Mounds and Meat
INTRODUCTION
TO PARASHAT HASHAVUA
PARASHAT VAYETZE
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In memory of Yakov
Yehuda ben Pinchas Wallach
and Miriam Wallach bat Tzvi
Donner
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MOUNDS
AND MEAT
By
Rabbi Yaakov Beasley
A. INTRODUCTION
Our
parasha ends dramatically with Yaakov's failed attempt to flee from Lavan
while the latter was shearing his sheep.
This week, we will focus on some perplexing questions related to this
episode.
Upon catching up with the fleeing Yaakov,
Lavan accuses Yaakov of having stolen his idols. Yaakov emphatically denies the
accusation and challenges Lavan to search all of Yaakov's possessions. When Lavan fails to produce any
evidence, Yaakov launches into a counter-accusation; Lavan is, in fact, the one
at fault, for he has cheated Yaakov for twenty years, constantly changing his
wages despite his exemplarily honest behavior. Lavan does not respond to Yaakov. Instead, he declares that all of
Yaakov's wives and children are actually his:
The
daughters are my daughters, and the children are my children, and the flocks are
my flocks, and all that you see is mine.
Yet, for my daughters, what can I do for them this day, or for their
children whom they have borne?
Come, then, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it be for a
witness between you and me.
(31:43-44)
What
does Lavan intend by this assertion?
Furthermore, Lavan immediately switches from an aggressive stance to an
apparently friendly suggestion that Yaakov and he seal a covenant together.
The
offer to enter into an agreement is met enthusiastically by Yaakov, who quickly
tells his family to assist him in piling stones, and leads to the joint breaking
of bread at the site. Once this
occurs, a strange naming game occurs.
Yaakov calls the site "Gal-Eid," while Lavan calls it
"Yegar-Sahaduta." Both
Yaakov and Lavan take oaths, but their oaths differ. Lavan chooses a more inclusive form, the
name of the God of Avraham and the god of Nachor and their father (possibly
Terach), while Yaakov chooses to swear only by the "fear" of Yitzchak his
father. Finally, after the oath,
Yaakov and his family continue to eat, but Lavan and his colleagues are not
mentioned and apparently do not partake of the meat.
To
explain the significance of this episode, we will have to investigate deeper and
suggest that a common thread lies beneath that can explain all of the
curiosities in Yaakov's behavior.
B. WHOSE DAUGHTERS ARE THEY?
Lavan's
aggressive intention in declaring that Yaakov's family belongs to him,
especially given his temperate offer afterwards to join in a covenant, has been
the discussion of many commentators.
Some modern writers suggest that Lavan attempts to maintain ancient
norms, echoes of which are found in the Torah (see Exodus 21), that the entire
clan and all family property belong to the family chief. When servants leave, their wives and
children are to remain behind with the master. However, due to the Divine warning that
Lavan received the night before reaching Yaakov, Lavan is unable to enforce this
law. He acknowledges his impotence
midway through his speech; by naming Yaakov as an equal, he concedes that his
son-in-law no longer enjoys the status of a servant.[1] Realizing that Yaakov enjoys Divine
protection, Lavan takes steps to protect himself so that Yaakov will not make
any attempt to move against him in a aggressive manner in the future.
The
more traditional understanding, which is that Lavan's intentions were
consistently aggressive throughout his speech, can be found in the detailed
interpretation of the Ketav Ve-Kabbala, written by Rabbi Yaakov Zvi
Mecklenburg in the beginning of the 19th
century:
The
daughters are my daughters… – And
you are afraid that I would steal them from you? How can it be stealing when everything
and everyone belongs to me?
and
the flocks are my flocks – How
dare you complain regarding the fact that I changed your wages. All the flocks that you have came from
me, and only through your trickery were you able to acquire them … and you
cannot accuse me of changing your wages for, in reality, everything I gave you
was in the status of a gift anyways.
and
all that you see is mine – When
I went through your goods (while searching for the idols), I see how many items
that are not necessary are found among your possessions, and they are mine … for
you came to me empty-handed.
Therefore, had I so desired, I would have sent you back empty-handed as
well. Only the Divine warning
prevents me from doing so.
Yet,
for my daughters, what can I do to them this day or for their children whom they
have borne? – The
Torah uses the (extra) words "to them" to emphasize that Lavan spoke about them
only indirectly, like a person who is forced to speak to a person that he
despises and cannot bear to look at their face while conversing with them. He does not acknowledge the children; it
is as if strangers bore them. No
signs of love or closeness are found in his words.
Come,
then, let us make a covenant, you and I – After
the wicked one was brazen enough to justify his evil actions in the face of the
righteous one (Yaakov), he changed his tone, as wicked people do, to speak in a
friendly tone while maintaining the hatred in their hearts, in an attempts to
clothe and conceal their despicable behavior from the eyes of
onlookers…
Fascinatingly,
the Ramban is almost alone amongst the traditional commentaries in that he does
not sense in Lavan's closing words any sense of animosity or anger. Instead, he portrays Lavan as a loving
grandfather who came to part from his beloved family one final
time:
The
more correct interpretation appears to be that Lavan spoke in a pitying, loving
manner. Yet, for my daughters,
what can I do for them this day – he became merciful towards them, for they
were his daughters; or for their children whom they have borne? - in his
house, and therefore considered them as part of his own family. And he apologized to Yaakov here, saying
"I only came after you to see my daughters and grandchildren again. What can I do for them now? Only ask you to vow that you will never
cause them any pain."
C. THE
MOUND AND THE MEAL
The
Ramban understanding of Lavan's conciliatory behavior and his underlying
motivations, which culminate in his peace offering and establishment of
covenant, can help explain the peculiarities of Yaakov's further actions. Sensing that Lavan is making every
attempt to fuse the families together, Yaakov wants to ensure that the covenant
does just the opposite. Covenants
can bind two groups together, even forever – the covenants between God and
Avraham and later the Jewish people are the prime example. On the other hand, covenants can also
serve to outline the boundaries between two separate groups. This type we saw in last week's
parasha in the covenant between Yitzchak and Avimelekh.
Upon
reaching a decision to agree to a covenant with Lavan, Yaakov takes every step
possible to ensure that there is no misunderstanding as to its purpose. With every step taken by Lavan to
maintain the connection between himself and Yaakov (and Yaakov's family), Yaakov
immediately sets up another barrier.
Once the stones are arranged, the two sides sit down to eat. Lavan calls the spot
"Yegar-Sahaduta" – "the gathering is witness." To Lavan, what is important is not the
gathering of the stones, but that it parallels and affirms the gathering of the
two sides together. Yaakov, on the
other hand, calls it "Gal-Eid."
The mound itself, the barrier between the two groups, is the
witness.
Lavan,
however, does not accept Yaakov's subtle rejection of his interpretation. Instead, he vows again – in the name of
the God of Avraham and the god of Nachor and their father. Given what we have written above, we
understand now that this is a crafty attempt to force Yaakov to acknowledge his
grandfather Terach, and by extension, admit that he maintains some connection to
Lavan. Possibly, Lavan uses the God
of Avraham for Yaakov's sake, the god of Nachor for his own sake, and hints
towards Terach to unify the two. We
now appreciate the nature of Yaakov response – he only mentions the Fear of
Yitzchak. Stopping there, Yaakov
removes any doubt as to his understanding of the covenant and the
intentions. He makes a clean break
with Terach and his descendants.
The two groups are to go their separate ways, and no hint of a common
past will be left behind.
D. WHY
THE MEAT
One
of the greatest minds in Jewry at the beginning of the 20th century,
R. Meir Simcha Ha-Kohen, more popularly known as the Meshekh Chokhma,
finds the serving of meat dishes in the second meal, attended only by Yaakov and
his family, significant:
Until
now, the word "zevach" – sacrifice - has not been used by the Torah, only
"mizbe'ach" – an altar. [The
Meshekh Chokhma provides a technical explanation as to the differing
processes used by Jews and non-Jews in slaughtering animals to explain the
differing terms.] … But once they had arrived near the boundaries of the
The
Meshekh Chokhma's interpretation explains the two different meals, as
well as what Yaakov intends them to represent. When sitting down to outline a peace
treaty, the most universal of human staples, bread, can be used. But to remind his children of their
distinctiveness and what the ceremony really represented, Yaakov throws one more
meal, containing meat slaughtered by Jewish law; in this way, others would
recognize that the family of Yaakov is destined to become "a people that dwells
alone."