Shabbos Parashas Vayeitzei 5778

Shabbos Parashas Vayeitzei 5778 Rabbi Hal Miller Then Yaakov took a vow, saying, "If G-d will be with me, and He will guard me on this

way that I am going; and He will give me bread to eat and clothes to wear; and I will

return in peace to my father's house, and He will be a G-d to me--then this stone

which I have set as a pillar shall become a house of G-d, and whatever You give me, I

shall surely tithe to you." [Bereishis 28:20-22] Making a deal with the Master of the Universe? It seems quite presumptuous and

arrogant. Could Yaakov have actually intended to make his service conditional on his

receipt of something from G-d?

Commentators discuss the grammatical construct, explaining "im" (typically translated as

"if") and "v'" (usually "and") as "when" or "then". Midrash Rabbah says that Yaakov, having

just been told that G-d would be with him, was still afraid, thus "even the righteous have no

assurance in this world." But this avoids the question of Yaakov attempting to make a deal. Nechama Leibowitz explains Yaakov's position as a request to G-d, to be allowed to serve

Him in the ways described, and asking His assistance to enable him to do so. If Yaakov is unable to survive and return to the place desired, he would not be capable of performing

on this vow. She compares it with Hannah's vow: "if You will indeed take note of the affliction

of Your handmaid and grant Your handmaid a child, then I will give him to the L-rd". In both

cases, Nechama tells us, the one stating the vow is in fact saying, "Give to me so that I can

give to You." Thus, a righteous person may seem to be "cutting a deal", but is in fact merely advancing

the service of G-d. Yaakov did not agree to do something in exchange for bread, but asked

help in doing the right thing. But, in Tehillim (37:25) we see, "I have never seen a righteous man forsaken, whose progeny

was forced to beg for bread." Is Yaakov "forsaken" in our pasuk? Rav Hirsch explains this

Psalm as proof that when a righteous person does all he can in this world, his children will

not suffer later. That causes us a problem too! Yaakov's children went to Egypt for bread. Although they

came to buy, they ended up begging the Viceroy (not then knowing it to be their brother

Yosef) for food. The fact that they were begging from their own brother is the tie we need

here. Instead of actually being in the position of begging from non-Jews, the brothers

were keeping things in the family. Rav Hirsch tells us "it is no disgrace among Jews to

receive assistance from other Jews, nor does the acceptance of charity degrade its

recipient." In fact, we see in various places that the reason G-d made some people poor was to

enable the rest of us to complete His service by the mitzvah of tzedakah. Yaakov, in his

vow, is promising to give tzedakah, and is asking G-d's help to enable him to fulfill this

vow. Instead of it being a "deal" with G-d regarding his own needs, the pasuk refers to

Yaakov's prayer as a mitzvah. In order to be truly righteous in the eyes of G-d, we need to direct our prayers, as well

as our physical efforts, toward mitzvos such as charity. We, and our children, as well as the poor, will benefit when we aim ourselves at serving G-d.