This parsha is the only parsha in the entire Torah which does not contain paragraphs. It is called a parsha that is setumah - closed as if it reads as one long passuk from beginning to end. What message is this no gap parsha relaying to us?
The Chesed L'avraham (מעין ג נהר ח) writes that the essential Shabbos is in Eretz Yisrael and not in Chutz Laaretz.
הגה ðין ההðכי אין ע ץרא תודוקðהגת לא בזריחת המזרח ולא בזריחת המערב ולא הצפון ולא הדרום, אלא על ðה מðעליו ðגדה, ואין לðת כðת הספיר מכווðישראל שהיא מובחר היישוב ופתח היכל לב יכ הארי אלש וא ל"חב חריה תוארהל שוחל ו ים והקðהעיקר הוא בארץ ישראל, ושם ב"ד קובעים ומקדשים חדשים חגים וזמ ,'שדקמו םהמע םיכסמ אוה ךורב שוד ובחו"ל אין קובעים ואם קובעו לא קדשו שאין בהם ממש, ויום שבת בארץ ישראל הוא עיקר הכל תבשה תחוðי שמð, מפ תלויה במה שמתפשטת קדושת שבת דרך פתח ההיכל הזה למטה והוא בארץ ישראל .
Yaakov Avinu was outstanding and excelled in the Shemiras Shabbos. The passuk says concerning Yaakov's keeping of Shabbos םימוחת עבק בקעיש דמלמ ריעה יðויחן את פ that he made Techum Shabbos. The Navi himself refers to Yaakov specifically when speaking about Shabbos (Yeshaya 58,13)
אם תשיב משבת רגליך עשות דבריך ביום קדשי וקראת לשבת עונג והאכילתך נחלת יעקב אביך
Therefore Yaakov who personified the Shabbos, when he went to Galus in Chutz Laaretz to get himself a wife by Lavan and build his family the twelve Shevatim, he encountered the obstacle that he would be no longer able to experience the essential Shabbos since he ceased to live in Eretz Yisrael.
The Baal Shem Tov writes the location to where a person's thoughts are, that is where he is standing. Yaakov therefore never lost his 24/7 focus on returning back to Eretz Yisrael which thereby gave him a window to experience that lofty Shabbos. On the first passuk of the parsha ויצא יעקב מבאר שבע the Medrash (58,1) brings a passuk
א בר פפא פתח )משלי ג( ðחס בשם רבי הוðה רבי פðויצא יעקב מבאר שבע וילך חר ךכרד חטבל ךלת זא בכשת םא ('וגו) חטבל ךלת זא דחפת אל בקעי הז דכתיב ויצא יעקב, אם תשכב לא תפחד מעשו ומלבן , םוקמב בכשיו ךתðושכבת וערבה ש ההוא.
The sefarim write (see Sefas Emes ויצא תרלז ) that Yaakov tied himself to באר שבע which symbolizes Shabbos "the well of the seventh day", and he prepared himself with that deep connection and conviction to Shabbos as he went into galus for 22 years. The Zohar gives an analogy of Yaakov's leaving Eretz Yisrael to that of a person who goes down into a deep pit in order to retrieve something that fell into it. He must first tie himself with a rope from the top in order to be able to get himself out. So too we can say that when Yaakov was going into galus he tied himself to the Eretz Yisrael essential Shabbos in order to experience it in his ultimate madraigah of Eretz Yisrael even while in Chutz Laaretz.
The Sefas Emes comments on the first word in the passuk brought by the Medrash אז תלך לבטח. The letter aleph precedes the letter zayin. The zayin represents tevah nature which is the seven days of creation. The aleph represents Shabbos which is above nature .מעין עולם אבה. By Yaakov tying himself to the Shabbos of Eretz Yisrael חטב ךלת זא you can leave with the security that you will take this spiritual quality of Shabbos with you to Chutz Laaretz. An allusion to this understanding of the Sfas Emes is in the gematria אז תלך דרכך which is gematriah .שבת
We can now understand the cryptic message of the Megaleh Amukos who writes that the first word of the parsha ויצא is the acronym וירא יעקב צורת אלף that Yaakov when he left had a vision of the form of the letter Aleph. We can interpret this to mean that Yaakov also had ruach hakodesh to see the passukאז תלך בטח דרכך in which the form of the letter aleph precedes the letter zayin which indicates that even though he is going to galus he will still have the Shabbos of Olam Habah manifested by the aleph before the zayin.
When Yaakov left to go into Galus he experienced many changes in his life all written in this parsha. He dreamed about a ladder standing on earth and reaching the heavens. He also felt that Hashem's presence was standing on him. He goes to a well and has the episode of the shepherds and the flocks. He alone removes the stone of the mouth of the well and gives Lavan's flock to drink. He marries Rachel and Leah after he worked for his father in law and then they decided to split. Then the Torah goes into details of Yaakov's schemes of not allowing Lavan to deceive him with the sheep. Then they flee from Lavan and he catches up to them. Lavan and Yaakov make a covenant between themselves.
Although in each of these episodes within the span of 22 years Yaakov underwent so much stress and opposition to his ruchniyus, he never lost sight of עבש ראבמ בקעי אציו of the focus on the Eretz Yisrael Shabbos. In the Ladder dream the Sfas Emes תרמ"ה writes that the ladder symbolizes the weekdays how one can elevate the physicality of the world to its roots in heaven step by step. However Yaakov was more happier to have הי נצב עליו, ידמע 'ה היהי םאו which represented Shabbos which is Olam Habah above nature during the days of the week. Yaakov was reluctant to ascend the ladder because he desired rather to have that special deveikus with Hashem for the entire week being Shabbos. We see that the essence of the dream on one level was the choice of Shabbos over the avodah of during the week.
After Yaakov's sleeping on the place of the Beis Hamikdash the Pirkei D'Rabbe Eliezer chapter 35 brought by the Ramban writes that Hashem took the "stone pillow" of Yaakov upon which he slept and He connected it to the תהום the deep. This became the אבן שתיה upon where the Kodesh Hakadashim of the Beis Hamikdash stood. The lashon in Chazal is וטבע את האבן עד עמקי תהומות ועשה אותה סניף לארץ.. This sleeping of Yaakov and his prophetic visions and achievement that followed his sleep, demonstrated that Yaakov was connected to a higher existence with Hashem. It also conveys that even during Yaakov's sleep he never lost consciousness of the Shabbos of Eretz Yisrael. For the gematriah of אבן שתיה adds up to םויב השבת with the two words. Likewise the gematriah of הסניף בתהום equals יום שבת
During the episode of the well with the flocks he was also focused on the Shabbos of Eretz Yisrael. Sfas Emes תרלו writes
אוהה ראבה ןמ יכ .'ילע םיצבור ביתכד תבשל הðה הוא שבת. ושלשה עדרי צאן שלשה ימים דמקמי שבתא שהם הכðובש ישקו העדרים הוא ג' ימים דבתר שבתא.
The well symbolizes Shabbos. The three flocks of sheep represent the three days of preparation before Shabbos, Wednesday Thursday and Friday. "From this well will drink the flocks" represents the th after Shabbos, Sunday Monday and Tuesday.
When working for his future father in law seven years in order to marry Rachel, the Torah says in the eyes of Yaakov it was deemed to Yaakov as ימים אחדים. the sefarim explain that this term refers to Shabbos as the Tiferes Shlomo writes (Chayei Sarah)
"ל פועל היחודים כמו בשבת כðו גם כל ימי השבוע הðכי יעקב אבי תבש ארקðי זהו שהת"ח
In Parshas Vayeitzei he writes
דחא 'ה דחוימה לא וðאמרו. וז"ש בפיוט )בתפילת לכה דודי( שמור וזכור בדבור אחד השמיעðזכור ושמור בדבור אחד ושמו אחד. וז"ש וישבת עמו ימים אחדים רמז ליום השבת להכלל ביחודו ואחדותו ית"ש אשר כביכול מתיחד וðעמ. יכ ðה הקדושה שורה בתוכðי כי השכיðין בהמ"ק מפðת בðביום השבת הוא באמת בבחי בקעי ךא .ק"מהב ןיðו כמו בשעת ב ויðת שבת. וז"ש ויהיו בעיðו ע"ה היה במדריגה גדולה יותר אשר גם בימות החול היה ג"כ בקדושה גדולה כמו בחיðאבי כימים אחדים. פי' שכל ימיו היה באחדות הבורא .
All the days that Yaakov worked with the sheep of Lavan were Shabbos days of kedusha התא ץראב דחא יוג לארשי ךמעכ ימו דחא ךמשו דחא
While Lavan strove to deceive Yaakov with the sheep, the Torah portrays Yaakov with the help of Hashem accumulated tremendous wealth. The Torah goes into detail of Yaakov's comeback. ויקח לו יעקב מקל לבנה לח ולוז וערמון Yaakov took himself fresh sticks of poplar hazel and chestnut wood and he peeled white streaks on them by uncovering the white that was inside the sticks. He inserted the sticks that he had peeled into the ground by the pools into which the watering troughs would fill where the flocks would come to drink. The flocks became stimulated and mated on seeing the rods and the flocks bore ringed patched and striped.
The Kabbalistic sefarim interpret this entire plan of Yaakov to represent deep esoteric meanings and symbolism. The Zohar Hakodesh says that these sticks represented Yaakov's tefillin. Even though such concepts are beyond the scope and understanding of most Yidden, it is important to realize that the details of the Torah describing this seemingly profitable business dealings of Yaakov, are talking about the deepest secrets of creation. According to our theme of the parsha that all these years that Yaakov was in galus building Klal Yisrael he was still attached to the Shabbos of Eretz Yisrael, we can see his consciousness of connection to Shabbos even with the episode of the holy sticks. The passuk says (3,37) לקמ בקעי ול חקיו לבנה לח ולוז וערמון. If one takes the gematriah of מקל לבנה לח לוז ערמון he will discover that the gematriah of these words equal בשבת . With all the intricate details of Yaakov's plan he nevertheless did not lose focus on the essential Shabbos of Eretz Yisrael.
This idea can also be deduced from the words ויקח לו יעקב . The word לו is superfluous. The way the passuk is written it seems to say and he took to himself Yaakov, that Yaakov is what he took? According to our mamar it conveys that he took with him on this endeavor of the sticks the Shabbos of Eretz Yisrael which Yaakov from all of the Avos personified. This is hinted in the name יעקב that when spelled fully with its inner letters יוד ין קוף בית with its twelve letters (symbolizing the 12 Shevatim) equals ביום שבת . The word ול also alludes to Shabbos. Chazal say that Adam Harishon partook from the Ohr Haganuz for 36 hours the gematriah of לו - 12 hours erev Shabbos and 24 hours of Shabbos and then it was concealed. Yet we are told that on Shabbos we receive a gleaning from that same light. Yaakov Avinu who personified the Shabbos, was able to receive that light even in Chutz Laaretz because he never lost consciousness of being attached to the essential Shabbos in Eretz Yisrael.
In the last episode in the parsha Yaakov and Lavan make a pact of peace together. A pile of stones and a monument served as the witness to this treaty. Yaakov called the witnesses the pile and monument גלעד which translates as the pile is a witness to our pact. Here too, we find an allusion to the Shabbos which was constantly on Yaakov's mind. If one spells גלעד with its hidden letters גמל למד עין דלת together with its four root letters, one arrives at השבת.
At the end of the parsha Yaakov meets the malachim of Eretz Yisrael who come to greet and accompany him to Eretz Yisrael. ויעקב הלך לדרכו ויפגעו בו מלאכי אלהים . If one takes the gematriah of םיהלא יכאלמ ועגפיו וכרדל ךלה counting 24 letters and the kollel one arrives at שבת. Also ויאמר יעקב כאשר ראם מחנה אלהים זה ויקרא שם המקום ההוא מחנים. The words כאשר ראם with the kollel equals .יום השבת The word זה in the passuk is superfluous. We can say it is referring to זה אלי ואנוהו . Seeing and contacting these angels from Eretz Yisrael gave Yaakov the overwhelming feelings of immense gratitude to Hashem that even in galus he was able to connect to the Essential Shabbos of Eretz Yisrael. The gematriah of הז together with שם המקום ההוא מחנים is תבשה with the kollel. After 22 years in galus, Yaakov can now live through ה שבת the special Shabbos in Eretz Yisrael throughout the week, that can be now experienced even without one's constant thoughts on Eretz Yisrael which was his only pathway while in galus.
We have now come full circle from the beginning of the parshaויצא יעקב מבאר שבע which is about Shabbos as we explained, and its ending with Shabbos and the return to the Essential Shabbos in the physical land of Eretz Yisrael. Now we understand very well why this parsha is setumah with no paragraphs spaces gaps etc. It is to convey that from the moment Yaakov left Eretz Yisrael he tied himself 24/7 to the essential Shabbos that is experienced in Eretz Yisrael without any lapses even for a moment. Every experience he had during this period was nevertheless connected and stamped with the Eretz Yisrael Shabbos as we have shown throughout the parsha. That is why Shabbos is called ךיבא בקעי תלחנ for throughout his galus the Torah left us allusions that convey his conviction to experience the Shabbos in Eretz Yisrael.
From the present in Eretz Yisrael war we have heard so many stories of lives that were saved the last minute by accepting upon themselves Shemiras Shabbos. This is an open miracle and a calling to Hashem that we must strengthen and upgrade our Shabbos for it is the key to our geulah as Chazal teach אי Let us all seize now the . לו שמרו ישראל ב' שבתות מיד היו נגאלים inspiration of Klal Yisrael for the furtherance of Shemiras and appreciation of the Shabbos. May the incredible display of Hashem's Hashgacha that lies before us to which we were all witness, bring about the final geulah to its completion now.
Gut Shabbos,
Rav Brazil
