וַֽיַּחֲלֹ֗ם וְהִנֵּ֤ה סֻלָּם֙ מֻצָּ֣ב אַ֔רְצָה וְרֹאשׁ֖וֹ מַגִּ֣יעַ הַשָּׁמָ֑יְמָה וְהִנֵּה֙ מַלְאֲכֵ֣י אֱלֹקִ֔ים עֹלִ֥ים וְיֹרְדִ֖ים בּֽוֹ׃
He had a dream; a stairway was set on the ground and its top reached to the sky, and messengers of God were going up and down on it.
וַיַּשְׁכֵּ֨ם לָבָ֜ן בַּבֹּ֗קֶר וַיְנַשֵּׁ֧ק לְבָנָ֛יו וְלִבְנוֹתָ֖יו וַיְבָ֣רֶךְ אֶתְהֶ֑ם וַיֵּ֛לֶךְ וַיָּ֥שׇׁב לָבָ֖ן לִמְקֹמֽוֹ׃
וְיַעֲקֹ֖ב הָלַ֣ךְ לְדַרְכּ֑וֹ וַיִּפְגְּעוּ־ב֖וֹ מַלְאֲכֵ֥י אֱלֹקִֽים׃
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יַעֲקֹב֙ כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר רָאָ֔ם מַחֲנֵ֥ה אֱלֹקִ֖ים זֶ֑ה וַיִּקְרָ֛א שֵֽׁם־הַמָּק֥וֹם הַה֖וּא מַֽחֲנָֽיִם׃
And early in the morning Lavan rose up, and kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them: and Lavan departed, and returned to his place. And Ya῾aqov went on his way, and angels of God met him. And when Ya῾aqov saw them, he said, This is God’s camp: and he called the name of that place Maĥanayim.
וַיֹּ֖אמֶר שִׁמְעוּ־נָ֣א דְבָרָ֑י אִם־יִֽהְיֶה֙ נְבִ֣יאֲכֶ֔ם ה׳ בַּמַּרְאָה֙ אֵלָ֣יו אֶתְוַדָּ֔ע בַּחֲל֖וֹם אֲדַבֶּר־בּֽוֹ׃ לֹא־כֵ֖ן עַבְדִּ֣י מֹשֶׁ֑ה בְּכׇל־בֵּיתִ֖י נֶאֱמָ֥ן הֽוּא׃
And He said: Hear, I pray you, My words. If there be prophets among you, "the L-rd" [i.e., the immanence of My Name] I invest him with in a vision; in a dream I speak to him. Not so My servant Moses. In all My house he is trusted.
וַיְצַ֤ו אֹתָם֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר כֹּ֣ה תֹאמְר֔וּן לַֽאדֹנִ֖י לְעֵשָׂ֑ו כֹּ֤ה אָמַר֙ עַבְדְּךָ֣ יַעֲקֹ֔ב עִם־לָבָ֣ן גַּ֔רְתִּי וָאֵחַ֖ר עַד־עָֽתָּה׃ וַֽיְהִי־לִי֙ שׁ֣וֹר וַחֲמ֔וֹר צֹ֖אן וְעֶ֣בֶד וְשִׁפְחָ֑ה וָֽאֶשְׁלְחָה֙ לְהַגִּ֣יד לַֽאדֹנִ֔י לִמְצֹא־חֵ֖ן בְּעֵינֶֽיךָ׃
and instructed them as follows, “Thus shall you say, ‘To my lord Esau, thus says your servant Jacob: I stayed with Laban and remained until now; I have acquired cattle, asses, sheep, and male and female slaves; and I send this message to my lord in the hope of gaining your favor.’”
וַיְהִי לִי שׁוֹר, אֵין לִי לִירֹא מִמְּךָ, שֶׁהֲרֵי נוֹלַד יוֹסֵף שֶׁנִּקְרָא שׁוֹר, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: בְּכוֹר שׁוֹרוֹ הָדָר לוֹ
וַחֲמוֹר, זֶה מָשִׁיחַ בֶּן דָּוִד, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: עָנִי וְרֹכֵב עַל חֲמוֹר
צֹאן, אֵלּוּ זְכוּתָן שֶׁל שְׁבָטִים שֶׁנִּקְרְאוּ בְנֵיהֶם צֹאן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וְאַתֵּן צֹאנִי צֹאן וְגוֹ'
וְעֶבֶד זֶה מֹשֶׁה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: מֹשֶׁה עֶבֶד ה׳
וְשִׁפְחָה, זוֹ רוּת שֶׁעָתִיד דָּוִד לָצֵאת מִמֶּנָּה, וְכָתוּב עָלָיו, אֲנִי עַבְדְּךָ בֶּן אֲמָתֶךָ
And I have oxen. This implies that I have no need to fear you (he was thinking to himself), for now Joseph is born, who is called an ox, as is said: His firstling ox, majesty is his (Deut. 33:17). Asses. The word ass alludes to the Messiah the son of David, as it is said: Lowly and riding upon an ass (Zech. 9:9). Flocks refers to the merit of the tribes, whose descendants will be called flock, as is said: And ye My sheep, the flock of My pasture (Ezek. 34:31). Similarly, Judah will also be Esau’s adversary, as it is stated: And the lion shall eat straw like the ox (Isa. 11:7). Lion refers to Judah, as is said: Judah is a lion’s whelp (Gen. 49:9), and like the ox alludes to Joseph. Will eat straw informs us that Joseph will judge Esau, who is referred to as straw, and his descendants will be like straw, as it is said: And the house of Esau is like straw (Obad. 18). Whence do we know that all the others will likewise judge Esau? From the verse How was thy mother a lioness; among lions she couched (Ezek. 19:2). We learn (from this verse) that all Israel will judge Esau. Male-servants refers to Moses, as is said: Moses was a servant of the Lord (Deut. 34:5). Maid-servants alludes to Ruth, from whom David descended, and concerning whom it is written: I am thy servant, the servant of thy maid-servant (Ps. 116:16). He was the descendant of the woman who forsook being an important lady and a queen in order to find shelter beneath the wings of the Shekhinah.
זֶה֩ עֶשְׂרִ֨ים שָׁנָ֤ה אָנֹכִי֙ עִמָּ֔ךְ רְחֵלֶ֥יךָ וְעִזֶּ֖יךָ לֹ֣א שִׁכֵּ֑לוּ וְאֵילֵ֥י צֹאנְךָ֖ לֹ֥א אָכָֽלְתִּי׃
טְרֵפָה֙ לֹא־הֵבֵ֣אתִי אֵלֶ֔יךָ אָנֹכִ֣י אֲחַטֶּ֔נָּה מִיָּדִ֖י תְּבַקְשֶׁ֑נָּה גְּנֻֽבְתִ֣י י֔וֹם וּגְנֻֽבְתִ֖י לָֽיְלָה׃
הָיִ֧יתִי בַיּ֛וֹם אֲכָלַ֥נִי חֹ֖רֶב וְקֶ֣רַח בַּלָּ֑יְלָה וַתִּדַּ֥ד שְׁנָתִ֖י מֵֽעֵינָֽי׃
זֶה־לִּ֞י עֶשְׂרִ֣ים שָׁנָה֮ בְּבֵיתֶ֒ךָ֒ עֲבַדְתִּ֜יךָ אַרְבַּֽע־עֶשְׂרֵ֤ה שָׁנָה֙ בִּשְׁתֵּ֣י בְנֹתֶ֔יךָ וְשֵׁ֥שׁ שָׁנִ֖ים בְּצֹאנֶ֑ךָ וַתַּחֲלֵ֥ף אֶת־מַשְׂכֻּרְתִּ֖י עֲשֶׂ֥רֶת מֹנִֽים׃
This twenty years have I been with thee; thy ewes and thy she goats have not cast their young, and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten. That which was torn of beasts I brought not to thee; I bore the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day, or stolen by night. Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from my eyes. Thus have I been twenty years in thy house; I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle: and thou hast changed my wages ten times.
So the question is did he become greater in the house of Lavan that he was zocheh to a bigger vision than he had when he was going from his father’s house, his mother’s house?
When he was in the tent of his father and his mother it was a tent of a Beis Hamikdash. And still, coming from Lavan’s house he had become so much greater that this time he didn’t see malachim in the dream, he saw them with his own eyes. What happened? What took place in the house of Lavan that made Yaakov so much greater? That’s the question.
Now many things took place we don’t know. But one thing was told in the Torah. When Yaakov was a shepherd for Lavan הָיִיתִי בַיּוֹם אֲכָלַנִי חֹרֶב, the heat of the day consumed me, it was terribly hot. But he did not forsake Lavan’s sheep. וְקֶרַח בַּלָּיְלָה, at night sometimes there was frost. And still, he didn’t forsake the sheep. Now a shepherd has a right to forsake his flock and go into town sometimes for a rest. But he never forsook the flock at all. That’s what we know about Yaakov Avinu, that he was loyal to his master Lavan to the highest extent. And it’s all we know of him during that period.
And so we learn that the loyalty of Yaakov to Lavan so purified his character, made him so excellent, that Hakadosh Baruch Hu conferred upon him more greatness than he ever had before. And now when he saw malachim he saw them with his eyes and not merely in a vision. Now that’s a chiddush. Most people wouldn’t appreciate that. That’s all? If you said that he prayed to Hashem, he studied Hashem, he did certain good deeds, we would understand, but all we know is that he was loyal to Lavan, a loyal shepherd. And because of that he became so great that he’s now worthy of seeing malachim with his eyes? The answer is yes. That’s the answer. And so, we see that loyalty, is a tremendous achievement.
Yaakov remained Yaakov, he served Hashem wherever he was and grew to towering heights. After twenty years he confidently proclaimed, עם לבן גרתי, ותרי"ג מצות שמרתי, I kept the entire Torah while even in the darkest of places.From Surprised Yaakov to Astonished AngelsYaakov is leaving Eretz Yisrael, making his way toward Charan, when suddenly, "ויפגע במקום", he encounters the place. In his dream, he sees a sight that amazes him, “Behold! Angels of Hashem!” He sees the Kisei HaKavod, the heavenly Merkavah.He is now making his way back to Eretz Yisrael. Angels come to greet him, but he is not amazed at the sight of them. To the contrary, "ויפגעו בו מלאכי אלקים", the Angels of G-d encounter him. The angels are amazed, astonished, “The great Yaakov whose countenance in engraved upon the Kisei HaKavod!”While engaged in material matters, Yaakov had grown so much, he reached heights far loftier than any angel could imagine
אַתָּה הוּא ה׳ הָאֱלֹקִים אֲשֶׁר בָּחַֽרְתָּ בְּאַבְרָם וְהוֹצֵאתוֹ מֵאוּר כַּשְׂדִּים וְשַֽׂמְתָּ שְׁמוֹ אַבְרָהָם: וּמָצָֽאתָ אֶת־לְבָבוֹ נֶאֱמָן לְפָנֶֽיךָ
You alone are Hashem; You have made the skies, the skies of skies and all their hosts, the earth and all that is upon it, the seas and all that is in them; and You give life to all of them, and the heavenly hosts bow before You. You are Hashem, the God Who chose Avrom, and brought him out of Ur Kasdim and established his name (as) Avrohom. And You found his heart faithful before You,
But you have to know that this alone, the recognition of Hashem, and even living with the ideals that he discovered, wasn’t the reason why Hashem chose Avraham. The recognition of the truth was only a drop in the bucket of who Avraham was and why he was chosen.
Every day we say: אתה השם אשר בחרת באברם, You Hashem chose Avraham and his descendants to be Yours forever. It’s final, there’s no going back on the choice of the Am Yisroel. And why did You choose Him? Because מצאת את לבבו נאמן לפניך – You found that His heart, his mind, was ne’eman before You.
And so when the Navi tells us that Hashem chose Avraham Avinu because he was נאמן לפניך, we understand that we are being told not that Avraham was a believer, but that he was loyal; “You found that his heart was loyal to You.” And how did He find that?
He saw persistence of this lonely man, a man who stood on one side, while the world battled and belittled him from the other side. The loyal Avraham didn’t budge from the truth. Throughout everything, Avraham remained steadfast, and stubbornly held tight to his ideals. And he carried it out at the greatest sacrifices. He never yielded!
In order to follow the truths that he had discovered, Avraham did not hesitate to offer his life. He demonstrated his loyalty by undergoing ordeals of the worst kind. He stubbornly fought the whole world, he turned his back to everyone, and he suffered greatly because of that.
וַיֹּ֡אמֶר אִם־נָא֩ מָצָ֨אתִי חֵ֤ן בְּעֵינֶ֙יךָ֙ ה׳ יֵֽלֶךְ־נָ֥א ה׳ בְּקִרְבֵּ֑נוּ כִּ֤י עַם־קְשֵׁה־עֹ֙רֶף֙ ה֔וּא וְסָלַחְתָּ֛ לַעֲוֺנֵ֥נוּ וּלְחַטָּאתֵ֖נוּ וּנְחַלְתָּֽנוּ׃
And he said, If now I have found favour in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thy inheritance.
וִידֵ֤י מֹשֶׁה֙ כְּבֵדִ֔ים וַיִּקְחוּ־אֶ֛בֶן וַיָּשִׂ֥ימוּ תַחְתָּ֖יו וַיֵּ֣שֶׁב עָלֶ֑יהָ וְאַהֲרֹ֨ן וְח֜וּר תָּֽמְכ֣וּ בְיָדָ֗יו מִזֶּ֤ה אֶחָד֙ וּמִזֶּ֣ה אֶחָ֔ד וַיְהִ֥י יָדָ֛יו אֱמוּנָ֖ה עַד־בֹּ֥א הַשָּֽׁמֶשׁ׃
And the hands of Moses became heavy [because he was lax in the mitzvah and deputed it to another (Joshua)], and they [Aaron and Chur] took a stone [(but not a pillow)] and placed it beneath him [(Moses associating himself with Israel's suffering)], and he sat on it. And Aaron and Chur supported his hands — one on one side, one on the other. And he was [i.e., he persisted with] his hands [spread out in an attitude of] steadfastness [in prayer] until the sun set. [The Amalekites would determine "propitious hours" for victory astrologically, and Moses caused the sun to stand still, thus confounding their reckonings.]
מוֹדֶה אֲנִי לְפָנֶֽיךָ מֶֽלֶךְ חַי וְקַיָּם שֶׁהֶחֱזַֽרְתָּ בִּי נִשְׁמָתִי בְּחֶמְלָה, רַבָּה אֱמוּנָתֶֽךָ:
I give thanks to You living and everlasting King for You have restored my soul with mercy. Great is Your faithfulness.
וקנה לך חבר. לשלשה דברי' אדם צריך אל החבר הטוב. האחד לדברי תורה כמו שאמר הרבה למדתי מרבותי ומחברי יותר מרבותי.
והשני למצות
והשלישי לענין העצה שיקחנו להיות לו מעיר לעזור בכל ענינו ולקחת ממנו עצה טובה ולהיות בן סודו
וקנה לך חבר. שאם לא ימצאנו בחנם יקחנו בכספו ויבזבז נכסיו כדי להשיג אל חבר טוב
"acquire for yourself a friend": A person needs three things from a good friend. One is for words of Torah, as it stated (Taanit 7a), "I have learned much from my teachers and more from my friends than from my teachers." And the second is for commandments. As even if his friend is not more pious than he and there are times that he does what is not in order. [Yet it is only] when he derives pleasure from something that he does the sin, but it is not his desire and his will that his friend do it - as he derives no enjoyment from this. And it is like they said (Kiddushin 63b), "And a man will not sin if it is not for himself." It comes out that both of them will repent, each one according to the word of his friend. And the third is regarding advice that he can take, that he be 'one who arouses (a counselor) for help' in all of his affairs and to take good counsel from him and to be his confidant. Since he is his ally, he will not reveal [his secrets] to others so as not to confound his plan - and not even to those that appear to him to be friends; for is the appearance of love evident on their faces? And about this Shlomo, peace be upon him, stated (Proverbs 15:22), "Plans are foiled for want of counsel, but they succeed through many advisers." And that which he said, "acquire for yourself a friend" with an expression of [acquisition] (euphemism) is [to say] that if he does not find him for free, he should acquire him with his money and expend his assets in order to get to a good friend; or that he should acquire him with words of appeasement and with a soft way of talking. And [so] he should not be exacting about his words and he should tolerate the words of his mouth; even when he says something against him, he should not return a response. As without this, he will not keep [the friendship], since the opinions [of people] are different. And sometimes he will seek something, [but] his friend who is like himself will say, "See, I do not [consider] this to be fit." And if he doesn't [listen to his friend] (he will certainly pass him up), the [friendship] will unravel. And this is what Shlomo, peace be upon him, stated (Proverbs 17:9), "He who seeks love covers errors, but he who harps on a matter alienates a leader." He meant to say, one who covers when his friend errs, seeks love - as through this, their love is preserved, as he tolerates his errors. But if he harps about the matter with his friend, he speaks against him and repeats it and says, "See what this one said; what he said about me, he 'alienates the leader' - he(certainly) alienates his leader from him, meaning to say, his friend.
אָמַר רָבָא: הַיְינוּ דְּאָמְרִי אִינָשֵׁי: אוֹ חַבְרָא כְּחַבְרֵי דְּאִיּוֹב, אוֹ מִיתוּתָא.
The Gemara asks: How did they all know at the same time what had happened to Job so that the three of them came together? There are those who say that they each had a crown which displayed certain signs when something happened to one of the others. And there are those who say they each had trees and when the trees withered they knew that sorrow had visited one of them. Rava said that this closeness between Job and his friends explains the adage that people say: Either a friend like the friends of Job or death. If a person lacks close friends, he is better off dead.
עַל־כֵּן֙ יַֽעֲזָב־אִ֔ישׁ אֶת־אָבִ֖יו וְאֶת־אִמּ֑וֹ וְדָבַ֣ק בְּאִשְׁתּ֔וֹ וְהָי֖וּ לְבָשָׂ֥ר אֶחָֽד׃
Hence a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, so that they become one flesh.
ודבק – loyalty has to be the criteria, love is not the criterion of behavior in marriage. Love should be a result, but the criterion is loyalty. And that’s the ideal of a marriage. It’s not built on romance. It’s not built on any ideas of a Prince Charming or a princess. It’s built on the idea of ודבק, loyalty. You’re together forever. It’s like part of your body.
וַתִּשֶּׂ֣נָה קוֹלָ֔ן וַתִּבְכֶּ֖ינָה ע֑וֹד וַתִּשַּׁ֤ק עׇרְפָּה֙ לַחֲמוֹתָ֔הּ וְר֖וּת דָּ֥בְקָה בָּֽהּ׃
They broke into weeping again, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law farewell. But Ruth clung to her.
And we know what happened. When Moshiach will come, he won’t deny that he came from his Bubbeh Rus.
And it’s only because of the middah of loyalty that she was zocheh to it.
שַׂמֵּֽחַ תְּשַׂמַּח רֵעִים הָאֲהוּבִים, כְּשַׂמֵּחֲךָ יְצִירְךָ בְּגַן עֵֽדֶן מִקֶּֽדֶם. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה׳, מְשַׂמֵּֽחַ חָתָן וְכַלָּה:
6. Grant abundant joy to these beloved companions, as You gladdened Your created being in the Garden of Eden of old. Blessed are You, Adonoy, Who gladdens groom and bride.
וכן יקראו לתלמידי חכמים חברים ואולי נקראו בזה השם כי חברתם זה לזה חברה נאמנה כי היא חברה לשם שמים:
וְאַתֶּם֙ הַדְּבֵקִ֔ים בַּה׳ אֱלֹקֵיכֶ֑ם חַיִּ֥ים כֻּלְּכֶ֖ם הַיּֽוֹם׃
while you, who held fast to your God ה׳, are all alive today.
We have to know that this is the middah because of which the Am Yisroel is a nation forever. We belong to Hashem forever. וְאַתֶּם הַדְּבֵקִים בַּה’ אֱלֹקֵיכֶם – because you’re loyal to Me, because you’ll stick to Me, חַיִּים כֻּלְּכֶם הַיּוֹם – you’ll be forever. It’s a covenant, a bris Hashem made. If you’re daveik in me, then just as I am forever, then you’ll be forever too. Because of your loyalty to Me, because you never forget what happened that day at Har Sinai when you became My people forever, that’s why you will all be with Me forever – in this world and the next.
וַיַּעֲמֹ֤ד מֹשֶׁה֙ בְּשַׁ֣עַר הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֔ה וַיֹּ֕אמֶר מִ֥י לַה׳ אֵלָ֑י וַיֵּאָסְפ֥וּ אֵלָ֖יו כׇּל־בְּנֵ֥י לֵוִֽי׃
then Moshe stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the Lord’s side? let him come to me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him.