Yaakov's Truth
Rabbi Shimshon David Pincus, zt"l
He refused to be consoled, and said, “Because I will go down to my son in mourning to the grave.” (37:35)
"...in mourning to the grave." This may be understood according to its simple meaning. Its Midrashic meaning is that “to the grave” signifies to Gehinom. Yaakov said: This sign was given to me by Hashem: if one of my sons does not die in my lifetime, I am guaranteed not to see Gehinom. (Rashi)
Avraham Avinu was the foundation of it all, yet he was not called bechir ha’avos, the choicest of the Avos. Yaakov is called bechir ha’avos. Yaakov was the pillar of emes, as it says "Attribute truth to Yaakov.” Why did the trait of truth make Yaakov the choicest of the Avos?
Yaakov Avinu, too, received an unfavorable sign from Heaven regarding his spiritual fate. He was informed that his son had died, and the implication was that Yaakov would go to Gehinom. However, this did not draw a negative reaction from him. He carried on his avodas Hashem like before.
Yaakov thought that he had failed in his great mission to build the House of Yisrael, which cannot exist without the Twelve Tribes, just as the world cannot exist without the twelve constellations of the Zodiac. Yosef was gone. There would not be twelve tribes. Yaakov thus assumed that he had lost his portion in olam haba. Yaakov considered himself responsible for the termination of the Jewish people and the end of the world.
Yaakov lived with this unbearable feeling for twenty-two years. He lived with the knowledge that he has no portion in the World to Come. He thus had no practical motivation to continue serving Hashem.
However, Chazal say that during this whole long period, his avodas Hashem did not change at all. This incredible behavior of Yaakov stemmed from the trait of emes. Although he had nothing to gain from serving Hashem, and, as far as he understood, everything was over – the shevatim are gone and olam haba is lost – this did not change anything for him. He remained the same Yaakov Avinu.
This is a man of truth. Being truthful means eigene avodah – it means having your own service of Hashem that comes from yourself, not from external circumstances. To resemble Hakadosh Baruch Hu and not to bend and change when the external circumstances are different. There had not yet been a person in the world who stood up to such a situation as Yaakov Avinu did, and that is why he is rightly called bechir ha’avos, the choicest among the great forefathers of our nation
- RABBI YAKOV YOSEF SCHECHTER
