Charting the Course - Vayetzei

Charting the Course
Parshat Vayetzei

In this week's Torah portion we read how our forefather Yakov left the holy land and went to Charan. Yakov's parents had instructed him to do so for two reasons; (1) to flee from his brother Esav's wrath after stealing the blessings (2) in order to find a suitable mate, and begin his own family.

The Torah tells us that Yakov left Be'er Sheva and chanced upon the place (Mt. Moriah), and slept there. Rashi questions the need for the Torah to tell us that Jacob slept there. It is quite obvious that if he spent the night there, he slept at that spot. Rashi therefore clarifies and tells us something quite interesting. After leaving his parent's home, Yakov felt that he must fortify himself spiritually before going out into the world. He therefore went to the Yeshiva (academy of study) of Shem and Ever, and spent fourteen years studying Torah. In those fourteen years, he never properly slept at night, as he spent his nights studying. Thus, the verse is telling us that Yakov's first proper night of sleep in many years, was that night on Mt Moriah.

Before sleeping, he placed stones around his head to protect himself from wild animals. While sleeping he had the famous dream of the ladder with angels going up and down. Once again we are perturbed by an obvious question. If Jacob was worried about wild animals attacking him, why did he just place the stones around his head? He should have protected his entire body, not just his head?! Our commentaries explain that Yakov was really symbolizing that he wanted his "head", his priorities and values to be protected as he left his home and went into the world.

Often, we wonder, how do we prepare our children for the real world? How will our children maintain their faith, values and priorities in a non-Jewish environment? How do we make sure that our children will stay true to Judaism? Perhaps we can learn a lesson from Yakov's life. Our forefather Jacob understood that the primary years must be spent in an environment of holiness and spirituality. He therefore went to the Yeshiva of Shem and Ever to prepare himself. He made sure to protect himself and his values, as he left the environment and ventured out into the world.

By giving our children the gift of a Jewish upbringing, we are in fact charting the course for them to live a life imbued with values.

Shabbat Shalom