VaYaitzei: Was Yaakov Cheated? Rabbi Tuvia Bolton, Yeshiva Ohr Tmimim, Kfar Chabad, Israel

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3 min. Moshiach video; “Courage” https://youtu.be/zuumF2SJCRg

Parshat Vayeitze

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This week's Torah reading tells the story of how Lavan, the arch-evil charlatan, duped the holy founder of Judaism, Yaakov, into working non-stop for twenty years with almost no pay.

Interestingly the Torah tells us that instead being punished for this crime, Lavan is left in peace while Yaakov had to settle for a mere fraction of his due.

This does not seem fair, and certainly not very Biblical. Where is the divine retribution? Where is the justice? Why did Yaakov lose so many years and why does the Torah tell us about it? Why didn't G-d just do a few miracles and give him what he deserved?

Here is a story printed in the weekly leaflet HaGeula (Toldot 5766) that might help us understand.

Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Pevzner is the manager of a large complex of Jewish schools in the heart of Paris called 'Sinai' where over one thousand children learn.

As could be understood such an outstanding achievement was accompanied with great expenses and miracles but here is possibly the greatest of them. ?

In 5749 (1988) the Lubavitcher Rebbe declared that year to be the 'Year of Building'. Hundreds of Chabad institutions took this as a prophesy and, certain beyond any shadow of a doubt that they would succeed, began projects that were completely beyond their normal realm of imagination and bank account. And they worked!

In that year thousands of buildings were begun and/or finished. But one of the most impressive examples was that of Rabbi Pevzner.

He announced a multi-million-dollar project to more than double the size of his ‘Sinai’ institutions that only a miracle would finish. And the miracle occurred.

The Rebbe announced that he would give a one-hundred-dollar bill to whoever donated money to the project and the donors flocked in.

In no time some ninety percent of the costs had been covered and Rabbi Pevzner was able to proudly go to the Rebbe with pictures of the near-finished buildings and names of the benefactors before the year was over.

But strangely enough the Rebbe seemed to show no sign of satisfaction. In fact, of all things, he seemed a bit worried. He took a dollar bill, held it out to Rabbi Pevzner and said,

"There still remain debts. Here is a dollar for the debts."

Rabbi Pevzner couldn't understand what the Rebbe meant. Of course, there were some debts but they were almost gone, it was only a matter of time till the same miraculous spirit that brought the ninety percent would bring the last ten.

Rabbi Pevzner took the dollar. Little did he know that it was to be the lifejacket that would save him.

Thirteen years passed. He borrowed money to finish the building and although the debt never really got paid (as soon as money came in other debts replaced it) it didn't grow either. It was not unusual for an institution of that size to have such a reasonable debt and the Rabbi gave it no thought whatsoever.

In fact, the number of pupils in 'Sinai' increased and increased and were coming from such a wide area of Paris that the board of directors of the school decided to expand even further. Plans were made, licenses and permissions were given and allocations and donations were pledged to build a branch on the outskirts of the town.

Then, suddenly France turned over. The Moslems became militant and anti-Semitism again reared its ugly head in the streets and in the media. Donors retracted their pledges, the ministry of education cancelled funding and the Government turned a deaf ear.

Overnight the debts began piling up and after a few months the situation was unbearable with no end in sight. Teachers, Staff, lunchroom, electricity, upkeep, taxes all required money and there was none. The majority of his pupils were poor and had been paid for by the government. The old debt lingered and he owed a fortune for the new unfinished expansion project.

Every week brought more debt until after a year and a half 'Siani Schools owed over TEN MILLON EURO!!

It seemed that all his schools would have to close; there was simply no possibility to pay such a debt and to continue and incur more debt was impossible.

Rabbi Pevzner would have to borrow more, but from where? Not only would no one give him a loan, but he had personally borrowed millions to keep the institutions going and his creditors were hounding him for their money back! The government stepped in, appointed a board of investigators and they decided that it was obvious that Rabbi Pevzner had no choice but to declare bankruptcy.

But he was given a reprieve. It seems that the government court was not interested in closing him down so quickly. If he went bankrupt no one would get what was owed them and, after all, this was an outstanding institution that had been working successfully with no motives of profit for years.

They agreed to keep 'Sinai' running for twelve months on government funding to give him a chance to come up with the money.

But nothing happened. The anti-Semitism increased, the debt remained, and the days passed.

He gathered all his teachers, workers and pupils and with tears in his eyes informed them that he had tried everything. He begged them to increase their prayers and then, choking back the tears told them that without a miracle it was only months until the end.

Then he remembered the dollar.

Suddenly he remembered what the Rebbe said and it was clear to him the Rebbe had foreseen precisely this catastrophe he was going through now. It was like a flash of pure light in the dark murky reality surrounding him. The Rebbe was never wrong!

The very next day something happened!

A group of Israeli Newspaper reporters, led by one of the most outspoken opponents of orthodox Judaism, the wealthy and influential Baron David D'Rothschild of the famous Rothschild family came to visit his schools as part of a report they were doing on France.

But to his amazement as soon as the Baron saw him, he treated him like his best friend; smiling, laughing and putting his arm around his shoulder at every opportunity as though nothing could please him more than the Rabbi's company! In fact, Rabbi Pevzner even managed to set an appointment with him for the next day in his office.

It seemed that this was the miraculous breakthrough he was praying for! Rothchild was a very rich and influential man!!

?But he was in for a bitter surprise.

It was all a show. It seems that the Baron had some sort of political reason to pose publicly as a friend of Jewish Orthodoxy, but he wasn’t.

When the Rabbi arrived at the Baron's office the secretary told him, bluntly and in no uncertain terms in the Baron’s name, that he and all other Rabbis in the world could get lost and they should never try to enter the Baron's office again.

But he still had the Rebbe's dollar.

The precious months passed by and if it wasn't for that dollar Rabbi Pevzner would have gone mad. He had tried everything! Where would he get a ten-million-euro donation? He could do nothing but pray, go on teaching Judaism and try not to think of it. But just as he thought things couldn’t be more depressing, they did. ?

He received an invitation to a formal government dinner.

He hated government functions, especially the dinners. They were boring, pompous, false, extravagant and exactly the opposite of everything he stood for. He had nothing to do there but force smiles and handshakes with people that were forcing smiles and handshakes, and especially now with his life's work crumbling before his eyes he was certainly not in the mood for festivities. But as a head of a Jewish institution, he had no choice.

It was worse than he thought, it was a large, loud, gaudy affair and the host was ….. none other than his 'friend' Baron Rothschild!

When the Rabbi saw this, he turned to head for the exit but before he could move the Baron approached him and began his fawning act again. He hugged him warmly, smiled like a clown and whenever possible posed for the photographers with his arm around him. He wanted to make that good impression.

Suddenly the Rabbi got a bold idea. He pictured the Rebbe's face handing him the dollar and said in a loud enough voice to draw attention,

"Now you are my friend? Why is it that just a few months ago you refused to even see me?!"

The Baron was confused. He paled, faked a smile and whispered to the Rabbi "Don't tell anyone about what happened. Listen, tomorrow morning I promise that if you call my office, I will make a time to see you."

And so it was; two days later he was sitting before the Baron in his plush office hoping the Baron would change his anti-Semitic attitude. Rothschild began,

"Rabbi, we both are busy men and there is no point wasting time. Tell me what you want!"

Rabbi Pevzner poured out his heart and when he was finished Rothschild lifted the phone, called a close friend, a retired economist, briefly told him the story and asked if he would be willing to investigate the case.

The economist accepted and the next day he arrived at the Rabbi’s school. The Rabbi showed him the grounds, the buildings, the full classrooms in action, then took him to his office, opened the books and explained the debts.?

The economist looked briefly over the books, then looked at the Rabbi and confessed that in fact he too was Jewish. But although he was totally assimilated and not religious, everything he saw in 'Sinai'; the order and joyous atmosphere, the hundreds of pure children of all ages, the devoted teachers and workers made a good impression on him. But he said no more

No one knows what he reported to the Baron but a few days later the bankruptcy officials called Rabbi Pevzner and told him that the Baron contacted them and promised to personally cover the entire debt!!

That's right! He personally promised to give five million euro from his own pocket and arrange allocations to pay the rest!!

One week before the deadline, the Rebbe's dollar brought Ten million euro and at least two estranged Jews a bit closer to Judaism.

This answers our question about Yaakov and Lavan.

The reason that Yaakov left Ber Sheva; a place that was safe, friendly and conducive to serving G-d, and went to Charan (28:10) which was the opposite, was in order to purify the world.

In Ber Sheva he would never come in contact with the difficulties and obstacles that the Jewish people were chosen by G-d to transform.

But in Charan there were plenty.

This is signified by the stones that he put around his head (28:11) that miraculously transformed into one stone (28:18): Yaakov's job in the world ?(and that of the Jewish people after him) is 'unify' the entire creation, including the evil Lavan (Torah Ohr 23:a), with the Creator.

But this takes much painstaking and time-consuming work.

That is why Yaakov was willing to labor for twenty years. He wasn't a fool and he wasn't after the material profits; he was preparing the Jewish people for the long tedious battle to bring Moshiach and make this world a heaven on earth.

Something like how Rabbi Pevzner in doing the work of the Rebbe had a positive effect on even his opposition and miraculously solved all his problems and educated thousands of children. So too will we see, in an infinitely greater way, the entire world perfected....

And?not much is lacking. ?We are standing on the merits of thousands of years of Jewish hopes, prayers and suffering. It could be that just one more good deed, word or even thought will bring …… ? Moshiach NOW!! Rabbi Tuvia Bolton Yeshiva Ohr Tmimim Kfar Chabad, Israel Join our Daily classes!!?Sun – Thurs– (Israeli time) 8:15 a.m. Chassidut,? 9:00 am Dvar Malchut????https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81716407325????? See past classes:? ?https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs94DJEzXWPkMgYV-YtQe ? Please?Donate to us?https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=VS68A3VT3VD7C&source=url ?

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