When Yaakov’s messengers returned with the announcement that Eisav was coming to greet him with four hundred men, Yaakov grew very fearful and he prayed. (Gen 32:6) In addition to praying, Yaakov prepared for battle and sent presents to appease Eisav. The fundamental question that arises is why Yaakov did anything besides pray to Hashem. At the beginning of last week’s parshah, Hashem told Yaakov, “Behold I am with you; I will guard you wherever you go.” (28:15) Why didn’t Yaakov rely on Hashem’s promise? Rashi explains that Yaakov took these practical precautions because he couldn’t rely on his personal merits to consider himself worthy of Hashem’s continuous protection. This is a recurring theme in the lives of the Avos. When Avraham and Sarah went to Egypt (12:10) and to Gerar (20:1), and when Yitzchak and Rivkah went to Gerar (26:1), Avraham and Yitzchak feared for their lives if their hosts were to find out that the women they brought with them were their wives. In each case, they chose to rely on the ruse of saying “she’s my sister” rather than call on Hashem to intervene. And indeed, in 12:10, the RAMBAN does take Avraham to task for his behavior, “Know that Abraham our father unintentionally committed a great sin by bringing his righteous wife to a stumbling-block of sin on account of his fear for his own life. He should have trusted that G-d would save him and his wife and all his belongings for G-d surely has the power to help and to save...” (trans. by C. Chavel). When Avraham was informed (14:14) that his nephew Lot was captured in the war between the four kings and the five kings, he took a battalion of 318 men to fight. Similarly, Yaakov took matters in his own hands when he withheld a bowl of lentil soup from his starving brother until Eisav swore to give him the birthright (25:31), and he wore goatskins to deceive Yitzchak into giving him the blessings that Yitzchak intended for Eisav (27:16). When Lavan tried to rob Yaakov of his fair wages, Yaakov undertook a novel breeding method to make pure white and pure black animals give birth to spotted and speckled offspring (30:37). What lessons should we take from these stories of the Avos to guide our own lives? Should sick people go to doctors? Should poor people seek a livelihood? Or should they rely on Hashem for support? After all, when Yitzchak and Rivkah were childless for twenty years, one might have thought that Rivkah would have done what Sarah did in the preceding generation, and what both Rachel and Leah did in the succeeding generation; namely, providing a handmaiden for the purpose of having children. Yet the only action that Yitzchak and Rivkah took that is recorded in the Torah is that they prayed to Hashem. The answer is that both approaches are right and necessary. Yaakov best exemplified this in the way he dealt with Eisav upon returning home: presents, defense, and prayer to Hashem. Another example is that of Mordechai and Esther. In order to save the Jewish community from destruction, they used a two-pronged approach of public prayer and fasting coupled with the quiet activities of Esther in the palace. Following the examples of our predecessors, we should deal with life using all the natural means at our disposal while all the time relying on Hashem to complement our self-reliance with Divine aid. Rabbi Pinchas Frankel |
