Parashat Vayetzei

Parashat Vayetzei
Kislev 7, 5772 ~ December 3, 2011
by Barry Waldman

(based on the writings and shiurim of Rav Matis Weinberg: www.thelivingtree.org)

“It’s just a midrash.” This is a comment I’ve heard many times in Torah discussions. It’s often said as a way of diminishing the import of our Sages’ words that sound outlandish or far-fetched. Midrash interpreters can be assigned to three categories according to Rambam: (1) the ignorant, (2) those who fancy themselves wise, but are more ignorant than the first group, and (3) the truly wise:

The first group…understand (midrashim) in their simple meaning and give no explanation to them at all, and thus all things that are impossible they take as fact…they think that the Sages’ intent in all their brilliant statements…must be understood literally. This is so even though the literalness of some of the Sages’ words is so bizarre that if it was related to the general public they would be astounded and say, “How is it possible that anyone could believe such a thing?’ May G-d have mercy on the stupidity of this sickly group, for they have intended to elevate the Sages but in fact have only lowered them to the most extreme degree without realizing it…

The second group, which is also numerous, is made up of those who took the words of the Sages literally and assumed that they had no deeper meaning, and therefore they ridiculed their words... They would make fun of the statements of the Sages and believe themselves smarter than them. They believed that our Sages, may they rest in peace, were the most simpleminded people…This group is more ignorant and foolish than the first, a cursed band who act brazenly against men of high stature whose wisdom is known to the wise…

The third group is very small…and this is comprised of men who have recognized the greatness of the Sages and their deep understanding by finding in their words truthful insights…They recognize what is impossible and what is fact and know that the Sages did not speak nonsense and thus discern that their words contain deep ideas. (Peirush HaMishnayos, Sanhedrin, Ch. 10)

This week’s parsha offers a perfect example of a midrash that, taken literally, could easily ensnare members of the first two groups. Our goal is to interpret it in the manner of the third group and discover its deeper insights. It is a midrash that responds to a grammatical anomaly in the description of the stones that Ya’akov places around his head – initially written in the plural and later in the singular:

It is written: ‘And he took of the stones of the place;’ but it is also written: ‘And he took the stone!’ R. Isaac said: This tells us that all the stones gathered themselves together into one spot and each one said: ‘Upon me shall this righteous man rest his head’. Thereupon all [the stones], a Tanna taught, were merged into one. (Chulllin 91b)

Stones arguing over which one will become Ya’akov’s pillow is just the tip of the iceberg! In this parsha, we have several other midrashim ascribing “da’at” (knowledge) to insensate objects – the earth shrinking itself, invisible walls being erected, and the sun setting prematurely in the daytime – all to prevent Ya’akov from leaving that place. (Bereishis Rabbah 68:10, Chullin 91b, Rambam Yesodei haTorah 3:9)

What is the meaning of these midrashim?

Da’at has a broader definition than “knowledge.” It means “to relate.” Thus, da’at is not simply a euphemism for sexual intimacy (“Adam knew Eve”), but a term that refers to the general ability to interconnect. What these midrashim are bringing out is that the sun and the earth – down to its very rocks – are relating, responding, connecting to Ya’akov Avinu. Why?

For an answer, we need to hearken back to Gan Eden, and revisit how Adam got his name. After naming all the animals,

God asks him, ‘And you, what shall be your name?’
He replied, ‘The name, Adam, fits me.’
‘Why?’
‘Because I was fashioned out of the earth (adamah).’ (Bereishis Rabbah 17:4)

And indeed, the very gases in the earth’s atmosphere course through his bronchioles and arteries, his blood has a concentration of salt and other ions remarkably similar to sea water, and minerals in the earth’s crust are key constituents of his bodily enzymes and tissues. But, as Rav Matis Weinberg explains, Adam doesn’t choose that name merely because he originates from the earth, but because he identifies himself with Earth Emergent. Human consciousness – emerging after 14 billion years of cosmological and biological evolution – is what gives the universe a voice. Adam can address Hashem, saying, “If You wish to speak to the universe, You can now speak to me!”

The midrashim are teaching us that – for the first time since the fall of Adam HaRishon – the world achieves in Ya’akov Avinu a man who has regained the capacity to integrate all aspects of Ma’aseh Bereishis into one dynamic, functioning organism. As he approaches the site of the future Beit HaMikdash, the heavenly bodies and the stones of the earth “rejoice” in his presence and “conspire” to keep him there. In Ya’akov Avinu – the ish tam (holistic man) – the “instruments” of Creation have found their conductor, and can now participate in the grand symphony that is Ma’aseh Bereishis.

If (man) rules over himself and unites himself with his Creator, and uses the world only to aid him in the service of his Creator, he is uplifted and the world itself is uplifted with him. For all creations are greatly uplifted when they serve the "Whole Man," who is sanctified with the holiness of the Blessed One… (Ramchal, Mesillas Yesharim)

Rav Matis elaborates on the meaning of this Ramchal:

As Mesillas Yesharim suggested, the world is more affected by you, than you are affected by the world. This is the nature of kedusha, in which the entire universe has within it the connectedness, the emergent intelligence which comes from it...In other words, any star that ever went supernova in order for there to be elements that allow for intelligent life to exist is part of that story…If you look at this universe as from the outside – it’s an organism that thinks, that communicates, that has direction, that makes choices…We’re part of an integrative process that draws everything into an intelligence and a consciousness that can subsume all of it.

As a people, we have inherited the name of our forefather Ya’akov and his mission: to achieve yichud within Creation –“integrating as much as possible into a single awareness.”