Parshat Vayishlach by Rabbi Baruch Taub

three pieces I don't know if they're necessarily actually yeah three pieces I don't know if they're necessarily related but we'll we'll see so first piece number one is from Rak kineski um we have the the uh meeting of of Yakov and asov at the beginning of the para I mean Yakov is asov is coming with Yakov is coming with to impress ASA is coming with his entire Entourage and he's coming to to make war with Yakov he's want to destroy Yakov um so asov we're going to see a little bit how asov deals with him how yakob deals with asov and uh successfully and uh here's the first the first item uh the PK says that yob says to I when I say see your face I see I see an angel I see I see God you know you you remind me of an Angel right um so Rashi explains what he means it's really worth your while to accept the present from me when I see your face it's like I'm seeing an angel but when he said I what does it mean I saw your uh your gu Guardian Angel right he we know that he was coming he had a fight with the the guardian angel of uh of asov and that's the origin the he he wounded him and that's why he limped when he left that's the GHA we're all familiar with that we don't eat because of that but he defeated him he defeated him and just really an aide I want to mention during that battle start it's okay I did not start early but you're late it's okay so let me back let me backtrack for a minute the fight of Yakov and ASA so uh he wounds he wounds yakob but yakob has him in a in a strangle hold and he pleads to let him go why does he plead to let him go so Rashi says because he had to say Shir the malim said Shir and he had to go it was his time to say Shir to to D you let me go I have to D I have to say Shir right um that's very strange because uh Shir the Shir from MIM is said at night not during the day because of the cover that theim give to B is we're busy doing during the day so they say their Shir at night so this was in the morning this was during the daytime so um how do we understand how do we understand this so first of all um I mean the Marsha and the gamorra says that he he was uh the SEL asov and this he was this was his time now he was busy so but it doesn't matter but what is Shir the word Shir means a link like you know sherit is a is a chain sh shered from the word Shir so Shir is a is a is a link the whole idea of Shir is everything that kazal say that everything that comes every communication from the Ron from shamay is considered is done with Shir what does that mean because Shir is a link it's a link between Theon and is that when created the world and he his idea was to create a link to that we should have a a relation an intimate relationship with him with a so he he gave us he gave us that that link so Shir is we're kind of returning we're returning the favor right that we're singing Back to the Rabon shum our praise and our thankfulness for um what he has has done for us okay why that puts his Shira now in the daytime rather than uh the nighttime is because we had not yet been given our uh our walking orders to do sheir in the daytime so he could still say Shir in the daytime right we were not given that that that order okay that's just an aside anyway here we have a very fascinating psychological statement uh an exercise in brilliant Psychology from Yakov he says you you remind me of an angel I mean you look like a but I saw your angel I saw your guiding Angel when I F with him so you know you look like him so here why did he mention why did he mention the that the sighting of the Angel he wanted him to get be be a little nervous right there's multiple things being said here tells him you look like an angel you you look Angelic then he tells him you actually look like you're guiding angel you have a guiding Angel right um but that kind of he wants us he has the power my brother yakob has the power to see an angel so that kind of a third interpretation already and he was saved vit rash said concludes the statement I I can't win with him if he saw my Mal and he defeated him I'm in big trouble so lur actually rush says says there are two contradictory statements that he says actually there are really three the simple text of what he said he mentioned the he wanted to honor him you look like an angel right rash says at the beginning it's like I see aash why does rash that he mentioned as's guiding angel that I saw him he wanted put the fear of the Lord into him right contradictory contradictory messes messages right it's it's they're opposite opposite messages so he he he's referring to something he said once before which we we I don't think we've done here but I've said before actually in maybe we'll do it when we get to when a person speaks you've got what he's saying and what he means to say right it's true that what he's saying to him but there's like a subliminal message you know when you speak you can you can uh you don't you're not you're not lying but you'll say something that really what does he really mean by this you know there seem seems to be an implication in what he's saying right and and a person has that ability to say something to make a statement that has multiple meanings we in all of our interpersonal relation you know you sometimes you read a a statement from the government right the last over the year we've been reading statements from from the government United States government how the the statement is made and why does he mean by that why isn't it said this way you see that there's that's really not what they're saying yeah yeah we know what this is all about so that's what yov was doing even though he meant to honor him I see you look like Angelic the when you go into the words of what he said he was afraid of him my brother has can sit with angels I'm in I'm in I'm in big trouble right so that's the really a psychological point that that yak rakov is suggesting that Yakov actually actually meant all of these things he had all of these messages to uh to give to him in these in these few words okay um that's one way he he was starting to shake him up now then the Torah says V two this is from the o la Torah uh Tor was r sosin a r in in Lithuania who came to Isel around the time the founding of the state and he wrote beautiful so Yakov tells he's busy telling as I have and all these animals that he came with multiple kinds of animals that he came with he's very wealthy yob right he tell he's telling his Messengers go tell this to yakob you go ahead of me and tell him that uh all of these animals he's going to ask you what is all this this is the Entourage of my my master your brother and he sent and he sent me to you right and he says to him when he later on when he talks to him so he's sending him all this well he's showing all this wealth again we're having multiple messages being sent not sublim subliminal but actual messages sent an audiovisual aid so here's the visual that he's showing him his wealth and then the audio IM he says to him later on IM I I you know he asked him what were what have you been doing say I lived with Lan Lan was a Russia right our our relative right P Rashi famous Rashi sharti even though I lived with love on I kept all the 6133 misses T why is he telling him this what is it what is this as a that doesn't ASA hates a wealthy person more than a poor person poor religious person right he doesn't who cares why do I care that you kept the Torah I'm interested that you kept the Torah what's he what's he telling him um how is this going to um raise the respect that ASF has the fear that ASF has for Yakov by telling him that he kept all the T mitzvas in by loved one all tells me he's wealthy so this is this he's getting him I'm GNA get him angry right don't doesn't mean that he's getting him angram I I have I have all this money Torah I I have all this money I'm rich and yet I keep the Torah what are these messages what is this all about um the wealth should should shake him up right but and but the Torah is meaningless okay it's also hard to understand why did they say I was there for a long time I was there for a long time by love 20 years right he knew that ASF knew this he knew where he was he knew where he was coming from so now he he offers a a a fascinating understanding again messages that that Yakov is sending to ASV right to put down his his sword but I want to suggest atov the blessings the bras that gave a br to gave bras both to yov and to as right the brothers that he gave to yov and really that's why ASA was going to kill him right because he got the he at the end of the day he got the right so I I want to kill him right I want to take this away from him really the there are two kinds of bras that gave them he promised him wealth an abundance of of wealth quote God's going to give you from the do of the heavens the fat of the earth you're gonna have the best of everything right B two he promised him he promised him power power and Dominion the nations of the world are going to serve you yob and the children of your of your mother are going to bow bow down to you as the BR that gave as also he named they were also of these two similar ideas he name you'll you'll living you be living in an area that is abundant and and Rich and will give you all kinds of we you you'll get also the do from heaven and secondly you will live by the sword you'll you'll work for your brother but um in the end it said you know the the says that you you'll you'll hold him by his neck right doesn't bring no he says right you you're G to you're going to defeat him now go to the second column but there's just somehow two lines are missing here I'm just going to tell you what he says now sends with theim his angels his his his Representatives his to to as to tell that the first now we're back into the text the first part of the blessing of this the the BR of of wealth there's no steer here you're wealthy I'm wealthy right you know the fact that he promised us a blessing of wealth is not uh one person is going to be wealthy to the expense of the other the fact that I'm wealthy but you see you're wealthy too we're both wealthy so what's the problem you have wealth right it's not it's not to the exclusion that I'm going to be wealthy to the exclusion of you so my bro is no better than yours you're also wealthy right sh both of them can both be wealthy so that's what he wanted to show him he wanted to show him that right we both have it I have so much cattle and so on what did as say afterwards I have I have much I have much I have a great deal I have a great deal right he had a tremendous amount of wealth but the second the spiritual BR right the BR of Torah right well of power we should say the BR of power the Dominion right that we'll both have I'm gonna show him that I didn't get the Bro of power I didn't get this power right two bras so I made a mistake is not the the spirituality but the two bras were that were was parosa was wealth and the other was dominion and power I didn't really I had problems here I didn't really get power right why Shar IM I live with Lon right he was my master I worked for him right where's the power in that that I worked for Lon V I didn't become a prince or an important person I was a Shepherd I worked for I was a worker for even though Our Father blessed me that the sons of your mother will bow down to you didn't happen and his sons they were were included in this you know that your mother's children will bow down to you right but I was a stranger there I was a stranger and an employee you're gonna tell me you're gonna tell me Al that the the BR of dominion and Power power was conditional tah if I keep the Torah then I'll have power you're going to tell me yeah but you got a br of power if you keep the Torah look that's why he tells him this strange thing I kept the whole Torah right even the time I live with love on so what I got nothing from it I got nothing a you're going to tell me maybe you were only a short time by love one right right no no he couldn't he didn't have dominion over me I I got out of there no I was there for 20 years I was 20 years by love I kept the Torah and I remained a stranger and a shepherd of Love's flock so what are you worried about what kind of I Have No Dominion I have no power you have the power I have no power the second part of the BR the the power in the Dominion shall I never got this BR I got the Bro of riches but so do you so we're equal right so what my fact that I'm rich doesn't affect you but the power I have no power because of everything I had to go through so you shouldn't feel badly about the BR you won what do you need this for I am like your younger brother I call you that's the message he sent this knowledge the about dominion and power didn't didn't happen by me didn't happen by me that you you know I was supposed to have dominion over you didn't happen did it happen he's telling put sword down what are you going to fight me for what what's the you what do you need this for right right there's nothing no big deal here so what do you want to start up with me for don't start up with me because I can I could actually fight back right so interesting see see all the psychology that's going on here between between those n Lor and rakov you see all the psychology that that Yakov used with Asa okay all right um now the last piece we're going to do is the uh the the of Yakov when he dve into the Reon to help him right so uh this is from sa for y might say from the Paran and here we're we're talking about um the the of Yakov to Theon to help him now he's coming he's being threatened by ASA we've been discussing um so he says to him he says to the whole is not here but the I I am uh I have become small from all the greatness and the kindness that you have given me so Rashi explains what does it mean I have become I've become small he explaining to the why he's afraid of right and why he's not necessarily relying on the promise that God gave him but when he left remember he said I'm with you i'mna I'm gonna protect you wherever you go I'm going to return you back to this land I will not leave you until I do what I promised I'm going to do for you this is what God Said So Yakov is saying why he he doesn't believe this is going to happen he's not questioning her bonish that's not what he's saying he means that because of why he says after God promised that he's gonna guard him he's gonna take him back to what is he afraid of for told I'm going to take you I'm going to save you I'm going to be with you I'm going to take you back so here's what he meant by Katan I I became small he was afraid because all the good things that you did for me I lost my power you know you you you did so much for me so I it it I I've become weakened I don't have that spiritual anymore maybe you've done so much for me I I really I'm I'm very much at the mercy of Asa that's that's why I'm afraid that maybe you know I have my sins are GNA come out here that I'm going to fall to to ASA now that's that's what he meant that's what he genuinely meant that maybe he has no and maybe his sins are are are are whatever those sins are they're dominant and I'm I'm my from you are are are minimal so he's doing to the you know I have help me help me with my you promised me so so let me you know do something for me there's something very strange about this fear that yov had if sin has the ability to cancel out a promise from the so it means that held that the prom came because he was a good guy because he did the right thing because he did good things therefore he was deservant of the Ram's protection right right because I'm a good person so you protect me that's what he seems to be saying right he's saying now that I did have maybe therefore you've taken this away here's the question does a person really have the right to say that I am deservant of the Rabon doing something for me right I am deservant the do doing something to me what did I do wrong you know I this is you know sometimes people think this way I remember many many years ago I got a call somebody passed away in the community they were not members of the kahill really but they called you know they Liv there the father died if I can come so I went whatever we had had to do for the funeral and uh when I came in to meet with the family you know so uh how old was he he was 98 years old right and and then the daughter started screaming what did he do wrong what did we do wrong that he died why should he die why did God take him from us right you know and uh and during the course of discussion you know they asked me and then then the doorbell rang the doorbell rang and in came Pizza Hut but not Pizza Hut in Natan or wherever it happens to be kosher pizza hut came in for everybody right and then they asked me question so one when do we put the the Pebbles into our shoes by the funeral like some something that they remembered right if you don't have non shoes you put stones in the shoes right this thing this was was important then piz whatever and and to question Theon that this 98y old man God come away from us right so uh it seems to be that yaku has lowered himself to this kind of an idea right that maybe I I should be deservant of of your goodness that originally it came because he he deserved it that's the question is a person allowed to to conclude that he is deservant of the goodness of hasem because of what he's done was a modest person right isn't that doesn't this fly in the face of humility right we're supposed to be humble so how can somebody have this it seems that Yakov is presenting this kind of a arrogant arrogated idea that I'm deserving right but a humble person doesn't think that way right I'm really not deserving right so what's how do I understand this and so what what's he doing what's going on so the Von the next paragraph So the Von discusses this he distinguishes between an event in the past and a request for the future in other words I can recognize a humble person can recognize that everything that he happened to do this for me for whatever reason he did it for me I'm not asking for it but he felt or felt that I was deserving but I can't go in the future and ask him now do something for me because I am who I am the fact that in the past it happened it could be there abon did this because maybe I I did certain things the right way I never I never asked for it but I can't add there's a difference about asking for something in the future because of because of who I think I am right so it's not nothing wrong someone on a level of of he understood that the the love that gave him that he he was deserving of it you know look um MOS Renu was mikad he was the most modest person in the world what does that mean right does that mean that he he didn't know who he was no he he you know I'll give you a more contemporary example of mosha mosha mosha Feinstein who was the great pador the The halakic Authority for Our Generation right when he started writing his thousands of Chas when he started in the first volume he wrote you know why am I writing this Who Am I who am I to answer shilas like this right but I see that nobody is answering these questions when people are asking me I have no choice I I've got to answer the questions right got to answer the questions right nowos Fein was a tremendously humble person I mean I want tell you a story I want heard from my Reby once that um that he was a little boy they came from Mar they were living in in the lower e side and there were three kinds three or four kinds of Rabon in those days rabbis didn't get a salary so his father had a Shila on a chicken and my Rabbi was a little boy 11 years old and he sent him to get it to to to get a sh to answer the Shila right so he goes into the first R and the r is sitting with the gamorra and there's a plate uh in front of him and he pushes the plate towards the little boy put money in the plate right and until he hears the tingle the jingle of the of the money in the plate he doesn't stop learning and once he hears it he starts answering the question right um there's another that one another he said there's another kind of rub in the east side he said this is you know uh you can't make this up that you came into him and uh there was a plate there and he answered the question and then he pushed the plate in front of you said there was only one rub on the Lower East Side when he was growing up that didn't have a plate and that was rosha Feinstein right that was rosha Feinstein so did remosa know that he was a humble person of course he knew he was a humble person right humility is not like I'm a neb humility is not that's not you're NE a nobody right you know who you are and you conduct yourself in such a way that you know whatever I am I I can be much bigger and I don't have to show anybody else what I've accomplished right so so there's nothing wrong with someone assuming that well maybe it's because I did answer all these shilas that the Ron is is um is doing something right but this same person yov he can expect that maybe something happened to me because I do have right but the same same yov has to be very when he comes to dove into the to ask him for something in the future that's how he has to come not not with his list of accomplishments but he has to come with his request in a sense of humility and not to ask for because of his because of all the of his ACC so in the past yes there's nothing wrong with saying maybe it's because of certain things that I've done okay fine but I'm not asking for that and I never did but to ask for it in the future that that's a no no and he gives a powerful a powerful example with David and this part first he says this is the essence of this is the essence of of ding we were coming to ask because of we who we are right that what he need for God knows God knows God knows everything he doesn't keep away reward from anybody somebody's deserving he's the faithful judge he's going to pay me calling the Ence [Music] of is is an amazing thing it's the it's the Nuance that I have a right that anybody has the right to come [Music] to even though I'm I'm talking nobody I'm who am I deserving to come and ask the remotion for anything right you know child messes up with their parents and and pun will he you know it's hard for him to start asking for his father his mother can I borrow the car right you know I'm not deserving of this right so that's the the the the the miracle of of that I'm lacking who am I to come to the yet I can come to I can ask and ask do something good for me right because I know it's it's up to you when I'm asking you to do this interesting in other words it's um it it has nothing to do with who we are really the ability to the theam will will deal with us the way he wants to deal with us he he'll decide not because of me not because of my spirituality from this reason I'm a little premature here we're gonna see soon therefore we answer each when we conclude each we conclude it with a praise you know um go is you are the Redeemer of Israel Ro holy Israel You Are the Healer of of of sick people that's I ask for heal healing I ask you to to heal somebody heal myself heal somebody else heal all the people who are sick right and but in the end I I say at the end PR because you are the Because of You go it's who you are that's why I'm coming to you you are the you are the Redeemer You Are the Healer and therefore I come to you we're asking you to do what you can do that's what I that's not because of me that's not why I'm coming okay so that's um what happened to you did I skip over something no no no okay now the next I'm sorry oh yes I have to I didn't apologize to you that this was all cut out right what I did what just read to you so I was reading it I I saw that this morning and I I quickly copied it for myself okay now the final colum this fits in very well to um to a story with David M is right and schl schl really when came he was dedicating the the BET mikdash right and he was going to bring the a into the K kadash into the the sanctum sanctorum the holy of holies right and he he said but the the gates the the the doors of the a were they were stuck together couldn't open them and he couldn't get in he couldn't open up the Y theor sayso that what did he say he started to Dove him he said 24 and he wasn't answered 24 times he D open the open the doors of the AR only at the end when said remember the love of my father of my father because really I finished the job this is really not me it's not my B mikash it's David my father's B mikdash so then he was right it wasn't about it's not about me so he spent 24as you know open open it for me right no why did rely on the of his father DAV why did that work right listen scho was no m go in the in the historical period of SCH was at the the P the Pinnacle of of spirituality the meaning the full moon CLA were the full moon right right um that's why wees the moon waxes and waines right it's the we because we are not per imperfect people and we have the ability to uh to get better and that's the ra one of the things that the raon is reminding us of right but but the period of schom is the full moon right it has everything but I just want to throw something in which has nothing to do with this but somebody asked me a question by by Kish laav last week in a different hemisphere I was doing Kish Lona and he asked me why do we say alenu at the end of Kish Laona what do you say alenu for good question right I want to go home right what we go okay I'll dance but what so so the the um so I don't want the answer is that people and I had this experience once somebody asked me many years ago Rabbi you know I was driving by the Sho on Saturday night and I see people out there by The Cars and some of them are banging on the cars they're out there and they're looking up at the Moon what's going on is this Moon worship that's exactly the point that you should people shouldn't think that we are worshiping the K and the that created so we end off by saying that's why we say um okay so now back to the back to the ranch so here um this is why did he go to didn't need to open up the himself was the wisest person right um why does it have to open because of the of um of David right and I just in the next paragraph We I wrote here similar writes goov it's referred to as goov right the great period of of the the of the Fulfillment of of yobu right um the highest level right um right the period historical period of right all 613 misses you had the mikash there was peace right there was there was prophecy so he had everything in the time of schl there's one thing missing right one thing missing what was Miss Missing for schl right even though schlomo was was the wisest man alive at the time who had D be gor says veru the generation of of Moshe rabenu the generation of the desert is known as D DEA the generation of of wisdom of knowledge and he lacked that's the one thing that he didn't have with everything else he had right this this idea is hinted ino's name Sho liosha the word schlomo if you take the through the the letters it's Li Moshe schlomo wanted to be like Moshe that's theim who he was with all of his greatness he washe he wanted more he wanted it more right in a good way right after saying all all this is said and done so now he's coming to ask in the of that the door should open and it worked right because maybe what he was asking at first based on himself maybe that's not so good so this is the idea that we've been expressing here right that it's it's not like the Von had said there's nothing wrong yaku was is not coming to the r of and asking him it's it's I can recognize in the past what you did for me but in the future I I I'm not asking for myself I can recognize that what you did for me perhaps I have but in the future the go says I have no right to ask because of myself and maybe that was the problem until now so when he asked for w M right that was okay then we conclude here just with one little little thing here this also relates to the fact that a t scholar um has to be very careful has to stay away from arrogance right um theor but he has to have a little bit of arrogance well we spoke all the examples of mosha Feinstein we said before mosenu earlier right so but we has to have you know 164th one8 of an eighth one eighth of a nth eighth of of arrogance so you can have I can say like what happened to me in the past maybe it's because of right maybe there a little bit whatever you did for me it has a little bit to do with what I did right but you have no right to to lean on those those accomplishments and ask the for the future that's the gr and the has a hint to this right it's beautiful the that we started out this Essay with right became small right that's what he's saying I became small from all of the goodness you did me I'm a humbling statement right it's the eth verse of the E par of the so it's 164 that's the Von that's the Von right okay thank you all for your patience