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Vayishlach: You Can Do It
A bar mitzvah sermon by Mark Kaplan,
assisted by Rabbi Joel M.
Finkelstein
In 1993, the Buffalo Bills came back from a 35 point deficit in the fourth
quarter to beat the Houston Oilers in the playoffs. This year,
the Padres were widely predicted to lose to the Atlanta Braves in the
National League playoffs. Against all odds, they beat their opponents in 4
games. Often, it seems like there is no chance, but with a little
perseverance one can make a miracle happen.
In my Torah portion this week, known as Vayishlach, Jacob is
terrified. His brother Esav is reported to be coming head on with
400 men. Last he knew, Esav wanted to kill him. The Torah says "Va-yira
Yaakov, me-od, va-yetzer lo." Jacob was very fearful and was very
distressed. The Midrash says that he should not have been so scared. He
should have trusted in G-d. In the course of the portion we read this
morning, Jacob
overcame his fears and came out unharmed.
How does one overcome fears? How does one beat the odds? What does a
person need to do to gain confidence? Our portion this week tells the
story of how Jacob fought with and beat the angel who came to attack
him. I believe that within this story we can find good advice about how to
overcome fear and gain confidence.
First of all, Rashbam, an early French commentator says that the
angel was sent by G-d to make sure that Jacob would not run away. The
worst and most cowardly thing to do when one has a problem is to run away.
Many people love to run away from all their troubles. Many people have
difficulty admitting to certain problems they may have. Many people run
away from their parents or their children because they cannot deal with
certain issues which come up. This is a big mistake. The worst way to deal
with problems.
A second mistake which people make is that they simply accept their
problem as is. They say to themselves, "well, I may as well give up.
There is nothing to do about it. What can I possibly do to change my
situation?" Professor Daniel Elazar in Israel wrote recently that
Jacob's fight with the angel symbolized Jacob's confrontation with his
fate. He wrestled with G-d, so to speak. He was not going to accept his
fate as a poor victim. Jacob was going to forge his own fate. At that
moment the angel named him Israel. At that moment he became the father of
the eternal people of Israel who would never give up.
Too often people don't do anything to help themselves out of trouble.
They just throw up their hands in despair. Our portion today teaches that
we should never accept defeat.
Thirdly, in order to overcome obstacles, a person needs to be resourceful.
The Midrash records that Yaakov actually took up 3 tactics in fighting
Esav. He prepared for battle, as he divided his camp into 2 groups. In
case Esav attacked one, the second one could still escape. But he
didn't just take action. He also prayed to G-d to save him.
Thirdly, he tried to appease Esav by giving him gifts. Through this triple
approach, Jacob was victorious. We too must try many solutions to our
problems before we give up. Surely some approach will work.
Finally, if a person wishes to overcome his difficulties he has to
maintain hope. According to Maimonides, Jacob didn't actually face an
angel in battle, for angels are not physical. Rather, this is all a dream
which Jacob had. According to this approach, Jacob was dreaming of
victory. He who dreams of defeat will be defeated. He who dreams of
salvation will be saved. We may have fears but they should not interfere
with our hopes and dreams.
In eight days from now it will be Hannuka. The Maccabis knew how to dream
of salvation. They did not shy from fighting the biggest power on earth,
the Greeks. They did not give up. They did not accept their fate.
They were resourceful and they had great success as a result.
As a bar mitzva, I have many hopes and dreams to accomplish. As people
grow older they sometimes give up on their childhood dreams, in favor of
harsh realities. I hope to be like the Maccabis and like Jacob before them
and never run away from my dreams, never accept a fate other than
the one I choose, always be resourceful, and to always dream of success. |
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