A guest post by Rabbi Aaron Fink (my father), Dean of Ateres Bais Yaakov in Monsey NY. Part of a weekly Dvar Torah (Torah “Thought”) series.
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As Yaakov prepares to greet Eisav after his many decades away from home he sends him gifts and a message stating, “Im Lavan Garti—I lived with Lavan.”
Chazal derive from this unusual expression the famous dictum of Yaakov Avinu – Im Lavan Garti V’Taryag Mitzvos Shamarti – I lived with Lavan but I kept all of the 613 Mitzvos (“Garti” and Taryag have the same letters) . This declaration of Yaakov is extraordinary. After years away from home, surrounded by the deceit of Lavan’s home and the decadence of society at large, Yaakov remained the Ish tam yosheiv ohalim he was when he left Eretz Yisrael some 35 years earlier.
How did he do it? (more…)
A guest post by Rabbi Aaron Fink (my father), Dean of Ateres Bais Yaakov on Monsey NY. Part of a weekly Dvar Torah (Torah “Thought”) series.
