Shabbat Toldot 5784
By Rabbi Daniel Reich
LA JOLLA, California — After many years of being barren, praying, and pleading with Hashem to please grant them children, Rivka and Yitzchak were finally blessed with the expectation of twin boys! One can only imagine the unfiltered joy; how elated Rivka and Yitzchak felt.
The feeling of pure happiness when Rivka felt those first kicks in her belly was, understandably, a priceless moment.
But then the Torah tells us that Rivka noticed a pattern when her babies would kick. She observed that the kicks, at specific times, would be extremely strong. What was the meaning behind these strong kicks that Rivka experienced in her stomach?
The Medrish fills in the gaps by telling us that whenever Rivka passed the yeshiva, one baby, who later became Yaakov Avinu, would give her kicks — as if he were trying to jump out of the womb to go learn Torah. Meanwhile, Esav would kick whenever she passed a place of idol worship.
The Torah tells us that this was a representation of the roles Yaakov and Esav would play out later in life when they would grow up. Yaakov would learn Torah. Esav would be wicked.
However, there is a question raised by the commentaries on this Medrish regarding Yaakov’s behavior in the womb:
Why would Yaakov try to kick his way out of his mother’s stomach to go learn Torah? Every child in utero is visited by a malach to teach them the entire Torah! As the Gemara says (Niddah 30b): “Rav Simlai taught us that while a child is in the mother’s womb, a malach, an angel of Hashem, comes and teaches the fetus the entire Torah.”
So, why would Yaakov want to go to the Beis Medrash to learn Torah if he was already learning Torah with a great study partner? The malach was teaching him the entire Torah; there should have been no reason for Yaakov to go anywhere else to learn.
Perhaps, the answer is that the Torah wants to show us that there is a qualitative difference between Torah that is simply “given” to you, versus Torah that you acquire through hard work.
The Beis Medrash and the shul are environments for putting in effort to attain religious growth. Accordingly, while it may be true that Yaakov Avinu was learning Torah with the malach inside his mother’s womb, as every one of us did when we were in utero, that wasn’t enough for him. Yaakov Avinu wanted to experience a higher level and more meaningful form of Torah learning, one that comes through sweating and working hard over the Torah.
Baruch Hashem, we live in a community that is blessed with a tremendous amount of Torah learning and opportunities for continued Torah growth.
As the war continues to move forward, we must remind ourselves that our Torah learning really does have an impact on the protection of the homefront. Increasing our learning will only serve as tremendous protection for klal yisroel and a merit for our holy chayalim.
The Gemara in Sotah (21a) writes of the protective nature of Torah study: “Rava said, With regard to Torah study, at the time when one is engaged in it, it protects and saves; at the time when one is not engaged in it, it protects one from misfortune but does not save one from the evil inclination. With regard to a mitzvah, both at the time when one is engaged in its performance and at the time when one is not engaged in its performance, it protects one from misfortune but does not save one from the evil inclination.”
Similarly, the Gemara in Ketubot (77b) writes along the same lines: “Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi would attach himself to them and study Torah, saying as justification the verse: “The Torah is a loving hind and a graceful doe” (Proverbs 5:19). If it bestows grace on those who learn it, does it not protect them?”
In fact, Rabbi Elchanan Wasserman penned a letter to the Tzirei Yisrael youth group in the spring of 1939, emphasizing the belief that engaging in Torah study serves as a shield against physical harm. In doing so, he underscored the significance of the Torah injunction, “lo sa’amod al dam rei’echa,” which cautions against standing idly by while one’s fellow is in peril.
Now is the time to push ourselves more and more in Torah study. While this is always a priority, during times of war, the protection Torah learning can provide and the merit that it contains is incalculable.
May we see the promise of the Torah we hold so dear come to fruition, with the victory of our chayalim, the return of the kidnapped, and the coming of Mashiach!
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Rabbi Daniel Reich is the rabbi of Congregation Adat Yeshurun of La Jolla.