Vayeitzei: Rachel’s Tears, Giving Leah the Simanim, and the Eternal Bond of Hashem’s Children

Transcript

This Torah class is brought to you by TorahAnytime.com. He finds Yaakov Avinu coming upon the Makom Hamikdash. He passes it, he returns, and that Makom Hamikdash, vayifga bamakom, it was a tremendous moment. Tremendous moment. Thank you. It was a tremendous moment, the moment HaKadosh Baruch Hu comes to him in a dream, Vayachalom, sulam mutzav artzah, malachei Elokim olim v'yordim bo, Hashem nitzav alav. And of course, as we know from the Midrashim and the Rishonim, the Ramban, that there was a lot of asid, the future of Klal Yisrael was all hidden within this dream, to the point that when he wakes up, he says, Ma nora hamakom hazeh, ein ze ki im beis Elokim, v'ze shaar hashamayim. When he goes to sleep, he does something interesting. He takes stones, Vayikach me'avnei hamakom. Vayosem ... Vayosem ... he puts it around his neck. Rashi explains, what is he doing with these stones around his neck? Asan k'min marzev saviv l'rosho. He made it like a wall, a protection around his neck, around his head. Why? Sheyarev m'nei chayos ra'os. He was afraid of the wild animals. And this is a Medrash Rabbah, Samech Ches Yud Aleph. Then Rashi says, hischil merivah zu im zu, because Rashi's bothered by a question. It says, Vayikach me'avnei hamakom, from these stones, plural, many. Later on it says he took the stone, and he made it a matzeivah. So the question is, was it one or many? Says Rashi, originally it was many, but they began to fight. Hischilu merivah zu im zu. זו אומרת עלי יניח צדיק ראשו, וזו אומרת עלי יניח. Each one was fighting to be under the head of the tzaddik. Miyad asan HaKadosh Baruch Hu אבן אחת. He made one stone. V'zehu shene'emar, Vayikach es ha'even asher sam merashosav. Now it's interesting, what did he do? It says he did it, min marzev saviv l'rosho, because he was afraid of the chayos ra'os. So I guess it was supposed to protect him. The idea of these stones was supposed to be like a fence to protect him from the chayos ra'os. How would it protect him? I mean, a chayah ra'ah could jump over a stone. Chayah ra. You know, there's a reason why we call them chayah ra. You know, it's wild animals. So what was the protection? What did he have for making this fence of stones around his neck? So there's a pshat from the Alter from Slabodka, from the Alter from Kelm, I don't remember which one, but it's a famous vort from the Baal HaMussar. But before we get to that pshat, I'd like to just discuss in pshatava. Maybe, maybe they were very, very big stones. Don't forget, Yaakov Avinu was able, Vayagel es ha'even me'al pi habe'er. But those ro'im, forty, fifty ro'im couldn't move. And you're talking about ro'im. Ro'im are usually people who are— they're people who have strength. They work with the sheep in the fields. You're talking about strong people. They couldn't remove the even al pi habe'er, and he was able to move it. So maybe the stones that he took, the stones that he took, were very, very big stones. Maybe, maybe there was— they all ask the question. It's such a famous— I think every child comes home from school with this question: How to protect him from the chayos ra'os? And the truth is...

Who tells you how big these stones are? Maybe they were stones like the size of a kois lamarovi, and therefore you aren't able to jump over it. Still doesn't really answer the question, because let's say he did it saviv l'rosho, around his head. What about so that he'll come from the feet? What about his whole body? It says rosho. It says saviv l'rosho. So I'm sorry your picture book says differently. Tell your picture book, write him a letter, and tell whoever wrote that picture book he should read Rashi before he makes pictures. It says saviv l'rosho. So what about the rest of the body? Maybe the part is, if you attack the head, it's, you know, like with one bullet you can get him. You attack the body, he could wake up and fight back maybe. He could fight with the animal. If he attacks on the head, I guess it's one blow and it's finished. But if he attacks by the feet, he'll wake up and he'll fight the animal. It's a good question. So there's a vort from the Alter from Kelm, or the Alter from Slabodka, I don't remember which one, but that the pshat that they say is hishtadlus. Of course it wouldn't help. How could this help? If it's chayis royos, they'll jump over, and then... But what it is is that he did a little hishtadlus. And hishtadlus, even though it's not going to help, he did his. That's what hishtadlus means. Hishtadlus means you do whatever you could do, and the rest you leave to the Eibishter. So he did a little bit. You can't be somech al hanes completely. Could a person say, You know what? I'm not going to protect myself. I'll walk in front of a car. You can't do that. You have to be mishtadel. You have to do some action of protecting yourself. So he protected himself to the best he could. He made the stones around his head, and the rest was, the Ribono Shel Olam will help me from here. I would like to say another pshat, rabosai. What was the idea of taking the stones to protect him from the chayos ra'yos? How is that supposed to protect him? So the first thing I want to point out: this is the first time that Yaakov Avinu doesn't learn. For 14 years in Shem v'Ever, he's learning. It says Rashi clearly, Vayishkav bamakom hahu, b'oso makom shachav. Aval yud daled shanim sheshimesh b'veis Ever, lo shachav balaylah. This is the first time he's taking a real break, so to speak, from learning. It says he didn't sleep. Lo shachav. He didn't lay down to go to sleep. He fell asleep a little, but to take a break, so to speak. To take a break. It says clearly, Lashon מיעוט, b'oso makom shachav, aval yud daled shanim sheshimesh b'veis Ever lo shachav, shehaya osek baTorah. So this is the first time Yaakov Avinu, so to speak, lays down to sleep. A break, a hefsek. It says later, Vayikatz Yaakov mishnaso. Yaakov got up mishnaso. What does it mean, mishnaso? If it meant he got up from sleeping, it should have said Vayikatz Yaakov. Why do you have to say he woke up from his sleep? Mi shnasoi, from his sleep. So the Medrash says it doesn't mean his sleep. The Medrash says, Mi mishnasoi, which means from his learning. He woke up from his learning. I mean, he went to sleep, and that's called woken up from his learning? What does it mean? It says in the beginning he fell asleep. So he went to sleep, and then it says he woke up from his learning, so he wasn't sleeping, or he was sleeping, so what was it? So on the side of the Medrash, there's many pshatim. One pshat, Vayikatz Yaakov mishnasoi, he woke up from his sleep, his learning, because he always used to wake up from learning. He used to wake up to learn. So even now that he fell asleep, he woke up, I have to go back to learn. Vayikatz Yaakov, Yaakov woke up from his learning, meaning he was used to not sleeping. Since he constantly learned, he was used to not sleeping. That's pshat, Vayikatz, he woke up, mimishnasoi. I think the Marzav on the side of the Medrash says this pshat. You hear? Vayikatz. You know why he woke up? Mishnasoi, because he was always learning, so he got used to not sleeping. Why does the Medrash...

Why did the pasuk speak this out? Meaning, why would the pasuk have to emphasize this? Could be to teach us that Yaakov Avinu—what pshat, Yaakov Avinu slept? Even when he went to sleep, he couldn't sleep. Shh. Even when he went to sleep, he couldn't sleep. Which means, don't think that Yaakov Avinu laid in bed, yeah, and he rolled up the covers, and he planned for a good night of sleep, and he put on front of the door, Do not disturb sign, you know. You ever see in front of the hotel rooms, Do not disturb. Why? Because the person wants to sleep for 15 hours straight. Don't bother me. Because an olam has a person has a musag that he sleeps l'shem sleeping, for the sake of sleeping. So just like he plays, he doesn't want to be disturbed. When he's sleeping, he doesn't want to be disturbed. But if a person only sleeps because he could learn, that's why a person goes to sleep. If a person sleeps because he has no choice, he has to sleep, so if he gets up, why does he get up? He gets up—I mean, I'm just sleeping, so the minute I'm able to get up, I get up. Vayikatz Yaakov mishnaso. The pasuk is trying to tell us, don't think that Yaakov Avinu made a decision that he's going to go to sleep. That's not what happened. He had to sleep. So even if he was shachav, even when he lay down to go to sleep. He didn't go to sleep, so to speak, to have a, what do you call that, a nap. What do you call a nap, what you would call a beauty sleep. He likes to feel good afterwards. That wasn't what the kavanah was. He went to sleep, and then he had to learn, and he woke up from that. And he woke up, Vayikatz Yaakov mishnaso. If you take a look at the Eitz Yosef, the Eitz Yosef says another pshat. What does it mean he woke up from his mishnaso, his learning? Says the Eitz Yosef, because tzaddikim, when they sleep, they learn even more than when they're up. They learn even more when they're up. Is that the angels teaching them? He says that their neshama goes up to the makom upstairs, the makom elyon, and over there they're able to learn Torah. They're able to learn from the mekor Torah, and then they come back down to this world, and that gives them the power, the strength, and the koach to be able to mechadesh chidushei Torah in this world. You hear? So Vayikatz Yaakov, he woke up from his learning, because tzaddikim, when they sleep, they're learning. So says the Eitz Yosef. Aside, the Marzav says this pshat of the Eitz Yosef, I don't like it. I don't like this pshat. It doesn't mean that he woke up from his learning. Now what's the argument? Why does one say it means he woke up from his learning, and one says it can't mean that? It could be one learned like the Goyen. We know that the Goyen, different than the Beis Yosef. The Beis Yosef had a malach that came to him to teach him, the Maggid. The Beis Yosef learned with an angel. The Gra didn't want. The angel wanted to learn with the Gra, and he said, I don't want. Why? I want ameilus baTorah. I want to be able to toil and achieve the Torah on my own. I don't want it to be given to me. As a matter of fact, when he went to sleep and he had chiddushei Torah in his sleep, he wouldn't want to write it down. That's not chiddushei Torah. Chiddushei Torah mean I have to work on it, to work hard. What I got in my sleep is not called chiddushei Torah. So it could be that's what they're arguing. One pshat in the Medrash, one mefaresh is learning the Marzav. That's not called learning. I don't like that. And the other one is saying, no. Maybe like the Beis Yosef, that's still called learning. Tzaddikim go up to the Shamayim, and in the yeshiva shel maalah, there's a yeshiva shel maalah. That's where they learn their Torah, they bring it back down. That's what the two pshatim are contention between the two mefarshim. I want to point out there's an interesting Matiafrim. The Matiafrim says that there's a question if you're allowed to sleep on Rosh Hashanah. It's all a question, because the Gemara says that if you sleep on Rosh Hashanah, your mazal will sleep through the year. So they bring down that the Arizal slept. He would sleep.

So on the bottom of the Sefer Matya Ephraim, there's a meforesh that says, What are you bringing a proof from the Arizal? You're going to compare yourself to the Arizal? What the Arizal was able to be masig, was able to achieve in his sleep, you won't even achieve when you're up. So what are you—you're going to sleep because the Arizal slept, and the Arizal was achieving big things in his sleep? Don't compare yourself to the Arizal. Point being, you see this yesod, that big tzaddikim, when they're in the yeshiva shel maalah, they get big things. It has nothing to do with us. By us, if it would say Vayikatz Yaakov mishnaso, you would think it's after learning for two hours, because we sleep when we learn, and we woke up from the learning. We would have a whole different understanding of what it means, Vayikatz Yaakov. If it was us, it would be that we woke up after the shiur. We woke up after the learning. Vayikatz, it could mean Vayikatz, he woke up mishnaso from his learning, because when he's sleeping, he's learning. By us, when we're learning, we're sleeping. And that's exactly what the, on the bottom of the Matya Ephraim, the Kitzur Mateh is trying to say: don't bring a proof from the Arizal, because when the Arizal was sleeping, he was learning, and by us, when we're learning, we're sleeping, so don't bring any rayas. Okay. This is, l'cheira, what happened, that Yaakov maybe was still learning, but whatever it is, it wasn't the same the way it was in Shem ve'Ever. It wasn't the same. It says clearly, Ba'oso makom shachav. This was the first time that he went to lay down to sleep. Now, let's understand: who are these chayos ra'os? You know, if you look at the Medrash, the dreams that he had, what were the dreams that he had? About Bavel, about Nevuchadnetzar. It was all about the future, Galusin, aliyos and yeridos of Klal Yisrael. Vayishkav. When Yaakov has a little bit of a break in the Torah, then the chayos ra'os come. You know, all the nations of the world are compared to different animals. There's the dove and the ari, Persia, Bavel, dove, it's different. That's what he was referring to. It doesn't mean the chayos—he was afraid of a lion or a bear or a fox. He was afraid because at this moment, it was a very epic event, don't forget. He saw the future of Klal Yisrael, the whole Eretz Yisrael is now underneath him. It's an unbelievable epic event. So he was afraid of the chayos ra'os that are coming to attack at this moment when Yaakov—what? When Yaakov stops learning a little bit, when there's a break in the Vayishkav Yaakov bamakom hahu, how do you protect yourself from that? So if you notice, the Medrash says that there's a big story behind the stones. Vayikach me'avnei hamakom. How many stones? It says he took twelve. And why did he take twelve? To check if they'll become one. Will they turn into one stone? If they turn into one stone, it's a sign of what? Achdus, that Klal Yisroel unites. That's what the Medrash says. Now I understand the point. How do you protect yourself from the Chai Yisroel? When we're in galus, when we're in danger, when they come to attack the Makom HaMikdash in Eretz Yisroel, the protection is achdus in Klal Yisroel. That's the protection. When Klal Yisroel unites, that's what it means. He put a saviv l'roshah around his head. It doesn't mean to protect his head. It means big things. It's supposed to be a resemblance, a siman, that saviv l'roshah is the achdus of Klal Yisroel. And this, rabosai, we know, it says that when Klal Yisroel goes to galus, Rachel is mevakel boneha. Rachel comes to cry for her children. She comes out. That's why she was buried, aleiha haderech. That's why she's buried over there in Beis Lechem. Why? So she could daven. How does her tefillah help us? So there's a Medrash that the Ribbono Shel Olam said Klal Yisroel brought a tzarah l'beisi. We'll discuss a little bit later. They brought a tzelem and avodah zarah into the heichal, and—

Rachel says, I brought my tzarah, which is a second wife, to the house. I did it; you, and I was mevater; you shem mevater. But what's the yesod of it? says the Maharal, that Rachel is the akeres habayis. We learn from the pasuk, V'Rachel akarah, says the Medrash, akeres habayis. She is the foundation of the home. Says the Maharal, what does that mean? Akeres means that she protects the home from disintegrating. Akerah means akeres, that it's the foundation, that the home should remain intact, to unite and not to divide the home. And m'meila, when Klal Yisrael leaves— and this is what the Maharal means; it's in Netzach Yisrael, perek aleph at the end— when Klal Yisrael leaves to galus after sinas chinam and machlokes, the house is ready to fall apart, so to speak. They're ready to disintegrate. Rachel's capabilities, koiches, was to be akeres habayis, to unite Klal Yisrael. And when she unites Klal Yisrael, and when she makes together, they survive the galus. That's how Rachel protects them as they leave into the galus, so says the Maharal, with a little bit flavoring and a little bit additive, but that's basically what the Maharal is saying, and this is the pshat here too. Yaakov Avinu knows that the chayis will come to attack. What's the protection? The protection is when Klal Yisrael unites, b'achdus, as even achas. You know, it's interesting, the makom hamikdash today, the Har Habayis, where the Kotel HaMaaravi is. The Arabs claim it's theirs, and they come there, and they throw stones. When is the time that the most that they throw the stones? Anybody know when? Usually, there's a certain time when they become wild and crazy. It's always the same time: Birchas Kohanim on Sukkos. For some reason, they become crazy. And they, l'choira, think it's because look how many Jews are there, and it makes them nervous. The real reason is, rabosai, I'll tell you where it comes from. You know, Birchas Kohanim, everybody talks about anybody who ever experienced Birchas Kohanim by the Kosel feels the same feeling. Klal Yisroel is united, all types, all groups. Everybody stands, one kohein like this and one kohein like that, all the types in front of all the types of people who are receiving the bracha. That immense achdus by the Makom HaMikdash protects us from the chayis that come to the Makom HaMikdash. The sitra achra, their inner yetzer hara, they feel something. They feel it by Birchas Kohanim because of the achdus that we show by the Kosel HaMa'aravi. This is the dayikach me'avnei hamakom. It's epic. It's not just literally he took stones. It's the osid of Klal Yisroel, that the avnei hamakom, when they unite, protect from the chayis ra'yos that come to attack, so to speak, in the night when we're in galus. It's galus, night. Vayishkav, we're sleeping from Torah. We're a little bit low. We've fallen. We're not in the same levels of what it once was. What keeps us? What's our kiyum? The answer is the achdus, and that is what they feel. And that's what they're responding to, throwing the stones, the achdus that's portrayed by the koisel in these times. I'd also like now to discuss the simanim. Like I told you, Rochel was the one that takes us out of the galus, so to speak. It's interesting. The Medrash tells us tremendous things about the giving over of the simanim to Leah. It's not just a tremendous thing; it's what keeps us alive today. If you look at the end of the Medrash Eicha, in the Pesicha, perek chav daled, it's clear that what keeps us alive today, the reason for our existence today, is the fact that Rochel gave the simanim. The avos came crying, Hashem wanted to destroy Klal Yisrael. The avos came crying, and each one said, I did Aseres Nisyonos, the ten tests. Yitzchak said, I did the Akeidah.

They all brought out their zechusim, and it didn't help. Hashem was ready, it says clearly, to destroy Klal Yisrael. Finished. So we see two things from this Midrash. One, that the simanim was greater than the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah. It was greater than the akeidah. Yitzchak, the akeidah couldn't do it, couldn't protect us. Rachel's simanim, ah, that protects us. And we also see that we wouldn't have been here not for the simanim. This is our existence. Why? Why is the simanim so great? And why is it that it's the reason for our kiyum, our existence throughout the generations? What is it, the simanim? So the truth is, there's a very big question about the simanim, because the Gemara tells us in Megillah daf yud-gimmel that it was an act of tznius. That the tznius that Rachel had by giving over the simanim, that tznius, you see, Shaul had it, because Shaul became the melech of Yisrael. He didn't know he was going to become the melech. He went looking for donkeys. He went to Shmuel, Where's my father's donkeys? In those days they used to go to rabbanim for that, you know. Where are the donkeys? So Shmuel says, Donkeys? I'll tell you where the donkeys are, but I'll tell you more. You're becoming the melech of Yisrael. You're becoming the king. He leaves Shmuel's house, and the uncle of Shaul asks him, Where were you? See, now another person would have said, Where was I? If you don't even know what just happened. I just became the melech of Yisrael. He didn't say one word. He said, I was looking for the donkeys. Tznius. Humble. Tznius. Nechba el hakelim. He was humbled soul. So this was a child of who? Of Rachel, a grandchild of Rachel. And then years later, there was another grandchild, Esther. Esther also tznius. Ein Esther magedes es moladtah v'es amah. She didn't say what nation she's from. Tznius. So the mefarshim ask, was it tznius? Okay. First of all, what is the tznius? Where is the tznius of giving the simanim? You're right, it's chesed, and it's rachmanus, which is really what the Medrash in Eichah says. The Medrash in Eichah says it was rachmanus, it was chesed, but where's tznius? What does it have to do with modesty? So the Ben Yehoyada, the Ben Ish Chai, in his sefer on that Gemara, says two pshatim. Pshat number one, he said, Do you know what day of the week was the wedding of Yaakov and Leah? It was Shabbos. It was on a Friday night. He brings from the Arizal that it was on a Friday night. And why was it chosen Friday night to make the chasunah? Because Lavan knew that he wanted to trick Yaakov. How can he trick him with his lights? He looks and he sees it's not Rachel, it's Leah. So he came up with a plan. He'll make the wedding Friday night, and he'll go and he'll turn off the lights. And since Yaakov keeps Shabbos, he's not going to turn the lights back on. See, he's able to what? To fool Yaakov Avinu. So he brings from the Arizal. Question is, says the Ben Yehoyada, Ben Ish Chai, so let's say he didn't see her, but he should have recognized by the voice. I mean, you talk to somebody, you know, you don't sound the same. Not the same person. Unless maybe they have the exact same voice, two sisters. Chazal already discussed this. Chazal in Medrash Eicha say that she was underneath the bed, that Rachel was underneath the bed, and while Yaakov was talking, thinking that Leah, who was laying there, was responding, it was really Rachel responding. So he thinks it's Rachel. She sounds like Rachel. Ben Yehoyada says a different pshat. Ben Yehoyada, the Ben Ish Chai says, you know why he didn't recognize by the voice? And the answer is because there was a lot of tznius. They didn't see each other. From the time that Yaakov Avinu, from the time that Yaakov Avinu kissed Rachel that time and decided that they were going to get married, they didn't see each other. Period. So he didn't realize.

We recognize her voice. That's what it means, tznius, that tznius was able to bring about the simanim. If not for the tznius, the simanim could have never happened. How could such a thing happen? You should be able to tell by the voice that it's not Leah, that's not Rochel, that it's Leah. And the answer is because there was tznius, and therefore they were modest, that they hardly saw each other to know each other. It's not like today. Today, before someone gets married, he knows them well. He knows his kallah, he knows her voice, he knows what type of clothing she likes. Yaakov knew nothing about Rochel when he married her, to the point that he was able to marry Leah thinking he was Rochel. Modesty, tznius. Then the Ben Yehoyada says a second pshat. Tznius means you're not megaleh soit. Tznius means when someone doesn't give over a secret. So Rochel didn't give the secret. Shaul doesn't give the secret that he became the melech, and Esther doesn't say what nation she comes from. Secret. Keeping a secret is its tznius. Okay. You know, rabosai, we have another problem, though. If you look at the Medrash, the Medrash doesn't say one word about tznius. The Medrash says that Rochel tells Hashem, I gave the simanim, I had rachmanus. It's called rachmanus. I had concern for the busha of my sister, and I did chesed. So was it tznius? Was it rachmanus? Was it chesed? Which one was it? We find different names. To interpret the greatness of the act of Rachel, was it itsnius, like the Gemara in Megillah? Was it rachmanus, like the Medrash Eicha? Was it like chesed? The Rachel says, I did chesed to my sister. This is a good question. I would say pshat's like this, rabosai. This is how I would answer this question. And with this, I think we can answer what's so great about the act of Rachel to the point that we live off that zechus throughout the galus, more than maybe the Aseres Nisyonos and the Akedah. Yeah? What was in the story of the mesiras ...? Was it tznius? Was it rachmanus? Was it chesed? And the answer is obviously it was all three. And you know what all three means? The simanim of a Yid. The Gemara in Yevamos tells us that what is the siman of a child of Avraham, of a Jew? Rachmanim, bayshanim, gomlei chasadim. It's all the three things that Rachel was saying that she did. I had rachmanus, bayshanus, which is busha, which is tznius. It's the same idea, it's the same thing in different words. And then there's gomlei chasadim, the chesed. And now I understand what Rachel was telling the Eibishter. Rachel was telling the Eibishter like this: What are you claiming, that Klal Yisrael sinned, that they brought a ... beheichal? Yeah, but they happen to have a tremendous midah. You know what it is? They're rachmanim, they're bayshanim, and they're gomlei chasadim, which means that no matter who and what they reach, no matter how far they fall, but they have this. This is their attributes, their metzius, their mahus. This is who they are: rachmanim, bayshanim, and gomlei chasadim. The Gemara in Chavah in Kiddushin brings a whole machlokes between Rameir and Rabbi Yehuda. Rameir says, Yisrael shechatu, they're considered Yisrael. They still have a din—I'm sorry—Yisrael shechatu are still considered banim. They're still considered children of Hashem, forgive me, I'm sorry, banim. Rabbi Yehuda says they lose their status of banim; they become avadim. You know, Yom Kippur we say, Im kebanim, im kavadim. It's a question how we pasken. Do we pasken like Rameir, that they're banim, im kebanim, or do we pasken like Rabbi Yehuda, im kavadim? What is the halacha? So the Rashba says a chiddush. The Rashba in the teshuvah says we have to pasken like Rameir. We have to pasken like Rameir.

I says the Rashba that when there's a machloikes, Rameir, Rabbi Yehuda, the rule of halacha is to pasken like Rabbi Yehuda. So why do we pasken like Rameir? This is the Rashba's question. Why we pasken? He says the halacha is like Rameir, but the rule is to pasken like Rabbi Yehuda, Rabbi Yehuda mechaveiro. We still pasken like Rameir because the pesukim seem to clearly support Rameir's shita. Shuvu banim shovavim, that when they do aveiros, they still have a din banim. They still have a din banim. So I once asked my Rebbe, Rav Pam zecher tzaddik livracha, I don't understand. How could the Rashba pasken from a pasuk? It's a machloikes, two Tannaim. So the Rashba, the Gemara didn't tell us what the halacha is, so the Rashba is able to pasken from a pasuk that the pasuk—what does that mean? I can say now, you know, there's a machloikes, the Rashba and the Ritva pasken because I have a diyuk in a pasuk over here. What does that mean? He said it's a very good question, and he said, like always, I'll think about it, you'll think about it. I thought about it, I came back and I told him a teretz, which he liked very much. The Rebbe liked it very much. I said if you look at the klalei hahora'ah, it's mashma that if a person paskens al pi the klalim, that's when it's a machloikes in din. Machloikes in the halacha, how to pasken. Let's say there's a metzius. It's a shaila, and then the edus come and say this is the metzius, this is what it is. It's not a machlokes anymore. The machlokes of Rameir and Rabbi Yehuda, the Rashba is saying, you know what I really think is the machlokes? Not in din, shaila metzius. Do they still remain banim? And the mitzra'iyus from the pasuk, you see clearly they remain banim. Yisrael shechatu, they're still called banim. It's not a din that they're called banim. They still are banim. No matter what you do, no matter how far a Yid falls, he still has the traits, the mahus, the metzius of what makes him a ben. That you can't take away. That remains. That's pshat Yisrael, af al pi shechatu banim heim. They're still banim. When someone's child sins, it's his child. What are you going to do? There's nothing you can do. With this, rabosai, I think this is what pshat, what Rochel was telling the Eibishter. The Eibishter came and said, I have to kill them, destroy them, I have to annihilate them. They did an aveirah, they did an avodah zarah, the ultimate. Comes along Rochel and says, yeah, but look, I as the eim introduced, I, the eim, ... I implanted in Klal Yisrael rachmanim, bayshanim, gomlei chasadim. And that's the siman of Klal Yisrael. You know what a siman is? When something is lost, that's when you need a siman. When Klal Yisrael is lost, when you don't see the Klal Yisrael, and you can't tell, it's lost in the galus, farblundzhen in the galus, that's when the siman takes effect. Ah, I can tell it's a Yid. I want to tell you an interesting story, two stories I'll tell you. There was once, in Teirah, by my zeide about a certain family, that there was this question. They found out the mother, the grandmother, wasn't Jewish. It's a whole problem. And they were trying to prove that, yeah, the mother, the eidus witnessed. So it seemed that there was no way out of it. It looked like there was pretty much clear that they were not Jewish people. I remember my grandfather was speaking with Rav Leibish, and they said it can't be. Why? If you look at the way they behave, the wife, the... the behavior, it's not of a Jewish person. It doesn't make sense. I'm sure that it's a Yid. And kacham. Well, finally they dug up...

It was a Yid. When something is lost, you know, the way to tell on a hidden, lost thing, with a siman, money Yisrael. And I'll tell you an interesting thing. I was at a simcha recently. All the waiters had bald heads. I guess that's the style today, I don't know. They looked like they all came out of the NBA. Every guy came out, right? One guy kept on coming over to me, you know, trying to give me a dish, and when I said no, he would say, Why not? It's good. Taste it. It's really good. And then when I told him no, Can I pack it for you? I'll pack it for you. Take it home. And I said, Where did I hear that? It sounds like a Bucharian Jew. Only a Bucharian mother would talk like that. A Bukhushka, a Bucharian babushka would talk like that, yeah? I said, He's too kind to be a guy. He's a Yid. He's a Yid. And they all look the same with the clean-shaven head. You can imagine what it looks just like them, just like a Puerto Rican. Didn't make any... I said, It can't be. Too nice. Too, too... Rachmanim, bayshanim, gomlei chasadim. It's impossible. And I was right. A Bucharian Jew. I spotted him a mile away. He looked just like every—he wore the same, the black and the white, completely shaved head. You know what it looks like. Dark skin. You couldn't... from the talking, I said, It's a Bucharian Jew. Can't taste it. It was good. Who cares if you have... Rachmanim, bayshanim, gomlei chasadim. Says Rochel, Ribono Shel Olam, I know him midah k'neged midah b'heichal, I know that. But, Rachmanim, baishanim, gomlei chasadim. And Ribono Shel Olam, why do you pick Klal Yisroel? Why did you choose Klal Yisroel? Rabbi Yerucham explains, Chashak Hashem b'avoseichem. The pasuk says that the reason why the Ribono Shel Olam loves Klal Yisroel, atem ha'ma'at mikol ha'amim, you're the smallest. But what? But Hashem loves the middos, the avos, and the avos give their middos to the children. That's how Rabbi Yerucham explains. The Ribono Shel Olam loves the avos because of the middos, and those middos go to the children, because that's what a child—a child has the middos of the father. Mimeila, the Ribono Shel Olam loves Klal Yisroel. So this is what Rochel's telling him: Look at the beautiful middos. They have the middos of Avraham, siman Yisroel they have. Rachmanim, baishanim, gomlei chasadim. So yeah, they were ma'im etzelem b'heichal, but Yisroel shechatu, they're still banim. That's their mahus, that's who they are. So you have to protect them, you have to keep them alive, because that's why you chose them in the first place. So they do have avodah zarah, so they were ma'im etzelem b'heichal. There's a beautiful Chasam Sofer. The Chasam Sofer says, Gemara Shabbos pei ches, that Klal Yisroel is compared to an apple. Why is Klal Yisroel compared to an apple? Because Klal Yisroel said naaseh v'nishma. And the apple, the leaf grows before the apple. And the Gemara brings a pasuk, Ketapuach ba'atzei hayaar, kein dodi bein habanos. Comes Tosis and asks a question. That pasuk is not talking about Klal Yisrael. That pasuk is talking about Hashem. Klal Yisrael says about Hashem, Ketapuach ba'atzei hayaar, like an apple, kein dodi. So is Hashem my dodi. Says the Tosis, how could you come and use this pasuk to prove that Klal Yisrael is an apple? You like the question, Tosis? You know what the Chasam Sofer gives a teretz? It's not a question at all, because HaKadosh Baruch Hu is an apple, and we are His children. The tchunos, the nature is the same. So if the Ribono Shel Olam has the eitz kodem l'piryo, Klal Yisrael. And that's pshat in the Gemara: Mi gila raz zeh? Lebanai. Because since the Eibishter is the tapuach, you know there's a famous statement, a saying: Apples don't fall far from the tree. Chasam Sofer. What's the connection? The apple and the leaf. The leaf comes before the apple. So too Klal Yisrael.

Also said naaseh before nishma. And says the Gemara, where do we know it from? Because it says, kitapuach ba'atzei hayaar. Klal Yisrael is like an apple, says Tosafos, but it's not true; it's going on Hashem, the pasuk. Says the Chasam Sofer, it's not a question, because yes, it's going on Hashem, but we are the children of Hashem. And that's where I'm adding to the Chasam Sofer. That's why the Gemara says, Mi gila raz zeh l'banai? Because it actually, what, comes from the tapuach ba'atzei hayaar, kein dodi bein habanim. Okay. Now, I think we can go one step further. Rachel Imeinu is not only telling HaKadosh Baruch Hu that Klal Yisrael is rachmanim, and baishanim, and gomlei chasadim, and therefore you should love them anyway. Now I understand what Rachel is saying even deeper. How are they rachmanim, baishanim? Where does that come from? There's a very famous Aruch HaShulchan, Banim atem laHashem Elokeichem, we are children of Hashem. How and why are we children of Hashem? But, chas v'shalom, you know, to walk around saying that Hashem has a child? There's a whole religion based on that, which is off limits for us. So what does it mean? What does it mean, banim atem laHashem? Says the Aruch HaChaim HaKadosh, how does a child represent the father? Because he has the same tchunos, the same middos, the same nature. We also have, v'halachta bidrachav, that we go in the ways of HaKadosh Baruch Hu. And because we're able to do that, that's a siman that we're banim atem laShem, because children follow the middos of the father. Now I understand what Rachel is telling the Ribono Shel Olam. Ribono Shel Olam, I taught them rachmanim, bayshanim, and gomlei chasadim. They're able to do it because You're a rachman, a bayshan, and a gomel chesed. They have Your middos, so they're Your children. So when you come and say to Me, My children sinned, what does a wife usually answer back to the husband? My children? What do you mean? Rachel is telling the Eibishter, My children? They're Your children. They're rachmanim, they're bayshanim, they're gomlei chasadim, they're Yours. Miyad nichmeru rachamav, says the Medrash. Right away the Eibishter has rachmanus because it is His children. Rachel brings out that Klal Yisroel is the Eibishter's children. And that's why it says, v'shavu banim. It doesn't say v'shavu banecha. Why doesn't the Eibishter say to Rachel, Your children will come back? And the answer is, v'shavu banim, the children. They're not yours, Rachel; they're Mine also. That's what the Eibishter is saying. Yisroel, shechatu, they're still called what? Banim. This, rabosai, is the mesiras simanim that we live with. We live with the mesiras simanim, and the pshat is— If we act like banim, then we earn, we earn the title of banim to the fact that the Eibishter protects us even in the galus when we do aveiros. That's what we learn from over here, that even though they were amidu tzelem b'heichal, but they were banim. They were children to Hashem. Pshat, rabosai, gevaldik. You notice I brought out before, im k'banim, im kavadim. So what's im k'banim? Why are you going back again? Im k'banim, im kavadim. Im k'banim, Rachmeinu k'rachem av al banim. What does that mean? Whatever it is, if you tell me it's a machlokes, Rameir and Rabbi Yehuda, I thought we pasken like Rameir. You just told me the Rashba says we pasken k'banim. So how does the Rashba explain im k'banim, im kavadim? What does it mean? I think it means as follows: im k'banim, im kavadim, it could be both, depending on what, how we behave. Im k'banim, if we behave like banim, Rachmeinu. And how do we behave like banim? Rachmanim, bayshanim, gomlei chasadim. Im kibud is achdus. We forgive each other, we moichel each other. The idea is to start acting with the middos of the Ribono Shel Olam, of rachmanus and chesed. Im k'banim, Rachmeinu k'rachem.

It's up. If we come and behave like banim, if we don't, im k'vadim, ein lanu cheluyos. So it all depends if we remain banim by acting like HaKadosh Baruch Hu's children, rachmanim, bayshanim, and gomlei chasadim. This, rabosai, I believe. You know, I brought out on Shabbos, my brother gave me a letter, beautiful letter. There was a child that was killed, a bochur from yeshiva of Waterbury, a few weeks ago, in a car accident, two bochurim. One of them was a bochur called Shomru, a young boy, seventeen, sixteen, a little young boy. Maybe I even took the letter. No, I don't have it with me. It's from your brother's yeshiva, Waterbury. The parents erev Shabbos sent out a letter that he himself wrote. This Shomru, this boy, this sixteen-year-old kadosh that was killed on the road, was killed by a car. When he was in ninth grade, he wrote, and they sent you the way, in the handwriting of the child, ninth grade, Shomru, and he writes as follows: I read in the newspaper that there was a car accident and two people got killed. That's what it says in the letter. I think it says two kids got killed. Two kids got killed. I felt very bad for them. It hurt me very much. I was so... that I decided to give from my own money to the families to help them. This boy. This boy, I have a letter. I read it to the shul, read it to the shul. Here, what a child. He's a child, ninth grader. You know what a goyish ninth grader? They have no concept of anything, nothing. Here, a ninth grader was able to understand rachmanus, another person. That's bachur. That's what it means, a child, a Yiddish kid. That's what we have, rachmei, rachmani, ... a child, a ninth grader. Why he was taken away, like Rochel maybe as a korban. Maybe he's the korban that's mevakel boneh, and he's gonna cry. It's hard to take it. And he's gonna cry, maybe, like Rochel. She was also taken away early. She was also taken. Who knows if she's not gonna be taken away? He was taken away. He should be in front of the kisei hakavod and say, Ribono Shel Olam, I had rachmanus. Now you have rachmanus on Klal Yisroel. That's the pshat, rachmanim, ... Now I'd like to discuss another part of the parsha. You know, Yaakov Avinu comes to Rochel and he cries. He cries. Vayishak, he gives her a kiss and he cries. What's he crying about? If it's a happy moment. This is your kallah, gevaldig Rachel, tzaddeikes. What are you crying about? So Rashi says that he was crying because he saw b'ruach hakodesh that he's not going to be buried with her. And I guess it means, why not? Because Klal Yisroel is going to go to galus, so he saw already. He saw already churban. He saw, and he cried. Okay. A second pshat Rashi brings, that my uncle, my Eliezer eved Avraham, who came with a lot of money, and he gave Rivka presents, and I have empty hands. Why? Because Eliphaz went, because his father told him to kill Yaakov. So instead of killing Yaakov, he took away all his money, because ani chashuv kameis. Okay. Can I ask you a question? If Yaakov feels that Rachel needs presents, he wouldn't have married her. It doesn't make sense. If this is the level of maturity of Rachel Imeinu, that a present makes a difference, he wouldn't have chose Rachel. It doesn't make sense. And you don't have to cry about it. And if she's willing, she's willing, she's maskim, so what do you have to cry about? What are you crying about? Who cries that he can't give a present to this kallah, unless he means he doesn't have the middas tovos. Maybe that's what it was. He was crying, ah, it's a middas tovos.

I'm supposed to give her a kebreitzel, I feel bad for her, so I'm crying. Because of a breitzel, he's crying. Something needs hesber of; it needs to be explained. And the two Chazal, one is he saw ben nevuah, Beis Hamikdash, and the other thing is five yahava brachos together. Those two Rashis go together. Those two Chazal go together. So I'll tell you, rabosai, what I think the pshat is. We find by Eliezer, when he brought the money, he gave Rivka the present right away. Right away he gives her the present, and then he asks her who she is. Later on, when he tells over the story to Lavan, he changes it around to Besuel and Lavan. He says, I asked her who she is, and then I gave her the money. Why taka does he do that? So Rashi says, because Lavan's gonna look at him, what are you throwing? Something's wrong. Call the police, something's wrong. Who throws money at somebody? Well, what? What's the reason to do that? So the question is, why taka did he do it? Taka doesn't make sense. Seemed basmi at? No, your present will calm you after you throw right away presents. And the teretz, rabosai, is as follows. Notice in the presents, they weren't regular presents. There was a remez. The two was a remez for the luchos. The ten was a remez for Aseres HaDibros. Bekel agolos, Klal Yisrael, there's remazim. Money. Has a tremendous tafkid. You could do big things with money. Do you know that the luchos was a tremendous... You got rich. Moshe Rabbeinu got rich off the luchos. After the shivrei luchos, they broke, he took them, he became very rich from it, it says. Moshe became rich. When Moshe becomes rich from the luchos, right? In what way? They were worth a lot of money. You mean the pieces? The pieces. I don't know if he sold them. It's just, it was, I guess, antique. The stones themselves were very expensive, right? Chazal say clearly that Moshe Rabbeinu became rich. He became a millionaire with the luchos. First luchos. From the... what was left over after his cutting off the luchos. Okay. What's the pshat? Money is a good thing. You could do big things with money. But you have to do it right. It has to be done right, right? So what happened over here was that Eliezer was teaching Rivka what is money in the future of Klal Yisrael. I'm coming with lots of money, but understand it's not the money. Understand it's the luchos, it's beka lagulgoles, Klal Yisrael. It's the remez that he was hinting to before we even talked, before I even asked her bas mi at, before we... But Rivka was a tzaddekes. She understood. Lavan doesn't see more than the money. What does Lavan see? Lavan sees money. So therefore he had to change the story to make it sound like it was a present for the wedding. Bas mi at, I asked her who she is, and I realized it's the right shidduch, and I gave her a... Here he's in a bracelet, okay, the way the custom of all good Jewish marriages, okay? But that wasn't the kavanah. That's why Yaakov Avinu is crying. Yaakov Avinu is crying. You hear? Why is he crying? He knows that there's a tremendous siman, ma'aseh avos siman l'banim, because this was implanting in the marriage what money, gashmiyus, is going to be in relevance to ruchniyus, that together they join to create. It was a stamp on the marriage. It was a siman that was in the marriage. Like you have, you do things that a chassan, it should be a siman tov, a mazel tov. This was a siman tov, a good omen, to produce that money. Yes, we're going to make money. He's coming to Lavan's house, he's going to walk away with money, but it's going to be clean money. It's going to be aseres hadibros. It's going to be beka lagulgoles. Of course I'm going to work now in Lavan's house. He knows what he's ready for. He was in yeshiva fourteen years. He prepared himself for Lavan's house, and therefore he's saying, it's going to be real, it's going to be clean. But he didn't have the siman. That's why he was crying. He was crying he couldn't do, and if you notice, it doesn't say he didn't bring him—he was crying because he didn't have money to give. He was—

Cried because he couldn't do like Eliezer eved Avraham. That's not the... He should just say, he cried, he had no money. What's it do with Eliezer? And the answer is, he cried that he couldn't do the same siman with wisdom that Eliezer did. Eliezer did a tremendous thing. It could be came from Avraham, v'chol tov adono b'yado. Maybe Avraham instructed him to do this. Eliezer eved Avraham. With this, I want to tell you, by Yishak Yaakov l'Rachel, he kisses her, and everybody asks him, What? Who? What? Okay. You know, they all talk about, later on it says that it was ki yom machadim b'avaso osa, that for seven years he worked for Rachel and it was like nothing. So the mefarshim say that the Torah is showing us that when he kissed her originally, it wasn't from taiva, because if it was from taiva, it couldn't have been that the seven years was ki yom machadim. It can't be. If it's that, then it's not easy, so it's very hard, seven years. So the proof, so the proof, the proof had to be—okay, yeah, good—the proof had to be ki yom machadim, that it's obviously... the battery's maybe... We still have time. Ki yom machadim is a proof that the kiss was ruchnius. I saw in the sefer Mayanei HaChaim from Reb Chaim Zaitchik, zecher tzaddik livracha, he quotes the mashgiach from Branovitz, Reb Leib Chinsky, zecher tzaddik livracha. Nobody even knows what happened. He was killed in the war. Nobody even knows. Disappeared. Nobody knows what happened to him. Must have been killed in concentration camp somewhere. He was a big tzaddik. He was a famous tzaddik in Europe. So he said over that he has b'mesorah. B'mesoira, that at the time when Yaakov kissed Rochel, he was mechadesh the halachos of Eruv v'tchumin. Eruv v'tchumin. Yeah. What's the pshat? What's the pshat? The pshat, rabosai, is like this. What's the pshat? Eruv v'tchumin. I'll tell you the pshat. You know what the three hardest mesechtas in Shas are? Oni. Oni is Eiruvin, nun is Niddah, and yud—I'm sorry—oni and Yevamos, and Yevamos, right? Okay. Oni, in the middle of Yankev Avinu's working on Mesechta Eiruvin, he kisses Rochel. You tell me, was it a kiss of taavah? What they're trying to say is that in the middle of learning, he was in the middle of a sugya. It was no different than reading a Rashi to him. Vayishak Yaakov l'Rochel. He was in the middle of learning the hardest sugyos, Eruv v'tchumin. Oni, he was learning. Vayishak Yaakov l'Rochel. So the shikah, ... it was a tremendous—Yaakov was kulo Torah. And that's the pshat in when he felt bad over the money. We think of the money, cried over money. He cried over the siman, the siman that he was able to give in this— Okay. Okay. I'd like to discuss, it says in the pasuk.

Vayizkor Elokim es Rachel. She had a child. What is vayizkor? Zechirah. Says Rashi, she remembered two things. First thing remembered was that Rachel gave the simanim. Tremendous, we just spoke about the simanim, how great it was, and she had a child. A second nekudah, that vayizkor, the Eibishter remembered that she didn't want to fall b'goral shel Eisav, and she cried, and she didn't want to fall to be a wife of Eisav. Now, l'choira, it's not kosher. There's no connection between the two pshatim in Rashi, right? One is she cried, the Eibishter remembered her for giving the simanim, and the second one is not, unless maybe it's connected. She didn't want to fall b'goral shel Eisav, and yet still she gave the simanim. Maybe it's connected. She could have thought to herself that if she doesn't give the simanim, she doesn't have to go to Eisav. Now that she gave the simanim, now she has to go to Eisav, and still she gave the simanim. So maybe Rashi's connected, or maybe there's a deeper connection. If you look at the beginning of perek lamed, it says clearly, Rashi brings down that when Yaakov Avinu is confronted by Rachel, Give me children. Why don't you give me children? says Rashi, what does that mean? Dan for me. Was that what your grandfather and parents did? Avraham didn't dan for Sarah, Yitzchak didn't dan for Rivka. Yeah, he answers back, says Rashi, my grandmother gave over her shifchah, gave over her maid to Avraham. Says Rachel, that's what it takes. No problem. I'm going to go, and I'm going to give you my shifchah, my maid, and I'll have children. So was it for that? It's mashma that it had something to do with the fact that she gave the shifchah. So which one is it? Is it the shifchah? Is it the simanim? Is it the falling b'goral shel Esav? And what is the point of giving the shifchah? So what? Hey, gave a shifchah, so what? And also, you can ask, why did the Eibishter make that Klal Yisroel should come from such dysfunctional home almost? A wife with a sister and two maids. In America, we would consider that a dysfunctional home. I mean, what is that exactly? Two sisters? Two sisters. You know the reason why two sisters not get married, the Ramban and the Chinuch both say? Because it's impossible they shouldn't hate each other. It's impossible. Hashem says two sisters can't. They're supposed to love each other. Sisters are supposed to be—if you put them in the same house, they're going to hate each other. So what's the pshat? As a matter of fact, I'll tell you even more. You know, it's interesting. The Medrash says that Ashrachel tells Hashem, I wasn't mekaneh, I wasn't jealous. I gave the simanim and I wasn't jealous. But she was jealous. Pasuk says clearly, Vatekane Rachel ba'achosah. She was jealous. So how could she come and say, I wasn't jealous? So we could come and say, originally when I gave the wife, I wasn't jealous. But now it's a whole different story with the children, I'm jealous. It's a whole different—Rashi, Gra says a different pshat. Rashi says she was mekaneh b'maaseh Leah tov. She wasn't really jealous. Kinas sofrim. It was a good kinah. It was a good jealousy. Mizbekanim, mistama Leah must be a bigger tzaddekes than me. That's why she has children. That's how Rashi says. So mimeila it's not a question. She didn't really have jealousy. The Ramban seems to say that Leah felt second class to when Rachel was around. Ramban says that Leah tells Rachel, Amat kachti chashishi, she took away my husband. And we all know from Reb Yerucham, the mashgiach, baal haMussar, speak, how could Leah tell this to Rachel? Leah could tell—who took whose husband away? If anything, Rachel could have looked at her and said, What? What are you talking about? I did you a favor. I gave you my husband. So the baalei mussar say that Rachel made her feel so as if, no, Leah, you're the wife and you didn't do anything. You didn't take away. Azoi zogen baalei mussar. Ramban says, but when she complained, when she complained, she said clearly, Amat kachti chashishi. Says the Ramban, because Leah felt like an amah. She felt like when Rachel treated her like an amah. So wait a minute. So you are mekaneh, you're not mekaneh. The Chasam Sofer says a mefurash pshat. What does it mean, Give me children, if not I have to die? Im ayin, meisah anochi. Why? So Chazal say, someone without children is like he's dead.

One said a pshat. What is shani maiin meisah, noichi? The Ribono Shel Olam warns Rachel, umevakel baneha. That's her tafkid. She knows this. She knows Yaakov cried on her shoulder that she's not going to be buried. Why? Because she has to cry for Klal Yisrael, right? Tell me, isn't there a halacha by a baal tefillah, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we don't take someone who doesn't have children? Why not? Because he doesn't have feelings. He's not crying. He can't have... So that's what Rachel is trying to say. Rachel is saying, if you don't give me children, imain meisah, noichi, I can't be the baal tefillah for Klal Yisrael. My tafkid, my tafkid is Rachel mevakel baneha. If you don't give me children, how can I have Rachel mevakel baneha? So what does he answer back? Could be he answers back, Avada, you could be mevakel baneha, because I have children, and as Rachel akeres habayis, Leah's children could be your children too. You shouldn't look at my children. Don't look at my children. Look at Klal Yisrael. Rachel mevakel... and I'll have a bigger raya for you. Rachel mevakel baneha — are they all her children? It's all Klal Yisrael. But it's just Yosef and Binyamin that are going into galus? Because everyone in Klal Yisrael is baneha. Remember my bubby, aleha hashalom, used to say, Kum mein kind. How is that person mein kind? Every person that walked into my bubby's house was mein kind, not her child. Every child, to a Yiddishe mama, is a child. Rachel, you don't need your children. It could be I'll have children. You hear? So she answers back, maybe, what I just told you with the halacha. Yes, but l'maaseh I won't have the hergeshim. I won't have those hergeshim that are necessary for to be about tefillah for Klal Yisroel. Now let's go back to explaining the sugya. Why did she have children? She gave the shifcha. Why did she have children? The simanim. Why did she have children? Because of Esav. You know what the point was? Why do you want children? Do you want it because it's you, or do you want it because it's Klal Yisroel? The raya, the proof, is if you give your shifcha, then it's not for you. It's selfless. My mother says, Yaakov—my grandmother, she wanted Avraham to have a child, so she gave even her shifcha. Ah, it takes to show that I have to not care about myself to this point? Okay, I'll give my shifcha. I gave the simanim. I don't care about myself. I don't want to fall by geiralei shel Esav. I mean Klal Yisroel. Geiralei shel Esav is, it's about Klal Yisroel. When a person's tafkid is Klal Yisroel, then he has to get answered. If you notice, from the time of the shifcha, every time it says a child, a child to Yaakov, teilah ben lYaakov, ben lYaakov. From the shifcha, from the— in the beginning it doesn't say Leah's children, it just says Reuven was born, Levi was born, Yissachar. True, the names had to do with the husband, but— Don't say a ben four, a ben four, a ben four. The Ramban asks for a question, why? And the answer is very simple. Because Rachel gave the maid. Why? Not for herself. It should be ben lYaakov. So from here on in, all the children was—they gave, even Leah gave. Leah gave, why? Leah gave, it should be ben lYaakov, more children, Klal Yisroel. Not about her. It wasn't about her. When it's not about you, the meileh, Vayizkor Elokim, the Eibishter remembers, the Eibishter remembers that this is for Klal Yisroel, and this is what you want for Klal Yisroel. I'll give you the children, I'll give you Klal Yisroel. These are some of the lessons from a very packed parsha, Parshas Vayeitzei. ... Shavu banim ligvulam. The children should come back, bizchus of the mama Rachel, the heilige Mama Rachel, sheyizocheh to the geulah bimheirah b'yameinu, amen. You've just experienced another Torah class, brought to you by TorahAnytime.com.