Parshas Vayishlach -- 12 Kislev, 5771 / November 19, 2010 -- Vol. 2, Issue 3
Why is it that we buy fruit? Of course, we enjoy eating it; it’s juicy, delicious, and nutritious. However, why buy something that you know a large percentage of will inevitably be thrown out (ie: the pit)? The fruit symbolizes the joyous and happy occasions in life. The pit, on the other hand, symbolizes our struggles, challenges, and hardships.
In life, there is no such thing as throwing out or getting rid of the difficult times that we encounter. Rather, if we toil in them with all our might, we reap the benefits of having done our best. Thus, by planting — instead of discarding — the pit, we turn waste into fruit, and challenges become opportunities for growth. Please refer to the “What If…?” and “Growing Up” columns for more inspirations on overcoming struggles.
We received wonderful feedback regarding the last issue of “A Shtikel Vort,” particularly the article written by Ettie entitled “Growing Up” and therefore we have decided to make it a regular column.
In life, there is no such thing as throwing out or getting rid of the difficult times that we encounter. Rather, if we toil in them with all our might, we reap the benefits of having done our best. Thus, by planting — instead of discarding — the pit, we turn waste into fruit, and challenges become opportunities for growth. Please refer to the “What If…?” and “Growing Up” columns for more inspirations on overcoming struggles.
We received wonderful feedback regarding the last issue of “A Shtikel Vort,” particularly the article written by Ettie entitled “Growing Up” and therefore we have decided to make it a regular column.
Parshas Vayishlach -- 17 Kislev, 5773 / Dec. 1, 2013 -- Vol. 4, Issue 2
In this week’s parsha, Vayislach, Yaakov finds himself on his way to meet his brother Eisav. Yaakov sends messengers to meet Eisav and tells them to relate to him “im Lavan garti,” which means, “with Lavan I have lived.” Why does Yaakov want his messengers to bring this specific message to his brother? What is so significant about living with Lavan, Yaakov’s father-in-law?
After all, life with Lavan was not so great. He was tricked into marrying the wrong woman, he had to work seven years for each of his marriages, he got all of the black sheep (no pun intended) while Lavan took all the perfect ones for himself, he didn’t sleep the whole time he lived at Lavan’s house because he had to tend to the sheep, and to top it off he was accused of stealing Lavan’s idol when he finally began his journey! You would think that Yaakov would want to erase the 20 years he spent with Lavan from his memory, not go out of his way to bring it up to Eisav. Rashi explains that the word “garti” has the numerical value of 613. So what Yaakov was saying was, “Even while I lived with Lavan and was exposed to his evil ways, I kept all 613 commandments. I retained who I was.”
We live in a time where the temptations are numerous, the material world has grown exponentially, and there is little that money can not buy. In many ways we are living in an era of Lavan. And yet each of us is charged with a mission. To be kind, use our talents to help make the world a better place, and bring about the ultimate redemption. Any time we are faced with a challenge that we think we cannot handle, or feel like we have bitten off more than we can chew, we should not be afraid to tell the world, “I lived with Lavan,” and I prevailed. Although it is a struggle, that is what life is about. We all have a little bit of Yaakov inside of us, and we have take that Yaakov and transform him into Yisrael.
After all, life with Lavan was not so great. He was tricked into marrying the wrong woman, he had to work seven years for each of his marriages, he got all of the black sheep (no pun intended) while Lavan took all the perfect ones for himself, he didn’t sleep the whole time he lived at Lavan’s house because he had to tend to the sheep, and to top it off he was accused of stealing Lavan’s idol when he finally began his journey! You would think that Yaakov would want to erase the 20 years he spent with Lavan from his memory, not go out of his way to bring it up to Eisav. Rashi explains that the word “garti” has the numerical value of 613. So what Yaakov was saying was, “Even while I lived with Lavan and was exposed to his evil ways, I kept all 613 commandments. I retained who I was.”
We live in a time where the temptations are numerous, the material world has grown exponentially, and there is little that money can not buy. In many ways we are living in an era of Lavan. And yet each of us is charged with a mission. To be kind, use our talents to help make the world a better place, and bring about the ultimate redemption. Any time we are faced with a challenge that we think we cannot handle, or feel like we have bitten off more than we can chew, we should not be afraid to tell the world, “I lived with Lavan,” and I prevailed. Although it is a struggle, that is what life is about. We all have a little bit of Yaakov inside of us, and we have take that Yaakov and transform him into Yisrael.
