Do Not Arouse Jealousy

The Gemara in Masechet Taanit, tells us that when the famine began, Yakov gave very specific instructions to his family. These instructions apply to all of the Jewish people at all times.

At that point in time, the family still had a good quantity of food. Yakov said to his sons that it was important that they should not show themselves as being satiated; especially in front of Yishmael and Eisav. They must take great caution, so as not to arouse their jealousy.

We must constantly be aware of this reality, that the nations of the world, have always been envious of the Jewish people.

They do not need a reason to find fault in us, as this is not rational in any way. It is one of the explanations as to why there is anti-semitism in the world, but it is not the only reason.

We have witnessed over the last two months how the veil has been lifted, in so many instances. The reaction to the Simchat Torah atrocities, makes it abundantly clear, who is with us and who is not.

It is very simple to see. Anyone who says that the events of that day were horrible, and then follows this acknowledgement, with the word, “but,” is not with us. He is either an anti-Semite, or highly ignorant, or both.

Yakov Avinu understood what his descendants were going to face over the generations. He was telling his family that they shouldn’t make matters worse by doing things to arouse even more jealousy. We should not flaunt our wealth or success, and make them hate us even more.

The best path to take is one of modesty in all situations. We must realize that aside from the Gentile world not being happy to see Israel or the Jewish people successful, this may also be true of our peers and family.

We should be careful with whom we share our good news. Not everyone is going to be happy for us. This is the reality taught in the Gemara in Taanit. Be modest and do not arouse the jealousy of Eisav and Yishmael. And be modest, and try not to arouse anyone’s jealousy.

Yosef’s Circumcision Demand

The Keli Yakar gives an interesting explanation as to why Yosef demanded that all Egyptians be circumcised, before he distributed food.

He uses a kind of Aggadic גזירה שוה, comparing the use of the same word in two different situations. The word in question is חרפה, which is a strong word for “shame.”

The brothers told that the people of Shechem that it would be a חרפה, a shameful act, to allow their sister to marry someone with a foreskin. This was certainly true when David faced Goliath. He referred to Goliath as the “uncircumcised Philistine.”

The word “חרפה” was used again in the Book of Yechezkel, when he predicted the future where Jews would no longer suffer from חרפת הרעב, “the shamefulness of famine.”

Yosef, in his great wisdom connected the two ideas of חרפה. He concluded that the avoidance of the humiliation of famine, can be alleviated by performing circumcision.

This was the reason, according to the Keli Yakar for Yosef’s demand that all Egyptians be circumcised.

Dealing With Adversity

A friend of mine from LA, Gary Apfel, pointed out a very fascinating Rashi, related to Parshat Miketz.

Yakov Avinu had reluctantly agreed to send his youngest son, Binyamin, to Egypt, as requested by Yosef. He took the necessary steps needed, to appease the ruler of Egypt.

He sent a double amount of the money that was taken the first time, in the event prices had risen. They were to return the money that was mistakenly returned to them. Additionally, he sent the choicest of the fruits of the land. They carried some balm, some honey, spices and gum, pistachio nuts and almonds.

Yakov then prayed that Hashem would have pity on them, when they stood before “the man.” He would, hopefully , release Shimon and Binyamin.

Rashi’s comment was that Yakov was showing that he did everything possible on a physical level, to be certain that the desired results would be achieved. The only missing ingredient, was prayer. This may have been the most important point of all.

The Torah was showing us how we are to handle crisis situations. We are to take the necessary practical steps to fix things in the best way that we know.

But we must never minimize the importance of prayer. This is more important than anything we can do. This is because, it is a confirmation that we realize that our success depends entirely on our dependence on Hashem. We are not supposed to rely on miracles, and we must do our part, but the success belongs to G-d. This is what we are witnessing with our brave soldiers. Never has the IDF gone into battle with so much prayer as they are today. The combination of prayer and defending will bring incredible results for Am Yisrael. We are following the example set by Yakov Avinu.

Relying Too Much On Man

There is a great deal of criticism, connected with Yosef and the butler. According to many opinions, he was forced to stay in jail for two extra years, for putting his faith in man, rather than in Hashem.

If we think objectively, it doesn’t seem so bad that Yosef asks the butler to put in a good word for him, when he gets his old job back. It would seem like the obvious thing to do. He was wrongly accused of a crime that he did not commit.

Nevertheless, we say that it is greatly recommended that we put our faith in G-d, rather than trust in man. It would appear that there are two ways that Yosef could have intended, when he spoke to the butler.

He could have become desperate and felt that the butler was his only hope. He could have pleaded with him in desperation, which would have been wrong.

But he could also have seen the butler as his השתדלות, his going through the motions, so as to open up an avenue for Hashem to send him his salvation.

This is an important fine line as to how we view the world. We are not to sit back and rely on miracles. We must do our part, and G-d will do His. Man needs to be seen as the vehicle carrying out G-d’s will in this world.

Our brave soldiers are fighting fearlessly in protecting our people and our land. Victory is at hand, because there is a strong realization that Hashem is fighting our battles with us. Without Him, we cannot succeed,

Perhaps this was the argument against Yosef. Asking for help from the butler was fine, as long as he realized that he may be used as part of the Divine plan. He was not the one saving Yosef. It was Hashem saving him by way of the butler. This is a major difference in the demands made of us, to serve G-d faithfully.

Know What Is Important

Many years ago, I was privileged to have Rav Meir Kahane as our Shabbat guest. I was a synagogue rabbi in Los Angeles, and for some reason, other rabbis were afraid to host this controversial leader.

Rabbi Kahane was a very cordial guest, and paid attention to my small children. He told my five year old son to notice that “there is Shabbat in your soup!” He also told us that when he blessed his own children every Friday night, he would add the words, “May you always know what is important in life, and what is not.”

I was reminded of this lesson, this past Shabbat. We were planning on lighting our Chanukah candles, together with other hotel visitors. I was one of the few who diligently brought an oil Menorah that would burn the necessary thirty minutes after the stars came out. Other people were not aware of this detail of Jewish law, and lit wax candles.

As I was preparing to light my oil Menorah, I turned my head for a moment, only to realize that someone had mistakenly lit it. I was very disappointed that I was now unable to properly perform the Chanukah ritual.

I randomly struck up a conversation with a nice looking, religious man. I said to him, “Can you believe how some people could be so thoughtless and now I didn’t fulfill my Chanukah obligation.” That gentleman put me in my place, in a way that I will never forget.

He politely told me that I shouldn’t get upset over such trivialities. His son had gone to the festival on October seventh. He left the house at four a.m., and was murdered by six thirty a.m.

I told him how sorry I was for him, and later, watched him say Kaddish. I thought back to the wise words of Rabbi Kahane. We must never lose perspective of what is truly important in life, and what is not.

Refusing Comfort

The tragic story of Yosef and his brothers began when Yakov was sent the “coat of many colors,” drenched in blood. He was deeply saddened by its implication, but he refused to be comforted.

The Rabbis explain this by describing how Hashem set up a system, as to how we deal with death. There is a kind of mysterious decree, that when one loses a loved one, they will eventually be forgotten from the heart.

It does not mean that we will know longer think about our dearly departed, but there is a kind of built in coping mechanism. Somehow, after the mourning period, we manage to pick ourselves up and continue living.

This is not the case if that loved one, has not really died. This was why Yakov refused to be comforted. He subconsciously knew that Yosef was still alive. This is not something that can be explained rationally. It is just the way it is.

There are cases in the Talmud where a woman hears rumors that her husband has passed away overseas. She might be asked how she feels about this rumor. There are instances where her feelings of his demise, are enough to be relied upon, for her to remarry.

The current situation with the hostages, are very similar. We are all praying and hoping for the return of all of our captives. We don’t want to think of the unthinkable. We sincerely hope that all of the families are refusing to be comforted, like Yakov. And we hope that we will soon see a happy reunion with all of the families, just like Yakov. As we say in Hebrew, שנשמע בשורות טובות, may we hear only good news!

Family Nation

The reaction of Yosef’s brothers, when they saw him coming to greet them, is somewhat puzzling. They felt that the proper way to deal with his annoying behavior, was to kill him.

There is no indication that anything he did to them, was worthy of a death penalty. He did speak badly of them to their father. He also flaunted his coat of many colors, and his dreams were irritating as well. But to think he was worthy of death, seems quite extreme.

An explanation of this behavior, comes from the Kuzari. Its author, Rav Yehuda Halevi,described how the first twenty-two generations from creation, all had problematic offspring. When we are given the lineage from Adam to Noach, to Avraham Avinu, the Torah gives the name of the best of each generation.

This implies that in every family, there was at least one member who was pretty evil. This continued with Avraham and his siblings, Yitzchak and Yishmael, and Yakov and Eisav.

The brothers assumed that Yosef was the “bad apple” of the family. It would probably better to eliminate him, before he ends up doing some terrible things.

The Kuzari explains that not only were the brothers wrong in their assessment of Yosef, but they were the first family to emerge from creation, that all of the family members were righteous.

It was for this reason that Hashem felt that they were worthy to be the “chosen people,” with its special mission. This family became one of seventy members, when they got to Egypt. They left Egypt 210 years later, when they numbered 600,000.

We have witnessed our population in 1948 at 600,000, when we became a state. Miraculously, only seventy-five years later, we are close to seven million Jews in Israel. We are showing the world how to fight real evil, where it is becoming more and more clear how we are bringing decency and goodness to the world.

The brothers were very wrong about Yosef. But that was part of the plan, that would eventually allow us to emerge as the leaders of the world.

Sensitivity

The Midrash has an interesting comment, in explaining what the Torah meant by telling us that Yosef was very handsome. It was considered inappropriate that he should be eating and drinking and doing up his hair.

The Midrash continues by telling us that Hashem said that it was so wrong for Yosef to be living it up when his father was grieving over him. This was why the “bear” in the form of Potiphar’s seduction, came after him.

The message here is that Yosef’s lack of sensitivity to his father’s plight, got him into trouble. Perhaps the scenario of how the Jews would have come to Egypt, would have been different.

In any case, the message here has great relevance to our current situation. A friend of mine was debating whether or not to attend the wedding of a close friend’s son, in the States. He could not bring himself to go when his sons were serving in the IDF in Gaza. He canceled his tickets and decided this was the right decision.

As Jews, we are never supposed to be insensitive to the difficult circumstances someone else might be going through. Being able to be empathetic towards others, is a special trait Jews are meant to have.

Yosef’s experience taught us the importance of being able to feel another person’s pain. Indifference and insensitivity, can have very harmful consequences.

Appreciating Straightforwardness

There are times that Rashi seems to be making a trivial point, but upon reflection, we realize the depth of that comment. One example is his description of the relationship between Yosef and his brothers.

The Torah describes how there was a great deal of tension between Yosef and his brothers. He irritated them greatly in several respects. He spoke Lashon Hara about them, he bragged about his dreams, and flaunted his coat of many colors. Because of this they were unable לדברו בשלום, speak peacefully with him.

Rashi’s comment on this is that from what appears to be negative about the brothers, is really positive. They were to be praised for not being two faced. There are those who feel one thing in their heart, and express something totally different in their mouth. The brothers were honest and straightforward enough, not to hide their feelings.

Part of the trauma that the Jewish people are currently experiencing, is the shock of learning that so called friends, were fake, and were concealing their true negative feelings towards Israel and the Jewish people.

There are many examples of this, but the one that sticks out is the attack of Alan Dershowitz on Barack Obama. He was genuinely shocked to see how Obama felt about us. Perhaps he should not have been so surprised, but the number of individuals that have not condemned Hamas for their atrocities did surprise many.

Our lives would be so much easier if we knew how people truly felt about us. Sometimes we are gullible and naive, and are unable to see the truth. When it is revealed, we are often devastated.

We need to appreciate individuals who behave like the sons of Yakov. They may not be perfect, but at least we know where we stand. An apparent trivial point of Rashi, carries an extremely important message.

Fighting With Enthusiasm

Parshat Vayeishev is always read during the Chanukah season. Perhaps one of the lessons of the Parsha, is connected to the Festival of Lights.

Many of the commentators discussed a serious mistake that Yakov Avinu made. He assumed that after successfully dealing with the likes of Lavan and Eisav, he was entitled to some peace and comfort.

Hashem wanted to show him that the place for such tranquility, was in the עולם האמת, the World of Truth. Was it not sufficient for Yakov to be receiving eternal bliss, that he also sought it in this world?

The message was אדם לעמל יולד, that man was born to struggle. He was to use all of his faculties, to try to get closer and closer to G-d. As long as there is breath within a human being, he is to try to go higher and higher.

In Yakov’s case, he was forced to deal with the loss of his beloved son, Yosef. He also needed to spend the last seventeen years of his life in the cesspool of Egypt, and not in Israel.

For the rest of Am Yisrael, there are constant battles that we must fight for our survival. This has been true throughout our history. We were not able to sit back and be complacent when the Greeks defiled our Temple, and tried to weaken Jewish values.

We are now fighting another battle of survival, where we must face the reality, that we cannot defeat our enemy with kindness. They are Amalek, and can only be defeated with might.

The Messilat Yesharim writes about a level of worship called זריזות, or alacrity. It speaks about taking initiative, and serving Hashem with enthusiasm and excitement. If one gives in to fears or self indulgences, he will become lazy and unmotivated. He will give in to his fears and anxieties, and accomplish very little.

Yakov was taught that he must never stop the struggle. The Macabbees learned this as they overcame the powerful Greek army. And our brave young soldiers of today, have demonstrated incredible motivation and resolve in eliminating today’s enemy. We are witnessing our modern day Chanukah story right before our eyes. We will once again see the victory over the טמאים, the impure, by the טהורים, the pure, and the destruction of the רשעים, the evil, by the צדיקים, by the righteous.

Where Are the Chief Rabbis

The Chanukah story has many heroes, connected with the great victory over the Greeks. Perhaps the initiators of the rebellion, were the greatest heroes of all.

The Jewish people were being oppressed, to the point that they were not allowed to practice their religion. The family of the Chashmonaim, who were also Cohenim, decided that it was time to take action.

The High Priest, Matityahu, took the first dramatic step, by killing a Jew, eating the flesh of swine. His son, Judah, carried out the rallying cry of “Who is like you O’mighty G-d?” The Hebrew letters spelled the word, “Maccabee,” which became the name of the liberators of Israel.

This victory could not have come without the inspiration of the leaders of that time. They encouraged the people that Hashem was with them, and with His help, they would defeat their enemies.

During our current crisis, we desperately need spiritual inspiration. As a nation, we are still in shock, and we are still mourning the death of our beloved. We were thrust into a war of survival, and we have lost too many brave soldiers, defending our country.

It could be such a comfort if we would regularly hear from our chief rabbis on radio and television. We need their guidance, direction, and inspiration. It would seem that this is their obvious role.

With G-d’s help we will get through all of this. We are a resilient people. But the challenges that lie ahead could be made easier, if the chosen spiritual leaders of our country, would step up, and inspire us, just as was done in the days of the Chanukah story.

Happy With One’s Lot

It is interesting to note the subtle difference of how Yakov and Eisav described their status when they met, after so many years.

Eisav told Yakov, יש לי רב, that he possessed a great deal. Yakov’s response was וכי יש לי כל, that he had everything he needed.

This subtle difference told us a great deal about these twin brothers. Eisav, the רשע, evil one, implied that he had a great deal,but he was not satisfied, and wanted more. Yakov, the Tzaddik, was happy with his present status. He was שמח בחלקו, completely content with his lot in life.

The Ramchal makes an interesting observation about one’s level of spirituality, connected to these two attitudes. The individual who is not satisfied with what he has, is held back from being able to grow spiritually. His focus is always on attaining more physical possessions. He is brought down by this obsession.

The one who feels that he has everything he could possibly need right now, is free to seek more sacred aspirations. The Maharal would add to this idea,by saying that the normal reaction would be to love the One who provides us with all that we need.

We need to take a step back to examine ourselves to be certain that we are in this second category. We must learn to appreciate all of Hashem’s blessings, and never feel lacking in anything. We certainly want to follow the example set for us by Yakov, and not Eisav.

Dina in the Box

The Torah Temima questions the Midrash brought by Rashi, regarding Dina. It is written that Yakov was punished because he hid Dina in a box, so that Eisav would not see her.

He goes on to explain that if Dina would have married Eisav, she would have influenced him, to mend his evil ways. Because of this “sin,” the incident with Shechem took place, when Dina was violated.

It seems understandable why Yakov would not want to take a chance with the match between his daughter and his brother. Eisav was evil, and wasn’t there the possibility that she would be influenced negatively by him.

The תורה תמימה goes on to explain where Yakov errored. There was no doubt that Dina would have succeeded in changing Eisav, and Yakov knew this. The matter became personal, in the sense that Yakov didn’t like Eisav very much, either. He let his own feelings take precedence over the possibility of reforming his brother.

This is why Yakov was punished so severely. The expectations of a great Tzaddik are great. He should have risen above his own personal feelings, and saved his brother. It is not always easy to do the right thing. The greater the person, the greater the expectations of him.

How to Face Our Enemies

The Torah uses two words expressing Yakov’s fear of facing Eisav. It says both ויירא and ויצר, that express such fear.

Rashi explains that ויירא was the fear that he would be killed. The ויצר is the fear that he will be forced to kill others. This is similar to the famous statement made by Golda Meir. “We can forgive you for killing our sons, but we cannot forgive you, for making us kill your sons.”

It is important to reiterate the fact that we are not motivated to fight our enemy because of our hatred of them. The motivation needs to come out of love for our people and homeland. This elevates the level of our army.

The current situation is one that was certainly not able to be anticipated. Our soldiers have the constant realization of what is at stake. The vision of the atrocities and the pain suffered by our Jewish brethren, creates a passion in our army.

They have a clear understanding of what we are fighting for. Of course, we wish things could have been different. We naively tried everything possible to avoid this situation. We paid a heavy price avoiding the inevitable.

We allowed Western values to replace Torah values. We refused to accept the warnings years ago of Rabbi Meir Kahane, when he tried to make it clear the painful reality of those wishing to destroy us.

Yakov Avinu was a simple, peace loving individual. But he taught us that we must face our enemies, and not delude ourselves. We are not happy about having to kill “their sons.” But our love of our people, our G-d, and our Torah, demands this of us. Our very survival depends on this.

Parallels from the Parsha

It is truly amazing how we are able to find parallels from our weekly Torah portion, to current events. This is certainly true of Parshat Vayishlach.

We find three major events that have relevance to today. Yakov’s wrestling with the angel, was a clear struggle between good and evil. This angel was the ministering angel of Eisav. He was a combination of Satan, the Angel of Death, and the Yeitzer Hara. Like Israel today, it was a battle of good against pure evil.

The killing of all of the males of Shechem, was revenge for the raping of an innocent Jewish girl, Dina. The wording of the Torah is that Shimon and Levi attacked the city, בטח, with absolute certainty, that what they were doing was right. Like today, they were unwilling to accept that a daughter of Israel be violated, in such a way.

The third connection to current events, is how Yakov had to maneuver his negotiations, with his evil brother, Eisav. He had a real dilemma, as he needed to protect his wife and children, from his evil brother. Like today, his strategy in dealing with his brother was questioned by many of our sages. Many felt that he went too far in allowing himself to be humiliated by a very bad person.

In the end, Hashem helped Yakov succeed against the angel. The revenge taken by Shimon and Levi, put fear in the hearts of all of the inhabitants.

And somehow Yakov succeeded in parting from Eisav as friends. He was able to maintain the safety of his family, as well as his wealth, and his deep connection with G-d.

We certainly pray that we will see the same results, as we attempt to eradicate our enemies, and destroy evil. With Hashem’s help, we will succeed.

Consolation

It is clear that the Jewish people have not yet recovered from the shocking horrors of Simchat Torah. There is still so much sadness, and so much mourning.

We must be aware that there is consolation in the middle of all of this turmoil. It should be comforting on a certain level to know that none of these people died in vain.

The Talmud speaks of the high place in Heaven that awaits the souls of those classified as הרוגי מלכות, which is loosely translated as those who lost their lives, only because they were Jews.

We must remember that this world is imperfect and temporary. The next world is referred to as עולם המת, the world of truth, that is eternal. Those precious souls that were taken from us, have been welcomed by Hashem, and have been granted the highest level of eternal bliss.

There was a story going around that one of the young men murdered at the “festival,” appeared to his father in a dream. The night after his funeral he assured his father that he was in the best place imaginable. He thanked him for trying to instill in him, Jewish tradition and Jewish values.

The father told the story to those who came to comfort him at his Shiva. He said that the dream of his son, gave him great peace of mind. The same is true for all of those who perished.

It is my great hope that all of Israel will find clarity and comfort, during these difficult times. G-d clearly has a plan that will allow us to emerge as a much stronger and holier nation than we ever were. May we defeat our enemies, and may all of the sadness turn into great joy!

Rethinking Evil

The tragic and horrific events of October seventh, should make a thinking individual re-evaluate some previously held ideas. This has serious ramifications regarding human nature.

A widely held philosophy had to deal with the less fortunate members of society. It was assumed that those suffering from poverty, or living in difficult conditions, could be rehabilitated. If they were given love, and helped financially, they would pick themselves up, and become morally, good people.

The overall premise was that all people are inherently good, and their bad behavior was an expression of their frustration at their unfortunate lot in life. All this could change by believing in them, and giving them opportunities to succeed.

The Torah is emphatic that evil exists. Not only does it exist, but it was created by G-d, Himself. He created evil as a test to see if man could distance himself from it, so that he would be worthy of the ultimate good awaiting him in the next world.

The Torah warned that everything depended on the use of one’s free will. He could choose to be righteous and saintly, or he could choose evil.

Just as it was possible for man to elevate himself to the highest levels of sanctity, it was also possible for evil to consume an individual, to the point that he was lower than an animal.

Unfortunately, we have witnessed the latter with the unspeakable atrocities perpetrated by the Hamas animals. The theory of man’s inherent goodness has been thrown out the window. It’s all about the choices that human beings make.

As Dennis Prager once said, “It is not poverty that leads to committing crimes. It is moral poverty that is the cause.” Showering kindness and gifts to undeserving immoral people, consumed with Jew hatred and wishing for our annihilation, is not going to turn them into good people.

It is so sad that this lesson had to be learned with so much pain. Evil definitely exists, and it is very ugly. It is our duty to follow the instructions of our Torah, and utterly destroy evil from our midst.

There is a time for doing acts of kindness to those who are deserving. But there is also a time where we must learn, once and for all, that misplaced compassion is cruelty, for which we may pay a heavy price. Never again must we allow ourselves to succumb to such foolishness. May Hashem grant us the ability to utterly destroy Hamas, and all evil should be removed from the Jewish people, and the world.

Rethinking Evil

The tragic and horrific events of October seventh, should make a thinking individual re-evaluate some previously held ideas. This has serious ramifications regarding human nature.

A widely held philosophy had to deal with the less fortunate members of society. It was assumed that those suffering from poverty, or living in difficult conditions, could be rehabilitated. If they were given love, and helped financially, they would pick themselves up, and become morally, good people.

The overall premise was that all people are inherently good, and their bad behavior was an expression of their frustration at their unfortunate lot in life. All this could change by believing in them, and giving them opportunities to succeed.

The Torah is emphatic that evil exists. Not only does it exist, but it was created by G-d, Himself. He created evil as a test to see if man could distance himself from it, so that he would be worthy of the ultimate good awaiting him in the next world.

The Torah warned that everything depended on the use of one’s free will. He could choose to be righteous and saintly, or he could choose evil.

Just as it was possible for man to elevate himself to the highest levels of sanctity, it was also possible for evil to consume an individual, to the point that he was lower than an animal.

Unfortunately, we have witnessed the latter with the unspeakable atrocities perpetrated by the Hamas animals. The theory of man’s inherent goodness has been thrown out the window. It’s all about the choices that human beings make.

As Dennis Prager once said, “It is not poverty that leads to committing crimes. It is moral poverty that is the cause.” Showering kindness and gifts to undeserving immoral people, consumed with Jew hatred and wishing for our annihilation, is not going to turn them into good people.

It is so sad that this lesson had to be learned with so much pain. Evil definitely exists, and it is very ugly. It is our duty to follow the instructions of our Torah, and utterly destroy evil from our midst.

There is a time for doing acts of kindness to those who are deserving. But there is also a time where we must learn, once and for all, that misplaced compassion is cruelty, for which we may pay a heavy price. Never again must we allow ourselves to succumb to such foolishness. May Hashem grant us the ability to utterly destroy Hamas, and all evil should be removed from the Jewish people, and the world.

Showing Appreciation

The Meam Loez claims that Yakov Avinu fathered a total of twenty-three children in seven years. There were twin sisters born to most of the tribes. The brothers were permitted to marry sisters of a different mother, according to the Noachide laws in effect at that time.

Leah had six boys and one daughter, that the Torah enumerated. The Midrash wrote about the lesser known twin sisters. Her pregnancies lasted only seven months. And she gave birth to exceptionally strong and healthy babies.

Originally, it was assumed that the four wives of Yakov, would each deliver three of the future tribes of Israel. When Leah had her fourth son, Yehuda, she made a special declaration.

She said, “This time, I will give thanks to Hashem.” The Rabbis commented on this and said that she was the first person to give thanks to G-d.

This statement is surprising as there were many before her, who built altars, and offered sacrifices to G-d. Rav Elazar Abuchatzeira gave an answer to this question.

He said that Leah was the first to give thanks for a natural occurrence. Having a baby, is certainly an every day natural event. Those who preceded Leah, gave thanks for supernatural events. Noach built an alter after the flood. The Patriarchs gave thanks for their miraculous salvation.

Leah taught us the importance of not taking for granted, even natural events. Giving birth to a heathy baby, is not a given. The same is true of all the daily gifts we receive from Above. We are to particularly pay attention to this when we recite the מודים prayer three times every day. Leah taught us not to take anything for granted. The least we can do, is give thanks to G-d for His abundant kindness.

Loyalty

The loyalty shown by Rachel to her sister, Leah, is one of the greatest acts of kindness in the entire Torah. This lesson needs to be shouted out, loud and clear.

The love between Yakov and Rachel was very deep. They were both aware that Lavan was a dishonest cheat. They prepared themselves for that eventuality. There were signs given to Rachel in case Lavan would try to do some kind of deception.

Rachel suddenly realized that her sister could have been greatly embarrassed and humiliated, if she were to expose her father’s deceit.

Leah would have been destroyed and she might have even been given over to Eisav in marriage. She would not have gone down in history as one of our matriarchs.

She gave Leah the signs Yakov had given her, to allow her to have dignity and self respect. We are told that Rachel’s act of kindness, made him love her even more.

Rav Elazar Abuchatzeira זצ״ל, once commented on this story. He said that not only is loyalty extremely important, but not destroying another Jew, is equally important.

He gave an example of someone that had a legal dispute with another individual. He wins the case and the other person now owes him a great deal of money.

The guilty party pleads with the winner of the case, and tells him that he does not have the money to pay him. If he has to pay somehow, he will be totally ruined. Rav Elazar said that if he collects even a penny, he will see no blessings from the money.

All of this is learned from the magnanimous act of Rachel to her sister. We are a compassionate people that deeply care about one another. We need only to take great care to direct our compassion where it needs to go.

We must not forget that compassion for our enemies, is cruelty. We must have the courage to complete the task of utterly destroying Hamas.