Torah Readers Reflections

A divided camp

The first step on the road to unity is not the attempt to prove to the "other side" that we are right, but to put ourselves in their shoes and try to understand them, to recognize that without them we would be lacking and precisely because they are different from us, they complete us.
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Two camps

Jacob, returns to the Land of Israel and faces great danger, Esau comes to meet him. He remembers that 20 years ago he ran away from him, scared for his life and now he is about to meet him face to face. When Jacob prays to God before the confrontation, he thanks God for all the good things he has received in the years that past, he says to God "with my staff I crossed I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps". Twenty years ago he was alone, now he has not only one big camp but two camps. Why thank God in this way? Why not say now we are one big family?

In simplistic terms, it can be said that Jacob is grateful for the fact that now it will be harder to destroy him. When he initially ran away from Esau, any harm that would have come to him would have completely destroyed the house of Jacob, now, even if one camp is harmed, God forbid, there will be one camp left to evacuate.

And yet, as a symbol of Jacob’s struggle, there is a bitter taste in having "two camps" and certainly in his admission that his house is divided into two camps. 

Based on the events of the last 20 years, the house of Jacob excels at being divided into two camps. Rachel against Leah, Yosef against Judah, Reuben who is the firstborn dominating his brothers, Shimon and Levi who opose Jacob. The house of Jacob is not only one big family group, they are however a family that is split in so many ways. They sometimes get into arguments, sometimes they fight, yet they are still considered a family group. How can this mean that Jacob is blessed? He has a large family that are always arguing amongst themselves!

The Zohar comments on this topic of two camps, it states, "it was complete on all sides..." This phrase makes it possible to look at the camps not in a divided way that weakens the power but in a complementary way that strengthens each other. When a thing stands by itself and has only one appearance, it may be strong, but it is unvaried. When there are two camps, it is possible to bring to light a variety of different forces and when they work in cooperation and harmony - it is an expression of something complete, rich and sophisticated. 

Jacob - as the head of the family and as a leader chooses to see the different parties in his family not as division but as a strength and a blessing. There are two camps and that's great, it allows for better coping with challenges.

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We are witnesses today to many divisions that are becoming more extreme in the land of Israel. When it seems that we have reached the most divisiveness, it turns out each time that it is possible to use more contentious phrases and act in a more divided way. 

Jacob was not afraid of different parties. He saw them as a blessing. The first step on the road to unity is not the attempt to prove to the "other side" that we are right, but to put ourselves in their shoes and try to understand them, to recognize that without them we would be lacking and precisely because they are different from us, they complete us. Only thanks to people with other ideas is it possible for two sides to enrich each other. Without the other side who might think differently from us, we would be lacking in and incomplete as a people.

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In the Haftarah there is a verse that expresses this principle . As a way of fighting together to achieve a victory - 

"וְהָיָה֩ בֵית־יַעֲקֹ֨ב אֵ֜שׁ וּבֵ֧ית יוֹסֵ֣ף לֶהָבָ֗ה וּבֵ֤ית עֵשָׂו֙ לְקַ֔שׁ וְדָלְק֥וּ בָהֶ֖ם וַאֲכָל֑וּם"

Israel's victory over Esau throughout history came precisely from two camps - the House of Jacob and the House of Joseph - each of them has its own advantages and characteristics and they are different, but together they have the power to face and win.

Shabbat Shalom, 

Rabbi Matan Shnaiweiss



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