10 Dec IT’S GALUS…. IT’S GALUS…. !

Time to go home. After twenty long years in
the house of Lavan, Yaakov was finally able to
return home. While Lavan made the years
challenging and difficult, at the same time,
HaShem blessed Yaakov with a beautiful family.
This week’s parsha, Vayishlach, opens with
Yaakov readying himself for the journey home.
“Vayishlach Yaakov malachim l’fanav, And
Yaakov sent messengers before him.” Rashi
tells us that the malachim were “malachim
mamash – actual angels.” (Bereishis 32:4)
Yaakov instructs them exactly what to say upon
encountering Eisav. “Im Lavan garti, I (Yaakov)
stayed with Lavan.” Don’t think my life was a
bed of roses. I was in the house of Lavan. He
may be my uncle, my father-in-law, but to me,
he is a trickster and a swindler. His word is not
a word. Rashi teaches that Yaakov remained a
“ger”, (from the word “garti”), a stranger in the
house of Lavan. A message to Eisav, that he has
nothing to be jealous of.
Rashi gives an additional explanation on the
word “garti”. The gematria, numerical value of

garti, is taryag – as in taryag mitzvos, 613
commandments. In fact, the letters of garti –
gimmel, reish, tuf, yud, can be arranged to form
the word taryag – tuf, reish, yud, gimmel. In
essence, Yaakov is saying that despite living
with the wicked Lavan, I kept all of the mitzvos.
Even though life was hard, I made time for
Torah. I davened, I learned, I did good deeds.
I didn’t allow my difficult life to break me, to
tear me away from my connection to HaShem.
Moreover, Yaakov’s message is that in all the
years he was in Lavan’s house, “lo lamadeti
me’ma’asav hora’im, I didn’t learn from his
evil deeds.” Yaakov’s strength of character. For
two decades, he lived in a world far from truth,
honesty and morals. Yet, it never wore off on
him. Yaakov remained true to his beliefs
and values.
Sefer Bereishis, the Book of our Roots. From
each of the avos and imahos, our patriarchs and
matriarchs, we learn life lessons. Ma’aseh avos,
siman l’bonim, everything that occurred to the
patriarchs is a sign for the children. Their lives
and our lives are intertwined.
Yaakov teaches us that no matter where one is,
no matter the influences one is surrounded by,
we must strive to live as Torah Jews. To live

our life knowing that we are part of an
am kadosh, a holy nation.
One of my most memorable Chanukahs
was visiting our young married couple,
then living in Eretz Yisroel. There were
pop-ups selling sufganiyot on every
corner. The streets were infused with the
scent of fresh donuts. The stores were
decorated with streamers of menorahs
and dreidels, and Chanukah music filled
the malls.
I loved walking the streets of
Yerushalayim at night, seeing the outdoor
menorahs encased in glass boxes. Our
Chanukah trips were to different batei
midrash to watch the rebbes light the
menorah. The sight of throngs of chassidim
filled with the spirit of Chanukah are memories
I will always treasure. Altogether, it was a treat
for the senses. Seeing, hearing, smelling and
tasting Chanukah. But it touched yet another
“sense”, the neshama. It was a feast for the soul.
My neshama soared.
The week flew by. All too soon, it was time to
head home. I left Eretz Yisroel on a
spiritual high.
As soon as I deplaned, I was reminded that
we’re in galus. The airport was decorated with
twinkling lights and festive trees. Holiday
music was playing, just not my holiday. How
I ached to be back in Yerushalayim. To really
feel Chanukah once again.
Bayamim ha-heim, bazman hazeh. In those
days, in our time. The Chanukah story
continues. The ancient Greeks wanted to
spread their influence upon our nation. To
destroy the Jewish family and home. To force
Am Yisroel to live, act, and even think Greek.
The allure of the Greek culture was very
strong. Slowly and stealthily, it had a pull that
many weren’t able to resist. There were those
amongst the Jewish people who took on Greek
names, dressed in Greek fashion, studied
Greek philosophy and art, and went to the
Greek gymnasiums.
The world we live in is no different. We are
surrounded by outside secular influences.
Media bombards us with non-Jewish messages
which insidiously seep in. At times, it is hard
to make a line of demarcation between our
world and the secular world around us.
I’m reminded of a story a little girl I know. It
was the first snow of the season. Dressed for
the cold, the little girl ran outside, diving into
the deep snow. With a big smile on her face,
she called out “It’s Chr……mas, it’s Chr……
mas” over and over again. This little girl had
become a victim of the onslaught of holiday
programming, one holiday video too many.
Videos that associated snow with the white

bearded man in a red jacket. Upon first hearing
this, my first reaction was a good laugh. But
then, the feeling of, it’s galus, it’s galus hit
me hard.
The messengers returned to Yaakov, telling him
that Eisav was heading his way with an army
of four hundred men. Yaakov turns to HaShem
with tefilla. “Save me from the hand of my
brother, from the hand of Eisav.” (Bereishis
32:12). Why the redundancy? Would it not have
been sufficient to say “save me from Eisav”,
or “save me from my brother”? The Beis
HaLevi teaches that Yaakov was afraid of
fighting a war on two fronts. Save me from
Eisav, Eisav the warrior. But he was also afraid
of Eisav “the brother”. The threat of assimilation,
of becoming a brother and slowly being
influenced by his way of life. Yaakov davened
that HaShem be with him if there would be a
physical war, and at the same time, he davened
for siyata dishmaya, divine assistance to be
strong in case of a spiritual war.
The miracle of Chanukah was on both fronts.
Yes, the Chashmonaim chased the Greeks out
of Eretz Yisroel. They reclaimed their Beis
HaMikdash. But even greater was their victory
in the battle for the Jewish soul. As we approach
Chanukah, let the message of the Chanukah
light be with us. A little light illuminates
darkness. We are reminded of the pintele Yid,
as my mother a”h would say, “that flickering
light that becomes a flame, a flame from which
the word hineni – here am I HaShem, will come
forth.” Hineni – ready to serve You with love.
We, too, are living in a world that that is battling
us on two fronts. Those who want to physically
destroy us, and those who want to eradicate our
Torah lifestyle and values. Let’s take a lesson
from Yaakov, a lesson from the Maccabees. To
stand strong and steadfast, proud of our
yiddishkeit, our Torah, our people.