Rabbi's Blog

This Dvar Torah is L’Ilui Nismas Michoel Yehoshua Ben Reuvain Z”L  Mr. Michael Emanuel

As we are leave the months of November and Cheshvan, the weather is beginning to change. Even here in San Diego we are feeling the beginning of fall and the prelude to winter. As the temperature dips into the low fifties and even into the high forties, I begin to feel a chill in the late night and early morning. Just as in the heat of the summer when I turn on the air conditioning in the late afternoon to cool off the house, so, too, I now put on the heat during  the early hours to take out the nip of the chilly morning air.

I recall the winter days as a youngster growing up in New York. We would place our clothing on the radiators to warm them up so that we could get dressed and not be so cold. The other alternative was getting dressed in bed under the covers and keeping warm until we had to get up to go to school. Do I miss those days? Not really, but there is still one memory that I have of the cold that affects me to this very day. I believe everyone can relate to this memory regardless of the climate in which you grew up. . Taking a hot shower early in the morning on a cold day is so warming. It really takes the chill out.  As you stand under the steady stream of hot water, your body becomes thoroughly warm. The only challenge is shutting off the water.  As soon as the water was turned off, frigid reality set in.  Stepping out of the shower sets off big time chill – a contrast I can still feel. and shut off the water. As the water stops and you step out of the shower we are thrown into a It takes a few moments to adjust from the soothing warm water to the chilly air. As a child, I remember my mother quickly wrapping us up in towels from head to toe. And now, as adults we cover ourselves up as quickly as we can. Despite the initial discomfort, we feel great after being in a confined area with warm water all around us. Those who take baths share the same feelings (perhaps even in a more significant way) of being immersed and then having to leave that safe comfort zone.

This is a scenario that we all go through at some stage in our life. One morning, as this scene was taking place, I contemplated the feeling and impact of life. Yes -  life. I realized why we feel so good when we are under the water and so challenged when we leave. The reason for this is similar to something every single human being goes through one time in life: the process of being born. Every child in the womb is comfortably surrounded and immersed in warm water. Almost instantaneously the baby is forced out of the warm, quiet, dark, peaceful surroundings and is thrust into the outside world. A place that is cold, loud, bright, and full of confusion and chaos. I think the greater the quality and care the fetus receives while in the womb becomes a later reflection of what type of life and challenges  will be met throughout life. This concept is part of creation and God’s ultimate design. We see it very clearly in the Torah as well.

In this week’s parshas Toldos we read of the conception of Yakov and Esaiv and the ensuing life they shared in very close and tight quarters in their mother Rivka’s womb. The Torah states in Bereishis 25:25 “VaYeitzay HaRisgon Admoni Kulo K’Aderes Sei’ar Vayikr’u Shmo Eisav”. “The first one came out reddish, as hairy as a fur coat. They named him Esau”. The Sochatchover Rebbe in his sefer *Shem Mishmuel homiletically explains Eisav’s name to mean ‘Asu’ complete. The letters of his name and the Hebrew word for complete are identical, describing Eisav as being born complete some say like an adult. But it is difficult to comprehend that Eisav was like an adult in the physical sense. Rather, he Eisav was like an adult because he was set in his ways;  his mold had already hardened, not allowing him to grow spiritually. The description of Eisav is of a person who has no need to work hard and raise himself up from one level to the next. This was the essence of Eisav and what he stood for. Yakov, on the other hand, has a different explanation as to why he was given his name. The Passuk 25:26 states: “V’Acharei Chen Yatzah Achiv, V’Yado Ochezes Ba’Akeiv Eisav, Vayikra Shmo Yaakov. V’Yitzchok Ben Shishim Shana B’Ledes Osam”. “His brother then emerged, and his hand was grasping Eisav’s heel. Yitzchk named him Yakov - Jacob. Yitzchok was sixty years old when Rivka gave birth to them.” The name “Yakov” is derived from the word Eikev, which means heel. The heel is the lowest part of the human body, representing humility. The heel is considered small and insignificant by itself, as if someone who has yet to reach any of his potential. Indeed, every day and every time he needs to search, to  seek out different ways to grow and improve. Every day this type of person begins anew - from scratch - from the bottom up. Each day is a new day. The growth of one day into the next isn’t taken for granted; it’s begun again from the bottom, both physically and spiritually. Such a person does not look back at yesterday’s accomplishments feeling satisfied and complete; he strives continuously to reach new plateaus, always striving to rise to the next level. Yakov is the individual to emulate as a ‘work in progress’ type of individual, never letting up or stopping. Yakov did not emerge into this world complete but rather emerged to become completed.

Yakov teaches us, his children, that the most important goal in life is to keep on striving and to continuously grow in Yiras Shamayim (fear or awe of Heaven) and as a human being. In order to grow we need to leave the comfort zone and face the cold world by bringing some of the warmth that we were wrapped up in and share it with the world.

Ah Gut Shabbos

Rabbi Avraham Bogopulsky

*Shem Mishmuel  is the name of a nine-volume collection of homiletical teachings on the Torah and Jewish holidays delivered by Rabbi Shmuel Bornsztain, the second Sochatchover Rebbe, between the years 1910-1926. A major work in Hasidic thought, it synthesizes the Hasidism of Pshischa and Kotzk in the style of Sochatchov, and is frequently cited in Torah shiurim (lectures) and articles to this day