Parshat Vayeitzei: Asking the difficult question
by Rabbi Lobel

Jacob traveled to Charan to find a bride. (Verse 28:10-11) "And it was when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of Lavan, his mother's brother, and Lavan's cattle.and Jacob kissed Rachel, lifted his voice and cried." Rashi explains that Jacob cried because he came empty-handed; he did not have any gifts to give to Rachel. Eliezer, on the other hand, when searching for a wife for Isaac, came with an abundance of gifts for Rebecca's entire family. Jacob, however, did not have any gifts because Elifaz, Esau's son, took from Jacob all his possessions.

Psalms (121:1-2) says "I lift up my eyes to the mountains - from where shall my salvation come? My salvation shall come from G-d, the creator of heaven and earth." The Medrash (68:2) explains that this verse refers to Jacob. Jacob lifted his eyes realizing that he had an uphill battle convincing Lavan to allow Jacob to marry Rachel, his daughter. Lavan was a class A con-artist and Jacob had nothing to offer but manual labor. Surely, Lavan would take every advantage he could.

Eliezer had come with ten camels, a nose ring, and two bracelets. Jacob came with nothing. He therefore asked the question, "I lift up my eyes to the mountains - from where shall my salvation come?" And Jacob answers himself. "My salvation shall come from G-d, the creator of heaven and earth." It seems, as though, Jacob was helpless.

But why did Jacob need to ask the question? Is it possible that Jacob, one of our three forefathers, and a person worthy of establishing a covenant with G-d, did not realize, even for a moment, that all salvation comes from G-d? No, that assumption would be preposterous. It is impossible to imagine, even for an instant, that Jacob was unaware that all salvation comes from G-d. The reason Jacob asked the question was in order to fully grasp his predicament, and hence to fully appreciate his salvation when it would arrive. Jacob realized from the onset that he not only needed G-d's help but that only G-d could save him. But, in order to fully comprehend his circumstances, Jacob had to first express his situation in the form of a question and then answer it properly.

Jacob did not just go through the motions of asking and answering the questions. We see from the verse that he actually cried when realizing he had no gifts to offer Rachel. It was important for Jacob to fully comprehend his dire situation and how much he needed G-d's help.

In order to build a proper bitachon, trust in G-d, one must first understand the need for G-d's salvation. And in order to build this bitachon, one has to realize, fully, that salvation only comes from G-d. Just as Jacob sought for his salvation and recognized salvation only comes from G-d, so must we.

It is easy to understand how a person, in dire circumstances, suddenly discovers that only G-d can save him. Yet, how often have we seen someone on his deathbed reach out to G-d and then forget G-d after his miraculous recovery. This is because his understanding was based upon emotion, fear of death. Once that emotion passed, so did his understanding.

We learn from Jacob that when we turn to G-d for help, it can't be only from the heart but must also come from the head. We need to stop for a moment and realize, truly understand on a deeply emotional and intellectual level, that G-d is our only source for salvation. Only then can we develop a lasting, true, bitachon in G-d.