)
God answered Yaakov's prayer and blessed him with much more than "bread to eat and clothes to wear," but Yaakov delayed fulfilling his vow and bringing the tithe. It is possible that Yaakov's conflict with Lavan's family served as a punishment for this delay, and then the angelic revelation came to remind him to fulfill his vow, leave Charan, and go back to Beit-El.
Up to this point we have understood the story in accordance with the approach of Rav Breuer, explaining two different perspectives which each illuminate a different aspect of the story – Yaakov's realistic fear, and the revelation that provided explanation and meaning to this fear.
But our approach to the study of the Torah is different, and it is possible to understand that we are dealing here not with two different stories, but with one case: the revelation of the angel of God did not literally come in a dream, but rather it was the voice of God Himself that was expressed in reality, which was heard and understood by Yaakov.
Yaakov saw the changing reality before his eyes, the growing enmity in the eyes of Lavan and his sons, and he understood that this was no coincidence, but rather Divine Providence that sought to guide him; the Divine guidance of reality directed him to leave Charan and return to the land of his fathers.
This important principle of hearing the voice of God from within reality can be seen in other examples from Jewish history throughout the ages.
One of the examples is, of course, the Holocaust that befell the Jewish people. Many good people, including Herzl and Ben Gurion, were able to analyze what was happening in Europe in the years before the war and saw what was to come. But we will mention in our words the late Rabbi Yisrael Shlomo Teichtal, author of the book Eim ha-Banim Semeicha.
Rabbi Teichtal ztz"l was a fierce opponent of Zionism for most of his years; but with the onset of the Holocaust in Europe, he began to reexamine his positions and eventually became convinced of the indispensability of returning to Eretz Yisrael. In the midst of the inferno of war, he was able to hear and understand the word of God calling out to him from within reality itself and to fundamentally change his worldview regarding Zionism and redemption.
So too we are obligated to hear the voice of God calling from within reality, even without direct revelation, and to know how to act in accordance with that call.[1]
[This sicha was delivered by Harav Yaakov Medan on Shabbat Parashat Vayetze 5784.]
[1] Editor's note: This talk was given on 12 Kislev 5784, during the Gaza War that began on Simchat Torah. Two days earlier, the cabinet approved a ceasefire and a deal with the Hamas terrorist organization, under which some of our brothers were released and in return Israel undertook to stop attacks and intelligence gathering in the Gaza Strip. At the beginning of his remarks, Harav Medan mentioned the reasons for joy and concern about the deal that was signed. He concluded by saying that "a judge has nothing but what his eyes see," and that we must make decisions in light of our understanding of reality - and the voice of God that emanates from it.
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