Shabbat Parashat Vayeitzei - 5782

Shabbat Parashat Vayeitzei - 5782

Rabbi Hal Miller

And God had come to Lavan the Aramean in a dream by night and said to

him, "Beware lest you speak with Yaakov either good or bad." [Bereishit 31:24]

Our verse leads to a number of questions, such as, why was God speaking in the

first place directly to Lavan, who we know was not a Godly person? We will leave that

question for another time, but still we must ask what God intended by this warning.

The Gemora in Yevamot [103b] asks, "We can understand that Lavan should not

speak ill to Yaakov, but why not good? This teaches us that the good of the wicked

is evil to the righteous. And what evil can arise here? He might promise him good

in the name of his gods." Thus the Gemora is worried that Yaakov come to be

"blessed" by idols and perhaps attracted to idol worship. But it seems this reason

should not be a problem for Yaakov our father.

Rav Soloveitchik writes that since God found it necessary to contact Lavan and

warn him here, we must assume that Lavan intended to do great harm. Rashi

seems to mean the same thing, that "all the good of wicked people is bad to

righteous people."

Others understand the verse to be concentrating on teaching Lavan something

rather than preventing him from doing the harm he might have intended. Bechor

Shor writes, "do not chastise him at all, even if you think it is for his good. "

Ramban follows the simple meaning, that if Lavan says or does something good

for Yaakov, the latter might turn back, and God had already commanded Yaakov

to return to his homeland.

Yet others follow the idea that God was limiting Lavan's potential actions. Sforno

and Ramban both say that Lavan is not to speak to Yaakov, either to do a good

thing nor to scare or threaten. Radak starts the same, but adds that Lavan may

not speak harshly, and further that even though he might wish to deprive Yaakov

of some small fraction of his wealth (the bad), that this is not doing good to him

by allowing him to retain most of that wealth.

Whether to prevent Yaakov falling into idolatry, to guard him from harm, to

safeguard him on the way that God commanded, or to be clear that Lavan's

idea of good and bad is not the same as God's, we can read the verse in the way

of prophecy, since it came to Lavan at night in a dream, and that it means Lavan

will somehow suffer should he violate God's warning to leave Yaakov alone.