Divine compulsion that advances history

Parashat Hashavua - Parashat Vayetze 5785

Rabbi Eliezer Haim Shenvald

Praying for the IDF soldiers' success, to protect them from harm, to the healing of all the injured and the return of the kidnapped.

The infrastructures required for a nation to advance its existence must be prepared in a way that minimizes costs. Some of the most important and essential historical achievements for Israel's existence and strategic situation were caused by a lack of choice, full or partial, for the people of Israel. That's why they took a heavy toll. 

The political and security echelons were aware of Hamas’ strategic strengthening process in Gaza over the years, even if they did not estimate its extent. There were also those who warned that there was a potential strategic threat to Israel. The same was true of Hezbollah in Lebanon, which had equipped itself with tens of thousands of rockets, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), established the skilled and well-equipped Redwan Force to conquer the Galilee, and fortified itself in the area above and below ground. All these pose a strategic threat to Israel. These echelons had to act to eliminate the threats proactively, through a decisive ground maneuver, at the most opportune time, and prepare the military infrastructures appropriate to the mission (weapons, order of battle - ORBAT, plans and training) and create legitimacy for this. However, they did not give legitimacy for this. They estimated that these moves could, G-d forbid, claim thousands of casualties, on the warfront and in the home front. Therefore, they did everything they could to ignore their becoming stronger and their serious provocations.

And above all, there is the Iranian strategic threat. The nuclear program, thousands of ballistic missiles and UAVs to attack Israel's home front from all sides by its proxies, in order to attack simultaneously in a multi-front war and destroy it. The threat was familiar. Although the IDF announced that it was preparing the tools to attack and wipe out the nuclear project, many of its commanders did not believe that this was feasible, and believed that the price that Israel might pay would be unbearable.

All of this damaged Israel's geostrategic position and deterrence.

The terrible oversight that occurred on Simchat Torah 5784, and its heavy price, created a situation where there was no other choice. Even those who opposed it in the past found themselves fighting and maneuvering on the ground in Gaza and Lebanon, systematically killing terrorists and destroying infrastructure. After being attacked twice directly by Iran, we found ourselves fighting against it, neutralizing its missiles and attacking with the air force deep in its territory.

We paid a heavy price for our lack of initiative, and for convincing ourselves that there was nothing to fear. In the end, we were forced to maneuver in Gaza and Lebanon.

The price we are paying for the maneuver, although extremely painful, is far from what was initially estimated.

There is no doubt that today, about a year and two months after the start of the war, the geostrategic situation of the State of Israel has greatly changed. The State of Israel has restored and improved its deterrence which was worn away over the years. However, the improvement did not stem from its initiative but from compulsion, and from having no choice.

As religious people, we believe that the compulsion that does not depend on us shows G-ds presence. Whether it obliges us or prevents us from acting:

"ומניעת היכולת היא לנו לעדה על חפץ ד', וכו'. מפני שאנו מכירים שכך הוא רצון ההשגחה העליונה בעיתים כאלה"

"And the prevention of these abilities is for us a testimony about G-d's will… Because we recognize that this is the will of Divine Providence in times like these…" (Igrot Ha-Reayah part 1)

Times when, despite our mistakes and lack of initiative, G-d leads us to a situation that will force us to act and change for the better.

In this context, we mention similar events in distant and recent history: If it were not for the seven armies that attacked us the day after the declaration of the state in 1948, which obliged us to the War of Independence, it is possible that the borders of our state would have been the minimal 'partition borders' with pockets of Jewish settlements within an area controlled by the Arabs. If it had not been for Jordan's King Hussein's insistence on joining the Six-Day War and attacking us, it is possible that to this day we would not have the Temple Mount, nor the Western Wall and the Old City, nor Judea and Samaria, nor the Jordan Valley. And the same goes for Assad (the father) in the Golan Heights.

In our Parasha, Ya’acov fled from Eisav.

וַיִּבְרַח יַעֲקֹב שְׂדֵה אֲרָם

And Ya’acov fled into the country of Aram… (Hosea 12:13)

His mother commands:

הִנֵּה עֵשָׂו אָחִיךָ מִתְנַחֵם לְךָ לְהׇרְגֶךָ. וְעַתָּה בְנִי שְׁמַע בְּקֹלִי וְקוּם בְּרַח לְךָ אֶל לָבָן אָחִי חָרָנָה.

"Behold, your brother Eisav consoles himself with thoughts to kill you. And now, my son, listen to me, and rise, flee to my brother Lavan, to Charan!” (Bereshit 27:42)

This is a Parasha Stumah*1, which is connected to the end of last week’s Parasha -Toldot:

ולמה פרשה זו סתומה …דבר אחר: לפי שהעלים יציאתו מן העיר בשביל עשו אחיו נסתמה הפרשה.

The manner in which this paragraph is written in the Torah scrolls reflects the fact that it was not drawn to the reader's immediate attention by a new line or new paragraph having been started. “Seeing that Yaakov left his home without fanfare, like a thief in the night, the Torah needed to refer to his departure as having been a fact.” (Chizkuni 28:10).

By this, the Torah intended to say that there was a concealment for Ya’acov's departure - because he was forced to flee and hide his escape.

However, Rivka hides this reason from Yitzhak and presents his departure as a need to find a wife:

דרך חכמה אמרה רבקה ליצחק, להרחיק יעקב מעשו ולא גילתה לו שבשביל שטימת אחיו עשתה כן

“If Ya’acov marries:  Rivka said this to Yitzhak cleverly, to separate Ya'akov from Eisav, but she did not reveal to him that it was because of his [Ya'akov's] brother's hatred that she did this”. (Rashbam on Bereshit 27:46)

and Yitzhak commands him:

קוּם לֵךְ פַּדֶּנָה אֲרָם בֵּיתָה בְתוּאֵל אֲבִי אִמֶּךָ וְקַח לְךָ מִשָּׁם אִשָּׁה מִבְּנוֹת לָבָן אֲחִי אִמֶּךָ

“Rise and go to Paddan Aram, to the house of Betuel, your mother's father, and take from there a wife for yourself from the daughters of Lavan, your mother's brother”. (Bereshit 28:2)

The establishment of Beit Ya’acov is a historical event from which the people of Israel arose. However, the timing of Ya’acov's departure to find a wife was not proactive, but rather it was the result of constraint. Later in the Parasha, the marriage to Leah, one of the mothers of the nation who gave birth to six of the 12 tribes, was not by choice, but by compulsion, due to Laban's deceit:

כי לא היה עובד מה שעבד בעבור לאה אלא שרמה לו לבן

“The Torah wants us to understand that Yaakov would never have agreed to work for Leah’s hand in marriage for even a fraction of such a long period”. (Radak on Bereshit 29:16)

Even Ya’acov's flocks, which he used to "bribe" Eisav and save himself, were not given to him from the beginning as a payment for his work, but out of compulsion, from the failure of Lavan's attempt to deceive him:

שאם הייתי נשאר עמך יותר היית משלח אותי ריקם מרב תחבולותיך ומרמותיך בהחליפך משכרתי ותגזל את אשר לי

“Yaakov explains his surviving of Lavan’s machinations …if the G-d of Abraham had not been on my side you would have sent me home as empty-handed as when I arrived at your home.” (Radak on Bereshit 31:42)

For future redemption, we must also merit doing good on our own initiative, so that it does not come "in its time" as a compulsion, and as עָנִי וְרֹכֵב עַל חֲמוֹר “lowly, and riding on a donkey”, (Zechariah 9:9) but on a proactive way.

“It is written: “In its time,” indicating that there is a designated time for the redemption, and it is written: “I will hasten it אֲחִישֶֽׁנָּה” indicating that there is no set time for the redemption. Rabbi Alexandri explains: If they merit redemption through repentance and good deeds, I will hasten the coming of the Messiah. If they do not merit redemption, the coming of the Messiah will be in its designated time”. (Sanhedrin 98a).

*1- A 'Parasha Stumah' is a Parasha written in the Torah Scroll which is not preceded by a blank space.