Rebbetzin Leah Gans
Lesson Three. We Belong to Yaakov
Another lesson from our forefather Yaakov, a very important lesson for us from his life, following the principle: “The deeds of the fathers are a sign for the sons.” When Yaakov sends livestock to Esav as a gift, he warns his servants that Esav may want more than he is being given. “And he placed them in the hands of his servants, each herd separately, and said to his servants: Go ahead of me, and leave a space between one herd and the next. And he instructed the first, saying: When my brother Esav meets you and asks you, saying: Whom do you (serve), and where are you going? And whose are these before you? Then you shall say: Your servant Yaakov’s; this is a gift sent to my lord Esav” (Genesis, 32:17-19).
What is Esav really asking? He sees the herds Yaakov has sent him, but the animals are not enough for him: he also wants to take the servants driving those herds! That is what he means by asking, “Who do you belong to?”—in other words, “To me as well?” But Yaakov knows about his brother’s greed and insatiability. He also knows that under no circumstances may he give Esav his servants, who observe the mitzvot in Yaakov’s household but would, by contrast, sink into impurity in Esav’s household!
Therefore, the servants had to answer: “We (belong) to your servant Yaakov”—and we will not go over to you!
What lesson do we learn from this? The Chofetz Chaim writes that in our day (he is writing about his own time, but this is all the more true today), parents send their children into Esav’s household for “credentials,” for “education.” We are promised recognized diplomas, academic degrees, and job placement. We do not know whether they will fulfill their promise, but the children are already coming out from under our influence. Even if a child has wonderful character traits and a lofty, righteous soul, being in such a place makes the child very likely to be led astray. Now the child is influenced by teachers and lecturers who are unlikely to possess fear of Heaven.
It is well known that children find it difficult to resist the influence of their surroundings, so parents must think very carefully when choosing a place for their children to study.
If the decision was made under the impression of the size of the scholarship offered at a particular institution of higher education, without sufficiently investigating the institution’s moral character, it is no wonder that over time the child begins to slip lower and lower, observing less and less, until we start sounding the alarm—but too late. Some institutions of higher education have been granted approval for a religious department (meaning that it really is religious), but every place of study must be investigated meticulously.
To be continued
Prepared by: Mrs. Zissi Skarzhinskaya