Rabbi Heller's Blog

Our sages frequently seize onto what are seemingly the most minor textual points to make profound observations about life. Our Torah portion, Vayeitzei, begins with a simple sentence: Jacob left Be’er Sheva and went to Haran. The commentators immediately jump to ask-- why does the text need to mention Jacob’s point of origin as well? The destination is the important information. 

There are times when remembering your physical point of origin is important. Once you have arrived, it might seem not to matter where the plane left from, but if you don’t remember what flight you were on then you will likely have trouble finding your luggage at baggage claim. We can note that it is important to remember where we came from on a more metaphorical level as well. When we attain success in life, we can forget our humble roots. Be’er Sheva literally means a place of promises. When we-- spiritually speaking-- leave Be’er Sheva to go out into the secular world (the “Haran” of today), we lose our connections to our Jewish traditions. 

One of Rashi’s interpretations is that Be’er Sheva, the point of origin, is mentioned in order to point out that the departure is motivated by a need to leave the place as much as it was by where Jacob might go. Just as important as the destination, is the understanding that Be’er Sheva is no longer physically safe for Jacob because Esau has promised to kill him. It's also spiritually unsafe because there is not a suitable bride for him in the land of Canaan.

Rashi’s most moving interpretation, citing Bereshit Rabba, says that this extra language is not about Jacob’s experience but rather about the impact on the place. “As long as a good man is in his city he is its glory and splendor and beauty; when he leaves it, there depart also its glory, its splendor and its beauty.” Be’er Sheva is fundamentally changed by Jacob’s departure. We can understand this as we reflect on the occasions in our own lives when the departure or the loss of a single person has created shockwaves that transfixed and diminished an entire community.