Yaakov settled in the land of his father’s sojournings.
(Bereishis 37:1)
QUESTION:
Rashi comments: “Yaakov wished to dwell in peace. The agitation of Yosef’s situation overtook him.” Why was it essential that Yaakov be deprived of peace in his life?
ANSWER:
Yaakov and Esav divided the two worlds between them. Esav took this world, and Yaakov took the next world. Yaakov, then, had every right to be confident that he would possess the next world, and Esav should have realized with certainty that he would not possess the next world.
We see a strange psychological inversion. Esav, in his arrogance, deluded himself that he would inherit the World to Come, and Yaakov, in his humility and fear of sin, feared that he would not be worthy of the World to Come.
We can explain that these attitudes were essential to ensure the integrity of the original distribution. Esav took for his share this world. If he were always to be thinking of how fleeting life is, he would never have been able to enjoy it. This loss of both worlds, however, would not be fair to him and would violate the terms of the original distribution agreement; thus, his confidence that he would possess the next world allowed him the peace of mind to enjoy this world.
Similarly, Yaakov took for his share the next world. If he were to be confident of his ultimate possession of the next world, his peace of mind would have allowed him to enjoy this world as well. However, it would not be fair for him to enjoy both worlds since this would violate the terms of the original distribution. Thus, Yaakov’s fear that he would not merit the World to Come prevented him from enjoying himself and possessing this world.
This, then, is the meaning of Rashi. God would not allow him to possess both worlds, so He conspired to prevent Yaakov from having peace and tranquility in this world1.
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1.
God prevented Yaakov from having peace and tranquility in this world by making it appear that one of his sons had died. Yaakov had a tradition that, should one of his twelve sons predecease him, this would be a sign that he had been rejected as a patriarch and had forfeited his place in the World to Come.
