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Now’s the time to Sing!
This week’s parsha is dominated by Yaakov’s sojourn in Charan where he marries his wives and 11 out of the 12 tribes of Israel are born. What is particularly noteworthy about his time there is the utter contrast between the spiritually uplifting environment present in his parents’ house prior to his arrival in Charan and the total spiritual darkness of his father-in-law Lavan’s environment. After all, Lavan was the archetypal narcissist who could do no wrong in his own eyes while justifying his mistreatment and emotional abuse of others.
In the light of Yaakov’s very abrupt change of spiritual scenery, we must ask the obvious question: how did Yaakov weather the spiritual darkness in his new-found home and manage to not only maintain his spiritual integrity, but also grow from the experience?
There is an opinion brought in the Medrash (Bereishis Rabba 68:11) that it was in the merit of Yaakov’s daily recitation of the 15 psalms known as the “Shir Hama’alos” (Songs of Ascent, psalms 120-134), that he was empowered to overcome all his spiritual tests in Charan.
But what’s the special connection between these 15 psalms and his precarious situation at Lavan’s house?
In order to answer this question it’s worth mentioning the words of the Chida (Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azulai) that these 15 psalms correspond to the 15 years that all 3 of the patriarchs were alive at the same time. Based on this we can now understand Yaakov’s intention - by reciting these psalms he was attempting to enlist the collective merits of these foundational figures in his struggle.
So far so good. Except if we examine these 15 psalms more closely, we seem to immediately encounter a difficulty. As mentioned earlier, each one of these psalms is referred to as a “Song,” and songs in Judaism are inextricably bound up with a theme of joy. That being the case, what place for song and joy would there have been in Yaakov’s experience during his exile in Charan?
The answer to this is the following: Yaakov’s descent into the house of Lavan the trickster was for the purpose of a subsequent ascent in his spiritual level. And more importantly, Yaakov was actually able to appreciate this fact while he was in the thick of the struggle. He knew that as bad as it was, that there would be many benefits that would result from his adversity. And that enabled him to sing even in the midst of his challenges.
We can even see this for ourselves at the conclusion of the first of these 15 psalms:
I am at peace, but when I speak, they come to wage war. (Ps 120:7)
In addition to its literal meaning, the war that the psalmist is referring to is the spiritual struggles and obstacles that we, living in a time of G-dly obfuscation, face on a daily basis. But what we must learn from our forefather Yaakov is that although we must not forget that the concealment is real and painful, we must remember to sing the song in the knowledge that we will reap tremendous spiritual rewards precisely because of the struggle. And while it is true that we are prohibited from deliberately putting ourselves into situations where we will be tested, when we do find ourselves in such situations, untold benefits can accrue if we stand strong in our faith and values.
And that is why we must sing, even now. We must remind ourselves that that terrible challenges that our nation has been put through in recent weeks, these setbacks will only not weaken us or prevent us from properly serving Hashem, but on the contrary as we have seen, they will strengthen us and lead us to ultimately sing and celebrate. Indeed let us remind ourselves of the words of one of these 15 psams that strengthened our forefather Yaakov:
Those who sow with tears will reap with song (Ps 126:5).
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