VOLUME 118 NUMBER 7
Kislev 8, 5786
November 28, 2025
Parshas Vayeitzei
Candlelighting Time 4:18
Yaakov passed by Mt. Moriah, the place where Akeidas Yitzchok took place, where his father was almost sacrificed and missed the opportunity to daven there. Suddenly he realized that he had gone past it and immediately decided to return and daven in that sanctified place. Rashi explains that the moment he elected to do so, the mountain actually physically uprooted and came to him. Certainly, quite an event! The Talmud also explains that the prayer that he davened was the evening service, Maariv. Both of these themes are derived from the same verse in the Torah. S’fas Emes questions that these two matters do not seem to interconnect. Why did the Torah reveal these two things together if indeed there isn’t a correlation?
S’fas Emes presents a very penetrating thought that relates these two seemingly far-flung points. There are times when we sense that our goals are beyond reach. There is simply too much of a barrier that prevents what we want to accomplish from happening. This is exactly the point of these two distant yet related matters. Who would have thought that the mountain upon which Yitzchok was almost offered up to Hashem could and would ‘jump’ up and come front and center to Yaakov. Probably even Yaakov didn’t expect that result but due to his insistence that he must return and daven upon holy ground, that intense desire for such a grandiose objective created the ‘environment’ for the engendered outcome.
Significantly, that is truly the essence of the evening prayer, Maariv. Night embodies and symbolizes the obvious dearth of light, the lack of radiance and sparkle. In that realm and medium, the difficulty to see beyond that darkness and anticipate the warmth and brilliance of the sun is quite a challenge. But that is exactly what we need to do to escape that gloom and obscurity. We need to realize and fathom that we can initiate kedusha, sanctity in any venue. And that is exactly what was displayed with Mt. Moriah traveling to where Yaakov was.
King David wrote in Tehillim that we must express in the morning Hashem’s ongoing kindness and in the night His faith. Acts of chesed, graciousness are highly visible and received well whereas in the nighttime we must place our faith and trust that Hashem will select the most proper and effective life for us. Although we may view His selection in a negative manner that is only due to our short sight and lack of perspective on the entirety of events around us. The commentators elaborate upon this theme of faith and prompt us to recall that every night our soul ascends to Heaven and transmits the daily experiences that we have been involved with. And upon awakening our trust is verified when our soul is returned and we have the opportunity to serve Hashem to the best of our capabilities again. Additionally, we look forward to that future time when Hashem will reveal Himself and we will merit the coming of Moshiach. In the realm of faith and trust there is no real time because the ability to aspire for His exposure is past, present and future, all combined and fused together in one time warp of Hashem’s existence.
A BYTE FOR SHABBOS
The Torah details that Yaakov left Beer Sheva and went to Choron. Rashi questions why it was necessary to know were he left from. Yaakov did not fear Eisav despite that fact that he knew that Eisav hated him for ‘stealing’ his blessings from their father. Yet he relied upon the guarantee of his father that he would return home safe and sound. Therefore, he left Beer Sheva, in other words, informed all around him that he was leaving to Choron fully aware that Eisav would then know of his whereabout. This is the trait of the righteous that have unwavering and steadfast trust in the leadership and management of the earlier generations. Therefore, Yaakov proceeded without anxiety or apprehension. K’SAV SOFER
GOOD SHABB0S
