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From the Rabbi:
My Rosh Yeshiva was fond of the writings of JRR Tolkien and in Torah lessons would quote “the seforim." Those familiar with The Lord of The Rings know the treachery of Saruman the White Wizard of Isengard. As the White Wizard, Saruman was seen as a paragon of Wisdom, Purity and Goodness. It was assumed automatically that in the great conflict between the Dark Lord Sauron, who sought power and dominance over all else, that Saruman would be an ally to the free Men, Elves and Dwarves. And yet, it was precisely this edifice of virtue that made him such a useful ally to the Dark Lord. Nobody would ever suspect the White Wizard.
This use of the camouflage of outward rectitude to hide nefarious intentions is precisely the modus operandi of Lavan, the brother of Rivka, uncle of Yaakov and the ‘bad guy’ of Parshat VaYetze. Lavan of course means 'White.' As we look at the Parsha we see again and again that Lavan tricks, robs and abuses Yaakov. Yet when he is confronted for such behavior he always invokes some or another ethical principle in order to make it as if Yaakov is the one misbehaving and pretending that he, Lavan the White, is beyond reproof and morally impeccable.
We first met Lavan a few weeks back in Parshat Chayei Sarah when Eliezer, Abraham’s loyal servant, went to find a bride for Yitzchak. Lavan was amazed at the wealth and dignity of this stranger and tried his best to ensure that the shidduch would go through. Pretending as if he were a man of faith he responds to Eliezer’s request to take Rebecca back to Isaac by saying, (24:50) “Since the matter comes from the Lord, we cannot speak to thee bad or good.” Yet, after he received gifts of gold, silver and expensive clothing, he tried to detain Rebecca, hoping to extract yet more from Abraham’s fortune. How so? He behaved as if Eliezer taking Rebecca immediately was somehow being cruel and inhumane by separating young Rebecca from her family. Meanwhile his attempt at extortion was only thwarted by Rebbeca’s righteous desire to get out from under Lavan’s domination.
This week, seeing that blessing came to rest upon his household because of Yaakov, Lavan wished to indenture his new slave long-term. Yaakov says he’ll serve for seven years in order to marry Rachel. Famously, Lavan agrees, but after seven years switches the bride with her sister. Yet when Yaakov confronts Lavan about this, Lavan again tries to incriminate Yaakov, saying (29:26) “We don’t do that around here, to marry off the younger sister before the elder." Lavan claimed the moral high ground, condemning Yaakov and blaming him for the beguilement of which he, Yaakov, was himself the victim. Meanwhile Lavan, the slimey trickster, thereby exonerated himself of any wrongdoing and got another seven years of service out of Yaakov.
After Yaakov finally leaves with his wives and children, Lavan chases after him with the intention of killing him. Yet, when he does catch him, he accuses Yaakov of stealing his children and carrying them off as prisoners. He further claims (31:27) “I would have sent you off with music and fanfare, timbrel and lyre.” Once again, Lavan tries to find some way to vilify Yaakov and lionize himself as a generous and loving father.
Today we have a good name for Lavan’s behavior; it’s called “virtue signaling." Virtue signaling is when we make ourselves appear righteous through the condemnation of someone else. This is a very common human behavior both consciously and unconsciously in all kinds of relationships from family to business. People across the political spectrum also use this tactic to make themselves look or feel good at someone else’s expense.
Our Sages have said that “the stories of the Patriarchs as signs for their children," meaning that we as a people will play out these stories again and again throughout our history. And here we are today. Antisemites will rarely, if ever, admit their hatred for us. Rather, they cloak their intentions in noble moral pretexts, condemning the Jews and Israel as colonizers, imperialists, racists and genocidaires - precisely those atrocities to which we ourselves have been victim - and thereby justifying acts of hatred and violence against us, claiming innocence and purity. They are Lavan, calling the kettle black by calling himself White.
The Parsha closes with the story of Yaakov unknowingly stealing Lavan's idols. Not knowing Rachel had taken them, (31:37) "Jacob spoke up and said to Laban, 'What is my crime, what is my guilt that you should pursue me?'" How ironic! - it seems Yaakov did indeed take on something of Lavan's behavior in pretending to be blameless. We must beware not to fall into virtue signaling ourselves by condemning others for it. We must walk a tightrope, or perhaps better phrased, a very narrow bridge.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Shlomo
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NOTE: The Thursday evening class is paused until further notice.
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