Vayeitzei: A Walking Mirror

Word of the terrible tragedy spread like wildfire across Europe: The great author of the “Ohr Someach” and “Meshech Chochma,” Reb Meir Simcha of Dvinsk, had been murdered in an anti-Semitic attack. The olamhaTorah, and the Jewish community worldwide, were shattered. Across continents, communities organized massive hespeidim, public eulogies, to honor the fallen gaon and guiding light.

As grief-stricken rabbanim began gathering in Eretz Yisrael to mourn together, the organizers turned to Rav Yaakov Moshe Charlap, the rav of Shaarei Chessed in Yerushalayim, devoted talmid of Rav Avraham Yitzchak haKohen Kook, and also rosh yeshiva of Merkaz haRav. They pleaded with him to join and deliver words of hesped, inspiration, and comfort, but to their great dismay, Rav Yaakov Moshe refused. Again and again they pressed him—and again he declined.

Soon after, the news broke: To everyone’s shock and relief, it was “fake news,” a false report. BaruchHashem, Reb Meir Simcha was alive and well, sitting in Dvinsk, learning and teaching Torah! The organizers then ran to ask Rav Yaakov Moshe why he had refused to participate. How could he have known? Where did his apparent ruach ha–kodesh come from? 

The rav explained simply: “Even after hearing the initial terrible news, I sensed no change in the world at all! Everything felt exactly as it had before. Had it truly been the case that Reb Meir Simcha, the tzaddik and gaon, the brilliant author of the Meshech Chochma and Ohr Someach on the Rambam, had left this world, we would have certainly felt it inwardly. There would have been a noticeable change in the spiritual air. Since I felt no such shift, I was certain there had been a mistake.”

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“And Yaakov left Be’er Sheva and went to Charan…”

The Torah does not waste a word or even a letter, and we already know that Yaakov had been at his parents’ home by the small cluster of wells of Be’er Sheva; here the pasuk could have just said, “And Yaakov walked to Charan.” Rashi explains why this pasuk points out the place that Yaakov “left”:

“When a tzaddik departs a city, he leaves an impression. While the tzaddik is there, he is its glory, its splendor, its beauty. When he leaves, its glory, its splendor and its beauty depart.”

The Maharal (Netzach Yisrael 24) expands this idea. A tzaddik is not just a private individual but a merkavah, a vehicle for Divine Presence in the world. His soul is elevated, aligned with G-d’s will, and thus he becomes a conduit through which shefa, Divine blessing and vitality, flows into Creation. Because he unites the spiritual with the physical through his devotion, his very being sustains and uplifts the world around him.

Sfas Emes (Vayeitzei 5631) explains Rashi’s comment in a different, more personal light: When the Torah emphasizes “Vayeitzei Yaakov”—that Yaakov’s departure from Be’er Sheva made an impression—it is teaching us something about how a tzaddik functions within a community. Beyond manifesting hod, ziv, hadar, “glory, splendor, and beauty” in an abstract sense, the presence of the tzaddik awakens those of us around him to recognize the inner hod, ziv, hadar—within ourselves. By being near a tzaddik, we can sense our own soul; we can come alive. The tzaddik is a mirror, reflecting back the Divine image within us. So when he departs, people sense that something has dimmed—not just outside, but within ourselves. Thus, when we feel the mirror’s absence, we must turn within and learn to uncover our own inner light, our own Divine image, directly.

Maharal emphasizes the metaphysical reality of a tzaddik as a conduit of shefa—literally changing the spiritual landscape of a place. The Sfas Emes highlights the fact that a tzaddik elevates others, drawing out their latent greatness.

This helps us re-hear Rav Yaakov Moshe Charlap’s response when asked why he did not join the hespedim: “I sensed no change in the world.” If Reb Meir Simcha had truly left this world, not only would there have been a cosmic diminishment, but the souls of Jews everywhere would have felt dimmer, heavier, less alive. There was shock and grief, but no dimming of the Jewish soul was perceptible. The news could not be true.

Parashas Vayeitzei invites us to take our internal spiritual pulse: Are we attuned enough to notice when true tziddkus and authentic kedushah are present? Are we striving to be such conduits ourselves, to let our own lives, in whatever measure, become righteous sources of blessing for the world around us? Or are we dependent on outer mirrors to reflect our light back to us?

In our own lives, we can become so desensitized by “headlines” and “fake news” that we may miss the deeper shifts of the spirit. Our sidrah reminds us to tune in to a deeper level of reality and sense the holiness and spiritual impact of the tzaddikim on our lives and communities. May we merit to see a living model of a life of Torah and mitzvos, G-d-awareness, and goodness, uplift us and the world with glory, splendor, and beauty. May we also, from time to time, turn from the outer mirrors, look inward, and recognize these holy qualities deep within ourselves. May we allow ourselves to shine and to leave a lasting positive impression on our own city or town—or small cluster of wells. n

Rav Judah Mischel is executive director of Camp HASC, the Hebrew Academy for Special Children. He is the mashpia of OU-NCSY, founder of Tzama Nafshi, and the author of “Baderech: Along the Path of Teshuva.” Rav Judah lives in Ramat Beit Shemesh with his wife, Ora, and their family.