After the main dish of the Shabbos day meal, Abba turned to
Moishele, his youngest child, and said, "You surely wish to
tell us about the parsha. We all want to hear what you
have to say."
"Yes," said Moishele. "It says that Yaakov left Beer Sheva.
Yaakov Ovinu was a tzaddik and he was very well known
in Beer Sheva. When he left the city, it felt empty because
the tzaddik had left it."
"Very good," said Abba. "I wonder if all the people in Beer
Sheva felt that he had left, if they all realized how great
was the man who had left."
"I think," said thirteen-year-old Yosef, "that even the
simple folk felt his greatness. We learn later on that he lay
down to sleep in an open field and placed stones around his
head. Rashi explains that he did so for protection from wild
animals. And then the stones began quarreling, each one
wanting Yaakov to lay his head upon it. Hashem decided that
they were all justified and combined all the stones into one.
So we see that even stones recognized Yaakov's greatness and
wished to serve him."
"But I have a question," said Chagai. "Rashi learns this from
the gemora which explains a contradiction. First it
says, `And he took from the stones of the place and laid them
by his head.' Here we find stones in the plural. Later, in
the morning, it says that he `took the stone which he had
placed by his head,' and this is the singular form. But there
must have been thousands of stones in that field, and each
one of them must have wanted to have the tzaddik lay
his head upon it. Why didn't Hashem take all of them into
consideration? Why were those others any less?"
Eliyohu, the yeshiva student, tried to answer. "It seems that
before going to sleep, Yaakov gathered only a few stones
together and placed them under his head, while the rest were
like a protective fence around it. Before gathering all the
stones together, each of them had the chance to be the
privileged one, and thus each of them could have argued that
it should be chosen. It might even be that those selfsame
stones were the ones with which Avrohom Ovinu had built the
altar upon which to sacrifice Yitzchok. If so, what could
compare to their right to be chosen as `pillow' for
Yaakov?
"But I have a different question," he persisted. "Those
stones that were placed all around his head had a very
important function indeed — to protect the head of the
tzaddik — whereas the stones which were placed
under his head only served for comfort's sake. Why would the
first group of stones wish to lower themselves a degree, from
a functional purpose, to that of providing mere comfort?
Would a bodyguard of the king wish to change positions with a
chamberlain who makes his bed?"
"That is a very good question, Eliyohu," said Abba. "Does
anyone want to guess the answer?"
When no one around the table answered, Abba continued, "I
think a proper answer requires an introduction about the
purpose and function of all creations.
"Everything that exists in this world is part of Creation as
a whole and has a special purpose in that design which it is
meant to fulfill. Everything which Hashem created aspires to
fulfill its job in carrying out the purpose and design of the
world. Everything — be it, animal, vegetable or
inanimate — seeks to execute its part in the overall
plan, the purpose for which it was created. This is obvious,
for that is why it was created!
"Every particle in the world, insignificant as it may seem,
minute as it may be, strives to carry out the maximum level
of performance in playing its role in the whole scheme of
things. When any creation encounters the perfect man who
fulfills his purpose in the world fully and perfectly, who
serves his Maker in the best way he possibly can, and does so
at the highest level of man, then even the tiniest creation
wishes to latch on and be a partner to his service. It wishes
to join, to be a part of the total fulfillment of Hashem's
will, through this consummate human being. Thus, a fish that
is consumed for a Shabbos meal has fulfilled its highest
purpose and so can a stone, when the opportunity arises,
fulfill its ultimate design concept at the proper time.
"Someone who lies on his back doesn't need a pillow under his
head. But the Ovos, say Chazal, kept the entire Torah
even before it was given to Israel at Har Sinai, even the
commandments miderabbonon. And when Yaakov Ovinu lay
down to sleep on his side, as is directed in the Shulchan
Oruch, he needed support under his head, which is why he
placed stones under it for one's shoulder is not in line with
one's head.
"A random stone lying in a field finds the ultimate
opportunity to serve Yaakov, who is the bechir Hashem.
He can help him keep the Torah on the very site where the
Beis Hamikdosh will stand. No function that any stone
can hope to fulfill can compare to this historic chance which
is so sublime, and so intertwined with the holy roots of the
Jewish people. Even those bodyguard stones cried out to
Hashem, `Let the tzaddik place his head upon me!'
"And Hashem took their plea into consideration and enabled
them to take part in serving Yaakov Ovinu, the Patriarch of
the Jewish people, whose offspring were all pure and perfect.
All the stones were transformed into one single stone which
fulfilled this sublime function.
"Thus did all those stones merit rising a level in the ladder
of creations which execute the design of the world. We find a
similar phenomenon in parshas VaYeitze when Yaakov had
to traverse a vast distance back to Beis El, which is Har
Hamoriya. Rashi explains there that he experienced a distance-
leap. Note that Rashi does not say that his feet experienced
a miracle and that he was able to walk at a great speed. It
was the land which leaped under his feet, causing him to
reach his destination. It was the destination which was
uprooted from its place to intercept him.
"Rashi calls this miraculous phenomenon of reaching one's
destination with tremendous speed — kefitzas
haderech. It is the components of creation which wished
to serve Yaakov. All around that man par excellence,
it is nature which seeks fervently to go all-out to be
privileged to serve him, to be fortunate enough to take part
in his actions and to be elevated accordingly.
"Further in the parsha, Yaakov comes to the well in
Choron, where he finds three shepherds. The sheep are not
grazing here. They are waiting with their shepherds to be
watered, even though this is usually done towards evening,
and it is only midday. He asks them why they don't just water
the sheep and then take them out to pasture again and they
reply that they must wait until all the shepherds gather so
that they can remove the boulder from the mouth of the
well.
"Just then, Rachel appears with her father's sheep. To help a
relative in need is certainly an act of chessed, but
Yaakov is faced with an additional mitzvah. For the fourteen
years that he was ensconced in Yeshivas Sheim ve'Eiver, he
was prevented from honoring his parents. Now that Rachel, his
cousin, has arrived, he can assist her, and this would be
considered an auxiliary of honoring his mother's brother. And
so, he introduces himself as the son of Rivka, who was well
known in Choron. He is thus giving honor to his mother as
well, though she is not aware of it.
"Yaakov is eager to do mitzvos, to help out his family and
increase the honor of his mother as well. But the boulder on
the mouth of the well is preventing him from doing so. It is
standing in the way of the perfect man to achieve his goal
and this is contrary to the design of the world. This was not
the purpose for which the boulder was created!
"Were it able, the stone would fly off the mouth of the well
itself but inanimate matter was not given the capacity to do
such a thing. Instead, when Yaakov Ovinu concentrates his
mind and heart to perform the will of his Creator, and
thrusts out his hand to roll off the boulder, it is able to
propel itself off to the side, to reveal the mouth of the
well.
"This very stone was so heavy that it required the combined
strength and effort of all the shepherds — who were
employed for wages — to budge it in order to water the
sheep. But when the epitome of mankind appeared on the scene
and wished to remove it in order to perform the will of his
Creator, the boulder cooperated in the Heavenly design, and
allowed itself to roll off as if it were a cork being pulled
out of a flask.
"True, Yaakov's strength was prodigious, but certainly not
greater than the combined physical prowess of all the
shepherds. What he did have going for him was his perfection
as a person and his desire to serve Hashem perfectly and
ultimately according to the plan of the universe. This, then,
was the power that lifted the stone off the mouth of the well
without any natural resistance [from the natural force of
gravity].
"The stones underneath Yaakov's head and the stone upon the
mouth of the well teach us to what extent we must strive and
aspire to carry out the purpose of our own creation, and the
ultimate design of the world, according to the will of the
Creator."
