“Yaakov Arrived Safely.”

by HaRav Dov Begon
Rosh HaYeshiva, Machon Meir

The Torah says, “Yaakov arrived safely” ([שלם] -- lit. whole, perfect, unimpaired). Rashi explains, “שלם-Unimpaired in body, שלם-whole as regards his possessions, and שלם-perfect in his knowledge of Torah.” Yaakov left Beer Sheva with nothing and he returned to Eretz Yisrael, physically, financially and spiritually whole. Seemingly, the journey, the exile and the long stay under wicked Lavan’s roof should have weakened him. Yet Yaakov in Charan was like a tree in Autumn. While the tree may seem to have died, hidden processes are taking place inside it which will make it burst into bloom when Spring arrives. Just, so, Yaakov's descent to Charan was meant to help him achieve ultimate ascent. For the Jewish People as well, the descent of seventy souls down to Egypt served a similar purpose, and when they left Egypt, they numbered 600,000.

Right now, the Jewish People are returning to Eretz Yisrael from 2,000 years of exile, and despite all the darkness, all the travails we experienced, it turns out that we are like a tree approaching Spring. We are physically whole and on the rise -- we have a strong state and one of the best armies, if not the best, in the whole world. We are economically sound -- despite our being a small country, we are considered to have one of the strongest economic foundations of any nation. Finally, we are becoming spiritually whole -- the State of Israel is considered the center of Torah in the world, both in the number of students and in the quality of study. Tens of thousands of yeshiva students, hundreds of batei midrash and thousands of synagogues can be found throughout the country.

When Israel’s ingathering is complete -- may it be soon in our day -- it will be clear to all that not only was Yaakov shalem, whole, in every way, but that we, his descendants, will be the recipients of His blessing of shalom, peace (Psalm 29:11): “The L-rd gives strength to His people. The L-rd blesses His people with peace.”

Looking forward to complete salvation,
Shabbat Shalom.