The BBC Broke Her Because She’s a Jew
Each of the Patriarchs had his own unique role in preparing the foundations of holiness upon which the House of Israel was destined to be built.
Avraham sanctified the Land of Israel. God told him: “Rise and walk the length and breadth of the land, for I shall give it to you.”1 The Talmud explains that by walking across the Land of Israel, Avraham established a precedent of ownership, which made it easier for his descendants to conquer the Land many generations later.2
Yitzchak sanctified the site of the Beis HaMikdash, the holy Temple. By allowing himself to be sacrificed on Mount Moriah, he instilled it with tremendous holiness, preparing it for the construction of the Beis HaMikdash. Even after the Beis HaMikdash was destroyed, its location remains the portal through which the prayers of Jews from all over the world ascend to Heaven.
Yaakov prepared the path for our nation to travel in exile. By serving Hashem faithfully despite all his hardships and wanderings, he created a pool of merit to ensure our survival in Exile and our Ultimate Redemption. Yaakov instituted the nighttime Maariv prayer.3 The Chassidic texts interpret this to mean that he prayed for the welfare of the Jewish People in the dark night of Exile.
As Yaakov and his sons prepared to descend to Egypt, God appeared to him in a vision of the night and said, “Do not fear your descent to Egypt… I shall descend with you to Egypt, and I shall bring you back and ascend together with you.”4 The Meshech Chachmah writes: “God spoke to Yisrael in night visions.” This expression is never used anywhere in the Torah in regard to Avraham or Yitzchak. Yaakov alone received a “night vision” as he descended from the Land of Israel to sojourn abroad. God then revealed Himself to Yaakov at night, signifying that even in the dark night of exile, the Shechinah, the Divine Presence, would remain with the Children of Israel, as our Sages teach: “When they were exiled to Babylon, the Shechinah journeyed with them.”5 … King David prayed, “May God answer you on the day of affliction; may the Name of the God of Yaakov support you.”6 When darkness and suffering would befall the Children of Israel, God would remain by their side to protect them, as He remained with Yaakov in the dark night of his own exile.7
When Yaakov was asked to send his son Binyamin to Egypt, he said: — “I am the one whom you bereaved! Yosef is gone, Shimon is gone, and now you would take away Binyamin? Upon me has it all fallen! [עָלַי הָיוּ כֻלָּנָה]”8
The word עָלַי -- upon me -- is also found in this week’s Torah portion when Yaakov hesitates to deceive his father, lest he be cursed as a result, but Rivkah assures him עָלַי קִלְלָתְךָ בְּנִי — “Your curse be on me, my son.”9 The Vilna Gaon explains that עָלַי -- upon me -- is an acronym for עֵשָׂו לָבָן יוֹסֵף (Eisav, Lavan, Yosef). Rivkah warned him that these three trials had already been decreed by Heaven. He need not fear the curse of his father, since his suffering had already been ordained.10
Later, when Yaakov complained, עָלַי הָיוּ כֻלָּנָה — “Upon me has it all fallen,” he meant to say that he had already borne the three phases of his suffering, and had not expected this last tragedy to occur. (In truth, Binyamin’s descend to Egypt was not a tragedy at all, but the first rays of hope for Yaakov’s reunion with Yosef.)
Yaakov’s three difficulties parallel the difficulties the Jewish People face in Exile. Eisav sought to murder Yaakov. He represents adversaries such as Haman, who wish to destroy the entire Jewish nation, regardless of our religious beliefs.
Lavan represents adversaries such as the Greeks, who tried to force their pagan cultures upon us. When he accosted Yaakov and said, “The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children, and the flock (a reference to the six hundred thousand souls of Israel) is my flock,”11 he attempted to claim Yaakov’s children as the heirs of his own idolatrous beliefs.12
God has rescued us from both kinds of adversaries, but the third and most dangerous challenge is that of internal strife, represented by Yosef’s conflict with his brothers. Unwarranted hatred between Jews destroyed the Beis HaMikdash and delays our Redemption.
Our own generation has faced all three challenges. Hitler sought to destroy our entire nation, regardless of our beliefs. The Communists sought to destroy religious observance. However, the most difficult blow has been the strife and dissent that plagues our nation. This plague has been our own doing, and it is within our hands to undo it, by treating one another with patience and understanding, and by spreading love and brotherhood within our communities, and from one community to the next.
The Midrash states: Rebbi (R’ Yehudah HaNasi) taught: Peace is so important, that even if the Children of Israel were to worship idols, but there would be peace among them, God could not punish them (so to speak) since the peace among them would protect them, as the verse states: “Ephraim is united in their idolatry. Let them be!”
However, when there is strife among them, the verse states, “Their hearts are divided, now they shall bear their guilt.”13 From here we see how important is peace, and how detested is controversy.14
May God place love and understanding in our hearts, that we may treat one another with the kindness and sensitivity we all deserve. May we all live to see the coming of the Righteous Redeemer soon and in our days.
