Sunday, April 22, 2012
Spirituality in Lavan's House
We found out as we read the story of Yaakov's stay in Lavan's house, that Yaakov never mentions HaShem while there and only once after he has already left. This gives us a problem. Does this mean that while Yaakov was working on his worldliness and learning about the "politics" of life that his spirituality and connection with HaShem were somewhat sacrificed? Could it be that by being around Lavan (though he didn't totally lose his connection with HaShem, which might have been an amazing feat all on its own) Yaakov was losing some of his connection with HaShem and the spiritual side of Birkat Avraham? Could that have been why he decided to leave for home right then? Because he realized what was happening?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Mirel brings up a very interesting point. I disagree, though, because when Yaakov is leaving he tells Lavan that everything he has is because of Hashem, which shows that he had recognized Hashem's role throughout his experiences in Charan. I think Yaakov left because he had finished growing, he had wealth and a family, and Rachel had given birth. There was no reason to stick around any longer. He had everything he needed in order to return home. There was nothing else he could gain from remaining in Charan.
ReplyDeleteThanks for answering What you're saying does make sense, but that only answers the question of if he was leaving because he realized anythign was wrong. But do you think that he WAS going down in spirituality? And if so, do you think he realized at all?
ReplyDeleteI agree with Alyssa. To answer Mirel's questions, I think that Yaakov gained everything he was going to from being in Lavan's house. Once he had achieved sufficient "worldliness" and built up his family, the only thing staying in Lavan's house would have done is bring him down in spirituality. I think he grew in spirituality up to that point and then realized that he needed to leave because otherwise, he would have lost the spiritual aspect of the Bracha.
ReplyDeleteI think that yes, it is possible that he "went down" in spirituality. But we must remember that he already was very high up in spirituality when he left home. I don't know how he would have increased his spirituality while in Lavan's house, but it is clear when he leaves that he still has complete faith in G-d.
ReplyDelete