Emuna: Two Names - Yaakov and Yisrael (Jacob and Israel)

By Rav Dov Begun, Founder and Dean of Machon Meir Institute , yeshiva.org.il, translated by Hillel Fendel.

Yaakov and Yisrael are the two names of our beloved nation, stemming from the Patriarch Jacob. They symbolize two different aspects: The first one, Yaakov, is based on the word akev, meaning "heel" – for Yaakov held on to his older twin brother's heel as they were born. The heel, of course, is the lowest part of the body. The second one is Yisrael, which is an acronym of Rosh Li ("my head") – referring to the highest and most important part of the body. As the Sages teach: "There is no reshit [beginning point, from the root meaning "head"] other than Israel."

When did Yaakov receive the name Yisrael? It happened after the nocturnal fight between Yaakov and the minister-angel of Esav, when the latter told Yaakov: "Your name will no longer be said to be Yaakov, but rather Yisrael – for you have become great before G-d and man and you have won" [based on Targum Onkelos] (B'reshit 32,29). Rashi explains that the men Yaakov struggled with were Esav and Lavan, and they were unable to defeat him. Thus, the aspect of "Yisrael" is manifest when Israel defeats its enemies.

G-d, too, agrees to this change, telling him, "Your name will be not only Yaakov, but Yisrael will also be your name" (35,9) [as evidenced by the use of both names in the subsequent verses]. Rashi explains there that the name Yisrael, from the root sar, thus indicates princeliness.

-- The Relevance for Today --

The nation of Israel has been struggling with others, as Yaakov did with Esav and Lavan, for thousands of years. Throughout this time, Israel always held on tenaciously and its enemies could not defeat it. However, when we were in Exile, we were a form of Yaakov – not Yisrael – and we were at our lowest points, the place of the heel.

But finally, with thanks to G-d, we have in these latest generations been privileged and merited to see very close up the revitalization of Israel. We are ascending from the "heel" to the "head," and it is therefore no coincidence that we are called the State of Israel. The words of the Torah are coming true: "You will not be called Yaakov but Israel" – and as our Sages explain: "Not that the name Yaakov will be totally uprooted, but Israel will be the main name, and Yaakov is secondary to it" (B'rachot 12b).

And the higher we ascend along our path to full national Redemption, the more we will recognize our special Israelite identity as a "treasured people, holy nation, and kingdom of priests" (Sh'mot 19,6). Similarly, we will also more clearly understand our national destiny, wherein the Nation of Israel will install G-d as the true King of the world, illuminating and benefiting all of mankind.

With anticipation of a great victory and the complete salvation, Amen!    

Vayeshev: The Dangers of Blind Love

by Rav Moshe Leib HaCohen Halbershtadt, Founder and Director of YORU Jewish Leadership, yeshiva.org.il, translated by Hillel Fendel.

The story related in this week's Torah portion of Vayeshev (B'reshit 37-40) regarding Yosef's dreams that so angered his brothers is well-known. Already at age 17, he was attached to his half-brothers from Bilhah and Zilpah, but was somewhat estranged from his half-brothers from Leah, who scorned him. Their father Yaakov didn't see what was going on; he saw only his special love for Yosef, his older son from his late beloved wife Rachel. He gave a special striped coat to Yosef, seemingly not realizing that this display of favoritism would bring about sharp feelings of brotherly hatred towards Yosef. "They hated him and could not speak to him in peace" (B'reshit 37,4).

Yosef dreamt a dream, and before he could even tell them what it was, "they hated him all the more." Yaakov did not notice.

Yosef then told them the dream, in which he saw himself and his brothers binding sheaves – and suddenly his own sheaf stood up tall, and the brothers' sheaves bowed down to it! This display of dominion over them, and the fact that he related it to them in such detail, led them to hate him all the more. And Yaakov? He saw nothing.

Yosef then told him his next dream, in which the sun, moon and eleven stars actually bowed down to him. Yosef went even further this time, repeating it to his father as his brothers stood aside and listened (as Rashi explains). Yaakov sees their angry faces, and realizes that he must calm them down. He scolds Yosef in front of them – but still does not realize the extent of his sons' hatred towards him. "His brothers were very jealous of him; his father suspended judgement" (verse 11). He waited to see what would happen, focused only on his great love for Yosef without seeing the impending danger. 

Not only is he unaware of the incendiary relations between them, Yaakov even sends Yosef to check how his brothers are doing in the grazing fields of Sh'chem. He dispatches his beloved son into the jaws of the tiger, not only to his brothers, but to the very place of danger for Yaakov's family, where his daughter was raped and tortured.

The brothers then sold Yosef to passing merchants, and tried to fool Yaakov into believing that he had been mauled to death by a wild animal. They showed him the blood-stained striped coat, and he immediately concluded that Yosef was dead. Even though "all his sons and daughters arose to comfort him, he refused to be consoled, saying, 'I will go down to the grave mourning for my son'" (verse 35). He loved his son Yosef more than he loved all his sons and daughters.

The Talmud draws an important lesson from this tragic story: "One must never favorably single out one of his children from the others – for because of two measures of fine wool that Yaakov gave Yosef and not to the other brothers, they became jealous of him, ultimately leading to the descent of our forefathers to Egypt" (Shabbat 10b). This does not mean that the Sages judged Yaakov Avinu, the choicest of our Patriarchs: "If the earlier ones are the sons of angels, then we are sons of humans, and if they were sons of humans, then we are like donkeys…" (Shabbat 112b). All the more so do we not have the foggiest notion of the greatness of our holy Patriarchs. However – our Torah is a "Torah of Life," and did not come just to tell us stories of what happened, but wants us to learn how to act. The Sages want us to learn from the straightforward meaning of the verses what happened and how we should not act: We must never show such favoritism to one son at the expense of the others, for this causes jealousy that could ultimately lead to a catastrophe.

And in truth, it is very strange: How can we understand that Yaakov behaved so blindly, without realizing a simple notion such as not singling out one son from the others? How could he not then see all the warning signs along the way?

The answer is that his extraordinary love for his son blinded him to the facts: "For bribery will blind the eyes of wise men and will distort the words of the righteous" (D'varim 16,19).

There were several reasons for Yaakov to love Yosef: Yosef was born to Rachel, and it was when Yaakov was already old, and Yaakov taught him everything he learned in the Yeshiva of Shem and Ever, and Yosef looked like him. His love was so intense that he simply could not see what was going on around him. This is the danger of any blinding love; when one is blinded, he is as if bribed into believing falsehoods, even in the face of clear signs of dangers ahead.

Given that this is true, we are in big trouble! For how can one ever know if he is blinded or not? How he can make a good decision without knowing whether he might not be truly aware of the consequences? How can we know if we are seeing clearly, or are actually unaware?

The mussar-master Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler, author of Michtav Me'Eliyahu, explains that this is a key point of the study and implementation of ethical behavior. We must always be striving hard to ascertain whether we can trust our intellect and logic to arrive at true conclusions. We must know that our brains can come to correct ethical conclusions only to the extent that our hearts are free and clean of personal motivations and conflicts of interest. Only if our hearts are then full with strong and burning aspirations for integrity and truth can we be sure of ourselves.

Rabbi Dessler continues: "Can it be then that one who has not yet completely purified his heart, has no chance of making correct ethical decisions?" The answer is yes, he can never be completely sure! However, there is a test that one can conduct in order to ascertain whether his decision is good and true: If he sees that the decision he made came to him easily, without a struggle, he must be suspicious. He must then search his heart to see where his decision jives with his personal interests. Only a decision that was made with difficulty, and after great efforts to reach the truth, and amidst a war against his personal instincts – only such decisions leave room for hope that he might be on the right path. 

We thus learn that we must always be on the alert, in any relationship and in every circumstance, to make sure we are striving for truth without being blinded by our own interests, or by the interests of those we love. Only in this way will we have a chance to protect ourselves from the great dangers of "blinding love."

Vayetze: Truth and the Patriarch Yaakov

Abridged from the writings of Rabbi Moshe Leib HaCohen Halbershtadt, Founder and Director of YORU Jewish Leadership, yeshiva.org.il, translated by Hillel Fendel.

"You granted truth to Yaakov and kindness to Avraham" (Micha 7,20). Why is Yaakov Avinu, of all people, considered the epitome of Truth?

In this week's Torah portion of Vayetze (B'reshit 28,10-32,3), we read about Yaakov Avinu having fled from his brother Esav to Haran, where he worked for his uncle Lavan and raised a family of 13 children. The Prophet Micha tells us that Yaakov is the very symbol and banner of the attribute of "truth," just as Avraham is the epitome of chessed, kindness. 

Let us focus here on Yaakov. Does his life really epitomize the trait of truth? We know, for instance, that he deceived his father into giving him the blessing that Yitzchak wished to give Esav. And then, in this week's portion, after the trickster Lavan was finally willing to give him a salary for his 20 years of work, Yaakov made him an interesting offer: "Remove from your flocks every lamb that is spotted or streaked, every sheep with dark markings, and this [i.e., those born afterwards with such markings] will be my payment" (30,32). Lavan agreed – and Yaakov promptly proceeded to play around with all sorts of special methods to ensure that a high proportion of the newborn lambs would be exactly what he would be paid! 

Is that how the "symbol of truth" should behave? After all, it was obvious that Lavan would never have agreed to the deal had he known about Yaakov's special methods of operation! And even if we find an explanation that will settle our minds regarding Yaakov's behavior with Lavan and with the blessings, why is Yaakov considered the very symbol of Truth? Why does the Prophet Micha choose him as the manifestation of this trait? Is this not very strange??

Let us look at Pirkei Avot, the Chapters of the Fathers. One of the first Mishnayot there tells us that Simon the Just taught: "On three things the world stands: on the Torah, on Divine service, and on acts of kindness." At the end of that chapter, we read: "Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: On three things the world exists: on law and judgement, on truth, and on peace."

It would seem that these are two conflicting approaches. But how is it possible that Rabban Shimon, who lived at the end of the Mishnaic period, would dispute the earlier words of Shimon HaTzaddik, who was a member of the Men of the Great Assembly, whose teachings and rulings form the very foundations of much of our tradition?

To reconcile this, let us note that the first Mishna above refers to the attributes on which the world stands, while the second speaks of those on which, or for which, the world exists. That is, the first is speaking of how the world was created, and the important values on which the world was established. But regarding the manner in which the world is run day to day, it must function on the concepts of truth, judgement, and peace. How does this work? 

Judgement and peace can operate together, but truth and peace seems to be a different story. There are cases in which they clash, and in fact the Talmud teaches that "it is permitted to change [i.e., not tell the truth] for the sake of peace." This shows that peace and the absolute truth cannot, at least in some cases, exist at one and the same time.

And we find in the Medrash (B'reshit Rabba 8,5) that a dispute arose when G-d created the world: "Truth and Peace said that man should not be created, and Kindness and Tzedek said he should be created." G-d then cast Truth to the ground, the Medrash continues, vetoing his opinion. Here we ask: What happened to Peace, which also said, "Do not create"? Why did G-d not throw him to the ground as well? 

In addition, what does it mean that G-d cast Truth to the ground? Did He not want Truth anymore, after He created the world based on it and the two other attributes? How could the world then continue to exist? 

We must therefore say that G-d cast out an absolute version of Truth, and gave us, those who live in the world that He created, a different form of Truth. For us, Truth is not absolute – but rather "the right thing to do." The way in which we are supposed to act - that is Truth. When we are taught that we may "change" for the sake of peace, this means that the Truth in that instance is that we must "change." Thus, why did the very symbol of Truth tell his father, "I am Esav, your firstborn"? It is because this is what his mother told him to do, and therefore this was the Truthful manner in which he was to act. (Based on an explanation taught by the late saintly Rav Yaakov Kamenetzky)

In accordance with this, we can explain another cardinal event in Yaakov's life. When he met his future wife and Lavan's dauther Rachel at the well, he told her that he was her father's brother. Why did he say this, given that he was actually her father's nephew? The answer is, as the Medrash tells us, that he was responding to Rachel's warning that her father was a con-man and trickster – and Yaakov said, "Don't worry, I know how to work with that type of person; I'm his brother in deception." 

Yaakov was telling Rachel, at the start of their relationship, that the Torah way – the Truth – is that when dealing with a swindler, one must behave in kind. "With a faithful one, You act faithfully, but with a crooked one, You deal crookedly" (Tehillim 118,27). If this is what the Torah teaches, then it is no longer deception, but the Truth! We know that Lavan tricked Yaakov many times (B'reshit 31,7), and therefore Yaakov had to use crooked methods to receive from Lavan that which he deserved. 

Similarly, Beit Hillel teaches that one must praise a bride's appearance, even if she is not particularly beautiful, and must tell someone that his new car is great and that he made a good deal in buying the property he bought, even if this is not quite the truth. The reason is that according to our Torah, we must be understanding of our fellow Jews and their feelings – and therefore the right and True thing to do in cases such as these is to give him a good feeling, even at the expense of absolute truth. This is because behaving with sensitivity to others is the Truth of our holy Torah.

Emuna: Beit El: Modern-Day Site of Yaakov's Dream

By Rav Zalman Baruch Melamed, Rosh Yeshivat Beit El, yeshiva.org.il, translated by Hillel Fendel.

Generations upon generations have read the story of Yaakov's dream – but it is we who have merited to be here in Beit El, the very place where it took place!

This week's Torah portion begins with Yaakov Avinu's famous dream of angels ascending and descending a ladder leading to the heavens. So very many generations have read and learned this story, in Babylonia, Poland, Iraq, and all over the world!

When our Sages spoke of this place where it happened - the place that Yaakov named Beit El, the place that he realized was a "place of G-d" – they spoke theoretically, for they did not see it or and certainly did not live there. But yet, blessed be G-d, we have merited to be here in Beit El and read this Torah portion right here, adjacent to where it happened!

Rashi explains that the land actually jumped for Yaakov on his journey. That is, the site of the future Holy Temple jumped to Beit El, and Yaakov prayed there - such that at that moment, Beit El was actually the place of the Beit HaMikdash! The Ramban (Nachmanides) does not accept this approach, because he says that when we speak of "a jump in the journey," it means that the people were able to get to their destination faster than expected, and not that the land itself jumped.

But one of the most important of the many commentaries on Rashi, the Mizrachi, explains: "The land jumped in order that Yaakov should be able to pray in both places, Yerushalayim and Beit El, together; how nice and pleasant it is for both of them to be together." This tells us that Beit El has a special virtue, and that Jerusalem has an even greater virtue – and together their virtue is multiplied! 

We have merited to be in this special place with its special spiritual features and assets. Its very name is critically important. Our Sages say that we must be precise in how we call a location. There is a discussion, for instance, if we should say Beit El or Beit Kel (so as not to pronounce G-d's name). A place like this that is named for Hashem has a special aura of the Shechina (the Divine Presence), expressing the fact that it is the House of G-d. As Yaakov said when he awoke, "This is none other than the House of G-d, and this is the gateway to Heaven" (B'reshit 28,17). 

Our Sages tell us that this place, which was originally called Luz (verse 19), has a very unique force of existence. The Medrash (B'reshit Rabba 69,8) says: 

This is Luz, the place in which they dye sky blue wool. This is Luz that Sancheriv attacked but whose population he did not transfer; the place that Nevuchadnetzar attacked but did not destroy. This is Luz, over which the angel of death never had dominion. What would the elderly among them do? When they would become very old, they would take them outside the walls and they would die.

That is, this was a very special place in which people lived long lives. The elderly were so old that they were already satiated with life and were anxious to go to the next stage, known as "death" and leading to the World to Come – but they did not die in Luz, but rather outside its walls. Inside the city they could not die; this was a place only of life. 

The Medrash continues: 

R. Abba bar Kahana said: Why was it called Luz? Anyone who would enter it would proliferate mitzvot and good deeds just like an almond tree [luz]. 

This is a place of sanctity; it has a special type of ambience. One who comes here connects with holiness and good deeds. This is Beit El.

Emuna: At the End, Who Came First?

by Rav Avraham Vasserman, translated by Hillel Fendel.

Which came first, secular Zionism or religious Zionism? Rav Tzvi Hirsch Kalischer's Zionism of the late 19^th century paved the way for the modern secular movement.

Many of the disagreements in Israeli society begin and end with this question: Why and for what are we here? Are we running from pogroms and the Holocaust, or are we striving for Redemption? Was it secular Jews who initiated the establishment of the State in order to build a Western capitalist democracy with Jewish trappings, or did Torah-observant Jews lead the way in their striving to actualize the dreams of generations to return to Zion?

The historic truth that some try to blur is this: Those who initiated the Jewish settlement entity that became the State of Israel were righteous Torah scholars, and they did not lay the ideological and practical infrastructures for the State because they sought to escape anti-Semitism, but to bring about national Redemption.

Rav Tzvi Yehuda Kook, son of the late first Chief Rabbi, HaRav Avraham Yitzchak Kook, was asked how and when our period of Redemption began. He wrote: "It was Rabbis Kalischer and Gutmacher, students of the famed Gaon Rav Akiva Eger, who aroused and inspired the nation to make Aliyah and to found the agricultural yishuv (settlement enterprise) in the Land of Israel."  

The occasion of discussing this important issue is the 150th anniversary, this week, of the passing of Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Kalischer, a leading Torah scholar active in 19^th-century Poland. His book Drishat Tzion, published in 1862, was groundbreaking in its time in its refutation of the prevalent perception that the Messiah would come from Heaven with no need for action on our part in returning to the Land. Citing many Rabbinic Torah sources, he showed that the Redemption is to come in stages, after the Nation of Israel on its own returns to its Land. Rav Kalischer therefore called for Aliyah, renewed settlement, and even for a renewal of the sacrificial services. His influence among the Jewish communities was notable, as he was very admired throughout the Jewish world, and especially in eastern Europe.

Rav Shmuel Mohilever, some 30 years younger, one of the leaders of the Hibat Tzion (also known as Hovevei Tzion) movement, adopted Rav Kalischer's ideas and similarly called for Aliyah and Jewish agriculture in the Holy Land. The First Aliyah (1882-1891), which was inspired by these and other rabbis, was mostly of religious Jews, and it served as the basis for all the subsequent Aliyot.

There is much more to say about Rav Kalischer in honor of his 150^th yahrtzeit. Because he learned from the Ramban (Nachmanides) that the Redemption and return to Eretz Yisrael must come about with the permission of the nations, and not as an act of rebellion against the international community, he insisted that all efforts be made to obtain such a license for the establishment of a State. The "spring of nations" of the mid-19^th century inspired him to exhort his brethren to exhibit mesirut nefesh, devotion and self-sacrifice, for the Jewish national revival. This was a novel concept in the Jewish world, which for centuries of difficult Exile had largely forgotten it.

But though other national movements were being jump-started at this period in history, it was not as simple for the Jewish Nation. For one thing, we are warned not to rebel against the nations. Rabbi Kalischer therefore made a particularly bold proposal to activate the enormous economic power held by the Rothschild and Montefiore families. In his opinion, it was the hand of Divine providence that their influence was so great within many of the important nations, and they could help attain the needed political support. Rabbi Kalischer even spoke about establishing a Jewish army, calculating that the entire religious Bible-believing world, Muslims and Christians, would help fulfill the prophecies of the return to Zion.

This later became partially true – with regard to Christians: The support of English Prime Minister Lloyd George for the Balfour Declaration stemmed from his Christian faith and reading of the Scriptures.

Rav Kalischer wrote to Anshel Rothschild and asked him to offer to purchase the Land of Israel from the Ottoman Turks, or at least parts of Jerusalem – or at least the Temple Mount. His goals, of course, were large-scale Jewish settlement in the Land, and also so that sacrifices could be offered. In addition, he met with Sir Moshe Montefiore, who in turn met with Muhammad Ali [whose Egyptian empire had conquered the Holy Land from the Ottomans] and asked to lease plots in the Land – but Ali turned him down.

However, Rav Kalischer was able to persuade Rothschild to build Mikveh Yisrael, an agricultural school that would teach Jewish children to work the land. Rav Kalischer was even invited to serve on its Board of Directors. Mikveh Yisrael did ground-breaking work in the areas of settlement, absorption of new immigrants, and military efforts. Ben-Gurion said: "If Mikveh Yisrael had not been established, it is doubtful whether the State of Israel would have been established."

Rav Kalischer's writings served to introduce the Jews of his times to the notion that Redemption was a realistic possibility – even a necessity – even then, and that it could come naturally, not miraculously. Many historians often credit Rav Kalischer and his colleagues with "heralding Zionism" – but in fact, as Rav Kook writes, these early rabbis were more than town criers: They were actually the primary and original Zionists, upon which secular Zionism was built. However, the latter then tried to sway the movement in secular directions, which Rav Kook and many others tried desperately to counteract. However, he did this with love; even though he said that the secular Zionists should engage only in building the physical aspects of the Land of Israel, he added that "our job is not to fight them, but to uplift them."

In recent years, Rabbi Kalischer's ideology has been making a comeback. It is not only prominent in the Torah-Zionist sector, but even haredi elements, who are generally unwilling to connect with secular Zionism, see Rav Kalischer as their guide as they engage in the "Redemption of Zion in purity." Restoring our national revival to its original path and source is in fact the mission of our lives, for the success of the State in all areas.