A few years ago, I was trying to cultivate a prospective donor, sending him emails and messages that went unanswered. One evening, I finally met up with him in shul. “How are you?” I said, “I’ve been trying to reach you. Could we schedule a time so I could talk to you about our unique yeshiva?” He raised his voice and said, “I give to many different causes. Why are you asking me? I don’t want to meet!” Clearly, he felt offended for some reason, so I sent him an apology email that night. The next week, I received a nice donation from him in the mail! He evidently came to realize that promoting Jewish education was indeed worth his investment.
I find that when I’m raising funds for a family in need, people are quicker to respond than when I’m raising money for a yeshiva, where Torah is taught and learned. Why is it harder to obtain donations for a yeshiva?
A source for understanding this issue is found in Parshas Vayishlach, when Yaakov encountered the angel of Eisav, who attacked him. They wrestled throughout the night, but the angel was unable to harm Yaakov. The pasuk says, “He saw he was unable to harm Yaakov, so he touched Yaakov in the ball of his hip socket and crippled Yaakov.” The question is obvious: If the angel was unable to harm Yaakov, how was he able to touch Yaakov and cripple him?
Rabbi Elchanan Wasserman quotes the Chofetz Chaim who brings a Zohar saying that Yaakov symbolized diligent Torah learning. Indeed, the Torah calls Yaakov, “yosheiv ohalim”—one who sits in the tent (yeshiva) and learns. The angel saw that he was unsuccessful in causing Torah scholars to cease their studies, so the angel tried a different approach—he would attack the supporters of Torah. He hit the socket of the hip joint, which represents the “tamchin d’oraisa”—the supporters of Torah. Just as the hip joint holds up the body, the supporters of Torah hold up those who study Torah. With fewer supporters, Torah scholars would reduce their study time as they wouldn’t have sufficient funds to support their families and would therefore have to spend some time earning a living.
Crippling Yaakov represents a shifting of priorities of the supporters of Torah, who may sometimes divert their funds to other causes. They may still be giving tzedakah, but they may not further the priority of ensuring the financial stability of Torah scholars.
When the angel was unable to harm Yaakov, Yaakov asked him for a blessing, and he told “Yaakov, “You will no longer be called Yaakov, but rather Yisrael, because you have fought with angels and were victorious.” However, it’s only at the end of the Parsha, after the encounter with Eisav, the abduction and defilement of Dinah, her rescue and the decimation of Shechem, that Hashem appears to Yaakov and tells him he will now be called Yisrael. Why did Hashem wait until then? I would expect Hashem to change Yaakov’s name immediately following the struggle with the angel of Eisav!
The Seforno says the name Yaakov represents eikev—the heel—referring to the times when Yaakov is on a low level. The name Yisrael represents Yaakov at his high level, when he has the ability to overpower adversaries. Rav Eliyahu Boruch Finkel explains that when the angel upgraded the name of Yaakov to Yisrael, that was a blessing that Yaakov will be able to maintain his high level of spirituality and clarity. Not so his children, for the angel succeeded in “crippling” Yaakov’s offspring. Hashem appeared to Yaakov precisely before Binyamin, the last of his twelve children, was born. Hashem’s blessing was that Yaakov’s children would be referred to by using the name Yisrael, as Bnei Yisrael. Hashem was giving Yaakov the blessing that indeed his children would rise to the level of “Yisrael.”
This is a great lesson. Despite a crippling injury from Eisav’s angel, Hashem was telling Yaakov that his future descendants will possess the power of Yisrael. They will struggle in their Jewish priorities, but they will be able to win that struggle.
Our Yeshiva has experienced incredible growth in the last year with the expansion of our Young Professional Initiative. We will be launching a major campaign in a few weeks in conjunction with our Annual Dinner Campaign to raise the needed funds to continue and expand our Torah learning opportunities. Please partner with me in offering quality Torah learning to all those who want it, regardless of background. Together, we can create new and continuing Jewish education opportunities, helping us all rise above our challenges and be truly worthy to be referred to as Bnei Yisrael.
Rabbi Baruch Bodenheim is the associate rosh yeshiva of Passaic Torah Institute (PTI)/Yeshiva Ner Boruch. Rabbi Bodenheim can be reached at [email protected]. For more info about PTI and its Torah classes, visit www.pti.shulcloud.com
