28 Nov YEARNING FOR THE LIGHT

“We stand with Israel” has become popular
phrase seen on posters at solidarity rallies,
spotted on store windows, and placed on
front lawns. I would like to add to it… “We
stand and pray with Israel”.
Yes, we stand and support our nation, but
we also daven for our people. The tefilla of
“Acheinu kol bais Yisroel – Our brothers,
the entire house of Israel… hanesunim
b’tzara – who are pained, afflicted….
u’vashivya – and in captivity. HaMokom
yeracheim aleihem, may HaShem have
compassion upon them, V’yotzieim mitzara
lir’vacha, and take them from stress to
comfort, mei’afeila l’ora, from darkness to
light.”
The words of Acheinu resonate in shuls,
schools, batei midrash, Tehillim groups,
and in private prayers worldwide.
Mei’afeila l’ora, from darkness to light.
Words that describe the battle found in this
week’s parsha of Vayishlach. A battle
between Yaakov and the malach of Eisav. A

battle that lasted through the night, until the
break of dawn, from darkness to light.
In his introduction to the parsha, the
Ramban writes regarding Yaakov’s meeting
with Eisav: “There is a message for future
generations that everything that happened
to our forefather Yaakov with Eisav, will
continually occur to us with Eisav’s
descendants”. Earlier in Bereishis, the
Ramban writes, “Ma’aseh avos, siman
l’bonim, everything that occurred to the
Patriarchs is a sign for the children”. The
lives of our avos are one with ours.
In parshas Vayishlach, Yaakov and his
family leave Lavan’s house, journeying to
Yaakov’s birthplace. It’s nighttime when
Yaakov realizes that he forgot some
“pachim ketanim, some little vessels”, and
he goes back on his own to retrieve them.
“And Yaakov was left alone, and a man
(maalach of Eisav) wrestled with him…”
(Bereishis 32:25) As we have witnessed
throughout history, “Hein am levadad
yishkon, we are a nation that stands alone.”
Today, once again, we are alone, fighting

for our survival. Our people were attacked
barbarically, brutally murdered, and
suffered atrocities that are not
comprehensible.
Am Yisroel faces an enemy that proudly
proclaims that “they are not done”, and
vows to return again and again to “finish
the job”. Yet, after a brief few days of the
world expressing shock and solidarity, we
are once again left alone. For many, instead
of stating that Israel is justifiably defending
itself, we are once again accused of being
the aggressor, of conducting ourselves
“disproportionately”, ignoring the evil that
has been perpetrated against our people.
The pasuk tells us that Yaakov’s battle with
the malach of Eisav continued until “the
break of dawn”. A battle between good and
evil, the eternal battle between Yaakov and
Eisav, until the break of dawn, the coming
of Moshiach.
The Torah’s recounting of the confrontation
between Yaakov and Eisav concludes with
Yaakov asking the angel for his name. To
which the angel responds, “Lama zeh
tishal?, why do you ask,” – what difference
does it make? This question haunts us to
this very day. Eisav appears and reappears
with different names, different languages,
and in different guises. Babylonians,
Greeks, Romans, Crusaders, Cossacks,
Communists, Nazis, and now Hamas and
Hezbollah. The name is always changing,
but the goal remains the same. To break
us, to destroy us.
Sforno comments that this too, is a
message for generations. We, the Jewish
people, take a page from the story of
Yaakov. Yaakov was injured during his
confrontation, and walked away limping,
yet resilient in spirit, and strong with his
faith. So too, we have been oppressed at
the hands of tyrants and dictators. We
have sustained many bumps and bruises.
We have endured unimaginable pain,
suffering, and even massacres. But it has
never broken us. And it never will. Our
oppressors through the ages are gone.
But we are here. Am Yisroel Chai! Our
commitment to HaShem’s Torah and
mitzvos has kept the flame of Yiddishkeit
alive. It is our sacred obligation to
continue this dedication, and to transmit
these eternal values to our children and
grandchildren.
A clip went viral of a man covered in
“tats”, as he referred to his tattoos. He
shares that religion didn’t mean anything
to him, nor did he ever think of his Jewish

identity. He spoke of his mother escaping
religious persecution in Iraq, and his father
having lost family members in the
Holocaust. He admits that these were all
“just stories” to him, until October 7. After
seeing the way the world reacted to the
horrible atrocities, and witnessing scenes of
Jew-hatred, “The Jew inside me woke up”.
He went on to thank the enemies of Israel
and the anti-Semites that are marching in
cities worldwide, spewing messages of
hatred, giving him the wake-up call that
connected him to his G-d, his religion and
his people. A call that he assured many
others similarly experienced and acted
upon.
Mei’afeila l’ora, from darkness to light.
Chanukah is just around the corner. It falls
during the darkest time of the year. The
shortest of days, the longest of nights. A
time of choshech, darkness, of both day and
soul.
If one takes the Hebrew letters of choshech
– ches, shin, chof, and changes the order to
shin, chof, ches, we have the word shochach
– forgot. During Greek rule that preceded
the miracle of Chanukah, there were those
who temporarily “shochach – forgot” their
Torah and their mitzvos, and lived a life of
choshech, darkness. But, like the lights of
the menorah that were kindled once again
in the Bais HaMikdash, their inner lights,
their neshamos were reignited and shone
once again.
Shochach. Forgot. With time, and as we get
back into our day-to-day routines, it is
natural to forget. After almost two months
of war in Israel, we must be vigilant not to
fall into the trap of war fatigue. Of slowly
losing the great achdus amongst ourselves,
and increased connection to HaShem that
this war has brought us to. Within the word
shochach is the word koach – chof, ches –
strength. To find the strength to keep on
davening, to stay connected to HaShem. To
keep up the chesed, and be there for our
people.
As Chanukah approaches, may we, B’ezras
HaShem, truly experience “mei’afeila
l’orah”, and merit to see in our own time,
the “Break of dawn”, the light of Moshiach.