Parshas Vayeitzei is an eventful story
of how Yaakov met and married his wives, had eleven of his sons, and feuded
with Lavan. All of these stories play big parts in the beginning foundations of
the Jewish People. And sandwiching these events are the stories of how Yaakov
left and returned to Eretz Yisrael.
The first story is well-known; Yaakov
falls asleep one night and dreams of a ladder to the heavens with angels going
up and down. Hashem appears and promises him that he will be protected
throughout his journey. This took place right before Yaakov left Eretz Yisrael
and Chazal explain that the angels on the ladder represented the Eretz Yisrael guard
leaving him and the Chutz La’aretz angels taking over.
At the end of the parsha, a similar
story occurs. Yaakov is heading towards the border of Eretz Yisrael when he is
confronted by a group of visitors we have seen before. “וְיַֽעֲקֹ֖ב
הָלַ֣ךְ לְדַרְכּ֑וֹ וַיִּפְגְּעוּ־ב֖וֹ מַלְאֲכֵ֥י אֱלֹקים” “And Yaakov went on his way, and angels of God met him” (Bereishis
32:2). Rashi explains that the reverse is now happening; as Yaakov crosses back
into Eretz Yisrael, the angels who came with him to Lavan’s house now left and
the Eretz Yisrael angels returned.
The Ramban takes issue
with this explanation. At this point, Yaakov is not even close to crossing into
Eretz Yisrael! We see in next week’s parsha, that Yaakov crosses the Yabok
River (See 32:23), found to the southwest of Eretz Yisrael. Furthermore, when
Yaakov reaches the city of Shechem (See 33:18), the Torah indicates that this
was the first place in Eretz Yisrael that Yaakov reached upon entering. If this
is true, how could the Eretz Yisrael angels have met him and taken over so
early?
The Ramban instead takes a different
approach. This meeting with the angels was not the changing of the guard that
we see earlier. This meeting was in preparation for Yaakov’s imminent showdown
with Esav. As Yaakov left Lavan’s house and
headed back home, he knew he would eventually have to confront Esav. Now with a
large family and immense wealth, he made an even larger target. These angels
came to let him know that even with the army Esav had gathered, Yaakov still
outnumbered them. With the heavenly entourage alongside him, and a guarantee of
safety from Hashem, Yaakov had nothing to fear.
Shabbat Shalom!
Click here for last year's Dvar Torah for Parshas Vayeitzei
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