Miller's Musings Parshas Vayeitzei: Failing to Prepare is Preparing to Fall

This week's Miller's Musings is sponsored

לרפואת יצחק בן מיכל    

and is לעילוי נשמת   לאה בת אברהם

בס''ד

When we left off last week, Yaakov, upon the instructions of his mother and father was heading towards the house of Lovon to begin the process of fathering the Jewish people.  In fact we are told that the act of following said directive, was what gave him the merit to be the patriarch of this great nation.  What is somewhat confusing, however, is that in actual fact he did not entirely abide by the commandment of his parents, but in fact spent fourteen years prior to his arrival in Choron, engaged in Torah study in the Yeshiva of Shem and Ever.  A worthy pursuit indeed, but this does call into question the worthiness of his fulfilling Yitzchok and Rivkoh’s desires.  How did he have the right to contravene their express wishes?

When given an instruction to complete, what is important is not just the specific mechanics of how it is to be obeyed, but also the intent behind the instruction.  Knowing what is meant to be gained by the enterprise and the motives behind the command is vital to it being properly accomplished.  Yaakov understood what was at stake in his entering the home of Lovon. He knew that the destiny of a people chosen by Hashem lay in his hands. He was also very aware of the spiritual degradation that awaited him in the form of the malevolent crook who would become his father in law.  Therefore, says Reb Chaim Shmuelevitz zt’l, Yaakov realized that for the aspirations of his parents to be truly achieved, he would need significant preparation to combat the spiritual dangers that lay ahead.  Far from being something that went against what they hoped for, going to Yeshiva and fortifying himself for the battles of the soul that awaited him, was in fact doing exactly what the ultimate motive of his parents required.

It is perhaps a sad truth, but very few of us can live our lives entirely within a spiritual bubble.  For those who can it is a truly fortunate and privileged place to be.  For the rest of us, who must enter the wider world, there are risks and threats inherent in contact with ideals and principles that are contrary to the absolute truths of the Torah. We may think we have the strength in our convictions to withstand the onslaught of the all-pervasive media and cultural influences, but even the most steadfast of us are vulnerable to non-Torah values seeping into our values and attitudes.  This is of course not to say that all contact is by definition bad, but there are certainly philosophies that conflict with our belief system.  The only way to be safe is to do as Yaakov did, and prepare for what we must face by bolstering our defences with authentic Torah morals and the dogmas that Hashem has told us are the correct ones.  Strengthening our Torah learning and committing ourselves to its teachings is the surest way to achieve this.  Without it we are defenceless against forces that will inevitably weaken our relationship with Hashem.

*May this Shabbos fortify us for the week ahead*

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