Shnayim Yomi - Vayigash - Chamishi - #5 - Rabbi Mordechai Schiffman - Faith in Times of Darkness

In the fifth aliyah of paras vigash, Jacob makes his way down to mitzim. On the way, we are told that he stops in beerba and that's where he sacrifices to the god of his father Isaac. And the verses tell us that Israel God speaks to Israel to Israel in this vision of the night and he says to him and he says Yakov Yakov and Yakov says here I am. Interestingly within that verse it starts by saying that God spoke to Israel and then within the actual dream within the actual vision he calls him Yakov. Yakov. And some commentaries point out that is because now that Yakov is going down into exile, he switches from Israel back to the exiled Yakov. God tells Yakov that I am the God of your for of your father. Fear not, Alira, do not be afraid to go down to Mitim because it is there that I will make you into a great nation. I will go down with you to mitim. Yakov here is the paradigm of night. Yakov created arvit because that is the prayer of the nighttime. It is the prayer of galut of exile. The mesh writes that we do not find with that god appeared to them in visions of the night. This occurs only with Yakov here and in paras. This is because Yakov was preparing to leave the land and dwell outside of it. Therefore, the divine revelation came to him at night to demonstrate that even at night in the darkness of exile, the divine presence rests upon Israel. Mashma quotes the Gomorrah in McGill that wherever Israel was exiled, the divine presence was with them. When they were exiled to Egypt, the divine presence was with them. When they were exiled to Bavl, divine presence was with them. This is why the mashma says, the verse says inev Hashem answer you on the day of distress, may the name of the God of Yakov elevate you. It is specifically in the time of distress that we invoke the God of Yakov. For when Israel is in distress and in the darkness of the night, it is the God of Yakov who revealed himself to him at night who elevates and protect us in dark and challenging times. Yakov symbolizes us the amunas alleos the faith even when times are dark.