Our parasha begins with Ya’akov reaching “retirement age,” after surviving extended periods of self-sacrifice and imminent danger to his and his family’s lives. He is now well over 100 years old, having brought into the world the sons from whom will descend the 12 tribes of the future Am Yisrael, and has returned to reclaim possession of Eretz Yisrael for the Jewish nation.
The Mashiach is an intriguing personality; so much so that, in the early stages of the redemption, he himself will not be aware of the role HaShem has placed upon him in Jewish and world history.
When the Mashiach first appears, will he be donning a knitted kippah, a black velvet one, a shtreimel or perhaps no kippah at all?
Normal people place great value on having children. But in our parasha the desire for children and the joy and delight exhibited by our grandmothers Rachel, Leah, Bilha and Zilpa upon the birth of their children go beyond the natural feeling of motherhood.
Their delight was in the knowledge that they were chosen to be a major part in the biggest saga in human history – they were to bring into this world the beginning of the 12 tribes which would comprise Am Yisrael.
There is a Torah mitzva to destroy the nation of Amalek and obliterate them from all human memory. Why? It would not be wrong to conclude that there were righteous and moral people within Amalek. They must have had their medical personnel, social workers and “regular” good hard-working citizens who did not mix into politics. Why were they chosen to be totally destroyed?
While watching president elect Donald Trump during his acceptance speech on election night, I was wondering what he was thinking and feeling. As I studied his face, it was clear that his heart was filled with justifiable pride that over 60 million Americans had chosen him to be their next president. Despite the fact that he lost the popular vote and that many came out on the streets to declare that they would not accept him as their president, Mr. Trump will be the United States’ 45th president.
This honor will last four or possibly eight years. However, when he has to retire to private life, the very fact that so many people chose him to fill the nation’s highest office – albeit temporarily – will have been sufficient to elevate his emotional state to the height of justifiable personal pride. Going into election day, Mr. Trump’s chances to win were far less than the chances of an ice cube to survive in Gehennom, with the odds at 100 to 1 against him. Yet he won, because it was the will of HaShem after more than seven years of Obama famine.
Yitzchak brings up his sacrifice at the stairway to heaven to counter HaShem’s implicit warnings that He has taken notice of our dire sins.
Yitzchak is saying to HaShem: “You did not command me to relinquish my life at 37 years old under my father’s knife. Yet I agreed for one reason – I knew that that was your wish. We, the Jewish people, also have a wish – it is to be loyal sons to You, our Father-in- Heaven. But we are human beings, make of flesh and blood, distracted and bombarded by the yetzer hara (our corporeal instincts) which seeks to drive us away from the holy Torah. So just as I yielded to what I knew was your desire, so too listen to the wishes of Your People Am Yisrael and forgive them for their sins”.
