The underlying theme in parshas VaYetze is dealing with people like Esau particularly those in the land of Israel. The parsha begins with Yaakov fleeing from Esav and ends with him preparing to face him after twenty years of exile.
The reason Jacob is fleeing is because he stole his father's blessing intended for his brother. The theft is successful except for the fact that Esauv is ready to kill him over it. Really Yaakov is not guilty because his mother forced him to do it plus Esav does not want to be one of the fathers of a kingdom of priests. The original sin though is Jacob's exploiting a bad moment of Esau years ago to get him to give him the rights of the first born. The reason it worked was because Esav held religious service in contempt. Nevertheless this was not a brotherly way to handle religious honors. Therefore Yaakov must go into exile to learn better.
The parsha begins with Yaakov stopping at the Temple Mount. There he has a prophetic dream. The dream has many aspects to it. In it he sees a ladder with angels ascending and descending. Rashi comments that the angels that were accompanying him in the land of Israel were being replaced by the angels for outside of Israel. This parallels the end of the parsha, when Yaakov encounters a camp of angels on his return to Israel. The central message of the dream is the words of the holy One, blessed be He, that he is giving Jacob the holy land and that he will be with him and protect him in the adventures he is about to face.
The next sections are Yaakov’s adventures in Paddan Aram. They consist of 1) the initial meetings with Rachel and Laven, 2) the birth of Jacob’s children, 3) his financial success, and 4) his departure from Laban.
The key lessons for Yaakov and the reader is how to deal with somebody like Laban. The main feature of Laban is that he is a crook consumed with greed. To complicate things greatly he is the head of the household, Yaakov’s father in law, and has some genuine feelings of affection for Yaakov.
At the beginning Yaakov does something very stupid. When asked to name his wage, he offers to work seven years for the hand of Rachel in marriage. Rachel in fact us priceless, however as a shadchan fee, this is absurd. Exploiting an opportunity, Laban matches Yaakov additionally with Leah, also priceless, for the same fee. Yaakov recognises that he has been cheated. When Yaakov is working for himself Laban tries to cheat him out of his pay. When Yaakov is leaving Laban tries to take everything he owns. However none of this works, Hakadosh Baruch Hu protects him in a variety of ways.
The lesson from heaven though is that the birthright and the blessing also are priceless, even so it is not appropriate to use underhanded tactics to obtain them. Not only that but Providence will find a way to make the rectification.
In the final confrontation Yaakov brings out the good side of Laban, even if it's only for a day. This is the deeper message of the exile. In the land of Israel there are many rock heads, cheats, and those that scorn religion. Just the same they are your brother and must be dealt with in a brotherly way. In addition a person must trust in the protection of the Almighty to deal with him fairly.
לע"נ הדוד שמואל בן יואל לייב ז"ל נלב"ע א כסלו תשמ"ד
העלון ניתן לקבל בדואר אלקטרוני וגם באתר http://dyschreiber.blogspot.com