Posted on 11/15/18
In this week’s Parsha the pasuk says, “And Yaakov left from Be’er Sheva and went to Charan.” The first question to be asked on the pasuk is, why is there a double lashon of “left,” and, “went?” Rashi explains that the pasuk employed the lashon of “went” to indicate that when a Tzaddik leaves a city, the added level of kedusha from the Shechina goes with him.
The Beis HaLevi offers a different approach. There are two reasons that Yaakov left Be’er Sheva: One, because his mother instructed him to run away from Eisav, thus “left Be’er Sheva,” and secondly, because his father told him to go to Lavan’s house to find a wife, thus “and went to Charan.”
In his Birkas Peretz, the Steipler Gaon states that Yaakov Avinu’s departure from Be’er Sheva alludes to the personal departure many Jews experience in their own lives even today, in line with the dictum “Maaseh Avos Siman leBanim,” (the acts of the forefathers serve as a sign for their children).
In life, change is inevitable and therefore smooth transitions are crucial. Every Jew has to transition from yeshiva to the workplace. During his yeshiva years, one must build a proper foundation for his Judaism in order for his faith to survive the barrage it will undergo in the workplace. The primary pillar of this foundation is the famous dictum from Pirkei Avos, “aseh licha Rav.” No matter the quantity or quality of Torah one learned while in yeshiva, the value of having a Rebbe to seek advice and gain inspiration from is immeasurable.
The Emes l’Yaakov asks why Yaakov needed to learn in Yeshivas Shem v’Ever if he learnt Torah by his father. Consider the following: If a father told his son to complete an errand and the son decided to go to the beis hamedrash to learn for an hour before doing so and returning home, wouldn’t that show a lack of respect for his father? R’ Yaakov Kaminetzky answers that Yaakov needed to go learn a specific type of Torah that he had not received from his father, the Torah of Galus. Under Yitzchak, Yaakov learnt only the Torah of the Avos. Therefore, Yaakov was in fact fulfilling a prerequisite in order to complete his father’s request.
[This is also why Yaakov loved Yosef the most of all the shevatim. He taught Yosef the Torah of Galus, which gave Yosef the necessary tools to overcome his test from Potifar’s wife.]
This lesson helps us understand the Mesilas Yesharim when he writes that a Rebbe, a Rav, has knowledge and advice for every walk of life. The Torah contains all of the wisdom in the world, which will help man through any situation he may face.