In the first part of this week’s Sidra, the Torah relates that our father Jacob left his home in Beer Sheva and arrived at the place which he thought was safe and appropriate to settle down and to go to sleep. Some commentators have remarked that it is most interesting that he went to sleep, so soon after his arrival. They think that it was courageous of him. Rabbi Israel Salanter, who founded the Mussar Movement in the middle of the 19th century, detected in this a very important lesson for everyone. It is that even when we are in the middle of a very difficult journey, when we are anxious and fearful, not knowing what the next day will bring, we should still remain calm and continue in our normal routine as much as we possibly can. Managing our time properly gives us a sense of security even in the midst of darkness in the middle of the desert, when we are completely alone.
Our rabbis teach that before Jacob went to sleep he instituted the evening prayer. They base this Midrashic interpretation on the Hebrew “Vaifga Bamakom”, which is an unusual phrase. Whenever there are unusual words in the Torah, the Midrash tries to derive from them a moral or religious teaching. The Hebrew word ‘Vayifga’ means to arrive or to reach. But it can also mean to reach the Almighty through prayer and supplication. The Hebrew word Ha-Makom means ‘the place’. But since no name is given to the place it is curious and raises questions. Therefore, the rabbis suggest that it refers to God who is called Ha-Makom in rabbinic literature. On this basis our rabbis come to the conclusion that Jacob prayed before he went to sleep.
Thus it is clear that we see that Jacob did everything that was expected of him in the right order. He prayed at the correct time for praying. He ate at the proper time for eating and he slept at the appropriate time for sleeping.
Our Chasidic Masters offered another interpretation for Jacob’s sleep. They said that Jacob felt very sad at having to leave the land of Israel. He fell asleep in order to escape from that sadness.
During his sleep Jacob had the famous dream about the ladder. He saw the angels of God going up and coming down again. According to the renowned mediaeval commentator and grammarian, Rabbi David Kimchi, the angels represent the priests whom he saw offering sacrifices and burning the incense. It is this vision which inspired him to interpret the dream with reference to the House of God. The Torah tells us that when he woke up in the morning, he realised that he had been sleeping in a holy place, where the presence of God was resting. He said: “This must be the house of God in the gate of heaven”. It was a prophecy about the future. Jacob was convinced that this place was worthy and deserving of having the sanctuary built there. Indeed, the Tabernacle and the altar were built in that location during the period of the Judges.
The Torah continues to tell us about Jacob’s life. He arrived at Laban’s house and worked there for 20 years. During that time he married four wives and had 12 children. After 20 years, an angel revealed himself to him and told him to return home. Jacob obeyed this instruction and left without telling Laban. He didn’t trust him and he was sure that Laban would find a way to prevent him from leaving.
When Laban found out that Jacob had left, he pursued him. He complained bitterly about the sudden and secret departure and then he accused Jacob of stealing his gods. At this point Jacob became very angry for the very first time. It was a consuming anger that had accumulated in his heart for the whole 20 year period. Laban had cheated him on numerous occasions. Jacob made a very moving speech in which he expressed his feelings very strongly indeed. He said to Laban: ‘What is my crime, what have I done wrong that you have pursued me? Why are you accusing me of stealing you gods, when I have been so loyal to you throughout the 20 years. I never stole anything from you! I worked extremely hard for you in very difficult conditions. I never complained.’
The remarkable thing is that throughout the period of 20 years, Jacob had never become angry even once. He only became angry when Laban accused him of stealing the idols, which he thought was a false accusation. Unfortunately, he was mistaken because the accusation was justified. Rachel had stolen her father’s gods, but had failed to tell Jacob, which was a fatal error.
The great Torah teacher of the last generation, Nechamah Leibovits, writes that the Torah teaches us a very great lesson. We should always try to postpone our anger. We should avoid speaking harshly. Look how long Jacob waited before he burst out against Laban! He only became angry when he realised that there was no other way to respond.
Other great biblical leaders behaved in a similar way and delayed their anger. When Korach and his gang rebelled against Moses and hurled false accusations against him, Moses had every reason to become angry immediately. But his response was calm and measured. He tried to find a compromise and to understand the grievances. He called the leaders of the rebellion to a meeting with him. He only became angry after it was clear to him that the people who were involved in the rebellion had no interest whatsoever in finding a way out of the dispute.
Rabbi Yonatan Eibeshutz said that in the place where there is holiness, anger can never be allowed to rest. Maimonides wrote that angry people do not have lives that are worth living. Throughout the generations, our rabbis tried to impress upon us and insisted that we control ourselves and try never to become angry.