Rav Shafier (from www.theshmuz.com, a great website) shares an amazing insight into this week’s parsha. At the end of last week’s parsha, Yaakov needed to run away from his brother, Eisav, who wanted to kill him. His parents tell him to go to his Uncle Lavan’s house. After taking a quick 14 year stop-over in the Yeshiva to learn, he continues on and comes to a well. At the well are a group of men, sitting and relaxing in the afternoon sun. Yaakov questions them about Lavan and they kindly respond. After that conversation, Yaakov delivers some rebuke to these guys. How can you just lay around in the middle of the day? If you have an employer, I don’t think he appreciates you just taking the afternoon off. If you are self employed, how can you be so lazy? Yaakov tells them to get back to work.

Imagine the scene: the first time Yaakov meets these people and he starts rebuking them. It does not seem like it is such a great idea. Why did he tell them they were doing wrong?

Rav Shafier points out that for a great person, they can’t stand seeing something that it is not the truth. When people are doing something against the truth, they need to speak up. Yaakov saw these men not working for their master and could not stand to see them stealing from their boss. Therefore, he rebuked them.

In the world today, we have become very accustomed to seeing liars and cheaters. We are not surprised nor bothered when the top stories on the news mentions how corrupt people are. But this is not the way our greatest people behaved. I am not recommending that we rebuke people that we see lying. Our gedolim (great rabbis) have told us that we no longer know how to rebuke others properly. The reason to rebuke someone is because you will make them change. In today’s times, most rebuking will only make a person more upset at you. Even though, we should not rebuke the wrongdoers, we should recognize that it is wrong. We should see that what they are doing is not proper. We should be like Yaakov and not be pleased when we see people doing bad. This will help try to avoid doing improper actions and serve G-d truthfully.

Good Shabbos!
-yes
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