Parashat Vayeitze (Genesis 28:10-32:2)

Our parashah begins, “Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran” (Genesis 28:10). Rashi makes a keen observation on this verse. He asks a question that should be obvious to us: “Why does the Torah mention Jacob’s departure from Beersheba?” If we’ve been paying attention, we should remember that the Torah had just mentioned this fact a few verses prior. Verse seven says, “Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and gone to Paddan-aram.” Haran is located within the region of Paddan-aram. Therefore, we’ve been told twice within a few sentences that Jacob went toward Haran. If the Torah doesn’t waste words, then why does it repeat itself in this case? Rashi says that we are supposed to learn an important lesson through this repetition:

This tells us that the departure of a righteous man from a place makes an impression, for while the righteous man is in the city, he is its beauty, he is its splendor, he is its majesty. When he departs from there, its beauty has departed, its splendor has departed, its majesty has departed. (Rashi’s reference to and quotation of Genesis Rabbah 68:6)

According to Rashi, the repetition of Jacob’s departure is to teach us “that the departure of a righteous man from a place makes an impression.” When Jacob left Beersheba, his absence was felt. The people in that region missed him terribly and realized that his presence made a difference in their lives. When he was with them, nothing was lacking. Maybe they didn’t necessarily recognize the benefit of his presence while he was with them and noticed the void only when he departed. Nevertheless, once he had left, his absence was palpable. The departure of a righteous person should be obvious.

When Yeshua was walking this earth, he was continually teaching his disciples his interpretations of Torah. He continually emphasized repentance and loving both our Heavenly Father and our neighbor through our actions and not merely our feelings. This naturally leads us to Shammai’s teaching in Pirkei Avot. Shammai taught his disciples, “Say little and do much” (Avot 1:15). According to the Talmud the wicked say much and do little, but the righteous say little and do much. An example is given of Abraham and how his deeds exceeded his words: 

It is written: “And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and satisfy your heart” (Genesis 18:5), and it is written: “And Abraham ran to the herd, and fetched a calf tender and good” (Genesis 18:7). Rabbi Elazar said: From here we learn that the righteous say little and do much, whereas the wicked say much and do not do even a little. (Bava Metzia 87a)

In this Talmudic passage, Rabbi Elazar contrasts what Abraham said to what he actually did. Abraham said that he would bring them “a morsel of bread,” something insignificant to stave off their hunger. But in reality, however, he had Sarah make them a feast made from three seahs of flour (nearly five gallons of flour!) and had a calf slaughtered for them. In other words, the wicked boast about everything they are going to do, but yet they do very little. And while the righteous don’t make great claims about what they will do, they simply work hard to produce pleasant and unexpected results.