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Torat Malakhim
(Torah from the City of Angels)
December 1, 2001
16 Kislev, 5762
Rabbi Mark Diamond
Executive Vice President
The Board of Rabbis of Southern California
Torah Portion: Vayishlah ("Jacob sent…")
Genesis Chapter 32, verse 4, to Chapter 36, verse 43
Haftarah Portion: Obadiah Chapter 1, verses 1 to 21
"Jacob sent messengers ahead to his brother Esau in the land of Seir…The messengers returned to Jacob, saying, ‘We came to your brother Esau; he himself is coming to meet you, and there are four hundred men with him.' Jacob was greatly frightened; in his anxiety, he divided the people with him, and the flocks and herds and camels into two camps…" (Genesis 32:4, 7-8)
As this week's Torah portion opens, Jacob is frightened and alone. He has not seen Esau in twenty years, and fears that his estranged brother intends to settle old scores. Jacob's anxiety is heightened by the messengers' report that Esau is approaching with an escort of four hundred men.
The Hebrew text of the Torah captures the true extent of Jacob's fear. Vayira Yaakov me'od vayeitzer lo. Literally, "Jacob was very frightened and upset." A standard principle of Jewish Biblical exegesis holds that no word in the Torah is redundant. Why then does the text state that Jacob was both frightened and upset. Surely the second verb is unnecessary!
A Midrash answers that Jacob was doubly fearful. He was afraid that Esau and his retinue might harm him and his family. And Jacob was upset that he might harm his brother in self-defense.
We can well understand Jacob's shaky emotional state as he prepared to reunite with Esau. He feared for his own life and the lives of his family. As a loving husband and father, Jacob's first concern was his family's safety and security.
Once Jacob addressed that primary concern, he began to worry about his own response to Esau's seemingly militant moves. What if he was forced to fight his brother in self-defense? Could he live with himself if he seriously injured Esau or even brought about his brother's death?
The Midrashic commentary on Jacob's fears reminds me of a passage from the Talmud:
"Our Rabbis taught: There are five instances of fear cast by the weak over the strong: the fear of the gnat over the lion; the fear of the mosquito upon the elephant; the fear of the spider upon the scorpion; the fear of the swallow upon the eagle; the fear of the stickleback over the Leviathan."(Talmud Tractate Shabbat 77b)
Using examples from the animal world, the Talmud teaches us a valuable lesson about fear. It is the way of the world that even the mightiest of creatures fear other species. The weak can and do exert fear upon the strong. A tiny gnat annoys the lion, king of the jungle. A small swallow creeps under the wings of the mighty eagle and causes irritation and infection.
Like our ancestor Jacob, like the animals cited by the Talmud, our pride and confidence are tempered by the sober realization that the weak may besiege the strong. We live in challenging times. We live in the aftermath of the tragic events of September 11. We live in a nation beset by economic uncertainty and existential insecurity.
We fear for the welfare and safety of our families and communities. We fear for the lives of our American servicemen and women as we wage a war against terrorism on foreign soil. We fear for our democratic values and ideals as we respond to the plague of terrorism on our own soil.
Perhaps our greatest fear is epitomized by the final example of the Talmudic passage. In Jewish lore, the Leviathan symbolizes the Messianic era, and our yearning for a more just and perfect society. The most debilitating fear is darkness and despair. The gravest danger we face is a loss of hope in a brighter and better world.
Our tradition commands us not to succumb to fear and hopelessness. We have our faith to help dispel the darkness. We have our families and friends, colleagues and communities to embrace and uplift us. In the spirit of the upcoming festival of Hanukkah, let's bring holiness and blessing to those around us. May we live by the sage advice of Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav, who taught: The whole world is a narrow bridge, and our sacred duty is not to succumb to fear.
* Shabbat Shalom *
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