man who he was! He decided that as soon as he got back home, he would go to the Besht to ask for an explanation.
When he got to the Baal Shem Tov’s room, before he even had a chance to say a word, the Besht said, “Dovid, didn’t I tell you not to go crazy?”
“What did I do wrong?” he asked.
The Besht answered, “Every Rosh Chodesh, Avrohom Avinu goes to Hashem and asks how his children are doing inn golus. Hashem always tells him not to worry because He is taking care of every aspect of their lives and making sure they are safe.
“This past Rosh Chodesh, the same thing happened. But this time Avrohom did not accept the answer and he caused a big tumult in the Upper Worlds. Hashem told him, ‘Right now, Dovid is on his way to Eretz Yisroel. Go and ask him your question and you’ll see that he will say the same thing as Me – that I always help Klal Yisroel!’
“The old man you met was Avrohom Avinu. And you did not answer him properly! You should have screamed: Gevald! The suffering is unbearable! But you lost your mind and said that everything is fine.”
Screaming When Reading the “Alufin’ of Yaakov:
Sefer Siach Zekeinim (Chelek 1, page 164) related that when the Sar Shalom of Belz zy”a would read the Parshah of the “alufin” in Parshas Vayishlach, he would scream and say, “If we wouldn’t scream at least once a year, we wouldn’t be able to manage with them all year.”
Yaakov Wanted to Save Them from Ayin Hara:
From the pasuk, it sounds like the Shevatim were little kids who needed to be protected by their mothers. However, the Medrashim tell us that they had already fought many battles against the surrounding kings and were mighty warriors.
My grandfather zy”a (Sefer Toras Chaim V’Emunah) explains that when Esav saw that he couldn’t physically harm Yaakov or his children, he wanted to at least give them an “ayin hara”. Yaakov realized this, but he knew that a segulah to save a person from ayin hara is for a mother to spread her arms over her children. Therefore, he arranged all the Shevatim around their mothers.
וַיָּשֶ ׂם אֶ ת הַ שְ ּׁפָ חוֹת וְ אֶ ת יַלְ דֵ יהֶ ן רִ אשֹ ׁנָה וְ אֶ ת לֵאָ ה וגו' אַ חֲרֹ נִ ים וְ אֶ ת רָ חֵ ל וְ אֶ ת יוֹסֵ ף אַ חֲרֹ נִ ים (לג, ב)
And he placed the maidservants and their children first, and Leah... after them, and Rochel and Yosef last. (33:2)
וַיִ ּשָ ּׂא יַעֲקֹ ב עֵ ינָיו וַיַּרְ א וְ הִ נֵּה עֵ שָ ׂו בָ ּא וגו' וַיַּחַ ץ אֶ ת הַ יְ לָדִ ים עַ ל לֵאָ ה וְ עַ ל רָ חֵ ל וְ עַ ל שְ ׁתֵ ּי הַ שְ ּׁפָ חוֹת (לג, א)
And Yaakov lifted his eyes and he saw that, behold, Esav was coming... And he divided the children of Leah and of Rochel and of the two maidservants. (33:1)
Elokim Yevakesh Es Hanirdof:
Rashi states: “Acharon acharon chaviv (the furthest back is the most beloved). He said, “If that scoundrel comes to fight, let him fight with me first.”
The Shinova Rov zy”a (Sefer Divrei Yechezkel) asks that the halacha is that one may not save a life by sacrificing another life. The Shulchan Aruch rules (Yoreh Deah 156) that if non-Jews tell you to give them one person to kill, and if you don’t, they’ll kill everyone, it is forbidden to hand over the one person to them because one may not save lives by sacrificing another life. If so, how could Yaakov put the children of the maidservants up front, thus sacrificing them to keep those in the back safe?
He answers by quoting the pasuk in Koheles (3:15) that says: “Elokim yevakesh es hanirdof. (Hashem desires the pursued.)” The Medrash (Vayikroh Rabbah 27:5) states that even if the pursuer is a tzadik and the one being pursued is a rasha, Hashem desires to help the one being pursued and He saves him from his pursuer.
The maidservants and their children were “nirdafim”. They were put down and treated poorly by the others. Therefore, Yaakov knew that Hashem would save them and they were in no danger. For this reason, he placed them up front as a protection for those in the back. He placed Leah next because she was not as beloved as Rochel and, in related to her, she was a nirdof. Since Rochel and Yosef were “chaviv”, the most beloved, they had to be protected the most because they didn’t fall into the category of “nirdof”, so they were placed in the back.
וַיַּרְ א אֶ ת הַ נָּשִ ׁים וְ אֶ ת הַ יְ לָדִ ים וַיֹ ּאמֶ ר מִ י אֵ לֶ ּה לָ ּךְ וַיֹ ּאמַ ר הַ יְ לָדִ ים אֲ שֶ ׁר חָ נַן אֱ לֹקִ ים אֶ ת עַ בְ דֶ ּךָ (לג, ה)
And he saw the women and the children and he said, “Who are these to you?” And he said, “They are the children that G-d has granted to your servant.” (33:5)
The Mother’s Mitzvos Influence Her Children’s Chinuch:
The Chofetz Chaim zt”l asks what Esav meant when he asked who the women and children were. Couldn’t he see that they were Yaakov’s wives and sons?
He answers that Esav saw Yaakov’s children standing in awe and respect for their father, something that was uncommon amongst people like him. This impressed him greatly and he asked how he had raised children like this.
Yaakov answered that it was all in the merit of the three special mitzvos that Jewish women are commanded to do – challah, niddah and Shabbos candles. This is hinted to from the words “hayeladim asher chanan”, as the word “chanan” can be an acronym for “challah. ner. niddah.”
Separated From the Sinners:
In regards to the difference between Klal Yisroel and the nations of the world, it is related that a non-Jewish Poritz once asked the Ruzhiner Rebbe zy”a, “Why do you act like you’re a holy, religious leader? How are you any different than me? We both eat and drink. We both have children. So how are we any different from each other?”
The Rebbe replied, “You live in order to eat and drink. But I eat and drink in order to live. You have children because you have a wife. But I have a wife in order to have children.”
