Rachel had taken the idols, and placed them in the camel’s saddle pillow, and sat upon them…

Camels existed in the Land of Israel from before the days of the forefathers.

Arabian camels are found in Israel (in the Judean and Negev deserts) as well as in the rest of the Middle East. They have one hump and are mostly owned by Bedouin today.

Camels are working animals which fit in with the desert habitat and have always been a means of transportation for passengers and cargo. We see this in Breisheet 24 when Avraham’s servant goes up to Padan Aram with camels loaded with gifts while searching for a wife for Yitzchak as well as on the return trip when he brings back Rivka and her maidens.

In the books of Shoftim (7:12) and Yishayahu (21:7) camels were used to fight in wars.

In Dvarim 14:7 we learn that camels are not kosher. We don’t drink their milk or eat their meat:

This shall you not eat from among those that bring up their cud or have a completely separated split hoof: the camel, the hare and the hyrax, for they bring up their cud, but their hoof is not split- they are impure for you.

Camels eat vegetation, including thorny plants, grass, leaves and shrubs. The way that their lips and their mouths are designed helps protect them from getting hurt on sharp objects.

Camels drink both fresh and salty water. They can consume 100 liters in a short period when dehydrated. Their water is stored in their bloodstream (not in their humps).

Camel hair is often used to make coats as it has excellent insulating properties. The hair sheds off of the camel so its harvesting is sustainable and cruelty free.

Now we can understand why camels were used in Biblical times for long trips such as from the Land of C’naan to Padan Aram and back and why the Bedouin still use them today.

If you are brave enough, you can ride on a camel the next time you go touring in Israel!

These 20 years that I was with you, your ewes and she-goats never miscarried, and I did not eat any rams of your flocks. I never brought you a mutilated animal. I took the blame for it. You demanded compensation from my hand whether an animal was stolen from me by day or whether it was stolen from me by night. I was consumed by the burning heat by day and ice at night. My sleep was taken from my eyes.

Breisheet Raba 74:11describes what Yaakov chanted while he was guarding the flocks at night:

What did he recite?

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: The fifteen “Shir HaMaalot” (Songs of Ascents) contained in the Book of Tehillim (Psalms), as it says (Tehilim 124:1): “Shir HaMaalot L’David. Had God not been on our side- let Israel say it “Yomar na Yisrael”- this refers to the patriarch Israel (Yaakov).

Rav Shmuel bar Nachman said: Yaakov used to recite the entire book of Tehillim.

What is the proof?

Tehillim 22:4: “But You are the Holy One, enthroned on Yisrael’s prasises”, “Yoshev Tehillot Yisrael”- which means Israel (Yaakov) the patriarch.

King David composed the Book of Tehilim by taking Yaakov’s prayers that he recited at night when he was living with Lavan.

May we be saved from those who are out to get us and may we be inspired and comforted when reciting the words of the Psalms which are still so relevant today.

As we read about Yaakov
and Rachel’s relationship in Parshat Vayetzei, this is a good opportunity to
talk about Yaakov’s inner strength when he meets Rachel.

The story of the first
time that Yaakov sees Rachel is in Breisheet 29:9-12:

While Yaakov
was still speaking with the shepherds, Rachel came with her father’s flock—for
she was a shepherdess. When Yaakov saw Rachel, the daughter of Lavan, his
mother’s brother, with the sheep of Lavan, his mother’s brother, he stepped
near and rolled the stone from the mouth of the well. He then watered the sheep
of Lavan, his mother’s brother. Yaakov kissed Rachel and cried in a loud voice.
Yaakov told Rachel that he was a relative of her father, that he was the son of
Rivka. She ran and told her father.

The
stone that Yaakov rolled off the mouth of the well was not an ordinary stone.
It was huge. Usually all
of the shepherds had to remove it together.

According
to Ramban, the Torah tells this story at length in order to let us know that “They
that wait for the Eternal shall renew their strength.” (Yishayahu 40:31)

The fear of God
gives strength.

Ramban
continues: Yaakov is coming from the journey and he is tired. Yet he alone
rolls away the stone, a task which required all the shepherds. The many
shepherds and all the watchmen of the three flocks of sheep could not shift the
rock.

Yaakov had an
inner strength that he didn’t even know that he had in order to accomplish the extraordinary.

On October 7,
we saw a tremendous amount of strength from our soldiers as well as from
civilians. Although the soldiers didn’t even know what exactly was happening in
the south, they went down and fought as best that they could, killing many
terrorists. The soldiers focused on what they needed to and got the job done.
Somehow they found their inner strength like Yaakov did and saved many lives.
Civilians as well helped get as many people out of harm’s way as possible by
driving participants away from the party or by protecting the people who they
were with in the shelters. Without their strength many more lives would have
been lost.

As we recite the brachot upon
arising in the morning- we should add special kavana, intent when we say: Baruch Atah
HaShem Elokeinu Melech HaOlam HaNoten Layaef Koach, Blessed are You, Hashem our
God, King of the Universe, Who gives strength to the weary.

May we learn from Yaakov and from
our brave soldiers to look for our inner strength and may we all have
the energy to get through this war and overcome all of the challenges that we
are facing.

As
we recite in Tehillim 29:11:

HaShem Oze L’Amo Yiten, HaShem Yivarech et Amo BaShalom, May God give strength
to His people; May God bless His people with peace.

In
Parshat Vayera, Yaakov leaves home, heading to Charan. On his way, he takes a
break, falls asleep and has a dream where God appears to him.

We
then read in Breisheet 28: 16-17:

Yaakov
awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely God is present in this place, and I did
not know it!” Shaken, he said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other
than the abode of God, and that is the gateway to heaven.”

Ramban
comments that the words “This is none other than the abode of God, and that is
the gateway to heaven” refer to the
Sanctuary which is the gate through which the prayers and sacrifices ascend to
heaven.

Ramban adds: From
here you learn that whoever prays in Jerusalem is considered as if they prayed
before the Throne of Glory, for the gate of heaven is open there to receive the
prayer of Israel, as it is said “and that is the gateway to heaven.”

We learn in the Talmud, Brachot 28b:

While praying, one must face toward
the direction of the Holy Temple. One who was riding on a donkey should dismount
and pray calmly. If they are unable to dismount, they should
turn their face toward the direction of the Temple. If they
are unable to turn their face, it is sufficient to focus their heart
opposite the Holy of Holies. Similarly, one who
was traveling in a ship or on a raft and is unable to turn and
face in the direction of Jerusalem should focus their heart opposite the Holy of
Holies.

Brachot 30a continues:

One who
is standing in prayer in the
Diaspora, should focus their heart toward Eretz Yisrael, as it is stated: “And
they shall pray to You by way of their land which
You have given to their fathers” (I Kings 8:48). One who
is standing in Eretz Yisrael, should focus their heart toward Jerusalem, as it
is stated: “And they shall pray to the Lord by way of the city that You have
chosen” (I Kings 8:44).One who
is standing in Jerusalem, should focus his heart toward the Temple, as it is
stated: “And they shall pray toward this house” (II Chronicles 6:32). One who is standing in the Temple, should
focus his heart toward the Holy of Holies, as it is stated: “And they shall
pray toward this place” (I Kings 8:35).One who
is standing in the Holy of Holies, should focus his heart toward the seat of
the ark-cover, atop the ark, the dwelling
place of God’s glory. One who is standing behind the seat of the ark-cover,
should imagine that they are standing before the ark-cover and turn toward it.

Consequently, one standing in
prayer in the east turns to face west, and one standing in the west, turns to face east. One standing in the south, turns to face north, and one standing in the north, turns to face south; all of the people of Israel find
themselves focusing their hearts toward one place, the Holy of Holies in the Temple.

We see from here that all of our prayers pass
through Jerusalem and the Temple Mount before ascending to heaven. While
technically one can pray anywhere, the closer one can get to the Temple Mount,
the better. This is why people from all over the world pray at the Kotel, the
Western Wall which is at the footsteps of the Temple Mount and why groups of
Jews would like to be granted the opportunity to pray on the Temple Mount.

Parshat Chayei Sarah (Breisheet
24:59) ends with Rivka leaving her home in Padan Aram to marry Yizchak: “So
they sent off their sister, Rivka and her nurse along with Avraham’s servant
and his men.”

At
the end of Parsha Toldot (Breisheet 27:43-45) when Esav started making plans to
kill his brother, Rivka told Yaakov:

Now,
my son, listen to me. Flee at once to Haran, to my brother Lavan. Stay with him a short time, until your
brother’s fury has subsided. Until your brother’s
anger against you has subsided, and he has forgotten what you did to him. Then
I will send for you and bring you back from there. Let me not lose you both in
one day!

In Vayetzei, After Yaakov and his
family safely arrive in the Land of C’naan, a verse pops up that seems to be
out of place (Breisheet 35:8): “Devora, Rivka’s nurse, died, and was buried
under the oak below Beit El; so it was named Alon Bachut (The Weeping Oak).”

Was Devora who is mentioned here the
same nursemaid that Rivka had when she was a child? If so, what was she doing
with Yaakov’s family now and why was such a big deal being made about her
death?

Rashi
asks how Devora ended up with Yaakov and brings an answer from Rabbi Moshe
Ha-darshan: Rivka promised Yaakov (Breisheet 27:45) “Then I will send for you
and bring you back from there.” Rivka fulfilled her promise by sending Devora
to Yaakov in Padan Aram to tell him to leave that place. Devora died on the
return journey.

Rashi
also brings an Agada from Breisheet Rabbah 81:5 which states that Yaakov received
news of another death, for he was informed that his mother, Rivka, had died. In
Greek “alon” means “another”. Rivka’s death was kept secret in order that
people might not curse the mother who gave birth to Esav (Midrash Tanchuma, Ki
Teitzei 4).

Ramban
explains that Yaakov wept and
mourned for his righteous mother who had loved him and sent him to Padan Aram
but was not privileged to see him when he returned. Therefore, God appeared to
him and blessed him in order to comfort him just as He had done with Yitzchak,
following the death of Avraham. With reference to both of them the rabbis
taught that He gave him the blessing of consolation addressed to mourners.
Proof for this is that which is said below “And Yaakov came unto his
father to Mamre.” If Rivka had been there, it would have said
“to his father and his mother” for it was she who sent him to
Padan Aram and caused him all the good for Yitzchak commanded him to go there
at her advice.

We see from here that the focus on
Devora’s death was to cover-up Rivka’a death in order to make sure that her
name was not disgraced. The naming of the spot, Alon Bachut reminds us that
there were two reasons to cry at the time, for the death of the dedicated
nursemaid, whether she was the original nursemaid or not and for the death of
Rivka Imenu.

Unfortunately, in the Tanach, there
were more reasons to cry at that spot. In Shoftim (Judges) 2:1-5, the tribes
were rebuked for not breaking apart the altars of idol worship. They did not
listen to God and did not keep their part of the bargain. They wept and the
place was named Bochim (Crying).

In Melachim I 12:28-31, King Yeravam
made an alternative to the Beit HaMikdash (Temple) in Jerusalem by placing
golden calves and bamot (high places) in Beit El and Dan leading the northern
tribes to idol worship.

Today, a 1000 year old Oak tree,
considered a descendant of the ancient oak tree from the time of our
forefathers stands in Beit El. When we visit the tree, we are taken back in
time to the day when Yaakov stood near that spot weeping over the death of his
mother, Rivka.

In Parshat Vayetzei (Breisheet 29:35), after Leah gave birth to her
fourth son, she said, “‘This time, let me thank
God (odeh at Hashem)’. Therefore she called him Yehuda…”

Leah was the first person to express openly her feelings of thankfulness
to God as we see in the Talmud, Brachot 7b: Rabbi Yochanan said in the name of
Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai: From the day that the Holy One, Blessed is He, created
His world, there was no person who offered thanks to Him until Leah came and
thanked Him as it is stated (Breisheet 29:35) “this time let me thank God.”

Sforno points out that the name
Yehuda contains the letters of God’s ineffable name as well as the root that
means “thankfulness” and “praise.” Therefore the name connotes thanks to God.

According to Rashi, Leah was
especially grateful because she had been granted more than her rightful share
(as the mother of more than one third of the future total of Yaakov’s sons).

Siftei Chachamim states that “hoda’ah” is the recognition that one has
received excessive benefit, beyond what one thinks that they deserve. Leah was
the first to realize that God had given her something more than could be
expected.

Chidushei HaRim points out that Jews are called Yehudim after Yehuda,
because it is a Jewish characteristic to always be thankful to God.

May we always be appreciative of the blessings that God bestows upon us.

In last week’s Parsha, Parshat
Toldot, Breisheet 17:18, we read:

Yitzchak returned and excavated the
wells of water which were dug in the days of his father, Avraham, and were
plugged by the Plishtim after Avraham’s death. He gave them the same names that
his father had given them.

Rabbi Dr. Lionel Mirvis explains
that by giving the wells the same names that Avraham had named them, Yitzchak
gave credit to his father for initiating a project that provided fresh water
for the community. In reopening these wells, Yitzchak was not doing something
new, he was simply bringing Avraham’s vision to fruition.

According to Rabbeinu Bahye, Yitzchak’s
reward for not changing the names of the wells was that he retained his own
name (Yitzchak was the only one of our forefathers whose name was not changed).

Whenever a new settlement is planned
in the Modern State of Israel, extensive research is done to see if an ancient
settlement existed in the area.

One such settlement, Beit El,
appears in this week’s Parsha, Parshat Vayetzei. We encounter Beit El in the
days of Avraham as well as in the days of Yaakov, when he officially names the
place, after God appears to him in his dream (Breisheet 28:19):

He (Yaakov) named the site Beit El;
but previously the city had been called Luz.

The modern city of Beit El is
located north of Jerusalem, in the region of Benyamin, not far from Ramallah.
Beit El was awarded local council status in 1997. There are now over 6500
people living in Beit El.

Some other examples of names of
cities that are based on ancient settlements are Kiryat Arba (which overlooks
Chevron), Efrat (near Beit Lechem), Elazar (near the battlefield where Yehuda
Maccabi’s brother lost his life) and Be’erot Yitzchak, literally the wells of
Yitzchak (near where Yitzchak stayed).

Rabbi Mirvis points out that the
modern founders of the State of Israel who kept the ancient names of the cities
alive have also been rewarded. Many of our modern sites are named in their
honor.

In Parhsat Vayetzei, after working
for seven years in order to marry Rachel, Yaakov tells Lavan that his term has
been completed and he is ready to get married. Lavan gathered all of the local
people and made a wedding feast.

In Breisheet 29:23,25 the trouble
begins:

When it was evening, he (Lavan) took
Leah, his daughter, and brought her to him (Yaakov). He consummated the
marriage with her…When it was morning, behold it was Leah! He (Yaakov) said
to Lavan, “What have you done to me? Did I not work with you for Rachel? Why
did you deceive me?”

How did Yaakov only realize in the
morning that it was Leah? Why did he think that it was Rachel in the evening?

Rashi quotes the Talmud, Megillah
13b which explains that Yaakov had given Rachel certain signs. When Rachel saw
that Leah was being brought to him she thought: “My sister may now be
humiliated,” whereupon she readily transmitted those signs to her.

The Talmud explains:

As a reward for the modesty that was
exhibited by Rachel, she merited that the modest King Saul descend from her.
And as a reward for the modesty that was exhibited by Saul, he merited that the
modest Esther descended from him.

What was the modesty exhibited by
Rachel?

In Breisheet 29:12 we read: “And
Yaakov told Rachel that he was the brother of her father.”

Was Yaakov the brother of her
father? Wasn’t he the son of Rivka, her father’s sister? Rather, this is what
happened: Yaakov asked Rachel to marry him and she answered, “Yes. However, my
father is a deceiver and you will not be able to outwit him.”

Yaakov answered, “I am his brother
in deceit.” Then Yaakov asked “What deceit would he use against me?”

Rachel answered: “I have a sister,
Leah who is older than I, and my father will not marry me off before he marries
her off (he will therefore try to trick you into marrying her).” To prevent
this from happening, Yaakov gave Rachel signs/ passwords where he would be able
to identify her as Rachel.

When the wedding night arrived and
Rachel saw that her father was indeed planning on substituting Leah, she said
to herself, “Now my sister will be put to shame” (since Yaakov will ask her for
the passwords and she will not know them). She gave the signs to Leah and
therefore Yaakov didn’t know until the morning that it was really Leah.

Eicha Rabba, Ptichta 24 takes
Rachel’s selfless behavior a step further and explains that when the Beit
HaMikdash was being destroyed, Yirmiyahu pleaded with each of the Avot, forefathers- Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov as well
as Moshe to rise from their graves and beg God to have mercy on their children.
However, God would not listen to any of them. At that point, Rachel jumped in
and said:

Sovereign
of the Universe! It is revealed before You that Your servant, Yaakov loved me
exceedingly and worked for my father on my behalf for seven years. When those
seven years were completed and the time arrived for us to get married, my
father planned to switch me with my sister. I had pity on her and I gave over
the signs which I arranged with Yaakov so that he would think that she was me.
I did her a kindness, was not jealous of her and did not expose her to shame.
If I was not jealous of my rival then why should You, a King who lives
eternally and are merciful be jealous of idolatry and exile my children and let
them be slain by the sword. I had mercy on my sister, you should have mercy on
your children.

God
answered, for your sake, Rachel, I will restore Israel to their place.

In
Yirmiyahu 31:15 we find the portrait of Rachel crying:

Thus said the LORD: A cry is heard in Ramah— Wailing, bitter
weeping— Rachel weeping for her children. She refuses to be comforted for her
children, who are gone.

Yirmiyahu’s
words of consolation are found in Yirmiyahu 31:16-17:

Thus said the LORD: Restrain your voice from weeping, your eyes
from shedding tears; for there is a reward for your labor —declares the LORD:
They shall return from the enemy’s land. And there is hope for your future
—declares the LORD: Your children shall return to their country.

God
did in fact follow through and continues to reward Rachel. The Jewish people
have returned to the Land of Israel after 70 years of exile. With the founding
of the State of Israel, Jews from all over the world are once again able to return
to their homeland.

After Avram left Charan and arrived in the land of C’naan, he passed
through Shechem and Elon Moreh. God appeared to him and said “To your descendents I will give this land.” Avram then built an altar and
knew that he arrived in the right place. Then, in the next sentence, Breisheet
12:8 we see “From there he moved to the mountain that was east of Beit El and
set up his tent. Beit El was to the west and Ai to the east. There he built an
altar to God, and he proclaimed the name of God.”

We see from here that the first time that Avraham called out in the name
of God was in Beit El.

When Avram, Sarai and Lot returned from Egypt we read (Breisheet 13:3-4)
“He continued on his travels from the south to Beit El, until the place where
he originally had his tent, between Beit El and Ai. To the site of the altar
which he made there at first; and there Avram called in the name of God.”

In Parshat Vayetze, when Avraham’s grandson Yaakov is fleeing to Charan
from his brother Esav, he arrives at a place which is at first not identified.
There, he has the famous dream with the ladder and the angels ascending and
descending. When Yaakov wakes up, he realizes that this is a holy place. In Breisheet
28:17-19 we read: “He was afraid and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is
none other than Beit Elokim (the house of God) and this is the gate of heaven’.
Yaakov rose early in the morning and took the stone that he had placed at his
head; and he set it as a monument and poured oil on top. He named that place
Beit El, but Luz was the original name of the city.” Yaakov then makes a vow to
God.

In Breisheet 31:13, when Yaakov is ready to leave Lavan’s house and
return to C’naan, God appears to him and says “I am the Almighty of Beit El
where you anointed a monument, where you made a vow to Me. Now arise and leave
this land, and return to the land of your birthplace.”

Yaakov returned to C’naan and made peace with Esav. Following the
episode of Dina’s rape, in Breisheet 35:1 we read: “God said to Yaakov, ‘Arise,
go up to Beit El and live there. Make an altar there to the Almighty Who
appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esav.”

Yaacov and his family follow God’s instructions (Breishett 35:6-7)
“Yaakov comes to Luz, which was in the land of C’naan- that is, to Beit El- he
and all the people that were with him. There he built an altar, and he called
the place El Beit El for there God was revealed to him when he was fleeing from
his brother.

We see from here that Beit El was an important stop for our forefathers
when they arrived in the land as well as when they had to leave the land.

When B’nei Yisrael finally returned to conquer the land with Yehishua,
Beit El was one of the first places where they situated themselves in order to
attack the city of Ai (Yehoshua, 8:9.12).

Beit El, just north of
Jerusalem was first excavated by the archaeologist Prof. William Albright at
the beginning of the 20th century. After the Six Day War in 1967, it was identified
by Prof. Ze’ev Vilnai as the site of Yaakov’s dream. A few months ago, I had
the privilege of visiting Beit El. It was an amazing experience to stand at the
spot where Avraham and Yaakov were standing when they called out in the name of
God.

At the end of Parshat Chayei Sarah
we read about Rivka’s marriage to Yitzchak and in Parshat Vayetze we read about
Yaakov’s marriage to Leah. In both of these stories we see practices that are
still part of Jewish weddings today.

When Avraham’s servant went to find
a wife for Yitzchak, Lavan and his mother were not in a rush to let Rivka go so
soon. They wanted her to wait ten or twelve months before sending her off to get
married. The servant explained that he could not wait so long and that he had
to get back. At that point (Breisheet 24:57) Lavan and his mother said that
they would call her and ask her.

Rashi states that from here we learn
that a woman may not be given in marriage unless it is with her consent.

They called Rivka and asked her if
she wanted to go and she said “I will go.”

In Breisheet 24:60 “They blessed
Rivka and said to her, ‘Our sister may you become thousands of myriads and may
your descendents inherit the gates of their foes.’”

Many still bestow his same blessing
on the bride before she enters the chupah.

When Rivka saw Yitzchak for the
first time (Breisheet 24:65) “…she took her veil and covered herself.”

This is where the tradition comes
from that the bride’s face is covered with a veil.

In Vayetze, it is pretty clear that
the bride’s face was covered and therefore Yaakov didn’t know that he was
marrying Leah instead of Rachel.

In order to avoid this problem,
before the chupah (ceremony) takes place the groom makes sure that he has the
correct bride and then lowers her veil in a ceremony called the badekin.

In Breisheet 29:22, we read: “Lavan
invited all of the local people and he made a wedding feast.”

From here we see that a wedding was
celebrated with a feast as is done today with a seudat mitzvah. In those days
the entire community was invited. The custom to invite the whole community is
still practiced today on kibbutzim in Israel.

When Yaakov saw that he had in fact
married Leah and requested to also be able to marry Rachel (his chosen bride),
Lavan explaind that he would have to wait until after the week of celebrations
(Breisheet 29:27) “Complete the marriage week for this one (Leah), we will then
give you the other one (Rachel) also…”

From here we learn that the wedding
celebrations lasted for an entire week- similar to the way that we celebrate
Sheva Brachot with a different party in honor of the bride and groom each
night.

We see from here that many of our
wedding traditions date back to the time of Lavan and what was done in his
community. However, some of the traditions that Lavan had we are forbidden to
practice including marrying two sisters to the same man and setting up a
wedding under false pretenses including where the groom doesn’t know which
bride he is marrying. To avoid this, we have a Ketubah (marriage contract)
where the names of the bride and groom are clearly stated and pairs of
witnesses who sign the Ketubah and witness the ceremony.

May we witness many weddings in the
Land of Israel and throughout the world.