VaYeitzei 5632 Second Ma'amar

The beginning of this week’s parsha recounts Ya’akov Avinu’s trip to his uncle Lavan and the dream he had along the way. Ya’akov woke up upset that he had slept in such a holy place. He said, “... אָכֵן יֵשׁ ה' בַּמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה וְאָנֹכִי לֹא יָדָעְתִּי/… Indeed, God is in this place and I did not know!” (Breishis 28:16)  Rashi explains that if he had known, he would not have slept there.

When we think about it we realize just how amazing this is. Ya’akov gained much from having slept in that place.  Rashi tells us that the place in which he slept was the site of the future Beis HaMikdash.  A miracle occurred and the sun set early specifically so that he would stop there.  As a result of having slept there, he had a prophetic dream in which God promised him Eretz Yisrael and also promised to protect him on his dangerous journey.  Yet, Ya’akov Avinu was upset that he slept there.  He would rather have forfeited the prophecy and God’s promise than to have slept on the holy ground!  Why?

A clue can be gleaned from the Zohar[1] on the words “וְאָנֹכִי לֹא יָדָעְתִּי/and I did not know.”  The Zohar poses the following question.  Why did Ya’akov berate himself for not knowing that God’s presence rested where he slept?  How was he to know?  The Zohar answers that knowledge in Tanach connotes connection[2].  Ya’akov Avinu knew that his primary purpose was to come close to God.  When Ya’akov Avinu said “לֹא יָדָעְתִּי/I did not know,” he was not berating himself for not knowing.  Rather he was berating himself for not being spiritually sensitive enough, not “connected” enough, to realize that the Shechina was in this place.  This, then, answers our question.  Ya’akov Avinu would have preferred to be in tune enough with God – “connected” to Him, as it were – to have felt the holiness of the site rather than to have slept there and receive the prophecy and promise.

Still, after the dream, he did recognize the holiness of the place.  He also realized that he received a special enlightenment from God in the form of the prophetic dream.  His sense of awe of God became more developed as a result of the dream.  He grew spiritually because of it.  We learn from Ya’akov Avinu to recognize any Godly enlightenment that we receive and let it affect us bringing us closer to God.

Many times we have a new thought or a solution to a problem which comes to us in a flash.  In some mysterious way, some problem that we were struggling with becomes clear.  These new thoughts, clarity and solutions, are messages from God.  The Sfas Emes teaches us that their very purpose is for us to recognize them as such.  God sends them to us to give us a means for strengthening our awe of Him and coming closer to Him.  If we do not recognize them as God-sent but rather chalk these thoughts up to “flashes of inspiration,” then they haven’t fulfilled their purpose and were wasted.  May we merit recognizing God’s messages to us, as Ya’akov Avinu did, and coming closer to Him through them. Amen!

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[1] Zohar 1:150a-b

[2] We find, for example, “And Adam knew his wife Chava …” (Breishis 4:1) He connected with her. Another example from last week’s parsha is when God says, referring to Avraham Avinu, “For I have known him …” (Breishis 18:19) Rashi explains that this is an expression of God's love for Avraham Avinu because loving implies drawing someone near and knowing that person.

VaYeitzei 5634 Third Ma'amar

The beginning of this week’s parsha recounts Ya’akov Avinu’s journey to Charan and the prophetic dream he had along the way.  The Torah relates to us Ya'akov's reaction upon awaking, "ויירא ויאמר מה נורא המקום הזה אין זה כי אם בית א-להים וזה שער השמים/He feared and said, 'How awesome is this place!  This is none other that the house of God and this is the gate of the heavens." (Breishis 28:17)

The Torah relates the dream because of its great significance.  In this dream God communicated directly with Ya'akov promising to protect him, to make him into a great nation and to give him the land of Israel.  However, why does the Torah relate to us Ya'akov's reaction to having slept in this holy place?  Why is this significant?

The answer lies in an understanding of Ya'akov's fear.  Ya'akov was not afraid of divine retribution.  He was not afraid for himself.  The Sfas Emes explains that Ya'akov's fear was in fact fear of heaven or perhaps better translated as awe.  The Torah is praising Ya'akov.  Whereas another may have felt pride in having such a dream in which God spoke directly to him, Ya'akov was overcome by awe.  Ya'akov, a man of truth, did not allow his personal spiritual growth to cloud his thoughts and affect his reaction.  He had slept on holy ground.  He was in awe.

Ya'akov Avinu's awe was significant for another reason as well.  The Sfas Emes explains that due to Ya'akov's awe, we – his progeny – merited the Beis HaMikdash on this site.  The Sfas Emes learns this from a Midrash.  The Midrash[1] teaches us that God showed Ya'akov a prophecy of the Beis HaMikdash when it was standing, destroyed, and after it will be rebuilt in the future.  The Midrash infers this from the pasuk above.  The Midrash associates the beginning of our pasuk, "ויירא ויאמר מה נורא המקום הזה/He feared and said, 'How awesome is this place!" with a pasuk in Tehillim (68:36), "נורא א-להים ממקדשיך .../You are awesome, O God, from Your sanctuaries …"  From this association the Midrash understands that Ya'akov saw the Beis HaMikdash when it was standing.  

The Midrash is teaching us that when we relate to God as awesome, as Ya'akov did, we merit the Beis HaMikdash.  The Midrash considers fear of God to be the key factor in the existence of the Beis HaMikdash.  When Ya'akov said, "אין זה כי אם בית א-להים/This is none other than the house of God," he is stating the result of fear of heaven.

In fact, awe and fear of God is not only the main reason for the existence of the Beis HaMikdash.  It is the main cause for the existence of everything as we find, "יראת ה' טהורה עומדת לעד/Fear of God is pure; it stands forever." (Tehillim 19:10) 

Furthermore, fear of heaven causes an opening through which our prayers can be received as we find at the end of our pasuk, "וזה שער השמים/and this is the gate of the heavens."  The gate of the heavens opened because of Ya'akov Avinu's fear of God.  As well, they open for us when we have fear of God. 

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[1] Breishis R. 69:7