The BJC Shabbos Booklet

16 Kislev, 5782 | November 20, 2021 Issue #86 –Vayishlach 5782

5:05 PM 6:02 PM

ה”ב

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6. W

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5. F

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4. G

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3. P

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. Th

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By Rabbi Yisroel Isaacs Legendary General

Electric CEO Jack Welch

(1935 – 2020) is famous for his

successful leadership style but

infamous for his unapologetic lack

of work-life balance. In his earlier

memoir/business book Jack Straight

from the Gut, he relates how his

work life strained and eventually

broke his closest family

relationships. In his

later book Winning:

The Ultimate Business How-To Book,

Welch tries with limited success to

hedge his earlier excesses in this

area and give practical advice on

how to strike the elusive balance.

Another area requiring an often

tenuous balancing act is the

interplay between maintaining

personal safety versus trusting in

Divine protection, and Yaakov’s

response to the threat of his reunion

with his estranged and menacing

brother Esav provides an important

and timeless model for his

descendants.

1 Bereishis 32:9.

Yaakov had become a

refugee of the land of Canaan and

his parents’ home after he received his father’s blessings that were originally intended for his twin

brother Esav. Esav became enraged

and plotted to murder him, so

Yaakov fled for his life. Thirty-four

years later, Yaakov returns with his

large family to his native land and

anticipates a hostile

welcome from Esav

whose decades-long

enmity has not diminished. His

scouts report that Esav is

approaching with an army of three

hundred strong. Considering Yaakov’s intensely religious

upbringing and his relationship with

God, we might expect him to put full trust in God’s benevolence and omnipotence. He could defiantly

march right up to Esav and his

mercenaries with full confidence

that no evil would befall him.

Maybe he would add the recitation

of two or three chapters of Tehilim.

Instead, as Rashi1 points out we find

The Role of Security in the Modern

Jewish Community: Protection from

Above While Securing from Below

“Diplomacy, self-

defense, and prayer”

Yaakov demonstrating full

awareness of the gravity of the

challenge by deploying three

different mitigation strategies.

Yaakov first tried the diplomatic

approach. After his verbal initial

attempt failed, he persisted. He

devised an elaborate array of gifts

sent with three groups of

representatives. Each group would

deliver its expensive collection of

livestock and a brief

verbal message in

which Yaakov refers to

his estranged brother

in the most deferential

and obsequious terms. Yaakov’s ongoing diplomatic efforts suggest

neutralizing the threat of

antisemitism before it escalates via

education, bridge building, and

public relations. In our terms, these

efforts might include social media,

political advocacy, and proactive,

positive promotion of Jewish causes.

Yaakov also prepared in case he

would be attacked. He first split the

camp into two completely

2 Bereishis 32:9

independent groups so if one were

attacked the other could escape2.

Later he personally led the

approach in front of his family so he

would be able to defend them

against an attack3. Yaakov’s trust in

G-d did not prevent him from taking

the threat he faced seriously. If we

want our shuls, our schools, and our

other Jewish spaces to be safe, we

must make that happen. The

security measures and

procedures that we

encounter at airports,

events, and public

buildings are often an

inconvenience, but their

ubiquity shows that we consider

them a necessary if unfortunate part

of life. Each community and

congregation must assess its threat

level and security needs but

whatever they may be, Yaakov’s example shows us that ignoring the

issue or reacting only by trusting in

God is irresponsible.

Aside from his diplomatic and

defensive measures, Yaakov

3 Rashi, Bereishis 33:3.

“Ignoring the issue or

reacting only by

trusting in God is

irresponsible”

deployed a third parallel tactic with

a spiritual dimension: Tefillah,

prayer. “And Yaakov said, ‘O G-d of

my father Abraham… deliver me

from the hand of my brother, from

the hand of Esav, for I am afraid of

him, lest he come and strike me,

[and strike] a mother with

children’” (Bereshit 32). The feeling

that the steps we take to protect

ourselves and our families are

sufficient to protect us without G-d’s help is not new: “If G-d will not build

the house, they that build it labor in

vain; If G-d will not guard the city,

the watchman waketh but in vain” (Psalms 127). The house needs a

contractor; the city, a guard. But we

must not have the hubris to think

we can do it without G-d’s help. Tefillah, and even increased shul

involvement and attendance, can

only help our cause.

In Sefer Nechemia we learn about

how devoted Jews living in another

time in history similarly addressed

the hostility they encountered.

After hearing that Nechemia

4 Nechemia 4:3

spearheaded a project to rebuild the

walls of Jerusalem, multiple

neighboring nations conspired to

invade Yerushalayim, and their

bifurcated reaction is enlightening: “But we made our prayer unto our

God and set a watch guard against

them day and night4.” Like Yaakov,

the residents of Yerushalayim

responded with both physical and

spiritual strategies. They therefore

both defended themselves (built a

wall and deployed guards) and

davened5. They lifted their eyes to

Heaven while scanning the horizon

for the enemy. May our ancestors’ example of diplomacy, self-defense,

and prayer guide us as we structure

our responses to the contemporary “Esavs” that we encounter so we

may carry on and expand upon our

great Jewish legacy.

Wishing you a wonderful, healthy,

peaceful, and rejuvenating Shabbos.

5 They perhaps did not engage in diplomacy since the nations were already en route to attack.

Parsha

in the

Park

Join us as we sit in the shade to hear a Short

Parsha thought, followed by a discussion

This week’s speaker: Bracha Bleeman at 4:45

Bring your kids to play on the playground

Every Shabbos afternoon

at BJC, at 4:00

By Rabbi Sholom Twerski

Yaakov is traveling

towards his brother

Esav. As he’s traveling, he accidentally leaves behind some

vessels. Upon realizing it he returns,

alone and at night, to retrieve them.

The Torah relates that he meets a

man there and wrestles with him

until dawn. The

midrash tells us that

this “man” was actually an angel.

The angel manages to wound Yaakov

but is ultimately unable to defeat

him. As dawn breaks, the angel

pleads with Yaakov to release him.

אמר לא אשלחך כי חני כי עלה השחר וי אמר של ויתני׃ אם־ברכ

Then he said, “Let me go, for dawn is breaking.” But he answered, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.”

The midrash asks, “So what if dawn is breaking? Why is

that a reason to

let him go?” The midrash answers

that the angels

sing G-d’s praises every day, but

each day it is a

different angel. Each one has the

opportunity to sing His praises but

once in all of eternity- and this

morning was this angel’s turn.

Please, begs the angel, release me for

this is the only chance I’ll ever have to sing to G-d.

Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser

expounds on this. Every

day has its own mission.

The angels which sing

yesterday don’t sing today and those of today don’t sing tomorrow.

We, too, have different tasks every

day. If we had a difficult day

yesterday- if there were setbacks, if

there were missed opportunities, if

we acted improperly, that belongs to

yesterday. Today is a new day with a

new mission. Yesterday’s failures are good only insofar as we can learn

from them to do better

with today. It is not

something we should harp

on or relive. Focus instead

on today’s mission and do what you can with the

strengths you have accrued

from yesterday’s struggles.

Dawn of New Beginnings

“We, too, have different

tasks every day.”

This week in the Jewish Twitterverse A new BJC Shabbos Booklet feature: select news, humor, and interesting

points raised on Twitter this week.

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PARSHAS VAYISHLACH

Mrs. Rachel Isaacson, the second wife of

Rabbi Yaakov Isaacson passed away in

childbirth near Bethleham. Born Rachel

Lavanovitch, she was known for her good

deeds, beauty and charm. After marrying

her cousin, Yaakov, she waited anxiously

to bear children. After a long wait, she was

finally blessed with a beloved son, who

was named Yosef. During childbirth of

her second son, Binyamin, Mrs. Isaacson

tragically passed away. Her husband buried

her in the Kever Rachel Cemetery on

Bethlehem Road.

Family reunions are often complicated affairs. But the recent

meeting between Yaakov and Eisav, who had not seen each

other for many years, went surprisingly well.

“I was afraid that Uncle Eisav was going to really hurt someone,

really bad” commented Miss Dina Jacobson, who observed the

proceeding from inside a box. “There were also rumors that he

would demand to marry me. I thank G-d that, in the end, he

hugged and kissed Dad, took our gifts, and went back to his

home in the mountains… without me.”

It was a nail-biter at the Angels/

Yabok arena as the nightlong

fight went into extra rounds.

But as the morning sun was

about to rise, Yaakov Isaacson

decisively beat his opponent,

known as “Angel of Eisav.” Yet,

even as he stood victorious

and received his opponent’s

blessings, Yaakov had clearly

sustained injuries to his thigh.

“This was the fight of all

times,” declared TNS sports

commentator Howard

Kosselstein, “there were moments when I thought that that angel, who

came out of nowhere, was going to win, but clearly, Y. Isaacson had

Heaven on his side.”

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YOUNG MOTHER DIES, LEAVES TWO YOUNG SONS

This week's special kiddush is dedicated in honor and appreciation of the

members of our amazing BJC Security Team - past and present. This week's

Parasha discusses Yaakov's dangerous encounter with his estranged brother Esav

and how Yaakov both davened for assistance and took steps to protect himself

and his family (Rabbi Isaacs further elaborates this topic in this week's BJC

Shabbos Booklet). We can think of no better time to express our appreciation for

all the time and energy that our volunteers devote to enhance the safety and

security of our community so we can all have the peace of mind, with G-d's help,

to daven, learn, celebrate, and enjoy our time together as a community.