21 Nov PARSHAS VAYEITZEI EISAV HAD IT EASY. YAAKOV TRAVELS A DIFFERENT PATH

The first Rashi in the
parsha notes that the
pasuk [verse]
beginning “And
Yaakov departed”
appears to be a little
out of place. At the end of Parshas
Toldos, the pasuk already said, “So
Yitzchak sent away Yaakov and he went
toward Paddan-Aram to Lavan, son of
Besuel, the Aramean…” [28:5].
Parshas Vayietzei should not begin
with Yaakov’s itinerary, because we
already know where he was going. The
parsha should begin with the pasuk “He
encountered the place and spent the
night there because the sun had set…”
[28:11]. What is gained by repeating
that which we already know?
Rashi explains that the pasuk had to
“reset the narration,” so to speak,
because it was sidetracked at the end of

Toldos. Eisav saw that Yitzchak sent
Yaakov away from home to find a wife
because he was not pleased with his
Canaanite daughters-in-law whom
Eisav had married. Therefore, Eisav
went to marry his cousin, Machlas the
daughter of Yishmael [28:9]. This
tangential story diverts our attention
from the main narrative of Yaakov’s
journey, making it necessary to repeat
the basic details of that journey before
continuing on with the story.
But we must stop and ask ourselves,
why did we get off the track? This story
was not narrated by a speaker departing
from his prepared text. The narration
comes from the Master of the World.
There must be an important reason for
inserting the detail regarding Eisav’s
marriage to Machlas at precisely this
point.
Rav Yosef Salant provides an

interesting insight in his sefer, Be’er
Yosef. Our patriarch Yaakov is the
prototype of exile [galus]. As we have
quoted on many occasions, “What
occurs to our forefathers foreshadows
that which will occur to their
descendants.” The children are able
to persevere in difficult circumstances
by virtue of the fact that their
ancestors already successfully
experienced — to some extent — the
same trials and tribulations.
As Jews of the exile, Yaakov Avinu —
more than any of the other Patriarchs
— is really our role model. He lived the
life of a Jew living in exile — outside
the Land of Israel. He lived a life of
constant troubles, one thing after
another happening to him and his
family. Yaakov’s departure from the
Land of Israel began in this parsha when
he left Be’er Sheva. Since this parsha
represents the beginning of the exile
and the beginning of the troubles
for Yaakov, the pasuk emphasizes:
This is where it all began.
Eisav and Yaakov were brothers.
They received a similar
upbringing. They both had
righteous parents. Eisav wanted to
find a match. What did he do? He
went to his uncle Yishmael, he
married Yishmael’s daughter
Machlas. It went one two three.
He had it easy.
Yaakov Avinu wanted to find a
match. He had to travel a great
distance to reach his uncle Lavan.
Lavan forced Yaakov to work for
seven years for the wife that he
wished to marry. Then after the
seven years, Lavan switched
sisters and forced Yaakov to work
for another seven years. Yaakov
had trouble with shidduchim
[match making]. It took him years
to marry the woman he wanted to
marry.
This was the beginning of
Yaakov’s sojourn in exile.
Therefore, the pasuk interrupts the
narration to contrast how easy it
was for Eisav to be able to marry
the woman who he was seeking,

compared with how difficult it was for
Yaakov to marry the woman who he
was seeking. In spite of all the troubles,
Yaakov accepted his lot. He never
bemoaned the fact that his lot was a
much more difficult one than that of his
twin brother. He never questioned G-d’s
justice; rather he accepted it with love.
Rav Matisyahu Solomon adds a further
insight to the words of the Be’er Yosef:
Where do we see that Yaakov did not
bemoan his lot and willingly accepted
what G-d had in store for him? Rav
Solomon says this is explicit in the first
pasuk of this week’s parsha: “And
Yaakov departed from Be’er Sheva and
went to Charan.”
The Haftorah of this week’s parsha
describes what actually happened to
Yaakov a bit more bluntly: “And Yaakov
fled (vaYivrach Yaakov) to the field of
Aram…” [Hoshea 12:13]. It was not
really “Vayetzei Yaakov” implying that
he leisurely left Be’er Sheva. No! It was
“VaYivrach Yaakov.” Yaakov was
fleeing for his life. Even in the Torah
itself, when Rivkah told Yaakov to
leave, she did not say “Go have a nice
trip”. She said “Arise, run for your life!”
(kum, berach lecha) [Bereishis 27:43].
That described the actual situation.
But how did Yaakov view the event?
“And Yaakov went out (vaYietzei) from
Be’er Sheva and he journeyed
(vaYelech) to Charan.” He went, at his
own pace, with confidence that G-d
would watch over him. This is the key
to Yaakov’s existence in Galus. It may
appear like he had to run for his life, and
that is in fact what happened. But he did
it with calm and equanimity, knowing
that he would be protected by G-d. It is
that faith that has stood us well through
these long years of exile.