Shabbat

Portion VY yishlach - Coping With Fear - or Coping with the Angel of Esau? Or with our own Past Pursueing us?

פרטים
קטגוריה: Parashat Hashavua
פורסם בשבת, 10 דצמבר 2022 16:52
נכתב על ידי Super User
כניסות: 297
Portion VY yishlach - Coping With Fear - or Coping with the Angel of Esau?  Or with our own Past Pursueing us?  
 
We all have things we have to cope with.
 
Look - and learn from  Jacob our Forefather - and his Rich Smart Doting but Wise mother ... 
He was an intellectual...
and he
Never complained about the difference between him and his brother -
 
And yet his brother is STILL out to kill him!
 
And his Uncle too (see last week's Portion) too -
 except that the Almighty stopped THAT issue! D-d ISSUES WARNING TO EVERYONE - 
some evil people learn - and some go down in history as murderers or fools or both...
 
But what did Jacob do wrong?
And how is he going to get 
PAST HIS BROTHER's GANG to bring his children to their GRANDparents?    
 
 It says of Yaakov Avinu  - Jacob -“Yaakov was greatly afraid and it distressed him.” (Bereishis 32:8). 
 
Ramban (moved (actually kicked out) from Spain to Jerusalem about 1200 ) wrote: 
“There is a message for future generations here: (HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF! Just look at the UN - a sham of hatreds!)
Everything that happened to our forefathers -  will  occur again to us with Eisav’s descendants”.
 
And why do we make mistakes?SO: What do we learn from this portion?
 
Jacob's answers are cleary in this portion - maybe with a little help from Rashi...
 
So Jacob wrestles with Esau's "angel" - or Esau's RAGE - trying to FIX the fight between them.
The commentators say it probably worked for a while ...
 
Psychologists try to help people understand themselves.
Our great holiness teachers do as well - but PUT IT IN A JEWISH MORAL HISTORICAL CONTEXT!
 
There will always be conflicts - but our Torah Masters teach us  (like the Karate Kid's master?) SELF POWER - 
 
the Power for Jews which begins with PRAYER POWER! and
 
Self Wisdom for Jews which begins with Torah Wisdom - 3000 years of it!
to quote Chaya Sora Jungreis : 
Eisav appears and reappears with different names, and in different guises. Babylonians, Greeks, Romans, Crusaders, Cossacks, Communists, Nazis, – and today’s White Nationalists. The name is always changing, but the goal remains the same.
To break us ...
BUT CHANUKA IS COMING UP!
 
Chanukah shows us 
that our oppressors through the ages are gone, but we are here, Am Yisroel endures! And how...
 
Abraham was a General.
Isaac was politically SAVVY.
Jacob was not weak - he was wise AND a leader - and his children were all powerful.
 
We beat all those who sought to destroy us - and we shall endure -
 
but THEY - and ALL OF US MADE MISTAKES TOO. 
We are all human - but have the ABILITY TO RISE ABOVE PETTINESS (though eventually the Maccabbees blew it)
 
and to love and teach those around us - family, community, nations ALL
 
That the Children of Israel have a message -
for the children of Israel- and the world.
 

 Shabbat shalom    from  Rabbi Andy Eichenholz     back in New York