Supporters of Torah
He could not overcome him, so he touched the socket of his hipbone, and Yaakov’s hipbone dislocated as he wrestled with him. (Bereishis 32:25)
Our parshah describes the struggle between Yaakov and Eisav’s ruling angel. This was a struggle between giants, a tremendous war. Chazal say they threw up dust all the way to heaven. They threw up so much dust, it is still in the air today.
Just to get some idea what it means to fight with Eisav’s ruling angel: The Tanach recounts that David Hamelech in his old age felt chilled even when covered by garments. Chazal say that one of the reasons for this was that David once saw the sword of the Malach Hamaves, and he shook and shivered so much that he lost his body heat.
Simply seeing the sword of the Malach Hamaves made David, who was a valiant warrior, shiver until his last day. Yaakov fought face to face with the same angel.
What was the fight about?
Yaakov Avinu fought tooth and nail over each and every point of Yiddishkeit for all generations. He fought for Torah schools, for tzniyus, for yiras Shamayim. And he completely overcame Eisav’s ruling angel. Except for the thigh. This is the one place that Eisav managed to touch. As a result, Yaakov limps on his thigh “until sunset” of this world, i.e., until the coming of Mashiach.
As a result of Yaakov’s successful struggle, the Jewish people, his descendants, remain whole, and so we will be, until the end of time. Except for one defect: the “thigh.” We limp a little bit.
What is this limp all about?
The legs are the “supporters” of the body, thus the supporters of Torah are the “legs” of the Jewish people’s Torah learning. This implies that the “body” of the Jewish people is healthy, and only the legs have a limp. In other words, inside the beis midrash, the learning is intact, but there is a problem with meeting financial obligations, with the supporters of Torah. This is where the “limp” is.
Such an idea is at first quite surprising. Is the only problem in Klal Yisrael connected to the supporters of Torah?! On the contrary, the reality is ostensibly just the opposite: in our generation, people donate enormous amounts of money to support Torah. People build batei midrash, finance yeshivos and kollelim. Where do we see a defect regarding the supporters of Torah?
The “thigh” is the part that supports a person’s body. Accordingly, “supporters of Torah” are the base, the foundation, on which the Torah stands. In other words, a supporter of Torah is someone that the Torah rests on. This implies that the Torah is on his mind. Indeed, in our generation there are tzaddikim and great baalei chesed who donate very large amounts of money to the Torah world. But not so many of them feel a true responsibility for the continued existence of Torah.
How so? What does this mean?
For a yeshivah in a tough situation, let’s say your average Torah supporter will give $25 when approached for a donation, while to buy something for his home he will spend $500. Why? The difference lies in the sense of responsibility. A person feels that when it comes to his wife and children, the responsibility for supporting them rests squarely on his shoulders. When it comes to the yeshivah, it is not his personal responsibility.
This is the defect that was created in Klal Yisrael by “he touched the socket of his thigh.” There is hardly anyone who feels that the continued existence of Torah is his personal responsibility.
For example, let’s say a rosh yeshivah pays a visit to a donor, and describes to him the needs of the yeshivah: the bachurim need bread, there are bills to pay, there is a kollel, etc. He presents the problem. What does the donor do? He writes out a check for $5000. The rosh yeshivah thanks him profusely from the depths of his heart... but this sum surely did not solve the problem. It is not enough digits for that.
If we would ask the donor, “Why didn’t you make sure the problem really gets solved?” he would answer, “Look, I am happy to help out, but it is not my problem. It is the rosh yeshivah’s problem.”
The yeshivah does not belong to the donor. He just contributes toward its wellbeing. If he has a broad heart, he gives more, and if not, less, but either way, he does not feel a personal responsibility for the yeshivah’s continued existence. True, this person gives tzedakah for Torah learning, and this is a very great thing. But it cannot be said in the truest sense that he “supports” the Torah. He does not constitute a firm and stable base upon which the Torah is able to stand.
Today there are Jews who donate hundreds of thousands of dollars to yeshivos, even millions. But how many feel personally responsible for the yeshivah they support? Let’s imagine a yeshivah is facing closure. The rosh yeshivah comes to the donor, who in the goodness of his heart agrees to donate ten thousand dollars. “But it is not enough!” pleads the rosh yeshivah. “I’m sorry, but I am not responsible for the yeshivah. Whoever is responsible will have to take care of it,” concludes the donor, who thereupon returns to his business.
This is a “limp.” There is not enough responsibility for the Torah. The one who is responsible, doesn’t donate. The one who donates, is not responsible. As a result, support for Torah “limps.”
It is not this way with practical mitzvos. There are lots and lots of people who feel a responsibility to fulfill every mitzvah themselves in the best possible way. $100 for a mehudar esrog, $200 to buy the finest matzos... Why? Because he feels responsibility for it. Whereas to the yeshivah, he donates a monthly sum of $10, because he is not responsible. All the mitzvos have legs; they don’t limp. The Torah limps. It has too few people who feel responsibility for supporting it.
Parshas Vayishlach teaches us that this matter is what hastens the ge’ulah, if we rectify it. The one is linked to the other. The day we feel responsibility for Torah, and we support Torah as we should, Mashiach will come.
The day we feel this type of responsibility for Torah, and we decide to become the base and foundation on which it stands, we will merit seeing Mashiach.
Let us heal Yaakov’s limp. Let us become true supporters of Torah.
