Parshas Vayishlach 5786
- Torah Tavlin
- Dec 6
- 2 min read
ויירא יעקב מאד ויצר לו ... (לב-ח)
MASHAL: A religious elderly woman arrived at the hospital awaiting a crucial health exam. Her nervousness coupled with her anxiety was palpable as she sat and worried. And it didn’t go unnoticed by the people around her either. One cheerful jolly woman seated across from her opened the conversation.
“Hey Grandma, you look very nervous. What’s the trouble?” The older lady confided, “I’m going to have a very serious test. It’s difficult not to be anxious.”
Realizing she was talking to a Jewish person, the jolly woman said, “You’re Jewish, aren’t you? So, you are G-d’s people - why don’t you just rely on Him?!”
“Of course I rely on G-d,” the elderly woman insisted. She explained that every single morning, she recites the sacred verse encouraging one to “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will bear you; He shall never allow the righteous to falter.” (Tehillim 55-23)
The cheerful woman, however, saw a flaw in her practice. “This is the problem, sweetie,” she said to the older woman. “While it’s true you throw your worries onto G-d each day, you take ‘em back as the day progresses. You gotta throw your burdens and problems on G-d - and leave ‘em by Him!”
NIMSHAL: Yaakov was tested time again and he stayed steadfast in his rock-solid trust in Hashem. Rashi explains, Yaakov was confronted with total annihilation, so what did he do? He prepared himself; he sent Esav presents and prepared for a possible war. Other than that, he turned to Hashem and prayed to Him for salvation. Bitachon is a state of mind. It is the deep, peaceful certainty that after one has done everything reasonably possible, the final outcome rests with Hashem and will be ultimately good, even if the path is painful.