Yakov’s Doubts

Yakov Avinu’s dream of the ladder with angels going up and down, was meant to give him assurances that Hashem would always be with him. He awoke from this dream with great joy and optimism.

Nevertheless, his humility made him doubt that he would maintain the worthiness of such assurances. The Alshich mentions that one of the worries that Yakov had regarding Eisav, was that he had certain merits that he lacked.

The twenty-two years that Yakov lived outside of Eretz Yisrael, were years that Eisav remained in Israel. Eisav observed the commandment of honoring his parents, which Yakov did not.

But it was the special merit of Eretz Yisrael that caused Yakov the greatest concern. On two occasions, the Torah writes, וישבת לבטח בארצכם, “And you will live securely in your land.” The comment of the Rabbis to this verse is, בארץ אתה יושב לבטח ולא בחוצה לה, “In your land, you will live securely, but not outside of the land.”

Yakov Avinu understood that in Eretz Yisrael we gain merits, just by breathing its air. And the Shechina, the Divine Presence is located in Israel.

Yakov understood all of this and knew that his father was too holy to ever step foot on the soil of Chutz L’Aretz. Eisav had these merits, even when he was Eisav. Hashem helped Yakov and he succeeded and overcame his challenges.

We must drill into the heads of every Jew everywhere, this simple statement of the Rabbis. “In the Land of Israel you will live securely, but not outside of Israel.”