Poverty is often followed with blessing and wealth

Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto’s talks are known throughout the Jewish world. They combine chassidic teachings and philosophy, along with tips for a better life. We have collected pearls from his teachings that are relevant to our daily lives. This week he comments on the Torah section of  Vayetze.

"And Jacob left Be'er Sheba and went to Haran."

Our holy sages say that our patriarch Jacob set out for Haran with great wealth in preparation for his marriage, but when his wicked brother Esau heard that he had suddenly left home, he sent his son Eliphaz to pursue him and kill him. Eliphaz, who had spent time in Isaac's house and had learned Torah from him, didn’t want to kill Jacob.

When Eliphaz confronted Jacob, he told him candidly: “It’s a commandment to listen to my father and he told me to kill you. What shall I do?” Jacob told Eliphaz, “Take all my possessions because a poor man is considered like one who is dead. In this way it will be as if you fulfilled your father’s command to kill me.” 

The Midrash says (Breishit Rabbah 68:2) that Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman applied these verses to Jacob: ‘A song of praise. I will raise my eyes to the mountains’ [harim] (Ps. 121:1) - this should be understood as ‘I will raise my eyes to my parents [horim].’" Thus did Jacob say: “When Eliezer went to arrange my father Isaac’s marriage, he went with ten camels loaded with everything good to find a bride, while I am going empty-handed. "Where will my help come from?" He answered himself, "God, the Maker of the heaven and the earth will be my help." (ibid. 2) God will help me!

Our holy sages say that when Esau found out that Eliphaz did not kill Jacob, he ignominiously went to Eliphaz's son Amalek and made him swear a solemn oath to pursue Jacob and his sons with everlasting hatred until he destroys them. Amalek gave his grandfather his word.

Our holy rabbis found this hidden in the words of the verse "And Jacob left Be'er Sheba and went to Haran." All the letters in this verse are the initials of the words of the following message: “The wicked Eliphaz who is the son of Esau immediately came, and Jacob gave him all his wealth, remaining empty-handed with only a stick.” Our sages teach us that here the Torah hints that Eliphaz took everything from Jacob and left him only his stick.

Our holy rabbis also say that when Jacob met Laban: "And when Laban heard the report of Jacob, his sister's son, he ran to him and embraced him and kissed him, and he brought him into his house and he told Laban all these things." The letters of the words "all these things” are the initials of this message “Do not be surprised that I came with nothing. I left there with great wealth but Eliphaz came and took it all.” This is why Jacob came to Laban with nothing.

Our holy sages ask why our patriarch Jacob, the choicest of all three patriarchs, had to marry Rachel and Leah like an indigent beggar. Why didn't God have mercy on him so that he had something with which to get married? Why did the Cause of all causes and the One who makes everything happen arrange things so Jacob had to marry under deprived circumstances?

There are two ways that God leads His world - the way of poverty and the way of wealth. Our holy sages say that the first trial is usually poverty, and whoever successfully passes the trial of poverty, God will give him the trial of wealth.

The Almighty first gave Jacob the trial of poverty, because He wanted the Jewish people from their founding to develop the resilience and character to deal with times of poverty and suffering.

The home that Jacob was going to build with Rachel was slated to be the beginning of the Jewish people and the founding of the 12 tribes (as the verse says "The tribes of God are a testimony to Israel" - Psalms 122:4). God decreed that everything would be taken from Jacob so the Jewish people would be founded under extreme poverty. Jacob fretted, “I am going with nothing to the home of a cheater and a swindler. How will I cope and how will I manage? "From where will my help come?" (Psalms 121:1) "God, the Maker of the heaven and the earth will be my help." (ibid. 2)

The Almighty teaches us and gives us abilities so that even a person who has nothing can end up like Jacob who started with nothing, but ended up being extremely rich and blessed with great success.

It’s significant that the first Jewish home was built lacking even the most minimal physical trappings and then God bestowed on it great wealth and riches. This is the meaning of "And behold, a ladder was firmly on the earth, and its head was reaching heaven" (20:12) It was planted on the earth below in great poverty, but slowly, slowly its top was reaching heaven, signifying it would attain unprecedented wealth and abundance. The Jewish people’s founding in great poverty before being granted great wealth is an important lesson for all of us.

The Rema of Pano says that Eliphaz, who didn’t listen to Esau his father and didn’t kill Jacob, merited to be reincarnated as Onkelus. The Gemara (Gittin 56b) relates that Onkelus was an important Roman official and the son of the emperor's sister. He decided to convert to Judaism even though his uncle the emperor advised him against it. He was privileged to make an acclaimed translation on the entire Torah.

Eliphaz did not listen to his father to kill Jacob and Onkelos also did not listen to his uncle who told him not to convert. This is how he became the famous righteous convert whose translation of the Torah has enlightened the Jewish people in all generations.

The lesson that we must take with us is that when a person does great and holy things for the sake of heaven at great self sacrifice, in the end he will be blessed and happy and his influence will be great.

This article was written in cooperation with Shuva Israel