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By Rabbi Shloimie Lindenbaum
ויפגע במקום וילן שם (פרק כח פסוק יא)
Our Parsha begins with the story of Yaakov leaving his home to go live with Lavan and along the way encountering a place to sleep. An interesting expression of “ויפגע” is used to describe how he arrived there. חז”ל, as brought by רש”י, tell us that it refers to an expression of תפילה and that this פסוק is the source that Yaakov established the nighttime תפילה of Mariv. There are also other expressions of תפילה that חז”ל use as sources to say that Avraham enacted Shacharis and likewise with Yitzchak for Mincha. The אזנים לתורה raises the question that normally in Judaism each day begins with the preceding night. If so, why did Avraham begin with the morning prayer followed by Yitzchak’s afternoon prayer and with Yaakov finishing at night? Shouldn’t Mariv have been established first? He answers that the time of the תפילות symbolize the lives of those who enacted them. Avraham was recognized by the world to be a distinguished and honorable person. He was given ten clear tests and achieved his goal beautifully. His life was somewhat of a “Golden Era” in the history of the Jewish nation. This is portrayed by his תפילה of Shacharis- said at a time of pure beautiful light and clarity in the world. Yitzchak lived a generally peaceful and honorable life but we also see that the 400 years of exile decreed to Avraham by the ברית בין הבתרים began with his birth. His life was like that of the sun as it begins to set at the end of the day, the transition period from the Golden Era to somewhat darker times. Therefore, it was appropriate for him to establish Mincha. Finally, Yaakov lived a life fraught with trials and tribulations. He had to run from Eisav, outwit Lavan, and eventually lost Yosef for many years. His life was one of darkness and difficulty in seeing Hashem’s Hand. This is parallel to the darkness of night when we daven Mariv. We see from our forefathers and their lives that in every situation in which we find ourselves it is always appropriate to turn to Hashem with heartfelt prayer.
ויחר ליעקב וירב בלבן (פרק לא פסוק לו)
Yaakov worked for Lavan for many years and was cheated and swindled copious times. He eventually ran away and was soon pursued by Lavan and his entourage. Upon reaching Yaakov, Lavan begins to accuse him of stealing his idols. Yaakov proclaims innocence on behalf of himself and his family but allows Lavan to search all of their belongings. Turning up empty-handed after a thorough search, Yaakov lets Lavan have it. The פסוק says how Yaakov became upset and started fighting with Lavan over his false accusation. Why did he suddenly became enraged now? He was conned by this man for almost 20 years and somehow bit his lip, why now did he give in and demand that Lavan admit to his innocence? The באר יוסף explains that until now all of Lavan’s tricks were targeting Yaakov on a personal level. They were ploys to get Yaakov’s labor and assets. That much Yaakov was able to handle because he knew that man’s livelihood comes from Hashem. Now, however, Lavan was accusing Yaakov of being dishonest and stealing. Yaakov recognized how terrible it would look for Hashem’s honor if he would be publicly disgraced as a thief! He was the recognized man of G-d and if people would think that he did something dishonest it would be a tremendous חילול ה’. This was unacceptable to Yaakov and he therefore had to forcefully demand from Lavan that he publicly declare Yaakov’s innocence. His own honor was able to be dismissed, but Hashem’s honor was of primary importance.
