By Rebbetzin Malka Teitelbaum
This week’s parsha begins with the statement “Vayeishev Yaakov…” “And Yaakov settled…” Rashi famously quotes a midrash that the troubles of Yosef came upon Yaakov because he sought to dwell in tranquility. After decades of fighting to remain a tzaddik in the face of Lavan’s wickedness, after facing an army of four hundred men led by his own brother, after burying his wife Rachel, and after what happened with his daughter Dina, it seems perfectly understandable that Yaakov would want to experience a period of peace. After World War II, it would have been understandable for the individuals who survived the war to seek lives of tranquility. And yet, the Satmar Rebbe, zt”l , the Bobover Rebbe, z”l, the Belzer Rebbe zt”l, the Klausenberger Rebbe, zt”l, Reb Aharon Kotler, zt”l, and many others did not seek a moment’s rest, but began the immediate and daunting task of rebuilding our nation from the ashes. Within the DP camps, students of Sarah Schenirer gathered girls and formed Bais Yaakov schools. Many strong and worthy people in seemingly
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impossible circumstances worked to rebuild Klal Yisrael, and they succeeded. Two weeks ago, standing at the chasunah of the daughter of R’ Chaim Shea Halberstam, the Satmar Rav of Monsey, shlita, and looking out at the thousands of attendees, who could help but feel emotional? Seventy years ago, who could have imagined not just the quantity of the crowd, but the
During times of ease, the battle is to not become complacent, but to keep working and growing. quality? Men proudly wearing bekishes and shtreimlech, women dressed tznius’dik with their hair covered. Look at where we are today! And yet, today we take these things for granted. We must be careful not to relax, not to try to simply dwell in tranquility. In actuality, even when we achieve a momentary victory, the war never really ends. That is because the true war we are fighting, in every generation, is the war against
the yetzer hara. After battling with Lavan and with Esav, the circumstances of Yaakov’s life became easier. But circumstances are merely the backdrop to the war; they are not the war itself. During times of struggle and hardship, the battle is to trust in Hashem as you push your way through. During times of ease, the battle is to not become complacent, but to keep working and growing. Now that we have rebuilt Klal Yisrael to such a beautiful extent, what is our battle today? Looking out at the sea of faces at the chasunah, another feeling could arise: that of being just a face in the crowd. After the war, every person knew they were needed because they could see their role in the rebuilding. Every person who opened a store on Lee Avenue, who donated money to a yeshiva, or who simply enrolled his child in a Torah-true mosed, knew he was part of the rebuilding process. In today’s world, our community has grown so large that each individual could start to feel superfluous. Worse, one could even feel unwanted,