No Self Deception

This week we complete the Book of Bereishit, as we read פרשת ויחי. The Parsha begins with Yakov calling for Yosef and asking him to make sure that he will be buried in Eretz Yisrael.

He recounts his life and gives Yosef an explanation as to why he chose to bury Rachel in Beit Lechem and not in מערת המכפלה in Chevron. Instead of simply telling him that this was Hashem’s decision, Yakov goes into a lengthy explanation as to why he wanted Rachel to pray for her children as they went into Galut.

Rabbi Twerski wrote that there was a message to be learned here. There are times when we make decisions in life, and we try to justify these decisions by saying they are certain that this was Hashem’s will.

We must be extremely careful not to deceive ourselves for our motivation in making such decisions. It is always best to run things by a trusted friend or rabbi, before making a major decision. This way it truly can be that it was Divine will, just as Yakov was able to claim in his conversation with Yosef.