and through. Yet, despite his evil nature, Ei-
An Unbroken Chain of Greatness
How the Avos Guide our Destiny to this Day
By Rav Moshe Shternbuch
The following was
written by Rabbi Daniel
Yaakov Travis based on
a drasha given on leil
Shabbos by Rav Moshe
Shternbuch, Rosh Av Beis
Din of the Eidah Hacha-
reidis of Yerushalayim.
•••••
IN THE MERIT
OF AVROHOM
“Yitzchok prayed to Hashem [for a child]
together with his wife, for she was barren, and
[Hashem answered] his prayer…” (Bereishis
25:21). “His prayer [was answered] and not
her prayer, for Yitzchok was a tzaddik who
was the son of a tzasdik, while Rivkah’s par-
ents were rasha’im” (Rashi, Bereishis 25:21).
Rivkah grew up in a house of rashaim
and abandoned her family to marry Yitzchok
Avinu. In this sense, she could be considered
greater than Yitzchok, who was raised by Av-
rohom to be righteous from the day that he
was born. So why does the Torah consider
Yitzchok’s prayers more powerful? Why
were his tefillos accepted over Rivkah’s?
The answer is that Yitzchok did not ask
Hashem to help him in his own merit. Rather,
Yitzchok asked the Al-mighty to consider the
merit of his father, Avrohom Avinu, as a rea-
son to bless him and his wife with children.
Granting children to Yitzchok would perpetu-
ate the dynasty that his father had begun, and
in essence would be an act of kindness for
Avrohom himself.
A person’s achievements in this world are
linked to his parents. If they provided him
with poor chinuch and that caused him to fal-
ter in this Torah observance, they will be held
responsible. Conversely, if children grow up
to be great tzaddikim, the parents receive re-
ward for their children’s accomplishments.
For this reason, every year the niftar is judged
on the yahrtzeit regarding the actions of their
offspring that year.
Avrohom Avinu was extremely dear to
Hashem, as the posuk calls him, “Avrohom,
my beloved.” Because of the loving close-
ness of their relationship, it gave the Ribono
Shel Olam great pleasure to do things for Av-
rohom’s benefit. For this reason, Yitzchok’s
tefillos found favor in the Ribono Shel Olam’s
eyes more than Rivkah’s.
IN THE MERIT
OF YITZCHOK
From a different perspective, we can un-
derstand that Yitzchok’s personal merit was
actually greater than that of Rivkah. While
Rivkah was a baalas teshuvah who grew
up amongst resha’im, Yitzchok, who was
brought up by tzaddikim, was also was a baal
teshuvah. We can understand this based on
the following story.
Rav Sadya Gaon was once traveling and
stopped to lodge at a roadside inn. The inn-
keeper had no idea who his distinguished
guest was and treated him like a regular per-
son. Eventually, word spread that Rav Sadya
Gaon was staying at that inn and he was inun-
dated by visitors.
After the innkeeper realized his guest’s
true identity, he begged Rav Sadya Gaon for
forgiveness. Had he known who his guest
was, the innkeeper would have treated him
with the honor befitting a rov of his stature.
Rav Sadya Gaon told the innkeeper that
he had nothing to apologize for, and in fact
thanked him for teaching him a valuable
lesson regarding teshuvah. Rav Sadya had
learned from this incident that we may act
Page 82
about manner?
improperly due to a lack of recognition of
someone’s true greatness, and that the same
is true of our relationship with Hashem. For
the rest of his life, Rav Sadya did teshuvah
every day for his past failures to treat Hashem
with the honor he now realized He deserved,
based on his present recognition of Hashem’s
greatness.
In this sense, Yitzchok Avinu was also a
baal teshuvah. He used every day of his life
to strive for even greater levels of awareness
of the Ribono Shel Olam’s greatness and was
constantly doing teshuvah for his “lesser”
mitzvos performed before he reached his cur-
rent level. Since he was constantly improving
and constantly repenting, Yitzchok was both
the son of a tzaddik and a baal teshuvah si-
multaneously. Therefore, his tefillos were an-
No matter what happens, we must act
with complete integrity in all situations.
swered over Rivkah’s.
IN THE MERIT
OF YAAKOV
Yaakov Avinu is considered the paradigm
of integrity, as the posuk states, “Titein emes
l’Yaakov - Truth is given over to Yaakov.”
Even when he was compelled by Rivkah to
take the brachos via deception, he clung to
his innate honesty. When asked his identity,
he would not say that he was Eisav. Rather, he
replied, “It is I. Eisav is your firstborn.”
Yitzchok asked his son how he had man-
aged to find meat so quickly, and Yaakov
replied that Hashem had sent it to him. The
use of the Ribono Shel Olam’s name caused
Yitzchok to doubt if this was really Eisav, and
he touched him. After feeling that his son’s
arms were in fact hairy, Yitzchok commented,
“The voice is that of Yaakov, but his hands are
those of Eisav.”
Yaakov could have easily concealed his
identity by omitting Hashem’s name from
his words. However, as the pillar of emes in
the world, Yaakov could not do anything that
showed signs of dishonesty. To debase his
truthful nature by leaving the Ribono Shel
Olam’s name out of his answer went against
the grain, and even if it meant taking the risk
of being caught claiming the brachos, he was
not willing to compromise on truthfulness.
Yaakov’s actions guide his descendants for
all generations. No matter what happens, we
must act with complete integrity in all situa-
tions. Even if we have a great deal to lose, this
is not a reason to act dishonestly.
ALL ABOUT EISAV
Rashi writes that when the pregnant
Rivkah passed by a bais medrash, she felt her
baby kicking, and when she walked near a
house of idol worship, her child also kicked.
These reactions were a cause of great concern
to Rivkah. She initially thought that she had
a single infant in her womb who had strong
tendencies to both good and evil.
When Rivkah went to Sheim to ask for an
explanation, he told her that she would give
birth to two children; one would be drawn to
tzidkus and the second would have tendencies
towards evil. Rivkah was consoled slightly
that at least she did not have a single son
who was indecisive and could not make up
his mind regarding the right path to follow in
life. The most dangerous thing in this world
is an inconsistent and volatile person, who at
any moment can switch from being a tzaddik
to acting like a rasha.
In contrast to Avrohom, Yitzchok and Yaa-
kov, who constantly strived for greater levels
of righteousness, Eisav was a rasha through
YATED NE’EMAN
sav had complete faith in the Ribono Shel
Olam, and his commitment to honoring his
father was unparalleled. This is in contrast to
the resha’im of our times who follow Amaleik
and have absolutely no emunah in Hashem.
Eisav, however, believed that the Ribono
Shel Olam put us on this world to enjoy our-
selves as much as possible. The most heinous
crimes were justifiable if perpetrated in the
pursuit of happiness. He did not see this as a
contradiction to his service of Hashem.
EISAV’S BRACHOS
Both Yitzchok and Rivkah were aware of
Eisav’s and Yaakov’s natures, yet they had
different opinions about how this should af-
fect the giving of the brachos. Yitzchok felt
that since Yaakov was completely spiritual,
the material abundance conferred in brachos
would harm him. He believed that Yaakov
should be completely absorbed in spiritual-
ity and not be involved with worldly affairs
at all.
Yaakov suffered tremendously in his life-
time during the various episodes with Eisav,
Lavan, Yosef, Dina, Rochel and others. Eisav
was meant to be a constant thorn in Yaakov’s
side and this was hinted to at birth. All of
these tribulations were meant to bring Yaa-
kov closer to the World to Come. Yitzchok
thought that Yaakov was meant to be lacking
in this world, and that he had no need for his
brachos.
Hashem gave Rivkah prophetic insight
to understand the situation otherwise. Even
though Yaakov was destined to inherit the
World to Come, he still needed the brachos
during his sojourn in this world. But why did
they have to come to him in such a round-
At the Shabbos Table
with Rabbi Juravel
By Rabbi Dovid Juravel
Yaakov requested of Hashem, “Food to
eat and clothes to wear” - the bear mini-
mum and no luxuries.
A talmid once said to his rebbi, “I wish
I could be like that rich man. He gives tze-
daka, learns Torah and he has money.” The
rebbi responded, “But can you handle the
tribulations of richness as well as he does?”
The rebbi then related the following:
A talmid of the Chofetz Chaim who
learned all day in the bais medrash didn’t
have enough food for his family. He asked
the Chofetz Chaim for a bracha for his
plans of going into business, and he prom-
ised that if he would succeed, he would
give a lot of tzedaka. The Chofetz Chaim
bentched him and he became successful.
Years later, however, he met the Chofetz
Chaim and cried, “I’m sick with miserli-
ness; I cannot give tzedaka.” The Chofetz
Chaim told him a moshol. A man asked a
storekeeper for one ruble worth of flour.
The storekeeper said, “There’s the flour.
Fill your sack with as much as you want.”
He filled the sack with one ruble worth.
Since there was more room, he filled it
more.
The storekeeper said, “Five rubles,
please.”
“But I only wanted one ruble worth,”
said the man.
“Yes,” responded the storekeeper, “but
the more you put in, the more you pay.”
Likewise, we pay for richness with a
The way Yaakov received the brachos
while pretending that he was Eisav set the
tone for all future generations, when Klal Yis-
roel would reap benefit from these blessings
without losing their portion in the next world.
If we relate to all material wealth as if it really
belongs to Eisav and we are merely using it
to help us serve the Al-mighty, then we may
take part of it. Any wealth we accumulate will
help us to get to the World to Come.
However, if we try amassing material
wealth as an end unto itself, as if possessions
are inherently valuable, then we will suffer
greatly. When the non-Jews see us flaunting
our wealth, it will stir up past memories of
Yaakov’s encounter with Eisav. They will feel
a seemingly irrational fear that we are once
again trying to steal this world away from
them. This will cause them to hate us and re-
sult in persecution for the Jewish people.
Hashem gave us the brachos for suste-
nance in this world as a way to help us gain
great reward in the next world. If we view our
possessions as a means unto this end and let
Eisav know that this world belongs to him,
we will be successful in this world and the
next. We should constantly be wary, lest we
forget this fundamental principle and stir up
Eisav’s anger against us.
•••••
Rav Shternbuch’s shiurim on the parsha
are being prepared to be published by Feld-
heim Publishers as a sefer. For information
about dedication opportunities, ideas for the
title of the sefer, or shailos for the rov, contact
dytravis@actcom.com.
•••••
Rabbi Travis is a rosh kollel of Kollel Toras
Chaim in Yerushalayim, and is the author of
Shaylos U’Teshuvos Toras Chaim and “Pray-
ing With Joy - A Daily Tefilla Companion,”
a practical daily guide to improving one’s
prayers, available from Feldheim Publishers.
For more information about his work, contact
dytravis@actcom.com.
yeitzer harah not to give tzedaka. The more
the wealth, the greater the yeitzer harah.
As for learning Torah, Chazal teach that
instead of praying that Torah enter us, we
should pray that delicacies not enter us,
since this is the antithesis of Torah.
For this reason, Rabbeinu Hakadosh,
the richest person alive, said when he was
about to die, “Hashem, you know that I did
not derive pleasure from this world, even
the smallest finger.
The Netziv and the Rashash were once
learning together and the Netziv answered
a kasha that the Rashash couldn’t answer.
The Rashash asked him why this was so
and the Netziv replied, “Because you have
luxuries. This takes away some of your
concentration.”
When Rav Yisroel Salanter’s wife
bought a lottery ticket, Rav Yisroel wrote a
document relinquishing all claim to money
that his wife wins. He felt he couldn’t han-
dle the trials of being rich.
When the Chofetz Chaim dreamed that
he became rich, he fasted, for the same rea-
son.
The rebbi concluded, “The rich man that
you describe is a truly great man, but not
everyone can be that way.”
Let us not ask Hashem for a situation
that we might not be able to handle.
•••••
To have Rabbi Juravel speak at your
function, call 646.320.3125.
10 Kislev 5770 • November 20 2009