DON’T LOSE YOUR STAFF!

YAAKOV’S NEW CHALLENGE

Yaakov has been away from home for 20 years, living and contending with his uncle Lavan. Yaakov has had a very challenging life and now realizes that he will have to contend with yet another, perhaps even more formidable challenge: his brother Eisav.

When Yaakov heard from his scouts that Eisav was aware of his return and was coming to confront him with 400 heavily armed men, Yaakov became apprehensive.  As a precaution he divided his entourage into two camps, after which he turned to G-d in prayer.

In his prayer he says to G-d,

“I have been diminished by all the kindnesses and by all the truth that You have done Your servant; for with my staff I crossed this Jordan and now I have become two camps.”

Why did Yaakov have to mention that he crossed the Jordan with his staff? And what is the connection between crossing the Jordan with a staff to the division of his family into two camps?

The Chassidic work Arugas Habosem explains that Yaakov was contrasting his faith and the trust he displayed when he first left his father’s house with the feelings of trust he had now. Rashi, citing a Midrash, states that when Yaakov left his father’s house he split the Jordan River with his staff.  Yaakov therefore mentions this fact as a sign of his earlier display of trust in G-d.  And now, laments Yaakov, “I have been compelled to divide my camp into two, out of fear of Eisav.” He took this defensive course of action because, in Yaakov’s heart, his trust in G-d, his bitachon, now was not as strong as it was when he left home. Somehow, the prospect of the confrontation with Eisav had a deleterious effect on his spiritual standing.

DISTRESSED OF FEAR

This may also explain why, immediately before he speaks of his crossing the Jordan with his staff, he says, “I have been diminished by all the kindnesses and by all the truth that You have done Your servant.” Yaakov felt this feeling of diminution partly because he realized how he had changed; his trust in G-d and the power it generated to split the Jordan, had waned, compelling him to take more conventional methods of defending himself.

This approach may also explain why Yaakov stated that he “became very frightened and it distressed him.” Rashi notes the redundancy here. In light of the above it may be suggested that his fear was the confrontation with Eisav, but his distress was caused by his diminution, having fallen to a lower level of trust. In other words, he was distressed that he was fearful.

TRUST, THE STAFF OF LIFE AND REDEMPTION

Yaakov’s staff was the symbol of his original powerful trust in G-d and it provides us all a lesson for all of us on the power of trust. With trust we can even split rivers. No obstacle is too formidable for us when we have trust in G-d. 

The power of trust in G-d is actually hinted in the Hebrew word for staff, makel. Makel is an acronym for the words of our daily liturgy at the end of the Amida prayer: “Ha’olam Kevin latch – we have always trusted in You.”

The staff that Yaakov used to express his trust in G-d is a ubiquitous instrument, one with which great miracles were performed throughout history.

Indeed, the Midrash comments on the verse in the Book of Psalms (Psalm 110): “G-d will stretch forth your mighty staff from Zion to rule amid your enemies” and states:

“Which staff is this? It was the staff of Yaakov, who said, ‘for with my staff I crossed this Jordan.’ It was the staff in Judah’s hand, ‘the staff in your hand’ (Genesis 38:18); and the staff in Moshe’s hand, ‘the staff of G-d in his hand,’ (Exodus 17:9). It was the staff in Aaron’s hand, ‘Aaron cast his staff from his hand’ (ibid 7:10) and the staff in the hand of every single king, until it was hidden when the Holy Temple was destroyed. And in the future it will be handed to King Moshiach, and with it he will in the future rule over the idol worshippers.”

From this Midrash we derive that the power to break through obstacles, which was hidden in the time of exile, will reemerge with Moshiach.

This Midrash also suggests that the power Moshiach has to remove idolatry, the root and symbol of all evil, is through his staff, i.e., the trust he has in G-d.

In light of the Rebbe’s teachings that Moshiach accomplishes his purpose by us accepting Moshiach and internalizing his presence and ideals, it follows that our trust that G-d will take us out of exile is an integral part of the process of making the final redemption a reality.

REMOVING THE OBSTACLES

However, there are always obstacles placed in our way. There are always influences that dampen our faith and trust, and we need to know what they are and how to counter them.

The first step is to recognize that it is our lack of trust that is the problem and not the obstacles that stand in our way. The only real obstacle is the fear that we are unable to surmount these perceived difficulties. When Yaakov lamented to G-d that he was compelled to divide his camp into two, according to Arugas Habosem, it was Yaakov’s way of acknowledging that he was not happy with his diminished state and wanted to go back to the day his staff (read: his bitachon) was strong enough to break through any barrier.

Our Patriarch Yaakov has paved the way for us to recognize that while we may have lost some of that trust, we can and must beseech G-d to restore it.

This message is especially relevant today.  It has been over two decades since the Rebbe told us that the “Time of your Redemption has arrived” and that “the actual Redemption is imminent” and “is right in front of us and all we have to do is open our eyes to that reality.” It is not too difficult to see how one’s trust can become eroded after such a long time since the Rebbe made those powerful declarations.

Let us not forget that the power to bring an end to the exile and eliminate all the idolatries of our time is through the staff of Moshiach, the power of trust. It is therefore quite understandable that Satan, i.e., the forces of negativity, will do everything possible to dampen our faith and trust.

THE WRESTLING MATCH AND THE IMPLICATION OF YAAKOV’S INJURY

If Yaakov’s realization that his fallen state of trust was an issue, matters became even more ominous when he was left alone at night and had to wrestle with Eisav’s guardian angel.

The lesson from this confrontation is that when we start to strengthen our trust, the forces of evil and negativity look for our vulnerabilities hoping to drag us down. They find that vulnerability in loneliness.  Eisav’s guardian angel waited for Yaakov to be alone and at that moment he attacked him.

The lesson we must learn is that our unity endows us with the power to remain impervious to the threat from Eisav. As soon as we remove ourselves from the community and undermine its unity, we become vulnerable; our faith and trust will suffer accordingly.

Another lesson we can learn from the confrontation Yaakov had with the angel is that it left him injured. The angel struck him in the thigh, causing Yaakov to limp.

Thighs or loins are metaphors for one’s children. The angel saw that Yaakov was strong enough to resist his assault on trust, so he hoped to “at least” weaken his children and descendants, particularly the last generation of exile situated on the threshold of Redemption. The forces of evil know that with the Redemption they will be out of business. The entire world will acknowledge G-d’s presence and all evil will be eliminated. The Satan, Eisav’s guardian angel, was upset with his loss to Yaakov, thereby enabling the fulfillment of the blessings Yaakov had wrested from Eisav.  The Satan consoled himself by injuring Yaakov’s progeny. Perhaps, the angel hoped, he could delay the onset of the Redemption and prolong his tenure as the world’s foremost troublemaker.

Unfortunately, the angel has partially succeeded in his quest.  As we have seen, the complete Redemption has been postponed many times throughout our history. But nowhere is Eisav’s angel more obsessed with delaying the inevitable than in our own generation.

The obvious lesson we must learn from the above is twofold:

First, we must never lose Yaakov’s/Judah’s/Moshe’s/Aaron’s/David’s/Moshiach’s staff. At the very least, if we do lose some trust, we must implore G-d to strengthen it again.

Second, we must not allow ourselves to become vulnerable to a wrestling match with the forces of negativity by being alone. We must not isolate ourselves from our families, communities, mentors and our Rebbe.

To be sure, in the end, Eisav’s angel had to concede defeat and bless Yaakov that his name shall be Israel, which connotes our mastery over all the forces, including and particularly the forces of exile. And in the end, the Torah confirms this when the sun shines and heals Yaakov. Subsequently the Torah states that Yaakov returned to the city of Sh’chem “whole.” Not a trace of the past negativity remained, nor will it remain in us at the end.

The challenge for us in these crucial moments of history, standing on the very threshold of Redemption, or as the Rebbe put it, “the Redemption is right in front of our eyes,” is to open our eyes to see the new reality. But, at all times we must carry Yaakov’s staff in our hands, which will help us cross the Jordan for the last time and reenter the Land of Israel, with Moshiach at our head!